Evolène
Encyclopedia
Evolène is a municipality
in the district of Hérens
in the canton
of Valais
in Switzerland
.
Evolène has an area, , of 210 square kilometre. Of this area, 17.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 12.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.9% is settled (buildings or roads) and 69.3% is unproductive land.
The municipality is located in the Hérens district and was part of Hérens until 1882.
It is located south of Sion
in the Pennine
Alps
. It is one of the last strongholds of the Franco-Provençal language
, being the only village in Switzerland where all generations speak it.
The commune of Evolène is situated in the Val d'Hérens
. Evolène is one of the largest municipalities in Switzerland despite having no more than 1,600 inhabitants. This is due to the broken nature of its surrounding alpine terrain, which includes the highest point in the commune, la Dent Blanche
(white tooth) at 4357 m (14,294.6 ft). Due to its mountain terrain Evolène is subjected to a number of natural dangers such as avalanches and aggressive erosion of its main river due to the recession of three surrounding glaciers.
The commune is made up of several close-lying villages. The main village is Evolène, fortunately situated on a plateau above the river (to avoid flooding of the river), as well as being protected from avalanches by a surrounding forest. Thanks to its favourable position, Evolène was quickly established as the safest village to expand and therefore has become the biggest village in the commune. Other villages that make up the Evolène commune, such as Arolla, les Haudères, La Sage and Villaz do not benefit from the same level of natural protection as Evolène and are therefore exposed to more risks and have thus become less desirable to develop. The small village of les Haudères is closely situated to Evolène, at the very extremity of Val d'Hérens. The even smaller villages of Villaz and La Sage are found about 300 metres (984.3 ft) up from Evolène. Orientated towards the South, Villaz and La Sage benefit from generous sunlight hours. They are also situated near large Swiss mountain meadows which extend up to an altitude of 2700 metres (8,858.3 ft).
of the municipal coat of arms
is Azure, issuant from a base Vert a mountain Argent, in chief dexter two Mullets of Five and a bird vollant all Or.
Most of the population speaks French
(1,471 or 96.6%) as their first language, Portuguese
is the second most common (20 or 1.3%) and German
is the third (13 or 0.9%). There are 7 people who speak Italian
.
, the gender distribution of the population was 49.1% male and 50.9% female. The population was made up of 745 Swiss men (45.5% of the population) and 58 (3.5%) non-Swiss men. There were 768 Swiss women (46.9%) and 65 (4.0%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 1,153 or about 75.8% were born in Evolène and lived there in 2000. There were 111 or 7.3% who were born in the same canton, while 97 or 6.4% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 121 or 8.0% were born outside of Switzerland.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.9%.
, there were 631 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 733 married individuals, 107 widows or widowers and 51 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.66 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 79% 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 579 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. There were 153 households that consist of only one person and 52 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 598 households that answered this question, 25.6% were households made up of just one person and there were 16 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 133 married couples without children, 224 married couples with children There were 39 single parents with a child or children. There were 14 households that were made up of unrelated people and 19 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 547 single family homes (or 61.0% of the total) out of a total of 897 inhabited buildings. There were 236 multi-family buildings (26.3%), along with 55 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (6.1%) and 59 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.6%).
, a total of 548 apartments (36.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 767 apartments (51.0%) were seasonally occupied and 190 apartments (12.6%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 6.1 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 2.84%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
. The villages of Evolène and Les Haudères and the hamlet of Lana are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
.
Traditional annual cow fights are held around the beginning of May each year (signalling the release of cows after spending the winter indoors) and jointly shared between Evolène, les Haudères and La Sage.
with the town of Châtelaillon-Plage
, France
.
the most popular party was the CVP
which received 57.73% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(12.37%), the FDP
(10.33%) and the SP
(8.82%). In the federal election, a total of 1,128 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 86.6%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat
election a total of 1,002 votes were cast, of which 37 or about 3.7% were invalid. The voter participation was 78.5%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election
election a total of 1,109 votes were cast, of which 37 or about 3.3% were invalid. The voter participation was 86.1%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 411. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 88, of which 85 were in agriculture and 3 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 95 of which 26 or (27.4%) were in manufacturing and 49 (51.6%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 228. In the tertiary sector; 61 or 26.8% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 17 or 7.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 94 or 41.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 4 or 1.8% were the insurance or financial industry, 12 or 5.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 8 or 3.5% were in education and 13 or 5.7% were in health care.
, there were 14 workers who commuted into the municipality and 238 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 17.0 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 6.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 61.3% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 6 individuals (or about 0.39% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 person who was Buddhist
and 1 individual who belonged to another church. 53 (or about 3.48% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 44 individuals (or about 2.89% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 116 who completed tertiary schooling, 54.3% were Swiss men, 31.9% were Swiss women, 7.8% were non-Swiss men and 6.0% were non-Swiss women.
