Albinen
Encyclopedia
Albinen is a municipality
in the district of Leuk in the canton
of Valais
in Switzerland
.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.9%. Out of the forested land, 34.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.9% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.1% is used for growing crops and 3.3% is pastures and 43.0% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 3.7% is unproductive vegetation and 7.0% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Leuk district. It consists of the village of Albinen, the alpine pasture settlements of Chermignon and Torrent along with the former herding camp (now vacation villages) of Ober Dorbu and Tschingere. These towns were established back in the days when the farmers of Albinen lived a semi-nomadic
life.
Albinen is situated in the south of Switzerland in the Swiss Alps
at 1275 m (4,183.1 ft) above sea level
. The town is on a sunny, south-facing slope between two creeks.
The territory of Albinen reaches from the river “Dala” at 760 m (2,493.4 ft) above sea level to the “Torrenthorn” at 2997 m (9,832.7 ft) above sea level.
Albinen is home to many bird species as well as to local wildlife such as deer, chamois buck, fox, lux and steinbock.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Argent, issuant from Coupeaux vert a Latin cross sable.
Most of the population speaks German
(255 or 97.7%) as their first language, French
is the second most common (2 or 0.8%) and Romansh is the third (1 or 0.4%).
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.1% male and 51.9% female. The population was made up of 124 Swiss men (43.2% of the population) and 14 (4.9%) non-Swiss men. There were 139 Swiss women (48.4%) and 10 (3.5%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 155 or about 59.4% were born in Albinen and lived there in 2000. There were 40 or 15.3% who were born in the same canton, while 33 or 12.6% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 24 or 9.2% were born outside of Switzerland.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 51.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 24.9%.
, there were 106 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 130 married individuals, 17 widows or widowers and 8 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.61 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.63 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 76.9% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 107 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 35 households that consist of only one person and 9 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 114 households that answered this question, 30.7% were households made up of just one person and there were 3 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 31 married couples without children, 34 married couples with children There were 3 single parents with a child or children. There was 1 household that was made up of unrelated people and 7 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 121 single family homes (or 64.4% of the total) out of a total of 188 inhabited buildings. There were 46 multi-family buildings (24.5%), along with 6 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (3.2%) and 15 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (8.0%).
, a total of 104 apartments (33.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 167 apartments (53.7%) were seasonally occupied and 40 apartments (12.9%) were empty. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.93%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
, Saas-Fee
, Montana, Verbier
) and the alpine resort Leukerbad
at arms length.
A regular bus service connects the town with the local main town Leuk (approx. 20 min. / access to the Swiss Train Network) and the alpine resort Leukerbad (approx. 15 min.) with its hot water pools.
Albinen Tourism maintains an extensive hiking network that offers tracks of different lengths and difficulties. A highlight is the “Albinenleitern” - a couple of ladders leading over a rock face. In former times this was the main connection between Albinen and Leukerbad.
A cable-car connects to the “Rinderhütte” situated in the mountain area “Torrent” at 2313 meters above sea level. In winter this is a paradise for skiers, providing over 50 km of runs. In summer Torrent offers a huge network of hiking and mountain bike trails. The panoramic views of the 4000 m (13,123.4 ft) peaks of the Swiss, French and Italian Alps from the Torrent area are breath taking.
After an earthquake has damaged the old church of Albinen the church has been replaced by a relatively modern building. This building is one of the characteristics of Albinen and consorts very well with the old town.
the most popular party was the CVP
which received 70.93% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(18.08%), the SP
(8.49%) and the FDP
(1.3%). In the federal election, a total of 146 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 67.0%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat
election a total of 150 votes were cast, of which 2 or about 1.3% were invalid. The voter participation was 68.8%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election
election a total of 145 votes were cast, of which 2 or about 1.4% were invalid. The voter participation was 67.1%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 55. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 7, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 10, all of which were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 38. In the tertiary sector; 2 or 5.3% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 30 or 78.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 5.3% were in education.
