St. Martin (german: Sankt Martin, Romansh: ''Sogn Martin'') is a village and was 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 Surselva in the Swisscanton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2015 the former municipality of St. Martin merged into the municipality of
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
Place ...
The village was settled around the 14th Century by
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 a ...
immigrants. Initially it was a held in
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
for 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'').Tersnaus and von Mont families. In 1457 the German-speaking population was forbidden from purchasing land or marrying in the neighboring village of Tersnaus. The village church (consecrated 1345) was initially under 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, ...
of St. Vinzenz in Pleif (in
Vella
Vella is a village and a former municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Surselva (district), Surselva in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. The municipalities of Cumbel, Degen, Switzerland, De ...
municipality), but in 1528 came under the authority of Tersnaus. After 1776, St. Martin's village church had a German-speaking Prebend though in 1868 it fell back under the authority of Tersnaus.
By 1671 the farm houses of St. Martin were a neighborhood in Tersnaus, and in 1878 the municipality separated from Tersnaus to become politically independent. The municipality remained firmly rural, and in 1972-73 became the last municipality in Switzerland to be connected to the electric grid.
Coat of arms
The municipal coat of arms is ''Azure, Sankt Martin statant clad as bishop argent and or holding in his dexter hand a crosier and his sinister hand raised in blessing, between seven mullets of the last.''Flags of the World.com accessed 24-Nov-2009 Sankt Martin represents the name of the municipality, while the seven stars represent the seven hamlets that make up the municipality.
Geography
Before the merger, St. Martin had a total area of . Of this area, 29% is used for agricultural purposes, while 32.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (38.2%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).
The municipality is located in the Lugnez sub-district of the Surselva district. It is a scattered settlement on the steep slopes above both sides of the ''
Valser Rhine
The Valser Rhine (german: Valser Rhein) is a source of the river Rhine in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The river originates from the Länta Glacier and the Grauhorn Glacier at the northern foot of the Rheinwaldhorn and initially flows thr ...
'' canyon at an elevation of between . The majority German speaking village marks the language border between German and Romansh in the valley. It consists of
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 St. Martin, Lunschania (post office), Bucarischuna, Munt, Gadenstatt, Mariaga and Travisasch. The additional hamlets of Feistenberg, Haspel and Montaschg are all abandoned.
Demographics
St. Martin had a population (as of 2013) of 35,Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 19 January 2015 all Swiss citizens. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -6.8%. Most of the population () speaks German (86.1%), with the rest speaking Romansh (13.9%).
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.Graubunden in Numbers accessed 21 September 2009 The age distribution, , in St. Martin is: 7 children or 19.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 4 teenagers or 11.1% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, nobody was between 20 and 29 years old. 6 people or 16.7% are between 30 and 39, 6 people or 16.7% are between 40 and 49, and 3 people or 8.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 3 people or 8.3% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 5 people or 13.9% are between 70 and 79, there is 1 person who is 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 ...
the most popular party was the CVP which received 67.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (20%), the SVP (12.7%) and the SP (0%).
In St. Martin about 40% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a '' Fachhochschule'').
St. Martin has an unemployment rate of 0%. , there were 13 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 7 businesses involved in this sector. 1 person is 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 is 1 business in this sector. No one is 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 ...
.
The historical population is given in the following table: