Schmitten, Graubünden

Schmitten

Schmitten village

Coat of arms
Schmitten
Schmitten
Coordinates: 46°41′N 9°40′E / 46.683°N 9.667°E / 46.683; 9.667Coordinates: 46°41′N 9°40′E / 46.683°N 9.667°E / 46.683; 9.667
Country Switzerland
Canton Graubünden
District Albula
Area[1]
  Total 11.35 km2 (4.38 sq mi)
Elevation 1,301 m (4,268 ft)
Population (Dec 2015[2])
  Total 242
  Density 21/km2 (55/sq mi)
Postal code 7493
SFOS number 3514
Surrounded by Alvaneu, Arosa, Filisur, Wiesen
Website http://www.schmitten-gr.ch
SFSO statistics

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

History

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

Geography

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

Schmitten Church

Schmitten has a population (as of 31 December 2015) of 242.[2] 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.[6] 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.[7]

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][6]

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

The Schmittentobel and Landwasser Viaducts of the Rhaetian Railway are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.[8]

Languages

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

  1. Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen
  2. 1 2 Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB, online database – Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit (in German) accessed 30 August 2016
  3. 1 2 Schmitten in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 30-Sep-2009
  5. Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz - Mutationsmeldungen 2016 accessed 16 February 2017
  6. 1 2 Graubunden in Numbers (in German) accessed 21 September 2009
  7. Graubunden Population Statistics (in German) accessed 21 September 2009
  8. Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance 21.11.2008 version, (in German) accessed 30-Sep-2009
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