Crans-Montana is a

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

in the district of

Sierre Sierre (; ; ) is the capital municipality of the district of Sierre, located in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It has a population of 18,020. Sierre is nicknamed City of the Sun () for its average of 300 days of sunshine a year. It is t ...

in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. On 1 January 2017 the former municipalities of

Chermignon Chermignon () is a former municipality in the district of Sierre in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. On 1 January 2017 the former municipalities of Chermignon, Mollens, Montana and Randogne merged into the new municipality of Crans-Montana. ...

, Mollens,

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

and

Randogne Randogne () is a former municipality in the district of Sierre in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. On 1 January 2017 the former municipalities of Chermignon, Mollens, Montana and Randogne merged to form the new municipality of Crans-Montana ...

merged to form the new municipality of Crans-Montana. Crans-Montana is also a ski resort that was created through the fusion of the two centres of Crans and Montana and belonged to six municipalities (Chermignon,

Icogne Icogne () is a municipality in the district of Sierre in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. History Icogne is first mentioned in 1233 as ''Ucogni''. In 1249 it was mentioned as ''Ucogniez''. Geography Icogne has an area, , of . Of this area ...

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

, Mollens, Montana and Randogne), four of which merged to form the municipality of Crans-Montana.

History

Chermignon

Chermignon is first mentioned in 1228 as ''Chermenon'' and ''Chirminon''. It became an independent municipality in 1905 when it separated from

.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 19 July 2011

Mollens

Mollens is first mentioned about 1250 as ''Molaen''. In 1286 it was mentioned as ''Moleing''. The municipality was formerly known by its German name ''Molei'', however, that name is no longer used.

Montana

Montana is first mentioned in 1243 as ''Montana''. In 1905 it separated from

to form an independent municipality.

Randogne

Randogne is first mentioned in 1224 as ''Randonni''.

Ski resort

The resort is located in the heart of the

Swiss Alps The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...

in the French-speaking part of the canton of

. It is located on a plateau above

at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of about

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

, allowing a panoramic view over the

Valais Alps The Pennine Alps (, , , ), sometimes referred to as the Valais Alps (which are just the Northern Swiss part of the Pennine Alps), are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Italy (the Aosta Valley and Piedmont) an ...

and

Weisshorn The Weisshorn (German language, German, lit. ''white peak/mountain'') is a major mountain, peak of Switzerland and the Alps, culminating at above sea level. It is part of the Pennine Alps and is located between the valleys of Anniviers and Mat ...

in particular. The resort is a fusion of the two centres of Crans and Montana and belongs to 6 municipalities (Chermignon, Icogne, Lens, Mollens, Montana and Randogne). The skiing area of Crans-Montana is composed of of

piste A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French

s, and includes the

Plaine Morte Glacier The Plaine Morte Glacier (lit.: Dead Plain Glacier; ) is a glacier located at an elevation of , in the canton of Bern above Lenk and in the Valais above Crans-Montana in Switzerland. The ice field, which covers , is located below the mountain o ...

. It is topped by the

Pointe de la Plaine Morte The Pointe de la Plaine Morte () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, located on the border between the Swiss cantons of Bern and Valais. It overlooks the large and flat glacier named ''Plaine Morte Glacier'', from the south-west side. The Pointe ...

at . Crans-Montana is famous in alpine ski racing for the 1987 World Championships and is often on the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

schedule, usually for women's speed events.

Other activities

The area hosts the winter mountain pop rock festival, the , and a professional golf tournament, the

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

Omega European Masters The Omega European Masters is the Switzerland, Swiss stop on professional men's golf's European Tour, and in 2009 it became the first event in Europe to be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour. Founded as the Swiss Open in 1923, the tournament was pr ...

, which takes place each September. The area has also been frequently used for bicycle racing, hosting stage finishes of the

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse () is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France, which is on the calend ...

seven times and of the

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

eight times as of 2013. In addition, Crans-Montana also hosted the finish of the 20th stage of the

1984 Tour de France The 1984 Tour de France was the 71st edition of the Tour de France, run over in 23 stages and a prologue, from 29 June to 22 July. The race was dominated by the Renault team, who won the team classification and ten stages: Renault's French rider ...

