Elm, Switzerland
| Elm | |
|---|---|
| Former municipality of Switzerland | |
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  Elm | |
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Location of Elm  | |
| Coordinates: 46°55′N 9°10′E / 46.917°N 9.167°ECoordinates: 46°55′N 9°10′E / 46.917°N 9.167°E | |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Canton | Glarus |
| District | n.a. |
| Area | |
| • Total | 90.73 km2 (35.03 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 977 m (3,205 ft) |
| Population (December 2013) | |
| • Total | 626 |
| • Density | 6.9/km2 (18/sq mi) |
| Postal code | 8767 |
| SFOS number | 1605 |
| Localities | Müsli, Obmoos, Schwändi, Steinibach, Sulzbach, Töniberg, Untertal, Vogelsang, Wald |
| Surrounded by | Andiast (GR), Betschwanden, Flims (GR), Laax (GR), Linthal, Luchsingen, Matt, Mels (SG), Pfäfers (SG), Pigniu (GR), Ruschein (GR), Schwanden, Siat (GR) |
| Website |
www SFSO statistics |
Elm (Romansh: Dialma) is a village, and former municipality, in the municipality of Glarus Süd and canton of Glarus in Switzerland.
History
Elm is first mentioned in 1344 as Elme.[1]
In 1799, Russian General Alexander Suvorov and his troops stayed the night in Elm before crossing Panix Pass to Pigniu on their retreat into Austria.
On September 11, 1881, an avalanche caused by excessive quarrying of slate killed 114 and buried 83 structures in the municipality.
Starting in 1905, the Sernftal tramway connected Elm to Schwanden and its railway station. In 1969, it was replaced with bus service.
On 1 January 2011, Elm became part of the municipality of Glarus Süd.
Geography
Elm has an area, as of 2006, of 90.7 km2 (35.0 sq mi). 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).[2]
The municipality is the farthest south in the valley of the Sernf, lying at the entrance to Panix Pass, which crosses the Alps into the canton of Graubünden. It consists of the village of Elm and the hamlets of Sulzbach, Schwändi, Müsli, Untertal, Vogelsang, Töniberg, Obmoos, Steinibach und Wald.
Elm is well known for its phenomenon about the sun shining through the "Martin Hole" in the mountain (Tschingelhoren). Serveral times during Spring, 12th and 13th of March and 30th of September and 1st of October in Fall, the sun shines for a 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 31 December 2013) of 626.[3] As of 2007, 4.8% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.[4] Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -16.9%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (96.5%), with Portuguese being second most common ( 1.4%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 0.8%).[2]
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.[2]
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).[2]
Population
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:[1]
| Year | Population |
| 1730 | 516 |
| 1789 | 765 |
| 1850 | 1051 |
| 1900 | 913 |
| 1950 | 867 |
| 1990 | 791 |
Religion
Elm originally belonged to the parish of Glarus, but in 1273, a new parish was formed in Matt. In 1493, Elm received a papal dispensation to establish a new parish.
On March 22, 1528, the Reformation reached Elm, and the church was stripped of its ornaments. In 1594, the parish was separated from the parish of Matt.
Economy
Elm has an unemployment rate of 0.08%. As of 2005, 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 and there are 8 businesses in this sector. 189 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 32 businesses in this sector.[2]
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.
The baths at Wichlen were in use since the middle ages 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 1898, a new Kurhaus was opened, which flourished until World War I. Today, it is used as a retirement center.
Starting in 1861, slate was quarried from the Tschingelberg for school tablets and styluses.
From 1929 to the present, the only industry in Elm has been the mineral water firm Mineralquellen Elm AG.
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.[5][6]
Tourism
The ski resort on the Schitzer opened in 1973, and the Pleus was opened for skiing in 1982. Part of the geologic UNESCO world heritage site, Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona is a mountain cliff called Tschingelhörner located between Elm and Flims.
