Grengiols 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
Raron 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 26 cantons forming the S ...
in
Switzerland.
History
Grengiols is first mentioned in 1052 as ''Graneirolis''. In 1228 it was mentioned as ''Griniruel'' and in 1297 as ''Graniols''. The name probably comes from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
word ''graneirolas'' meaning a small granary.
[
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Geography
Grengiols has an area, , of . Of this area, 21.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 25.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and 52.4% is unproductive land.[
The municipality is located in the Östlich Raron district, on the southern slopes of the Rhone valley near the entrance to the Goms valley. It consists of the village of Grengiols with scattered settlements including; Hockmatte, Ze Hyschere, Bächerhyschere and others, on the road leading into the Goms valley and then over the Albrun Pass.
]
Coat of arms
The blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...
of the municipal coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
is ''Gules, two Keys Or in saltire in chief a papal Crown of the same.''
Demographics
Grengiols has a population () of . , 2.3% of the population are resident foreign nationals.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Superweb database – Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008]
. Retrieved 19 June 2010 Over the last 10 years (2000–2010 ) the population has changed at a rate of −3.6%. It has changed at a rate of −3.2% due to migration and at a rate of −2.4% due to births and deaths.
. Retrieved 4 October 2011English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
is the third (2 or 0.4%).[
, the population was made up of 463 Swiss citizens and 11 non-citizen residents (2.32% of the population).][
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 28.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 51.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 20%.][
, there were 228 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 224 married individuals, 26 widows or widowers and 13 individuals who are divorced.][STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 – 2000]
. Retrieved 2 February 2011
, there were 114 private households in the municipality, and an average of 3.5 persons per household.[ There were 14 households that consist of only one person and 29 households with five or more people. , a total of 113 apartments (36.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 164 apartments (53.2%) were seasonally occupied and 31 apartments (10.1%) were empty.][Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB – Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 – Gebäude und Wohnungen]
. Retrieved 28 January 2011 , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.1 new units per 1000 residents.[ The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.9%.][
The historical population is given in the following chart:]
Sights
The entire village of Grengiols is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
Politics
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 55.57% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (19.97%), the FDP (13.05%) and the SP (10.2%). In the federal election, a total of 176 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...
was 48.1%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'État/Staatsrat election a total of 194 votes were cast, of which 13 or about 6.7% were invalid. The voter participation was 54.3%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election a total of 175 votes were cast, of which 11 or about 6.3% were invalid. The voter participation was 47.8%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
Economy
, Grengiols had an unemployment rate of 1.1%. , there were 46 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 22 businesses involved in this sector. 19 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 8 businesses in this sector. 63 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 14 businesses in this sector.[ There were 209 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 35.4% of the workforce.
the total number of ]full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit that indicates the workload of an employed person (or student) in a way that makes workloads or class loads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often used to measure a ...
jobs was 92. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 21, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 17 of which 11 or (64.7%) were in manufacturing and 6 (35.3%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 54. In the tertiary sector; 5 or 9.3% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 1 was in the movement and storage of goods, 7 or 13.0% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 3.7% were the insurance or financial industry, 28 or 51.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 7.4% were in education.
, there were 33 workers who commuted into the municipality and 117 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.5 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Statweb]
. Retrieved 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 11.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 60.8% used a private car.[
]
Religion
From the , 449 or 91.4% were Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
, while 16 or 3.3% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 7 members of an Orthodox church (or about 1.43% of the population). 3 (or about 0.61% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 16 individuals (or about 3.26% of the population) did not answer the question.[
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Education
In Grengiols about 141 or (28.7%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 25 or (5.1%) have completed additional higher education (either university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
or a '' Fachhochschule''). Of the 25 who completed tertiary schooling, 80.0% were Swiss men, 8.0% were Swiss women.[
During the 2010–2011 school year there were a total of 45 students in the Grengiols school system. The ]education system
The educational system generally refers to the structure of all institutions and the opportunities for obtaining education within a country. It includes all pre-school institutions, starting from family education, and/or early childhood education ...
in the Canton of Valais allows young children to attend one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...
. During that school year, there was one kindergarten class (KG1 or KG2) and 8 kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
. In Grengiols there were a total of 4 classes and 45 students in the primary school. The secondary school program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling (orientation classes), followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. All the lower and upper secondary students from Grengiols attend their school in a neighboring municipality.Obligatorische Schulzeit
. Retrieved 24 August 2011
, there were 30 students from Grengiols who attended schools outside the municipality.[
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References
External links
Official website
*
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Valais