, won by

Laurent Fignon Laurent Patrick Fignon (; 12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010) was a French professional road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984, as well as the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He held the title of FICP World No. 1 in 1989. Fignon came ...

, who also took the overall race win that year. The has four courses, one designed by

Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...

and another named after

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

. The internationally renowned

Les Roches International School of Hotel Management Les Roches is a private hospitality school owned by Eurazeo and located in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. History Les Roches is a hospitality school founded in 1979. Approximately 1,118 students from 68 countries attend every semester, with ...

is located in Crans-Montana.

Geography

Crans-Montana has an area, , of .

Human geography

Hamlets (''frazioni''): * Chermignon: Champzabé, Chermignon d'en Bas, Chermignon d'en Haut, Crans-sur-Sierre, Ollon * Mollens: Aminona, Conzor, Cordona, Laques, Saint-Maurice-de-Laques * Montana: Champzabé, Corin, Diogne, Montana-Vermala * Randogne: Bluche, Darnona, Loc, Montana-Station, Montana-Vermala

Population

The new municipality has a population () of .

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:600 PlotArea = height:450 left:100 bottom:90 right:100 Legend = columns:3 left:220 top:70 columnwidth:160 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:8800 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1500 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:300 start:0 Colors= id:CH value:yellowgreen legend:Chermignon id:MO value:green legend:Mollens id:MON value:blue legend:Montana id:RA value:red legend:Randogne PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:30 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1850 from: 0 till:522 text:"522" color:CH bar:1910 from: 0 till:848 text:"848" color:CH bar:1920 from: 0 till:950 text:"950" color:CH bar:1930 from: 0 till:1055 text:"1,055" color:CH bar:1941 from: 0 till:1214 text:"1,214" color:CH bar:1950 from: 0 till:1330 text:"1,330" color:CH bar:1960 from: 0 till:1520 text:"1,520" color:CH bar:1970 from: 0 till:1925 text:"1,925" color:CH bar:1980 from: 0 till:2170 text:"2,170" color:CH bar:1990 from: 0 till:2553 text:"2,553" color:CH bar:2000 from: 0 till:2711 text:"2,711" color:CH bar:1850 from: 522 till:739 text:"217" color:MO bar:1910 from: 848 till:1160 text:"312" color:MO bar:1920 from: 950 till:1261 text:"311" color:MO bar:1930 from: 1055 till:1340 text:"285" color:MO bar:1941 from: 1214 till:1536 text:"322" color:MO bar:1950 from: 1330 till:1633 text:"303" color:MO bar:1960 from: 1520 till:1806 text:"286" color:MO bar:1970 from: 1925 till:2195 text:"270" color:MO bar:1980 from: 2170 till:2504 text:"334" color:MO bar:1990 from: 2553 till:3095 text:"542" color:MO bar:2000 from: 2711 till:3481 text:"770" color:MO bar:1850 from: 739 till:1042 text:"303" color:MON bar:1910 from: 1160 till:1707 text:"547" color:MON bar:1920 from: 1261 till:2052 text:"791" color:MON bar:1930 from: 1340 till:2825 text:"1,485" color:MON bar:1941 from: 1536 till:2815 text:"1,279" color:MON bar:1950 from: 1633 till:3348 text:"1,715" color:MON bar:1960 from: 1806 till:3349 text:"1,543" color:MON bar:1970 from: 2195 till:3920 text:"1,725" color:MON bar:1980 from: 2504 till:4412 text:"1,908" color:MON bar:1990 from: 3095 till:5284 text:"2,189" color:MON bar:2000 from: 3481 till:5786 text:"2,305" color:MON bar:1850 from: 1042 till:1295 text:"253" color:RA bar:1910 from: 1707 till:2402 text:"695" color:RA bar:1920 from: 2052 till:2948 text:"896" color:RA bar:1930 from: 2825 till:4185 text:"1,360" color:RA bar:1941 from: 2815 till:3951 text:"1,136" color:RA bar:1950 from: 3348 till:4964 text:"1,616" color:RA bar:1960 from: 3349 till:4857 text:"1,508" color:RA bar:1970 from: 3920 till:5857 text:"1,937" color:RA bar:1980 from: 4412 till:6203 text:"1,791" color:RA bar:1990 from: 5284 till:8122 text:"2,838" color:RA bar:2000 from: 5786 till:8749 text:"2,963" color:RA

Heritage sites of national significance

The Roches des Fées and the Hotel Bella Lui are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.

Climate

Crans Montana has a warm summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, (Dfb) according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

. Between 1981 and 2010 Montana had on average 101 days of rain or snow per year and received on average of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

. Crans Montana has fairly evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year, as is common in this type of climate. As with other locations in the canton of

, annual precipitation rates are quite low due to its location in the rain shadow of some of the tallest mountains in the Alps.

Transport

The Funiculaire Sierre–Montana–Crans leads from Montana to Sierre, next to the Sierre/Siders railway station, allowing for rail access to

Geneva Airport Geneva Airport – formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport – is an international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It is located northwest of the city centre. It surpassed the 15-million-pas ...

and

Brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

via the

InterRegio The InterRegio, often shortened to IR, is a train categories in Europe, train category for mainly domestic train services in use in some European countries, with Swiss Federal Railways operating the most dense network. InterRegio trains are semi ...

Sports

Winter sports

Crans-Montana is a prominent ski resort that developed from the early 20th century (in the Crans-sur-Sierre area) and specializes in alpine skiing. It has hosted the 1987 World Championships, the 2011 Junior World Championships, and numerous stages of the Alpine Skiing World Cup and the European Cup. The resort offers approximately 140 km of slopes.Ski races in Crans-Montana
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Notable people

Elizabeth von Arnim Elizabeth von Arnim (31 August 1866 – 9 February 1941), born Mary Annette Beauchamp, was an English novelist. Born in Australia, she married a German aristocrat, and her earliest works are set in Germany. Her first marriage made her Countess v ...

(1866–1941), Australian-born British novelist, lived in Randogne 1910–1930 *

Katherine Mansfield Kathleen Mansfield Murry (née Beauchamp; 14 October 1888 – 9 January 1923) was a New Zealand writer and critic who was an important figure in the Literary modernism, modernist movement. Her works are celebrated across the world and have been ...

(1888–1923), New Zealand-born author, lived in Montana from May 1921–January 1922 *

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...

(1927–2017), British actor, owned a chalet at the ski resort for many years after moving from

Gstaad Gstaad ( , ) is a town in the German language, German-speaking section of the Canton of Bern in southwestern Switzerland. It is part of the municipality of Saanen and is known as a major ski resort and a popular destination amongst high society ...

. He lived there until his death in 2017. *

Michel Roux Michel Roux, OBE (; 19 April 1941 – 11 March 2020), also known as Michel Roux Snr., was a French chef and restaurateur working in Britain. Along with his brother Albert Roux, Albert, he opened Le Gavroche, which subsequently became the first ...

(1941–2020), French-born chef and restaurateur who worked in Britain, lived in Crans-Montana from 2008. * Golfers Adam Scott,

Ángel Gallardo Ángel Gallardo may refer to: *Ángel Gallardo (civil engineer) (1867–1934), Argentine civil engineer, natural scientist, and politician *Ángel Gallardo (golfer) Ángel Gallardo (born 29 July 1943) is a Spanish professional golfer. Gallardo w ...

Sergio García Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He turned professional in 1999 and played on the European Tour and PGA Tour prior to joining LIV Golf in 2022. García has won 36 international tournaments as ...

along with

Francesco Francesco, the Italian language, Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis (given name), Francis", is one of the List of most popular given names, most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name inclu ...

and

Edoardo Molinari Edoardo Molinari (born 11 February 1981) is an Italian professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, where he is a three-time winner. He was also the 2005 U.S. Amateur champion; 2009 Challenge Tour Rankings leader; winner, with his brother ...

are residents. * Vicky Safra Greek-born billionaire and philanthropist, wealthiest brazilian and member of the Safra family.

References

External links

*
Crans-Montana ski resort
* {{authority control Municipalities of Valais Cultural property of national significance in Valais Villages in Valais Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland