Valendas is a former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the district of

Surselva Surselva Region is one of the eleven administrative districts in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It was created on 1 January 2017 as part of a reorganization of the canton.canton of Graubünden in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The municipalities of Valendas,

Versam Versam is a former municipality in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. The municipalities of Valendas, Versam, Safien and Tenna merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Safiental. ...

Safien Safien is a former municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The municipalities of Valendas, Versam, Safien and Tenna merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Safiental.

and

Tenna was a after ''Enpō'' and before '' Jōkyō.'' This period spanned the years from September 1681 through February 1684. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * '': The new era name of ''Tenna'' (meaning "Heavenly Imperial Peace") was creat ...

merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of

Safiental Safiental is a municipality in the Surselva Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. The municipalities of Valendas, Versam, Safien and Tenna merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Safiental.

.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 2 January 2013

History

Valendas is first mentioned in 765 as ''in Valendano''.

Geography

Valendas had an area, , of . Of this area, 21.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 48.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (27.9%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). The former municipality is located in the Ilanz sub-district of the Surselva district. It is located above the right side of the

Vorderrhein The Vorderrhein (German; English: ''Anterior Rhine''; Sursilvan: ; Sutsilvan: ''Ragn Anteriur''; Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader, and Puter: ''Rain Anteriur''; Surmiran: ''Ragn anteriour'') is one of the two sources of the Rhine. Its catchment area ...

canyon. It consists of the ''haufendorf'' village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Valendas and the

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

of Carrera, Brün, Dutjen and Turisch.

Demographics

Valendas had a population (as of 2011) of 298.Swiss Federal Statistics Office – STAT-TAB
''Ständige und Nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Region, Geschlecht, Nationalität und Alter'' accessed 3 October 2012 , 6.8% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -2.3%. Most of the population () speaks German (96.9%), with Romansh being second most common ( 1.7%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 1.0%).Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 20-Nov-2009 , the gender distribution of the population was 51.3% male and 48.7% female.Graubunden in Numbers
accessed 21 September 2009 The age distribution, , in Valendas is; 40 children or 13.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 38 teenagers or 12.9% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 23 people or 7.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 41 people or 13.9% are between 30 and 39, 43 people or 14.6% are between 40 and 49, and 40 people or 13.6% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 32 people or 10.9% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 18 people or 6.1% are between 70 and 79, there are 16 people or 5.4% who are between 80 and 89 there are 3 people or 1.0% who are between 90 and 99.Graubunden Population Statistics
accessed 21 September 2009 In the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

the most popular party was the SVP which received 68.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (13.3%), the SP (11%) and the CVP (5%). In Valendas about 68.1% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a ''

Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts ...

''). Valendas has an unemployment rate of 0.11%. , there were 66 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 25 businesses involved in this sector. 21 people are employed in the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construction. ...

and there are 4 businesses in this sector. 29 people are employed in the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

, with 10 businesses in this sector. The historical population is given in the following table:

Heritage sites of national significance

The ''Türelihus'' and the ''Haus Joos'' and attached barn are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. The Türelihus (Türeli House) is located in the center of Valendas and is one of the most historically valuable houses in the village. The interior contains many of the original furnishings from the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

and

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

eras. The original building was constructed in 1485. In 1554 it was expanded, this expansion was known as the Renaissance phase, with a spiral staircase within a tower and a

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

was added to the north side. In 1775 it was renovated in the

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style. The four-story building was abandoned for many years and had begun to decay. In 1994, the first attempt to renovate this building ended with only the addition of a temporary roof. The oldest part of the ''Haus Joos'' may date to about 1300. The attached barn has a date of 1572 carved into it. However, the building is currently in poor condition and has not been used for a number of years.

Transport

Valendas-Sagogn station, on the line of the

Rhaetian Railway The Rhaetian Railway (german: Rhätische Bahn; it, Ferrovia retica; rm, Viafier retica), abbreviated RhB, is a Swiss transport company that owns the largest network of all private railway operators in Switzerland. Headquartered in Chur, the RhB ...

that links

Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Luxembourg), ...

and

Disentis Disentis (German) or Mustér (, Romansh), with its official name Disentis/Mustér is a village and a municipality in the Surselva Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The skiing and summer tourism resort high up in the Rhine valley is th ...

, lies some below and distant from the village of Valendas.

References

External links

* {{authority control Safiental Cultural property of national significance in Graubünden Villages in Graubünden Former municipalities of Graubünden