Schmitten, Graubünden

Schmitten (Romansh: Ferrera) is a municipality in the Albula Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.

Schmitten
Schmitten village
Schmitten village
Flag of Schmitten
Coat of arms of Schmitten
Location of Schmitten
Map
Schmitten is located in Switzerland
Schmitten
Schmitten
Schmitten is located in Canton of Graubünden
Schmitten
Schmitten
Coordinates: 46°41′N 9°40′E / 46.683°N 9.667°E / 46.683; 9.667
CountrySwitzerland
CantonGraubünden
DistrictAlbula
Area
 • Total
11.32 km2 (4.37 sq mi)
Elevation
1,301 m (4,268 ft)
Population
 (31 December 2018)[2]
 • Total
234
 • Density21/km2 (54/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC 01:00 (Central European Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC 02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)
7493
SFOS number3514
ISO 3166 codeCH-GR
Surrounded byAlvaneu, Arosa, Filisur, Wiesen
Websitehttps://www.schmitten-gr.ch
SFSO statistics

History

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Schmitten is first mentioned in 1447 as Schmiten.[3]

Geography

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Aerial view (1954)

Schmitten has an area, as of 2006, of 11.3 km2 (4.4 sq mi). Of this area, 25.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 57.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (16.2%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[4]

Before 2017, the municipality was located in the Belfort sub-district of the Albula District, after 2017 it was part of the Albula Region.[5] It consists of the linear village of Schmitten which is located at an elevation of 1,280 m (4,200 ft) on the right side of the Albula valley.

Demographics

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Schmitten Church

Schmitten has a population (as of 31 December 2020) of 222.[6] As of 2008, 10.5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 1.6%.[4]

As of 2000, the gender distribution of the population was 50.7% male and 49.3% female.[7] The age distribution, as of 2000, in Schmitten is; 66 people or 10.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old. 46 people or 7.4% are 10 to 14, and 46 people or 7.4% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 74 people or 11.9% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 119 people or 19.2% are 30 to 39, 82 people or 13.2% are 40 to 49, and 73 people or 11.8% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 43 people or 6.9% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 47 people or 7.6% are 70 to 79, there are 21 people or 3.4% who are 80 to 89, and there are 3 people or 0.5% who are 90 to 99.[8]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 41.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (33.8%), the FDP (16.6%) and the SPS (7.6%).[4]

In Schmitten about 75.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).[4]

Schmitten has an unemployment rate of 0.63%. As of 2005, there were 4 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 2 businesses involved in this sector. 42 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 25 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 4 businesses in this sector.[4]

The historical population is given in the following table:[3][7]

year population
1623 170
1850 205
1900 249
1950 329
1960 248
1970 233
1980 208
1990 252
2000 244

Heritage sites of national significance

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Landwasser Viaduct

The Schmittentobel and Landwasser Viaducts of the Rhaetian Railway are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.[9]

Languages

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In the 14th and 15th centuries, the area was settled from Davos. Therefore, the municipality is traditionally German-speaking. Despite the neighboring Romansh-speaking villages, the percentage of Romansch speakers in Schmitten has always been well under 10%. (as of 2000), most of the population speaks German (94.2%), with Portuguese being second most common ( 2.1%) and Romansh being third ( 1.2%).[4]

Languages in Schmitten GR
Language Census of 1980 Census of 1990 Census of 2000
Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage
German 195 93.75% 243 96.43% 229 94.24%
Romansh 11 5.29% 3 1.19% 3 1.23%
Italian 2 0.96% 0 0.00% 2 0.82%
Population 208 100% 252 100% 243 100%

References

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  1. ^ a b "Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeinden nach 4 Hauptbereichen". Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Ständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeitskategorie Geschlecht und Gemeinde; Provisorische Jahresergebnisse; 2018". Federal Statistical Office. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b Schmitten in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 30-Sep-2009
  5. ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz - Mutationsmeldungen 2016 accessed 16 February 2017
  6. ^ "Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit". bfs.admin.ch (in German). Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b Graubunden in Numbers Archived 2009-09-24 at the Wayback Machine (in German) accessed 21 September 2009
  8. ^ Graubunden Population Statistics Archived 2009-08-27 at the Wayback Machine (in German) accessed 21 September 2009
  9. ^ Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance Archived 2009-05-01 at the Wayback Machine 21.11.2008 version, (in German) accessed 30-Sep-2009