Vella is a village and 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
Canton may refer to:
Administrative division terminology
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and ent ...]
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
Cumbel
Cumbel () is a former municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The municipalities of Cumbel, Degen, Lumbrein, Morissen, Suraua, Vignogn, Vella, and Vrin merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of ...
,
Degen,
Lumbrein
Lumbrein is a former municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The municipalities of Cumbel, Degen, Lumbrein, Morissen, Suraua, Vignogn, Vella, and Vrin merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Lu ...
,
Morissen
Morissen ( rm, Murissen) is a former municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The municipalities of Cumbel, Degen, Lumbrein, Morissen, Suraua, Vignogn, Vella, and Vrin merged on 1 January 2013 into the new mu ...
,
Suraua
Suraua is a former municipality in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. The former municipality was formed on January 1, 2002, through the union of Camuns, Surcasti, Tersnaus, and Uors-Peiden. The municipalities ...
,
Vignogn
Vignogn is a former municipality in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. The municipalities of Cumbel, Degen, Lumbrein, Morissen, Suraua, Vignogn, Vella, and Vrin merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipal ...
, Vella, and
Vrin
Vrin () is a village and a former municipality in the Lumnezia. It belonged to the circle of Lugnez/Lumnezia in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. The municipalities of Cumbel, Degen, Lumbrein, Morissen, Sur ...
merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of
Lumnezia
Lumnezia is a valley region and a municipality in the Surselva Region in the Swiss of canton of Graubünden. The former municipalities of Cumbel, Degen, Lumbrein, Morissen, Suraua, Vignogn, Vella, and Vrin merged on 1 January 2013 into the new mu ...
.
History
While there is some evidence of a late
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
settlement and coins from the 3rd and 4th Centuries have been found, Vella is first mentioned about 840 as ''ad sanctum Vincentium
..in valle Leguntia''. In 1290-98 it was mentioned as ''ad Ville, aput Villam''.
[ The village church was the center of a ]parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
that covered the entire valley. However, about 1300 Vals Vals is the word for waltz in many European languages.
Vals or VALS may also refer to:
* Peruvian waltz
* Venezuelan waltz
* Vals (dance), a dance related to Argentine tango
* VALS, "Values And Lifestyles," a psychographic segmentation tool
Places ...
separated from the parish due to the desire of Walser German
Walser German (german: Walserdeutsch) and Walliser German (, locally ) are a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in parts of Switzerland (Valais, Ticino, Grisons), Italy (Piedmont, Aosta Valley), Liechtenstein (Triesenberg, Planken), an ...
speaking Walser
The Walser people are the speakers of the Walser German dialects, a variety of Highest Alemannic.
They inhabit the region of the Alps of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as the fringes of Italy and Austria.
The Walser people are named af ...
immigrants to have their own religious leadership. Over the following centuries, most of the other villages in the valley also separated from the Vella parish (the most recent being Peiden in 1910). Due to the village's function as a religious center and the power of a local patrician
Patrician may refer to:
* Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage
* Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
family, ''de Mont'', Vella grew to be the most powerful village in the valley. Since 1887, it has been home to the sub-district secondary school.[
]
Coat of arms
The description of the municipal coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
is ''Azure a Pelican in Piety Argent.'' The pelican
Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...
, which according to legend feeds its young with its own blood, is a symbol for the death of Jesus. By extension, it can also represent the entire church. In this case, it stands for the parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
for the Lugnez valley, which is in Degen.
Geography
Vella had an area, , of . Of this area, 69.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 18.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 4.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (7.3%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[
The former municipality is located in the Lugnez sub-district of the Surselva district. It is located at ft altitude on a plateau in the centre of the ]Lumnezia
Lumnezia is a valley region and a municipality in the Surselva Region in the Swiss of canton of Graubünden. The former municipalities of Cumbel, Degen, Lumbrein, Morissen, Suraua, Vignogn, Vella, and Vrin merged on 1 January 2013 into the new mu ...
, a high alpine valley
Alpine Valley Music Theatre is a 37,000-capacity amphitheater located on County Highway D in East Troy, Wisconsin. The seasonal venue was built in 1977 and it features a characteristic wooden roof, covering the 7,500-seat pavilion and a sprawlin ...
.
The municipality consists of the village Villa and the church St. Vincent in Pleif built on a ridge overlooking the Glenner/Glogn gorge, a tributary to 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 ...
. The highest elevation is Mount Stein at altitude.
Until 1987 Vella was known as Villa (GR).[Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz]
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 23 September 2009
Demographics
Vella had a population (as of 2011) of 438.[Swiss Federal Statistics Office – STAT-TAB](_blank)
''Ständige und Nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Region, Geschlecht, Nationalität und Alter'' accessed 3 October 2012 , 2.9% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.[ Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -3.4%. Most of the population () speaks Romansh (83.9%), with German being second most common (13.6%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 1.1%).][Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
accessed 25-Nov-2009
, the gender distribution of the population was 50.8% male and 49.2% female.[Graubunden in Numbers]
accessed 21 September 2009 The age distribution, , in Vella is; 63 children or 14.3% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 54 teenagers or 12.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 44 people or 10.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 61 people or 13.8% are between 30 and 39, 82 people or 18.6% are between 40 and 49, and 44 people or 10.0% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 37 people or 8.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 34 people or 7.7% are between 70 and 79, there are 21 people or 4.8% who are between 80 and 89,and there is 1 person who is 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 CVP which received 54.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (23.8%), the FDP (14.2%) and the SP (7.8%).[
In Vella about 70.7% 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 ...
'').[
Vella has an unemployment rate of 0.86%. , there were 17 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 7 businesses involved in this sector. 66 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 10 businesses in this sector. 101 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 27 businesses in this sector.[
The historical population is given in the following table:][
]
Weather
Vella has an average of 116 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives of precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
. The wettest month is August during which time Vella receives an average of of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 11.5 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 11.7, but with only of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is February with an average of of precipitation over 11.5 days.[, the weather station elevation is 1245 meters above sea level.]
Heritage sites of national significance
The Church of S. Vincenz/St. Vincent is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance
21.11.2008 version, accessed 25-Nov-2009
The church is first mentioned about 843, when it was given Imperial support. It later came under the patronage of the Welf Welf is a Germanic first name that may refer to:
*Welf (father of Judith), 9th century Frankish count, father-in-law of Louis the Pious
*Welf I, d. bef. 876, count of Alpgau and Linzgau
*Welf II, Count of Swabia, died 1030, supposed descendant of W ...
s and in the mid 10th century came under the authority of the cathedral of Constance
Constance may refer to:
Places
*Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English
*Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada
* Constance, Kentucky
* Constance, Minnesota
* Constance (Portugal)
* Mount Constance, Washington State
People
* Consta ...
. By the 14th Century it was owned by the Freiherr
(; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...
of Belmont
Belmont may refer to:
People
* Belmont (surname)
Places
* Belmont Abbey (disambiguation)
* Belmont Historic District (disambiguation)
* Belmont Hotel (disambiguation)
* Belmont Park (disambiguation)
* Belmont Plantation (disambiguation)
* Belmon ...
, but in 1371 was inherited by the family of Sax-Misox. Then, in 1483 it came under the authority of the Bishop of Chur
The Bishop of Chur (German: ''Bischof von Chur'') is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chur, Grisons, Switzerland (Latin: ''Dioecesis Curiensis'').[Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...]
/ Romanesque church was rebuilt in 1661-62.[
]
References
External links
* https://web.archive.org/web/20060831052718/http://www.vallumnezia.ch/
*
{{Authority control
Lumnezia
Cultural property of national significance in Graubünden
Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland