Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine

resort town A resort town, resort city or resort destination is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding area. Sometimes ...

and

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 Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden,

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 ...

. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river

Landwasser The Landwasser is a river in canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. Its origin was Lake Davos before this was turned into a reservoir for a power station. Nowadays it is prolonged by the creek Flüelabach at its source and changes its name near ...

, in the

Rhaetian Alps The Rhaetian Alps (; ) are a mountain range of the Eastern Alps. The SOIUSA classification system divides them into the Western Rhaetian Alps, Western, Southern Rhaetian Alps and Eastern Rhaetian Alps, while the Alpine Club classification of the ...

, between the Plessur and Albula Ranges. The municipality covers nearly the entire valley of the Landwasser, and the centre of population, economic activity and administration is two adjacent villages, ''Davos Dorf'' (engl.: Davos Village) and ''Davos Platz'' (Davos Place), which are above sea level. Gaining prominence in the 19th century as a mountain

health resort A destination spa or health resort is a resort centered on a spa, such as a mineral spa. Historically, many such spas were developed at the location of natural hot springs or mineral springs. In the era before modern biochemistry and pharmaco ...

, Davos is perhaps best known today for hosting the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

, an annual meeting of global political and corporate leaders. With its long history of winter sports, Davos also has one of Switzerland's largest

ski resorts A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

and hosts the international Spengler Cup, an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

tournament, every December.

Name

''Tavau'', the Romansh name, derives from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''tubus'', which is here used in the sense of ''ravine''.

History

The current settlement of the Davos area began in the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

with the immigration of Rhaeto-Romans. The village of Davos is first mentioned in 1213 as ''Tavaus''. From about 1280 the barons of Vaz allowed German-speaking

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 Swiss Alps, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as the fringes of Italy and Austria. The Walser peopl ...

colonists to settle and conceded them extensive self-administration rights. In 1289 an agreement between the people of Davos and the baron of Vaz included that the Davoser citizens would not have to pay personal taxes, only the Government of Davos had to pay a yearly amount of goods to the baron of Vaz. Davos became the largest Walser settlement area in eastern Switzerland. Natives still speak a

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

that is atypical for Graubünden, showing similarities with the German spoken in Raron in Canton

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 ...

. In 1338, with the death of the last Baron of Vaz, Davos came into possession of Frederick V, the

Count of Toggenburg The counts of Toggenburg (''Grafen von Toggenburg'') ruled the Toggenburg (Switzerland), Toggenburg region of today's canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and adjacent areas during the 13th to 15th centuries. A Freiherr, baronial family of Toggenbu ...

, who was the brother of the wife of the deceased baron. Davos retained its right to elect its Landamman independently. In 1436, the

League of the Ten Jurisdictions The League of the Ten Jurisdictions was the last of the Three Leagues founded during the Middle Ages in what is now Canton Graubünden of Switzerland. The League was created in the County of Toggenburg after the counts of Toggenburg died out ...

was founded in Davos.Pfister, Max (1989).p.15 In 1438, Davos received additional rights in an agreement in which the League of the Ten Jurisdictions and the rights received in the older treaty from 1289 were both acknowledged.Pfister, Max (1989).p.16 With this agreement, Davos was exempted from trade taxes in the territory of the Ten Jurisdictions and only obliged to provide men for military services within the territory of eight of the Ten Jurisdictions. In 1443 Davos came under the control of the

Counts of Montfort Count of Montfort may refer to: * Counts of Montfort (Swabia) * Count of Montfort-l'Amaury, France {{dab ...

, under which Davos also retained its rights. In 1450 an alliance between the League of the Ten Jurisdictions and the

League of God's House The League of God's House ( German: ''Gotteshausbund'', Italian: ''Lega Caddea'', ) was formed in what is now Switzerland on 29 January 1367, to resist the rising power of the Bishopric of Chur and the House of Habsburg. The League allied with ...

was signed. The Counts of Montfort reached a financial impasse and sold Davos to Duke Sigmund of

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

in 1466. This lead Davos to search for support of the two other Raethian leagues and a treaty with the

Grey League The Grey League (, , or ), sometimes called ''Oberbund'', formed in 1395 in the '' Vorderrhein'' and '' Hinterrhein'' valleys, Raetia. The name Grey League is derived from the homespun grey clothes worn by the people. The league became part o ...

was reached in 1471.Pfister, Max (1989).p.17 As a result, Davos refused to follow the orders of the Austrian Empire. Eventually a compromise was found, under which Davos would come under the control of the House of Matsch, but Austria kept a right to repurchase Davos. From the middle of the 19th century, Davos, modeled on Görbersdorf (now

Sokołowsko Sokołowsko is a village and traditional climatic health resort in Gmina Mieroszów, within Wałbrzych County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Mieroszów, south of Wałbrzych, and so ...

), became a popular destination for the sick and ailing because the

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...

in the high valley was deemed excellent by doctors (initiated by Alexander Spengler) and recommended for

lung disease The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syst ...

patients.

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

, who suffered from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, wintered in Davos in 1880 on the recommendation of his Edinburgh physician George Balfour.

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

wrote an article about skiing in Davos in 1899. A sanatorium in Davos is also the inspiration for the Berghof Sanitorium in

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

's novel ''Der Zauberberg'' (''

The Magic Mountain ''The Magic Mountain'' (, ) is a novel by Thomas Mann. It was first published in Germany in November 1924. Since then, it has gone through numerous editions and been translated into many languages. It is widely considered a seminal work of 20t ...

''). Between 1936 and 1938,

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (6 May 1880 – 15 June 1938) was a German Expressionism, expressionist Painting, painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expr ...

, then at the end of his life and living in Davos since 1917, depicted Davos and the Junkerboden. His painting has a both Romantic and

pantheistic Pantheism can refer to a number of Philosophy, philosophical and Religion, religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arise ...

atmosphere and simplified formal structure. The several sanatoria in Davos attracted a great number of German patients, of which many remained in Davos. As a result, during World War II, in which Switzerland remained neutral, Davos was a centre of Nazi activity in Switzerland. Nowhere else in the country were there more

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

members as a share of the population. In the many German-led sanatoria and schools, Nazi salutes and flags were ''de rigueur''. Swiss Nazi leader

Wilhelm Gustloff Wilhelm Gustloff (30 January 1895 – 4 February 1936) was a German politician and meteorologist who founded the Swiss branch of the Nazi Party/Foreign Organization (NSDAP/AO) at Davos in 1932. The NSDAP/AO was formed as the wing of the Nazi Pa ...

's 1936 assassination in Davos led to tensions with Nazi Germany. At the end of the war, Federal Councillor Ernst Nobs described Davos as "more nazi-infested than any other Swiss place". In 2022, Davos mayor Philip Willhelm commissioned a study from historian Stefan Keller documenting the history of Nazi influence in Davos. During the ''natural ice'' era of winter sports, Davos and the '' Davos Eisstadion'' were a mecca for

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...

. Many international championships were held here, and many world records were set, beginning with Peder Østlund who set four records in 1898. The only European

Bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

Championship was held in the town in 1913. Subsequently, Davos became a ski resort, especially frequented by tourists from the United Kingdom and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. After peaking in the 1970s and 1980s, the city settled down as a leading but less high-profile tourist attraction. The American Van Leer family immigrated from here with their former Valär surname. Today Valärs still live and are members of government.

