Elm () is a village, and former
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
municipality of Glarus Süd and
canton of Glarus
The canton of Glarus ( ; ; ; ) is a cantons of Switzerland, canton in east-central Switzerland. The capital is Glarus.
The population speaks a variety of Alemannic German.
The majority of the population (81%) identifies as Christianity in Switzer ...
in
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 ...
. Elm lies in the valley of the
Sernf river, and consists of the village of Elm itself, and the
hamlets
A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...
of Sulzbach, Schwändi, Müsli, Untertal, Vogelsang, Töniberg, Obmoos, Steinibach and Wald.
History
Elm is first mentioned in 1344 as ''Elme''.
[
The baths at Wichlen were in use since the ]Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
and are first mentioned in 1547. They were very popular until they were buried by an avalanche in 1762. Many characteristic wooden structures have survived.
In 1799, Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n General Alexander Suvorov
Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy () was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire.
Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian ...
and his troops stayed the night in Elm before crossing Panix Pass to Pigniu
Pigniu () is a former municipality in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. Its official language is Romansh. On 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Pigniu, Castrisch, Ilanz, Ladir, Luven, Pitasch, R ...
on their retreat into Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
.[
By 1861, slate quarrying was taking place. On September 11, 1881, an avalanche caused by excessive quarrying of slate killed 114 and buried 83 structures in the municipality.][
In 1892, the owner of a spring in Elm that had long been hailed as beneficial was found to be rich in ]iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
. The owner opened a bath house and sold the water bottled in demijohns, but the bath house was destroyed in an avalanche in 1907. In 1898, a new ''Kurhaus'' was opened, which flourished until World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Today, it is used as a retirement centre. In 1929, the company '' Mineralquellen Elm AG'' was founded to bottle the spring water, and this continues to this day.
In 1879, the valley of the Linth river was connected to the Swiss railway network by the opening of the Swiss Northeastern Railway
The Swiss Northeastern Railway (''Schweizerische Nordostbahn''; NOB) was an early railway company in Switzerland. It also operated shipping on Lake Constance (''Bodensee'') and Lake Zürich. Until the merger of the Western Swiss Railways into the ...
line from Weesen, but Elm, in the side-valley of the Sernf river, remained unserved. This impacted the local economy, and various proposals were brought forward to provide rail service to the Sernf valley. Eventually, on 8 July 1905, the Sernftal tramway, a metre gauge
Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...
roadside electric tramway, was opened connecting Schwanden with Elm and other intermediate communities. Service on this line continued until 31 May 1969, when it was replaced by road services.
On 1 January 2011, Matt became part of the new municipality of Glarus Süd
Glarus Süd is a municipality in the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Glarus. It comprises the upper Linth valley, and the entire Sernf valley, and includes the villages of Betschwanden, Braunwald, Glarus, Braunwald, Diesbach, Glarus, Diesbach, Elm, Sw ...
.
Geography
The village of Elm is situated at an elevation of on the left bank of the Sernf river. It is the farthest village upstream in the valley of the Sernf, with the village of Matt
Matt may refer to:
*Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt
*In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance)
*Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...
downstream and to the north. Elm lies on the road from Schwanden, although the road continues higher up the valley to various isolated settlements.[
Elm lies at the entrance to Panix Pass, which crosses the ]Alps
The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.
...
into the canton of Graubünden
The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include:
* ;
* Romansh:
**
**
**
**
**
**;
* ;
* ;
* .
See also other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton of Graubünden, is one of the twenty-six cantons of Switzerland. I ...
. The village is also the starting point of the trail across Foo Pass to the village of Weisstannen in the canton of St. Gallen, and of the trail across the Richetli Pass, to the village of Linthal, in the adjoining valley of the Linth river. Both these trails forms part of the Alpine Pass Route, a hiking trail which passes through Elm on its journey from Sargans
Sargans is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland (Wahlkreis), Sarganserland in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of St. Gallen (canton), St. Gallen in Switzerland.
Sargans is known for ...
to Montreux
Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...
.
Elm has an area, as defined by the former municipal boundaries in 2006, of , covering a considerable area on each side of the river to head of the valley. Of this area, 34.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 18.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (46.7%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[
Elm is well known for its phenomenon about the sunlight shining through the "Martin Hole" in the mountain (Tschingelhoren). Several times during Spring, 12 and 13 March and 30 September and 1 October in Fall, the sun shines for about one minute onto the area around the church attracting many observers. It is like a giant floodlight.
