Anniviers
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Anniviers is a
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
Sierre Sierre (; german: Siders, ; frp, Siérro, ) is the capital municipality of the district of Sierre, located in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It has a population of 16,332. Sierre is nicknamed City of the Sun (french: Cité du Soleil) for ...
in the canton of
Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...
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 ...
. It was formed through the merger of six municipalities in
Val d'Anniviers The Val d'Anniviers (old name in German ''Eifischtal'') is a Swiss Alpine valley, situated in the district of Sierre in Valais, which extends south of the Rhône Valley, on the northern slopes of the Pennine Alps. The valley was home to six munic ...
:
Ayer Ayer may refer to: Places * Ayer, Massachusetts, United States ** Ayer (CDP), Massachusetts, the central village in the town of Ayer ** Ayer (MBTA station), commuter rail station * Aller, Asturias, a municipality in Spain known in Asturian as A ...
,
Chandolin Chandolin is a village in the district of Sierre in the Swiss canton of Valais. An independent municipality before, it merged on 1 January 2009 with neighboring Ayer, Grimentz, Saint Jean, Saint-Luc and Vissoie to form the municipality of Anni ...
,
Grimentz Grimentz is a village in the district of Sierre in the Swiss canton of Valais. An independent municipality before, it merged on 1 January 2009 with neighboring Ayer, Chandolin, Saint Jean, Saint-Luc and Vissoie to form the municipality of Anniv ...
, Saint-Jean, Saint-Luc and
Vissoie Vissoie is a village in the district of Sierre in the Swiss canton of Valais. The village became an independent municipality in 1905 when it split from the municipalities of Ayer and Grimentz. However, on 1 January 2009 it merged with neighbor ...
. The merger became effective 1 January 2009,Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 19 July 2011
creating the third largest municipality of Switzerland by area.


History

Human settlement dates from the
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 ...
and
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
. The region was later occupied by
Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
ish tribes, who were conquered by the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
during the first century. Under Rome the valley was incorporated into the province of
Helvetia Helvetia () is the female national personification of Switzerland, officially ''Confoederatio Helvetica,'' the Swiss Confederation. The allegory is typically pictured in a flowing gown, with a spear and a shield emblazoned with the Swiss fl ...
and became known as ''Annivesium''. The present inhabitants of Anniviers are claimed to be descendants of
Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
or a related people, who migrated to Europe from
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
, during or after the
fall of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Ancient Rome, Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rul ...
. An extinct and unrecorded language formerly spoken in the area is reported to have had similarities to Hungarian. The inhabitants of Val d'Anniviers generally became Christian much later than their neighbours; the Swiss travel writer
Marc-Théodore Bourrit Marc-Théodore Bourrit (1739–1819) was a genevois traveller and writer. Biography Marc-Théodore Bourrit came of a family which was of French origin but had taken refuge at Geneva for reasons connected with religion. His father was a watchmake ...
, in '' Description des Alpes Pennines et Rhetiennes '' (1781) writes of how the Bishopric of Sion struggled to convert the people of the valley, who long adhered to a pagan religion. A century later, the Hungarian cleric and historian
Mihály Horváth Mihály Horváth (20 October 1809, Szentes – 19 August 1878, Karlsbad) was a Hungarian Roman Catholic bishop, historian, and politician. He was an exponent of Hungarian nationalism with an emphasis on its historical culture. Further readi ...
says of the inhabitants: "They say they are the descendants of the old Huns. The majority of them have light-blue eyes or grayish green eyes, blonde or brown hair, with large and bony forehead and a slight yoke-bone. They have a common nose, broad chin, prominent shoulders and neck, and they are in general low-statured." Other cultural features including folk art, cuisine and burial rituals are also said to support this link. There are two main theories regarding the inhabitants' connection to the Huns: * the inhabitants are descended from followers of
Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...
who settled in the valley after being defeated in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (451 CE) and/or; * they are descended from Magyars (Hungarians) who invaded western Europe during the 10th century. The valley was known as Annivesium until 1052. The Bishop of Sion owned the valley between 1116 and 1138 and donated it to the chapter. In the year 1193, the area became a demesne of the Anniviers family, then by Raron (1381). The property was returned to the bishopric in 1798. Ayer was first mentioned in 1296, and Chandolin about 1250 as ''Eschandulyns''. Grimentz was first mentioned in 1052 as ''Grimiens''; the village was formerly known by its German name ''Grimensi''. Saint-Jean was first mentioned in 1250 as ''de Sancto Johanne''. Saint-Luc was first mentioned in 1267 as ''Lus'' and in 1304 as ''Luc''; the name Saint-Luc first appeared around 1850, and was nout the official name until 1904. While the valley's first cart path was cleared in about 1300, a wagon road was not built until 1854 for the transport of nickel and cobalt ores. The paved road dates from 1955; it was constructed to allow transportation of materials needed to build the Dam Moiry. The number of parishes increased from two in 1805 to five in 1932. By 1905 there were six municipalities: Ayer, Chandolin, Saint-Luc, Saint-Jean, Grimentz and Vissoie.