Geography

Topography

The main village of Davos lies at the top of the narrow valley of the

at an altitude of , just below the Wolfgang Pass. Lake Davos is northeast of the village, formerly the source of the Landwasser. The municipality of Davos () has an area (as of the 2004/09 survey) of , including most of the Landwasser valley and its side valleys. Of that area, about 35.0% is used for agricultural purposes, and 22.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and 40.5% is unproductive land. In the 2004/09 survey a total of or about 1.2% of the total area was covered with buildings, an increase of over the 1985 amount. Over the same time period, the amount of recreational space in the municipality increased by and is now about 0.22% of the total area. Of the agricultural land, is fields and grasslands and consists of alpine grazing areas. Since 1985 the amount of agricultural land has decreased by . Over the same time period the amount of forested land has increased by . Rivers and lakes cover in the municipality.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Regional portraits
accessed 27 October 2016 The Wolfgang Pass divides the waters flowing into the Landquart from the valley of the Landwasser, and has a year-round road and

Rhaetian Railway The Rhaetian Railway (; ; ), abbreviated RhB, is a Swiss transport company that owns the largest network of all private railway operators in Switzerland. Headquartered in Chur, the RhB operates all the railway lines of the Cantons of Switzerland, ...

connection. Crossing the pass leads to the village of

Klosters Klosters is a Switzerland, Swiss village in the Prättigau, politically part of the Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality of Klosters-Serneus, which belongs to the political district Prättigau/Davos Region, Prättigau/Davos in the Cantons o ...

and the Prättigau. Three long side valleys reach out to the south from the main valley of the Landwasser, one of which leads to the

Flüela Pass The Flüela Pass (, , elevation ) is a high mountain pass of the Swiss Alps in Graubünden. Traditionally considered the boundary between the Albula and Silvretta Alps, the pass crosses the watershed / drainage divide between the basins of t ...

and the

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine (;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ''Gidegna'' ...

beyond.

Political divisions

The whole municipality of Davos is divided into six ''Fraktionsgemeinden'': Davos Dorf, Davos Platz, Davos Frauenkirch, Davos Glaris, Davos Monstein and Davos Wiesen. The names of the ''Fraktionsgemeinden'' correspond to their largest village within. Smaller populated places in the municipality are the village of Davos Clavadel, 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 Laret, Wolfgang, Obem See, Meierhof, Stilli, Bünda, and Spina (in the main Landwasser valley), and Tschuggen, Dörfji, In den Büelen, Hof, Teufi, Gadmen, Am Rin, Dürrboden, Sertig Dörfli, Oberalp, Inneralp (in the side valleys). Until 2017, the municipality was located in the Davos subdistrict of the Prättigau/Davos district. Since 2017, it is part of the Prättigau/Davos Region. In terms of area, it was the largest municipality in Switzerland in 2009 after a municipal

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

with Wiesen. Davos lost that distinction after the formation 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 ...

in 2010 and today is the fourth-largest municipality in the canton of Graubünden.

Climate

Davos has a

subalpine climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfc'') with an average of 125.3 days of precipitation per year and on average receives 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 is August during which time Davos receives an average of of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.6 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is July, with an average of 13.8, but with only of precipitation. The driest month of the year is February with an average of of precipitation over 7.9 days, of which in 11.1 days are snowfall.

Politics

Government

The Small Country Council (''Kleiner Landrat'') constitutes the executive government of the municipality of Davos and operates as a collegiate authority. It is composed of five councilors (), each presiding over a department (''Departement'') comprising several bureaus. The president of the executive department acts as president of the municipality (''Landammann'' or ''Gemeindepräsident''). In the mandate period 2025–2028 (''Legislatur'') the Small Country Council is presided by ''Landammann'' Philipp Wilhelm. Departmental tasks, coordination measures and implementation of laws decreed by the Grand Country Council are carried by the Small Country Council. The regular election of the municipal councils by any inhabitant valid to vote is held every four years. Any resident of the municipality of Davos allowed to vote and being registered can be elected as a member of the Small Country Council for a maximal period of twelve years. The delegates are selected by means of a system of '' Majorz''. The President is elected as such as well by a public election while the heads of the other departments are assigned by the collegiate. They usually meet once a week. , Davos's Small Country Council is made up of two members of SP (

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

), of whom one is the president), and one each of FDP ( FDP.The Liberals), SVP (

Swiss People's Party The Swiss People's Party (, SVP; , PPS), also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (, UDC; , UDC), is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Marcel Dettling, it is the largest party in ...

), and GLP ( Green Liberal Party). The last regular election (''Landschaftswahlen'') was held on 22 September 2024.

Parliament

The Grand Country Council (''Grosser Landrat'') holds

legislative power A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...

. It is made up of 17 members, with elections held every four years. The Grand Country Council decrees regulations and by-laws that are executed by the Small Country Council and the administration. The delegates are selected by means of a system of ''Majorz''. The sessions of the Grand Country Council are public. They usually meet ten times a year. Members of the Grand Country Council are not politicians by profession, and they are paid a fee based on their attendance. Any resident of Davos allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the Grand Country Council for a maximal period of twelve years. The last regular election of the Grand Country Council was held on 22 September 2024 for the mandate period () from January 2025 to December 2028. Currently the Grand Country Council consist of 5 (-1) Liberals (FDP/PLR), 5 (+2) Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), 4 (+1) members of Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), 2 (+1) Center Party, and 1 (-1) members of the Green Liberal Party (glp/pvl).

Federal elections

National Council

In the 2023 federal election the most popular party was the SVP with 29.1%, (+9.1) of the votes. The next four parties were the SP (17.4%, -3.9), Central Party (16.4%, +10.6), FDP (15.6%, +5.5), and the glp (12.0%, +5.2). In the federal election, a total of 2'874 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 is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...

was 42.9%. In the 2019 federal election the most popular party was the SP with 21.3% (+7.6) of the votes. The next four parties were the SVP (20.0%, -10.0), FDP (10.1%, -10.3), CVP (6.8%, +1.6), and the glp (6.8%, -5.3). In the federal election, a total of 2'885 votes were cast, and the

was 41.8%. In the 2015 federal election the most popular party was the SVP with 30.0% of the votes. The next five parties were the FDP (20.4%), the BDP (15.8%), the SP (14.7%), the glp (12.1%), and CVP (5.2%). In the federal election, a total of 3,231 votes were cast, and the

was 46.7%.

International relations

Sister Cities

Davos has

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

agreements with: *

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population ...

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

Ueda, Nagano is a Cities of Japan, city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 157,480 in 67,783 households, and a population density of 290 persons per km2. The total area of the city is , which makes it the fifth la ...

Demographics

Population

Davos has a population () of . , 27.0% of the population are resident foreign nationals. In 2015 7.3% of the population was born in Germany and 6.9% of the population was born in Portugal. Over the last four years (2010–2014) the population has changed at a rate of -0.27%. The

birth rate Birth rate, also known as natality, is the total number of live childbirth, human births per 1,000 population for a given period divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registr ...

in the municipality, in 2014, was 9.1, while the

death rate Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of d ...

was 8.2 per thousand residents. Most of the population () speaks

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(86.3%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common (2.8%) and Italian being third (2.7%).Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 28-Oct-2009 , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 17.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) are 64.5% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18.2%. In 2015 there were 5,099 single residents, 4,666 people who were married or in a civil partnership, 550 widows or widowers and 794 divorced residents. In 2014 there were 5,441 private households in Davos with an average household size of 2.03 persons. Of the 2,133 inhabited buildings in the municipality, in 2000, about 30.7% were single family homes and 39.1% were multiple family buildings. Additionally, about 25.9% of the buildings were built before 1919, while 8.3% were built between 1991 and 2000.Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB - Thema 09 - Bau- und Wohnungswesen
accessed 5 May 2016 In 2013 the rate of construction of new housing units per 1000 residents was 23.46. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.71%.

Historic population

The historic population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width: auto height:200 barincrement:45 PlotArea = top:20 left:40 bottom:20 right:35 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:14000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:2400 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:600 start:0 PlotData= color:yellowgreen width: 35 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1850 from:start till:1680 text:"1,680" bar:1860 from:start till:1705 text:"1,705" bar:1870 from:start till:2002 text:"2,002" bar:1880 from:start till:2865 text:"2,865" bar:1888 from:start till:3891 text:"3,891" bar:1900 from:start till:8089 text:"8,089" bar:1910 from:start till:9905 text:"9,905" bar:1920 from:start till:9727 text:"9,727" bar:1930 from:start till:11164 text:"11,164" bar:1941 from:start till:9259 text:"9,259" bar:1950 from:start till:10433 text:"10,433" bar:1960 from:start till:9588 text:"9,588" bar:1970 from:start till:10238 text:"10,238" bar:1980 from:start till:10468 text:"10,468" bar:1990 from:start till:10957 text:"10,957" bar:2000 from:start till:11417 text:"11,417" bar:2010 from:start till:11237 text:"11,237" bar:2014 from:start till:11136 text:"11,136" bar:2015 from:start till:12624 text:"12,624"

Education

In Davos about 74% of the population (ages 25–64) have completed either nonmandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either a 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 ...

'').

Economy

Davos is a tourist community and a regional center. , there were a total of 8,853 people employed in the municipality. Of these, a total of 203 people worked in 80 businesses in the primary economic sector. 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 ...

employed 996 workers in 145 separate businesses. Finally, 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 ...

provided 7,654 jobs in 926 businesses. In 2014 a total of 5,211 employees worked in 908 small companies (less than 50 employees). There were 17 mid sized businesses with 2,074 employees and 1 large business which employed 369 people. In 2014 a total of 23.5% of the population received social assistance. In 2015 local hotels had a total of 797,348 overnight stays, of which 46.9% were international visitors.

Religion

From the , 5,321 residents (46.6% of the population) belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...

while 3,950 residents (34.6%) are

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. Of the rest of the population, there were 10 individuals (or about 0.09% of the population) who belong to the Christian Catholic faith, 439 individuals (3.85% of the population) who belonged to the Orthodox Church, 274 (2.40%) who belonged to another Christian church, 79 (0.69%) who were

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, 56 (0.49%) who belonged to another faith (not listed), and eight residents (0.07%) were

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. In addition, 832 residents (7.29%) belonged to no faith, were

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 448 individuals (3.92%) did not answer the question.Graubunden Population Statistics
accessed 21 September 2009

Sports

Davos's

team, HC Davos, plays in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(NL). Their home arena is the Vaillant Arena. In December of each year, the team and arena host the Spengler Cup, an international tournament first held in 1923. Besides

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

, offering some of pistes, Davos has the largest natural

ice skating Ice skating is the Human-powered transport, self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. ...

field in Europe.

is occasionally played there. An international tournament, starting in 2014, has been organised. The 1913 European Bandy Championships in Davos is so far the only one of its kind. There are six main ski areas in winter, with a total of of slopes: * Parsenn / Gotschna which connects to the partner town of Klosters from Davos Dorf * Jakobshorn which can be reached from Davos Platz directly * Pischahorn which can be reached by frequently running buses into Flüela valley * Rinerhorn to start from Davos Glaris * Madrisahorn located in neighbouring Klosters * Schatzalp is privately owned by the Schatzalp Hotel and a specialty as a "decelerated" skiing area All areas offer summer transport as well on to the main peaks from mid May until end of October. The remote side valleys heading towards the

e area are worth long hikes towards the passes of Sertig or Scaletta Pass to reach, for example, Piz Kesch, an

Ultra prominent peak An ultra-prominent peak, or ultra for short, is a mountain summit with a topographic prominence of or more; it is also called a P1500. The prominence of a peak is the minimum height of climb to the summit on any route from a higher peak, or fro ...

. To the north there are no valleys but rather a direct one-day ascent to continue across a pass into the "Schanfigg" valley towards the rival resort of

Arosa Arosa is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Plessur Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is both a summer and a winter tourist resort. On 1 January 2013, the former mu ...

or even to continue to

Lenzerheide Lenzerheide ( Romansh: ''Lai'') is a mountain resort in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland at the foot of the Parpaner Rothorn. The village lies in the municipality Vaz/Obervaz in the district of Albula, sub-district Alvaschein. Th ...

in a two-day hike.