Climate
Between 1961 and 1990 Elm had an average of 156.1 days of rain per year and on average received 1,524 mm (60.0 in) of precipitation. The wettest month was August during which time Elm received an average of 171 mm (6.7 in) 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 15.9, but with only 152 mm (6.0 in) of precipitation. The driest month of the year was October with an average of 96 mm (3.8 in) of precipitation over 15.3 days.[7]
| Climate data for Elm (1981-2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 1.9 (35.4) |
3.5 (38.3) |
7.1 (44.8) |
11.0 (51.8) |
16.2 (61.2) |
18.7 (65.7) |
20.8 (69.4) |
20.0 (68) |
16.5 (61.7) |
13.0 (55.4) |
6.3 (43.3) |
2.5 (36.5) |
11.5 (52.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −2.0 (28.4) |
−1.3 (29.7) |
2.1 (35.8) |
6.0 (42.8) |
10.6 (51.1) |
13.4 (56.1) |
15.4 (59.7) |
15.0 (59) |
11.7 (53.1) |
8.1 (46.6) |
2.2 (36) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
6.7 (44.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −4.5 (23.9) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
2.3 (36.1) |
6.5 (43.7) |
9.5 (49.1) |
11.6 (52.9) |
11.4 (52.5) |
8.3 (46.9) |
4.9 (40.8) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
−3.5 (25.7) |
3.4 (38.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 102 (4.02) |
100 (3.94) |
121 (4.76) |
109 (4.29) |
138 (5.43) |
162 (6.38) |
186 (7.32) |
191 (7.52) |
147 (5.79) |
102 (4.02) |
127 (5) |
112 (4.41) |
1,596 (62.83) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 87.3 (34.37) |
82.7 (32.56) |
71.4 (28.11) |
36.1 (14.21) |
6.8 (2.68) |
0.1 (0.04) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.5 (0.2) |
10.7 (4.21) |
55.7 (21.93) |
80.1 (31.54) |
431.4 (169.84) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 11.2 | 10.0 | 13.5 | 12.7 | 15.0 | 15.7 | 15.1 | 15.3 | 12.2 | 10.4 | 11.9 | 11.8 | 154.8 |
| Avg. snowy days (≥ 1.0 cm) | 9.1 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 5 | 0.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 6.1 | 9.4 | 48.6 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 79.1 | 76.0 | 76.2 | 75.1 | 74.5 | 78.0 | 80.1 | 83.0 | 82.2 | 78.6 | 79.5 | 79.5 | 78.5 |
| Source: MeteoSwiss [8] | |||||||||||||
Culture
In 1981, the Wakker Prize was awarded to Elm for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage.
Notable people
- Swiss ski mountaineer Rico Elmer was born in Elm.
- Swiss ski racer Vreni Schneider olympic gold and world champion in slalom and giant slalom, born 1964
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Elm in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 10-September–2009
- ↑ Swiss Federal Statistics Office – STAT-TAB Ständige und Nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Region, Geschlecht, Nationalität und Alter (German) accessed 18 August 2014
- ↑ Canton Glarus population growth (German) accessed 9 September 2009
- ↑ "Sernftalbus - Fahrplan 2015" [Sernftalbus - Timetable 2015] (PDF) (in German). Autobetrieb Sernftal AG. Retrieved 2015-04-20.
- ↑ "Sernftalbahn". www.eingestellte-bahnen.ch (in German). Retrieved 2015-04-20.
- ↑ "Temperature and Precipitation Average Values-Table, 1961-1990" (in German, French, and Italian). Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology - MeteoSwiss. Retrieved 8 May 2009..
- ↑ "Climate Norm Value Tables". Climate diagrams and normals from Swiss measuring stations. Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss). Retrieved 23 January 2013. The weather station elevation is 958 meters above sea level.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elm GL. |
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Wikisource has the text of a 1905 New International Encyclopedia article about Elm. |
- Elm in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
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