, there were 13 workers who commuted into the municipality and 68 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 5.2 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 14.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 51.8% used a private car.
. 8 (or about 3.07% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 5 individuals (or about 1.92% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 19 who completed tertiary schooling, 47.4% were Swiss men, 15.8% were Swiss women.
, there were 13 students from Albinen who attended schools outside the municipality.
Municipalities of Switzerland
Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...
in the district of Leuk in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
History
Albinen is first mentioned in 1224 as Albignun. Later, it was known as Albinnon or by its french name Arbignon.Geography
Albinen has an area, , of 15.5 square kilometre. Of this area, 7.19 square kilometre or 46.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 6.11 square kilometre or 39.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.52 square kilometre or 3.4% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.05 km² (12.4 acre) or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes and 1.66 square kilometre or 10.7% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.9%. Out of the forested land, 34.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.9% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.1% is used for growing crops and 3.3% is pastures and 43.0% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 3.7% is unproductive vegetation and 7.0% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Leuk district. It consists of the village of Albinen, the alpine pasture settlements of Chermignon and Torrent along with the former herding camp (now vacation villages) of Ober Dorbu and Tschingere. These towns were established back in the days when the farmers of Albinen lived a semi-nomadic
Transhumance in the Alps
Transhumance in the Alps, or seasonal migration between valley and high pastures is a traditional practice that has shaped much of the landscape in the Alps, as without it, most areas below 2000 m would be forests.While tourism and industry contribute today much to Alpine economy, seasonal...
life.
Albinen is situated in the south of Switzerland in the Swiss Alps
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
at 1275 m (4,183.1 ft) above sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
. The town is on a sunny, south-facing slope between two creeks.
The territory of Albinen reaches from the river “Dala” at 760 m (2,493.4 ft) above sea level to the “Torrenthorn” at 2997 m (9,832.7 ft) above sea level.
Flora and Fauna
The flora changes with the different altitudes of the territory. The lower areas are dominated by woods and meadows. The countryside changes to mountain meadows, rocks and cliffs at the higher altitudes. A large variety of wild flowers can be found, especially during spring and in the early summer when most of them flourish. In autumn the larch trees turn yellow and bushes appear at all kinds of red, orange and yellow colouring.Albinen is home to many bird species as well as to local wildlife such as deer, chamois buck, fox, lux and steinbock.
Coat of arms
The blazonBlazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
of the municipal coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
is Argent, issuant from Coupeaux vert a Latin cross sable.
Demographics
Albinen has a population of . , 6.8% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 2.1%. It has changed at a rate of 9.6% due to migration and at a rate of -6.4% due to births and deaths.Most of the population speaks German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(255 or 97.7%) as their first language, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
is the second most common (2 or 0.8%) and Romansh is the third (1 or 0.4%).
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.1% male and 51.9% female. The population was made up of 124 Swiss men (43.2% of the population) and 14 (4.9%) non-Swiss men. There were 139 Swiss women (48.4%) and 10 (3.5%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 155 or about 59.4% were born in Albinen and lived there in 2000. There were 40 or 15.3% who were born in the same canton, while 33 or 12.6% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 24 or 9.2% were born outside of Switzerland.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 51.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 24.9%.
, there were 106 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 130 married individuals, 17 widows or widowers and 8 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.61 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.63 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 76.9% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 107 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 35 households that consist of only one person and 9 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 114 households that answered this question, 30.7% were households made up of just one person and there were 3 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 31 married couples without children, 34 married couples with children There were 3 single parents with a child or children. There was 1 household that was made up of unrelated people and 7 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 121 single family homes (or 64.4% of the total) out of a total of 188 inhabited buildings. There were 46 multi-family buildings (24.5%), along with 6 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (3.2%) and 15 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (8.0%).
, a total of 104 apartments (33.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 167 apartments (53.7%) were seasonally occupied and 40 apartments (12.9%) were empty. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.93%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Sights
The entire village of Albinen is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage SitesInventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
The Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage.-Sites of national importance:-Types:...