Culture

Davos is home to seven sites that are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. These heritage sites include the Town Archives, the Kirchner Museum, the ''Grosses Jenatschhaus'' (a type of charity house known as a ''Pfrundhaus'') and the Forest Cemetery (''Waldfriedhof''). Several hotels and spas are also included on the list. The three hotels or former hotels are: Berghotel Schatzalp, the former Grand Hotel Belvédère, and the Zürcher Höhenklinik von R. Gaberel. Davos hosts annual meetings of the

. The city was featured in an episode of ''

Viva La Bam ''Viva La Bam'' is an American reality television series that stars Bam Margera and his friends and family. The show is a spin-off from MTV's '' Jackass'', in which Margera and most of the main cast appeared. Each episode had a specific theme, ...

'', when cities around

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

were visited. On 14 March 2003, a festival called ''Winterjam'' was held in the city and bands such as

Sum 41 Sum 41 was a Canadian rock band formed in Ajax, Ontario, in 1996. The band's final lineup consisted of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason McCaslin (bass, backing vocals), Tom T ...

, Crazy Town, and Guano Apes performed during this event.

Transport

Davos is part of the rail network of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB). The RhB has two main stations in Davos: (northeast) and (southwest). Other stations in the municipality include and towards

, and , , , and towards Filisur. The valley station ''Davos Dorf (Parsennbahn)'' of the funicular Parsennbahn to Weissfluhjoch ( Parsenn) is in Davos Dorf, the station ''Davos Platz Schatzalpbahn'' of Schatzalp-Bahn in Davos Platz. Also in Davos Platz are the bottom stations of the cable car to the Jakobshorn, the station ''Davos Platz DKB'' (right next to the corresponding railway station), and also that of the chair lift to ''Usser Isch'', namely the ''Davos Platz (Talstation Carjöl)''. The bottom station of the lift to Rinerhorn is right next to RhB station ''Davos Glaris''. The one (''Dörfji'') of the Pischa area in the side valley of the Flüela, reachable by bus. Local buses are operated by Verkehrsbetrieb der Landschaft Davos Gemeinde (vbd).

Research

Davos has several research institutes: the AO Foundation focusing on trauma and disorders of the musculoskeletal system, the Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), the World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC) and the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) of the

Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL (short WSL, , , ) is a solution-orientated research organisation specialising in on forests, landscapes, biodiversity, natural hazards, snow and ice in a changing world. As ...

(WSL).

Notable people

The arts

Sophie Taeuber-Arp Sophie Henriette Gertrud Taeuber-Arp (; 19 January 1889 – 13 January 1943) was a Swiss artist, painter, sculptor, textile designer, furniture and interior designer, architect, and dancer. Born in 1889 in Davos and raised in Trogen, Switzerlan ...

(1889 in Davos – 1943), painter, sculptor, architect and dancer * Dorothea Wieck (1908 in Davos – 1986), a German theatre and film actress * Ernst Haefliger (1919 in Davos – 2007), tenor * Eberhard W. Kornfeld (1923–2023), art collector; made Honorary citizen of Davos in 2004 * Jürg Federspiel (1931–2007), writer, grew up in Davos * Thomas Hirschhorn (born 1957), artist, grew up in Davos *

Marc Forster Marc Forster (born 30 November 1969) is a German-Swiss filmmaker. He is best known for directing the feature films ''Monster's Ball'', ''Finding Neverland (film), Finding Neverland'', ''Stranger than Fiction (2006 film), Stranger than Fiction'' ...

