Klosters

Klosters-Serneus
Klosters Dorf
Coat of arms
Klosters-Serneus Show map of Switzerland Klosters-Serneus Show map of Canton of Graubünden
Location of Klosters-Serneus
Coordinates: 46°53′N 9°53′E / 46.883°N 9.883°E / 46.883; 9.883Coordinates: 46°53′N 9°53′E / 46.883°N 9.883°E / 46.883; 9.883
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Graubünden
District	Prättigau/Davos
Area[1]
• Total	219.83 km2 (84.88 sq mi)
Elevation ([2])	1,200 m (3,900 ft)
Population (Dec 2015[3])
• Total	6,177
• Density	28/km2 (73/sq mi)
Postal code	7250 Klosters-Platz 7252 Klosters-Dorf 7249 Serneus
SFOS number	3871
Surrounded by	Conters im Prättigau, Davos, Gaschurn (AT-8), Langwies, Lavin, Saas im Prättigau, Sankt Gallenkirch (AT-8), Susch
Website	www.klosters-serneus.ch SFSO statistics

Klosters is a town in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. Together with neighbouring Serneus, the two towns form the municipality of Klosters-Serneus.

Its ski resort lies 150 km (93 mi) from Zurich, the nearest international airport. Transfer time is about 1.5 hours. Klosters is 10 km (6.2 mi) from Davos. It is a popular ski location and the slopes are easily accessible via a large cable car.

History

Klosters-Serneus is first mentioned in 1222 as ecclesiam sancti Iacobi. In 1436 it was mentioned as zuo dem Closter.^[4]

Geography

Stützbach stream between Klosters and Davos-Laret

Klosters-Serneus has an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of 219.83 km² (84.88 sq mi).^[1] Of this area, about 24.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 19.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and 54.2% is unproductive land. In the 2004/09 survey a total of 179 ha (440 acres) or about 0.8% of the total area was covered with buildings, an increase of 33 ha (82 acres) over the 1985 amount. Over the same time period, the amount of recreational space in the municipality increased by 14 ha (35 acres) and is now about 0.08% of the total area. Of the agricultural land, 4 ha (9.9 acres) is used for orchards and vineyards, 954 ha (2,360 acres) is fields and grasslands and 4,797 ha (11,850 acres) consists of alpine grazing areas. Since 1985 the amount of agricultural land has decreased by 575 ha (1,420 acres). Over the same time period the amount of forested land has increased by 315 ha (780 acres). Rivers and lakes cover 289 ha (710 acres) in the municipality.^[5][6]

Before 2017, the municipality was located in and is the only municipality in Klosters sub-district of the Prättigau/Davos district, after 2017 it was part of the Prättigau/Davos Region.^[7] It was created in 1865 through the merger of the formerly independent municipalities of Serneus and Klosters. Until 1973 Klosters-Serneus was known as Klosters.^[8] It is the last and uppermost village in the Prättigau valley. It consists of the villages of Klosters and Serneus and is made up of the sections of Platz, Dorf, Selfranga, Äuja and Monbiel

Demographics

Klosters village

Klosters-Serneus has a population (as of December 2015) of 6,177.^[3] As of 2015, 19.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals. In 2015 a small minority (226 or 5.9% of the population) was born in Germany a small minority (286 or 7.5% of the population) was born in Portugal.^[9] Over the last 5 years (2010-2015) the population has changed at a rate of -2.43%. The birth rate in the municipality, in 2015, was 7.0, while the death rate was 9.2 per thousand residents.^[6] Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (88.7%), with Portuguese being second most common (2.9%) and Serbo-Croatian being third (2.6%).^[10]

As of 2015, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 17.7% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) are 57.0% of the population and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 25.3%.^[6] In 2015 there were 1,508 single residents, 1,768 people who were married or in a civil partnership, 231 widows or widowers and 301 divorced residents.^[11]

In 2015 there were 2,113 private households in Klosters-Serneus with an average household size of 2.13 persons. In 2015 about 33.5% of all buildings in the municipality were single family homes, which is much less than the percentage in the canton (49.4%) and much less than the percentage nationally (57.4%).^[12] Of the 1,376 inhabited buildings in the municipality, in 2000, about 34.8% were single family homes and 43.9% were multiple family buildings. Additionally, about 20.3% of the buildings were built before 1919, while 9.0% were built between 1991 and 2000.^[13] In 2014 the rate of construction of new housing units per 1000 residents was 10.24. The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2016, was 0.89%.^[6]

The historical population is given in the following chart:^[14]

Skiing

Klosters is well known as a favorite ski resort for Charles, Prince of Wales and subsequently one cable car to the top of Gotschnagrat is named the "Prince of Wales".

