Alvaneu

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Coordinates: 46°41′N 9°39′E

Alvaneu
Canton	Grisons
District	Albula
Coordinates	46°41′N 9°39′E
Population	421   (December 2005)
Area	35.63 km²
Elevation	1181 m
Postal code	7492
SFOS number	3511
Mayor	Thomas Kollegger
Website	www.alvaneu.ch
Alvaneu

Alvaneu is a municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.

It consists of Alvaneu-Dorf and Alvaneu-Bad. The area is 35.68 km² and the population 421.

On 20 March 2007 Peter Martin Wettler, a media expert and resident of Zurich was appointed Prince of Belfort by the village's authorities.[1]

[edit] Languages

The traditional language of the population until the middle of the 19th century was Romansh. However, in 1880, only 80.1% of the inhabitants spoke Romansch as their native language. This erosion continued (1910: 68.06%, 1941: 56.0%, 1970: 47.03%). 1960 was the last census that counted a Romansch-speaking majority.

Languages in Alvaneu
Language	Census of 1980		Census of 1990		Census of 2000
	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
German	189	49.87%	230	60.53%	308	76.43%
Romansh	157	41.42%	109	28.68%	68	16.87%
Italian	30	7.92%	28	7.37%	14	3.47%
Population	379	100%	380	100%	403	100%

Although 31% still speak Romansch, German is now the only official language for municipality business.

[edit] External links

• Gemeinde Alvaneu -- official site of the municipality (German)
• Bad Alvaneu -- thermal baths (German)
• Alvaneu in German, French or Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.