(born 1969), German and Swiss director and filmmaker, grew up in Davos made freeman of Davos in 2007

Politics, public service and business

* Wilhelm Vischer (1895 in Davos – 1988), a pastor, theologian, Hebraist, Old Testament scholar and amateur Lied lyricist * Ursula Wyss (born 1973 in Davos), economist, Swiss National Councillor 1999–2013 and former Municipal Councilor of

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

Science, medicine & TB patients

* Alexander Spengler (1827–1901), a German and Swiss physician, specialised in TB in Davos *

John Addington Symonds John Addington Symonds Jr. (; 5 October 1840 – 19 April 1893) was an English poet and literary critic. A cultural historian, he was known for his work on the Renaissance, as well as numerous biographies of writers and artists. Although mar ...

(1840–1893), an English poet and literary critic, TB patient in Davos from 1877. *

Friedrich Miescher Johannes Friedrich Miescher (13 August 1844 – 26 August 1895) was a Swiss physician and biologist. He was the first scientist to isolate nucleic acid in 1869. Miescher also identified protamine and made several other discoveries. Miescher had ...

(1844–1895), biologist who discovered DNA, died in Davos * Carl Rüedi (1848 in Davos – 1901), a

pulmonologist Pulmonology (, , from Latin ''pulmō, -ōnis'' "lung" and the Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language fam ...

, treated

(1850–1894), Scottish novelist and travel writer, TB patient in Davos in the 1880s. * Oscar Levertin (1862–1906), a Swedish poet and literary historian; lived in Davos 1888–1890. *

(1880–1938 in Davos), German artist, TB patient, lived in Davos from 1917; namesake of the local art museum * Philipp Bauknecht (1884 – 1933 in Davos), German expressionist painter, TB patient from 1910 *

Harry Clarke Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement. His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau ...

(1889–1931 in Davos), an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator, TB patient from 1929, buried in Chur *

Klabund Alfred Henschke (4 November 1890 – 14 August 1928), better known by his pseudonym Klabund, was a German writer. Life Klabund, born Alfred Henschke in 1890 in Krosno Odrzańskie, Crossen, was the son of an apothecary. At the age of 16 he came ...

(1890 – 1928 in Davos), aka ''Alfred Henschke'', German writer and painter, TB patient

Sport

* Fritz Kraatz (1906–1992), ice hockey player, competed in the

1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (; ; ; ) and commonly known as St. Moritz 1928 (; ), were an international winter multi-sport event that was celebrated from 11 to 19 February 1928 in St. Moritz, Swit ...

* Paul Söllner (1911 in Davos – 1991), German rower, competed in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

* Albert Künzler (1911 in Davos – 1982), ice hockey player, competed in the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 February 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Nazi Ger ...

* Andreas Däscher (born 1927 in Davos), ski jumper, competed at the

1956 Winter Olympics The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( or ), were a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which ...

and developed the Daescher technique * Franz Berry (1938 in Davos – 2009), ice hockey player, competed in the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

and

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

* Peter Frei (born 1946 in Davos), alpine skier, competed in the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. The 1968 Winter Games marked the first time ...

* Nicolas Gilliard (born 1947 in Davos), swimmer, competed at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

* Paul Accola (born 1967 in Davos),

alpine skiing World Cup The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang (skiing), Serge Lang and the alpine ski team d ...

, overall champion * Martina Accola (born 1969, Davos), alpine skier, competed in the

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

* Andrea Senteler (born 1977), cross-country skier, competed in the

* Carmen Schäfer (born 1981 in Davos), a curler * Andres Ambühl (born 1983 in Davos), ice hockey forward * Iouri Podladtchikov (born 1988), a Russian-born Swiss snowboarder, brought up in Davos, gold medallist at the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

* Dino Wieser (born 1989 in Davos), ice hockey forward * Stefanie Müller (born 1992 in Davos), Alpine snowboarder, competed at the

* Claude-Curdin Paschoud (born 1994 in Davos), ice hockey defenceman

References

External links

*
Tourism information
* {{Authority control Cities in Switzerland Municipalities of Graubünden Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland Cultural property of national significance in Graubünden