Heritage sites of national significance

Interior of the Reformed church

The Reformierte Kirche am Platz is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.^[15]

Politics

In the 2015 federal election the most popular party was the SVP with 41.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (18.7%), the BDP (17.6%) and the SP (10.8%). In the federal election, a total of 1,341 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 51.4%.^[16]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 46.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (28.7%), the SP (17.2%) and the CVP (4.7%).^[10]

Education

In Klosters-Serneus about 76.4% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).^[10]

Economy

Cable car near Klosters, much of the local economy depends on tourism

Klosters-Serneus is classed as a tourist community.^[17] In 2015 local hotels had a total of 128,053 overnight stays, of which 54.4% were international visitors.^[18]

As of 2014, there were a total of 2,190 people employed in the municipality. Of these, a total of 144 people worked in 62 businesses in the primary economic sector. The secondary sector employed 554 workers in 83 separate businesses. There were 10 small businesses with a total of 219 employees and one mid sized business with a total of 97 employees. Finally, the tertiary sector provided 1,492 jobs in 313 businesses. There were 25 small businesses with a total of 645 employees.^[19] In 2015 a total of 10.2% of the population received social assistance.^[6]

In 2011 the unemployment rate in the municipality was 1.2%.^[20]

In 2015 the average cantonal, municipal and church tax rate in the municipality for a couple with two children making 80,000 SFr. was 3.5% while the rate for a single person making 150,000 SFr. was 15%, both of which are close to the average for the canton and nationally. In 2013 the average income in the municipality per tax payer was 70,989 SFr. and the per person average was 40,079 SFr., which is greater than the cantonal averages of 69,964 SFr. and 33,075 SFr. respectively In contrast, the national tax payer average is 82,682 SFr., while the national per person average is 35,825 SFr..^[21]

Religion

From the 2000 census, 895 or 23.0% are Roman Catholic, while 2,587 or 66.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there are 106 individuals (or about 2.72% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 13 individuals (or about 0.33% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 32 (or about 0.82% of the population) who are Islamic. There are 14 individuals (or about 0.36% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 221 (or about 5.68% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 27 individuals (or about 0.69% of the population) did not answer the question.^[22]

Transport

Klosters is served by regular train services at Klosters station, alongside a variety of regional and local bus services.

Panoramic view from Gotschnagrat on Klosters Dorf (right), Serneus (center) and Madrisahorn

Society

The Klosters ski resort has long been the winter destination for the British Royal Family for over 3 decades.^[23] Klosters takes pride in what Tom Robbins refers to as “Discreet luxury yes, pomposity just for show, no”, it warns; here “understatement is written in capital letters”.^[24] Prince William and Prince Harry grew up in the village learning to ski and were often spotted at their usual haunt Casa Antica.^[25] Among other historic notable usuals include the likes of Paul Newman, Gregory Peck, Yul Brynner, Lauren Bacall, Juliette Gréco, Irwin Shaw, Robert Capa, Greta Garbo and Gene Kelly, who famously danced on the tables in the hotel bar of the legendary Hotel Chesa Grischuna where Rex Harrison discussed his musical notes for "My Fair Lady" with the hotel pianist. Peter Viertel described Klosters as "Hollywood on the Rocks" in his acclaimed autobiography "Dangerous Friends" and in 1960 married Deborah Kerr in Klosters.^[26][27] In more recent history other regulars include, Lord Mandelson, billionaires Nathaniel Philip Rothschild,^[28] Thomas Schmidheiny,^[29] Friede Springer, and Peter Munk,^[30] other notables include Benjamin Wegg-Prosser,^[31] Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, Rupert Everett and Swiss movie producer Marc Forster.^[32][33] Local hotel proprietor and skier Ruth Guler ran the Hotel Wynegg, and socialised with several royals, though she treated them no differently to other guests.^[34] Nicholas Wheeler and Chrissie Rucker own the Haus Alpina chalet in Klosters.^[35]

Climate

Klosters has a Tundra climate (ET) under the Köppen climate classification. The average annual temperature is 2 °C (36 °F). The average coldest month was January with an average temperature of −9 °C (15 °F), while the warmest month was July with an average temperature of 13 °C (55 °F). The wettest month was August during which time Klosters received an average of 110 millimeters (4.3 in) of rain or snow. During this month it received precipitation for 14.6 days. The month of June had the most precipitation days, 14.9 but only had 86 millimeters (3.4 in) of precipitation. The driest month was February during which time Klosters received an average of 36 millimeters (1.4 in) of rain or snow. During this month it received precipitation for 10.6 days.^[36]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Klosters-Serneus.