Tourism
The local business is mainly depending from the tourism. Albinen profits from its calm and sunny location but still offers, being situated in the middle of the tourist region “Valais”, good connections to some of the most famous stations in the Swiss Alps (ZermattZermatt
Zermatt is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a population of about 5,800 inhabitants....
, Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee is the main village in the Saastal, or the Saas Valley, and is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
, Montana, Verbier
Verbier
Verbier is a village located in southwestern Switzerland in the canton of Valais. It is one of the largest holiday resort and ski areas in the Swiss Alps, is recognized as one of the premiere "off-piste" locations in the world...
) and the alpine resort Leukerbad
Leukerbad
Leukerbad is a municipality in the district of Leuk in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.- History :The story of Leukerbad dates back to the 4th century B.C. Graves and ceramics attest the presence of habitation in Leukerbad...
at arms length.
A regular bus service connects the town with the local main town Leuk (approx. 20 min. / access to the Swiss Train Network) and the alpine resort Leukerbad (approx. 15 min.) with its hot water pools.
Albinen Tourism maintains an extensive hiking network that offers tracks of different lengths and difficulties. A highlight is the “Albinenleitern” - a couple of ladders leading over a rock face. In former times this was the main connection between Albinen and Leukerbad.
A cable-car connects to the “Rinderhütte” situated in the mountain area “Torrent” at 2313 meters above sea level. In winter this is a paradise for skiers, providing over 50 km of runs. In summer Torrent offers a huge network of hiking and mountain bike trails. The panoramic views of the 4000 m (13,123.4 ft) peaks of the Swiss, French and Italian Alps from the Torrent area are breath taking.
Old town
Albinen is famous for being one of the best-preserved traditional Swiss mountain villages. Narrow stone alleys run between old larch houses. Many of these homes and sheds are several hundred years old and demonstrate impressively the craft of former generations.After an earthquake has damaged the old church of Albinen the church has been replaced by a relatively modern building. This building is one of the characteristics of Albinen and consorts very well with the old town.
Politics
In the 2007 federal electionSwiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...
the most popular party was the CVP
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...
which received 70.93% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
(18.08%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(8.49%) and the FDP
FDP.The Liberals
FDP.The Liberals is a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It is the joint-largest party in the Federal Council, third-largest party in the National Council, and second-largest in the Council of States....
(1.3%). In the federal election, a total of 146 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was 67.0%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat
Conseil d'Etat (Switzerland)
In Switzerland, Conseil d'Etat is the name of the council constituting the cantonal government of French-speaking cantons. It is not to be confused with the Conseil des États which is a chamber of the Swiss parliament....
election a total of 150 votes were cast, of which 2 or about 1.3% were invalid. The voter participation was 68.8%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election
Swiss Council of States election, 2007
Elections were held to the Council of States of Switzerland in October and November 2007 as part of the 2007 federal election. All 46 members of the Council of States were elected from all cantons of Switzerland. The first round was held on 21 October...
election a total of 145 votes were cast, of which 2 or about 1.4% were invalid. The voter participation was 67.1%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
Economy
, Albinen had an unemployment rate of 1.8%. , there were 16 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 8 businesses involved in this sector. 11 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 2 businesses in this sector. 48 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 11 businesses in this sector. There were 114 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 39.5% of the workforce.the total number of full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
jobs was 55. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 7, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 10, all of which were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 38. In the tertiary sector; 2 or 5.3% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 30 or 78.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 5.3% were in education.
, there were 13 workers who commuted into the municipality and 68 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 5.2 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 14.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 51.8% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 220 or 84.3% were Roman Catholic, while 28 or 10.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed ChurchSwiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
. 8 (or about 3.07% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
or atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, and 5 individuals (or about 1.92% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Albinen about 80 or (30.7%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 19 or (7.3%) have completed additional higher education (either University or a FachhochschuleFachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
). Of the 19 who completed tertiary schooling, 47.4% were Swiss men, 15.8% were Swiss women.
, there were 13 students from Albinen who attended schools outside the municipality.