]
Demographics
Elm has a population (as of ) of . , 4.8% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.[Canton Glarus population growth]
accessed 9 September 2009 Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -16.9%. Most of the population () speaks German (96.5%), with Portuguese being second most common ( 1.4%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 0.8%).
accessed 10-September–2009
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SPS which received 53.8% of the vote. Most of the rest of the votes went to the SVP with 38.5% of the vote.[
In Elm about 57.6% 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 (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...
'').[
The population of Elm has held steady since the 18th century, reaching a peak in the middle of the 19th century, as shown in the following table:][
]
Religion
Elm originally belonged to the parish of Glarus
Glarus (; ; ; ; ) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Since 1 January 2011, the municipality of Glarus incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern.[Matt
Matt may refer to:
*Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt
*In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance)
*Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...]
. In 1493, Elm received a papal dispensation to establish a new parish. On March 22, 1528, the Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
reached Elm, and the church was stripped of its ornaments. In 1594, the parish was separated from the parish of Matt.[
]
Economy
The major occupation of Elm has been agriculture, including sheepherding since 1000. In the 18th century, the wool industry (home-based) became an important economic factor. In the 17th and early 18th centuries, beef cattle were pastured in the Alps in summer for export to Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.[
From 1929 to the present, the only industry in Elm has been the production of the mineral water, initially by the company '' Mineralquellen Elm AG'' and now by '' RAMSEIER Suisse AG''. The plant specialises in the production of the brands of '' ELMER Citro'' and '' ELMER Mineral''.][
Elm has an unemployment rate of 0.08%. , there were 117 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 50 businesses involved in this sector. 58 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 constructi ...
and there are 8 businesses in this sector. 189 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 ...
, with 32 businesses in this sector.[
]
Transport
The Sernftalbus operates an hourly bus service linking Elm with other communities down the valley of the Sernf river as far as Schwanden railway station. The service replaces the Sernftal tramway that operated between 1905 and 1969, over a similar route. At Schwanden railway station, a connecting railway service runs to the capital of the canton of Glarus, the town of Glarus.[
]
Tourism
The ski resort on the Schitzer opened in 1973, and the Pleus was opened for skiing in 1982.[
Part of the geologic ]UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona
The Glarus thrust () is a major thrust fault in the Alps of eastern Switzerland. Along the thrust the Helvetic nappes were thrust more than 100 km to the north over the external Aarmassif and Infrahelvetic complex. The thrust forms the conta ...
is a mountain cliff called ''Tschingelhörner
The Tschingelhörner (also spelled ''Tschingelhoren'') are a chain of mountain peaks in the Glarus Alps, located on the border between the Swiss cantons of Canton of Glarus, Glarus and Graubünden. They are composed of several summits on a long ...
'' located between Elm and Flims
Flims () is a municipality in the Imboden Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The town of Flims is dominated by the Flimserstein which one can see from almost anywhere in the area.
Flims consists of the village of Flims (called Flims D ...
.
Climate
Elm features 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 1991 and 2020 Elm had an average of 152.4 days of rain per year and on average received 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 ...
. The wettest month was August during which time Elm received an average of of precipitation. During this month there was precipitation for an average of 15.3 days. The month with the most days of precipitation was June, with an average of 15.8, but with only of precipitation. The driest month of the year was February with an average of of precipitation over 10.3 days.[
]
Culture
In 1981, the Wakker Prize
The Wakker Prize (German: ''Wakkerpreis'', French: ''Prix Wakker'', Italian: ''Premio Wakker'') is awarded annually by the Swiss Heritage Society to a Municipality of Switzerland for the development and preservation of its architectural herita ...
was awarded to Elm for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage.[
]
Notable people
* Swiss ski mountaineer Rico Elmer
Rico Elmer (born 23 July 1969) is a Switzerland, Swiss ski mountaineer and Mountain running, mountain runner.
Elmer was born in Elm, Glarus, village of Elm in the canton of Glarus. He first competed in the Patrouille des Glaciers event in 1996 a ...
was born in Elm.
* Swiss ski racer Vreni Schneider
Verena "Vreni" Schneider (born 26 November 1964) is a retired ski racer from Switzerland. She is the most successful alpine ski racer of her country, the fourth most successful female ski racer ever (after Lindsey Vonn, Annemarie Moser-Pröll a ...
, an olympic gold and world champion in slalom and giant slalom
Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding competitive discipline. It involves racing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in Slalom skiing, slalom but less than in Super-G.
Giant sl ...
, was born in Elm in 1964.
References
External links
*
''Elm''
from the Glarus Süd municipal web site (in German)
*
{{Authority control
Former municipalities of the canton of Glarus
Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland
Glarus thrust