, there were 118 students from Evolène 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 Hérens
Hérens (district)
The district of Hérens is a district in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a population of .-Geography:Except for the municipality of Ayent, which lies on the north bank of the Rhône, the municipalities of Hérens are located in the Val d'Hérens on the south bank of the...
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
Evolène is first mentioned in 1250 as Ewelina. In 1444 it was mentioned as in loco de Evolena.Avalanches of the 21st of February, 1999
On the 21 February 1999, Evolène was the place of a number of fatal avalanches that caused the deaths of 12 people. This was due to a substantial amount of snow which fell on the Alps during the winter of 1999.Evolution of the climatic conditions
The amount of snow that fell during the end of January and the month of February was huge. In spite of this, the snow was able to retain cohesion due to favourable, relatively constant temperature. The situation, however, worsened on the Thursday the 18th, three days before the drama. Weather reports indicated that temperatures were set to rise and between Thursday night and Friday morning, the temperature rose 5 degrees Celsius. This rapid rise caused a mixing between the old, and the new layers of snow. In this state, the risk of an avalanche was considered to be at level 3, on a scale of 5. The situation was still not considered to be critical and therefore it was not seen as necessary to instigate any emergency measures. On Saturday the 20th of February, the avalanche danger was increased to level 4 due to between 20 and 30 cm (7.9 and 11.8 in) of fresh snow that fell on the older, established layers. Meaning the possibility of the new layer literally sliding off the older layer (after slight melting) increased. The temperature remained constant between Saturday (20th) and Sunday the 21st of February, until midday on Sunday when it began to rapidly rise due to prolonged exposure to the sun.Unfolding of events
At precisely 8.27 pm, the first two avalanches were set off on the slopes above Villaz, at an altitude around 2600 m (8,530.2 ft). They were a combination of fresh powder snow and established spring snow and demolished all trees and chalets in their path, as well as the people unlucky enough to be in the chalets at the time. The two avalanches continued to run along the extremities of Villaz and eventually formed as one massive fusion of snow and debris reaching up to 15 m (49.2 ft) high that came to rest 1000 m (3,280.8 ft) down the slope, after taking 12 lives and cutting off the main road between Evolène and des Haudères.Geography
The municipality is located in the Hérens district and was part of Hérens until 1882.
It is located south of Sion
Sion, Switzerland
Sion is the capital of the Swiss canton of Valais. it had a population of .Landmarks include the Basilique de Valère and Château de Tourbillon. Sion has an airfield for civilian and military use, which, because of its location in a valley, causes a reasonable amount of noise pollution. FC Sion...
in the Pennine
Pennine Alps
The Pennine Alps are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland and Italy...
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....
. It is one of the last strongholds of the Franco-Provençal language
Franco-Provençal language
Franco-Provençal , Arpitan, or Romand is a Romance language with several distinct dialects that form a linguistic sub-group separate from Langue d'Oïl and Langue d'Oc. The name Franco-Provençal was given to the language by G.I...
, being the only village in Switzerland where all generations speak it.
The commune of Evolène is situated in the Val d'Hérens
Val d'Hérens
Val d'Hérens is an alpine valley in the Valais canton of Switzerland. It was formed by the Hérens glacier, which retreated at the end of the last ice age....
. Evolène is one of the largest municipalities in Switzerland despite having no more than 1,600 inhabitants. This is due to the broken nature of its surrounding alpine terrain, which includes the highest point in the commune, la Dent Blanche
Dent Blanche
The Dent Blanche is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, lying in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. With its high summit, it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps.-Naming:...
(white tooth) at 4357 m (14,294.6 ft). Due to its mountain terrain Evolène is subjected to a number of natural dangers such as avalanches and aggressive erosion of its main river due to the recession of three surrounding glaciers.
The commune is made up of several close-lying villages. The main village is Evolène, fortunately situated on a plateau above the river (to avoid flooding of the river), as well as being protected from avalanches by a surrounding forest. Thanks to its favourable position, Evolène was quickly established as the safest village to expand and therefore has become the biggest village in the commune. Other villages that make up the Evolène commune, such as Arolla, les Haudères, La Sage and Villaz do not benefit from the same level of natural protection as Evolène and are therefore exposed to more risks and have thus become less desirable to develop. The small village of les Haudères is closely situated to Evolène, at the very extremity of Val d'Hérens. The even smaller villages of Villaz and La Sage are found about 300 metres (984.3 ft) up from Evolène. Orientated towards the South, Villaz and La Sage benefit from generous sunlight hours. They are also situated near large Swiss mountain meadows which extend up to an altitude of 2700 metres (8,858.3 ft).