Geography

Anniviers has an area, , of . Of this area, 22.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 19.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.5% is settled (buildings or roads) and 57.1% is unproductive land.


Demographics

Anniviers has a population () of . , 19.5% of the population are resident foreign nationals.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Superweb database - Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008
accessed 19 June 2010
Over the last 10 years (2000–2010 ) the population has changed at a rate of 14.4%. It has changed at a rate of 14.8% due to migration and at a rate of 3.4% due to births and deaths.
accessed 22-September-2011
Most of the population () speaks French (89.6%) as their first language,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
is the second most common (3.9%) and
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
is the third (3.4%). , the population was 52.1% male and 47.9% female. The population was made up of 1,038 Swiss men (41.0% of the population) and 281 (11.1%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,000 Swiss women (39.5%) and 213 (8.4%) non-Swiss women.Ständige Wohnbevolkerung nach Geschlecht und Heimat am 31.12.2009.xls
accessed 24 August 2011
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.1%. , the construction rate of new housing units was 17 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.52%.


Historic Population

The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width:1100 height:500 PlotArea = height:350 left:100 bottom:90 right:100 Legend = columns:3 left:220 top:70 columnwidth:160 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:2300 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:500 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:100 start:0 Colors= id:AY value:yellowgreen legend:Ayer id:CH value:green legend:Chandolin id:GR value:blue legend:Grimentz id:SA value:red legend:Saint-Jean id:SL value:yellow legend:Saint-Luc id:VI value:orange legend:Vissoie PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:30 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1850 from: 0 till:700 text:"700" color:AY bar:1860 from: 0 till:769 text:"769" color:AY bar:1870 from: 0 till:737 text:"737" color:AY bar:1880 from: 0 till:818 text:"818" color:AY bar:1890 from: 0 till:752 text:"752" color:AY bar:1900 from: 0 till:789 text:"789" color:AY bar:1910 from: 0 till:536 text:"536" color:AY bar:1920 from: 0 till:516 text:"516" color:AY bar:1930 from: 0 till:482 text:"482" color:AY bar:1940 from: 0 till:424 text:"424" color:AY bar:1950 from: 0 till:419 text:"419" color:AY bar:1960 from: 0 till:408 text:"408" color:AY bar:1970 from: 0 till:434 text:"434" color:AY bar:1980 from: 0 till:472 text:"472" color:AY bar:1990 from: 0 till:477 text:"477" color:AY bar:2000 from: 0 till:570 text:"570" color:AY bar:1850 from: 700 till:839 text:"139" color:CH bar:1860 from: 769 till:892 text:"123" color:CH bar:1870 from: 737 till:870 text:"133" color:CH bar:1880 from: 818 till:987 text:"169" color:CH bar:1890 from: 752 till:919 text:"167" color:CH bar:1900 from: 789 till:989 text:"200" color:CH bar:1910 from: 536 till:740 text:"204" color:CH bar:1920 from: 516 till:719 text:"203" color:CH bar:1930 from: 482 till:641 text:"159" color:CH bar:1940 from: 424 till:604 text:"180" color:CH bar:1950 from: 419 till:557 text:"138" color:CH bar:1960 from: 408 till:516 text:"108" color:CH bar:1970 from: 434 till:518 text:"84" color:CH bar:1980 from: 472 till:561 text:"89" color:CH bar:1990 from: 477 till:551 text:"74" color:CH bar:2000 from: 570 till:665 text:"95" color:CH bar:1850 from: 839 till:1069 text:"230" color:GR bar:1860 from: 892 till:1119 text:"227" color:GR bar:1870 from: 870 till:1125 text:"255" color:GR bar:1880 from: 987 till:1211 text:"224" color:GR bar:1890 from: 919 till:1244 text:"325" color:GR bar:1900 from: 989 till:1342 text:"353" color:GR bar:1910 from: 740 till:977 text:"237" color:GR bar:1920 from: 719 till:955 text:"236" color:GR bar:1930 from: 641 till:848 text:"207" color:GR bar:1940 from: 604 till:809 text:"205" color:GR bar:1950 from: 557 till:748 text:"191" color:GR bar:1960 from: 516 till:786 text:"270" color:GR bar:1970 from: 518 till:723 text:"205" color:GR bar:1980 from: 561 till:832 text:"271" color:GR bar:1990 from: 551 till:922 text:"371" color:GR bar:2000 from: 665 till:1069 text:"404" color:GR bar:1850 from: 1069 till:1366 text:"297" color:SA bar:1860 from: 1119 till:1426 text:"307" color:SA bar:1870 from: 1125 till:1499 text:"374" color:SA bar:1880 from: 1211 till:1575 text:"364" color:SA bar:1890 from: 1244 till:1618 text:"374" color:SA bar:1900 from: 1342 till:1737 text:"395" color:SA bar:1910 from: 977 till:1395 text:"418" color:SA bar:1920 from: 955 till:1380 text:"425" color:SA bar:1930 from: 848 till:1189 text:"341" color:SA bar:1940 from: 809 till:1170 text:"361" color:SA bar:1950 from: 748 till:1099 text:"351" color:SA bar:1960 from: 786 till:1039 text:"253" color:SA bar:1970 from: 723 till:908 text:"185" color:SA bar:1980 from: 832 till:997 text:"165" color:SA bar:1990 from: 922 till:1105 text:"183" color:SA bar:2000 from: 1069 till:1265 text:"196" color:SA bar:1850 from: 1366 till:1751 text:"385" color:SL bar:1860 from: 1426 till:1888 text:"462" color:SL bar:1870 from: 1499 till:1975 text:"476" color:SL bar:1880 from: 1575 till:2011 text:"436" color:SL bar:1890 from: 1618 till:2167 text:"549" color:SL bar:1900 from: 1737 till:2238 text:"501" color:SL bar:1910 from: 1395 till:1944 text:"549" color:SL bar:1920 from: 1380 till:1763 text:"383" color:SL bar:1930 from: 1189 till:1566 text:"377" color:SL bar:1940 from: 1170 till:1466 text:"296" color:SL bar:1950 from: 1099 till:1339 text:"240" color:SL bar:1960 from: 1039 till:1232 text:"193" color:SL bar:1970 from: 908 till:1076 text:"168" color:SL bar:1980 from: 997 till:1209 text:"212" color:SL bar:1990 from: 1105 till:1350 text:"245" color:SL bar:2000 from: 1265 till:1584 text:"319" color:SL bar:1910 from: 1944 till:2253 text:"309" color:VI bar:1920 from: 1763 till:2001 text:"238" color:VI bar:1930 from: 1566 till:1861 text:"295" color:VI bar:1940 from: 1466 till:1743 text:"277" color:VI bar:1950 from: 1339 till:1649 text:"310" color:VI bar:1960 from: 1232 till:1612 text:"380" color:VI bar:1970 from: 1076 till:1443 text:"367" color:VI bar:1980 from: 1209 till:1584 text:"375" color:VI bar:1990 from: 1350 till:1719 text:"369" color:VI bar:2000 from: 1584 till:2035 text:"451" color:VI


Heritage sites of national significance

The Ilôt Bosquet and Chlasche in Grimentz is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The villages of Ayer, Grimentz, Saint-Jean, and Vissoie along with the hamlet of Pinsec are all part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.


Politics

In the October 12, 2008, municipal election, the
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland (german: Christlichdemokratische Volkspartei der Schweiz, CVP), also called the Christian Democratic Party (french: Parti démocrate-chrétien, PDC), Democratic People's Party ( it, Partito P ...
took six seats, the
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland french: Parti radical-démocratique it, Partito Liberale Radicale rm, Partida liberaldemocrata svizra , logo = Free Democratic Party of Switzerland logo French.png , logo_size = 200px , foundation = , dissolution = ...
took two seats, and the AdG took one seat.


Economy

, Anniviers had an unemployment rate of 3.5%. , there were 106 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 55 businesses involved in this sector. 358 people were 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 constructi ...
and there were 43 businesses in this sector. 669 people were 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 142 businesses in this sector. Of the working population, 7.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 53.1% used a private car.


Weather

The village of Grimentz has an average of 106.7 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 Grimentz receives an average of of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 10.9 days. The driest month of the year is April, with an average of of precipitation over 8.6 days., the Grimentz weather station elevation is 1575 meters above sea level.


Education

The village of Vissoie is home to the ''Bibliothèque d'Anniviers'' library. The library has () 7,002 books or other media, and loaned out 5,395 items in the same year. It was open a total of 167 days with average of 25 hours per week during that year.Swiss Federal Statistical Office, list of libraries
accessed 14 May 2010


Tourism

Anniviers is a high tourism region. Several hiking trails and diverse sports installations welcome visitors in summer. In winter, three ski areas are available:
Grimentz Grimentz is a village in the district of Sierre in the Swiss canton of Valais. An independent municipality before, it merged on 1 January 2009 with neighboring Ayer, Chandolin, Saint Jean, Saint-Luc and Vissoie to form the municipality of Anniv ...
, Saint-Luc - Chandolin and
Zinal Zinal is a village in Switzerland, located in the municipality of Anniviers in the canton of Valais. It lies at an elevation of above sea level in the Swiss Alps in the ''Val de Zinal'', a valley running from the Zinal Glacier, north of Dent ...
.
Vercorin Vercorin is a village in the Swiss Alps, located in the canton of Valais. The village is situated in the central part of the canton near Sierre, at a height of , on a plateau overlooking the Rhone valley. It belongs to the municipality of Chalai ...
is also nearby, but is technically not in the municipality.


Special events

Every year, Anniviers is the terminus of the Sierre-Zinal and the Grand Raid Cristalp races.


Regional Specialty

A speciality wine of the valley is the Vin du Glacier.


Access

* A9: Motorway of Lausanne-Simplon. * Exit
Sierre Sierre (; german: Siders, ; frp, Siérro, ) is the capital municipality of the district of Sierre, located in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It has a population of 16,332. Sierre is nicknamed City of the Sun (french: Cité du Soleil) for ...
. via a picturesque mountain road.


References

{{Authority control Municipalities of Valais Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland Cultural property of national significance in Valais Articles which contain graphical timelines