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 Azure, issuant from a base Vert a mountain Argent, in chief dexter two Mullets of Five and a bird vollant all Or.
Demographics
Evolène has a population of . , 7.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 5.5%. It has changed at a rate of 2.3% due to migration and at a rate of 1.6% due to births and deaths.Most of the population speaks 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...
(1,471 or 96.6%) as their first language, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
is the second most common (20 or 1.3%) and 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....
is the third (13 or 0.9%). There are 7 people who speak Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
.
, the gender distribution of the population was 49.1% male and 50.9% female. The population was made up of 745 Swiss men (45.5% of the population) and 58 (3.5%) non-Swiss men. There were 768 Swiss women (46.9%) and 65 (4.0%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 1,153 or about 75.8% were born in Evolène and lived there in 2000. There were 111 or 7.3% who were born in the same canton, while 97 or 6.4% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 121 or 8.0% were born outside of Switzerland.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.9%.
, there were 631 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 733 married individuals, 107 widows or widowers and 51 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.66 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 79% 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 579 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. There were 153 households that consist of only one person and 52 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 598 households that answered this question, 25.6% were households made up of just one person and there were 16 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 133 married couples without children, 224 married couples with children There were 39 single parents with a child or children. There were 14 households that were made up of unrelated people and 19 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 547 single family homes (or 61.0% of the total) out of a total of 897 inhabited buildings. There were 236 multi-family buildings (26.3%), along with 55 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (6.1%) and 59 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.6%).
, a total of 548 apartments (36.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 767 apartments (51.0%) were seasonally occupied and 190 apartments (12.6%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 6.1 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 2.84%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Language
The official language is French, but the locals, both young and old, still use a variety of Arpitan (often referred to, erroneously, as "Franco-Provençal") for oral communication. Evolène is one of the last strongholds of the Arpitan language across its historical domain. However, as children are schooled in French only, only about a third of all children regularly use their regional language among themselves. All the same, Arpitan is still spoken spontaneously by people of all ages, which means that the language is alive and well, something which is very uncommon in Swiss Romandie.Heritage sites of national significance
The prehistoric rock carvings at Alpage De Cotter and the Maison d’habitation in Les Haudères are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significanceSwiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...
. The villages of Evolène and Les Haudères and the hamlet of Lana are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
Inventory 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:...
.
Events
The municipality is a popular area for nature lovers and winter sports seekers as well as a popular resort for writers and artists due to its tranquil settings.Traditional annual cow fights are held around the beginning of May each year (signalling the release of cows after spending the winter indoors) and jointly shared between Evolène, les Haudères and La Sage.
Twin Town
Evolène is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with the town of Châtelaillon-Plage
Châtelaillon-Plage
Châtelaillon-Plage is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France.It is located south of the city of La Rochelle and is also a suburb. It is twinned with Knebworth in England.-Population:-History:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
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 57.73% 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...
(12.37%), 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....
(10.33%) and the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(8.82%). In the federal election, a total of 1,128 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 86.6%.
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 1,002 votes were cast, of which 37 or about 3.7% were invalid. The voter participation was 78.5%, 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 1,109 votes were cast, of which 37 or about 3.3% were invalid. The voter participation was 86.1%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
Economy
, Evolène had an unemployment rate of 3.2%. , there were 179 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 80 businesses involved in this sector. 99 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 23 businesses in this sector. 287 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 91 businesses in this sector. There were 732 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 41.0% 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 411. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 88, of which 85 were in agriculture and 3 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 95 of which 26 or (27.4%) were in manufacturing and 49 (51.6%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 228. In the tertiary sector; 61 or 26.8% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 17 or 7.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 94 or 41.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 4 or 1.8% were the insurance or financial industry, 12 or 5.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 8 or 3.5% were in education and 13 or 5.7% were in health care.
, there were 14 workers who commuted into the municipality and 238 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 17.0 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 6.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 61.3% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 1,379 or 90.6% were Roman Catholic, while 39 or 2.6% 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...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 6 individuals (or about 0.39% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 person who was Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and 1 individual who belonged to another church. 53 (or about 3.48% 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 44 individuals (or about 2.89% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Evolène about 470 or (30.9%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 116 or (7.6%) 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 116 who completed tertiary schooling, 54.3% were Swiss men, 31.9% were Swiss women, 7.8% were non-Swiss men and 6.0% were non-Swiss women.
, there were 118 students from Evolène who attended schools outside the municipality.