La Punt-Chamues-ch
Encyclopedia
La Punt - Chamues-ch is a municipality
in the district of Maloja
in the Swiss
canton
of Graubünden
.
The municipality is located in the Oberengadin sub-district of the Maloja district. The municipality consists of two once separate towns, nowadays almost grown together. La Punt lies on the northern side of the valley, where the Albula pass
ends. The railway line, with a station, and the main road - road 27 - also pass through La Punt, as does the Inn river
. Chamues-ch , which lies on the southern side of the valley, at the end of the Val Chamuera valley and on the foot of the Piz Mezzaun.
Both towns feature hotels and some stores, while the buildings used by the municipality and fire department lie in between.
Until 1943 La Punt-Chamues-ch was known as by its Italian name of Ponte-Campovasto.
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.8% male and 51.2% female. The age distribution, , in La Punt-Chamues-ch is; 77 children or 11.7% of the population are between 0 to 9 years old. 47 teenagers or 7.1% are 10 to 14, and 36 teenagers or 5.5% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 73 people or 11.1% of the population are between 20 to 29 years old. 110 people or 16.7% are 30 to 39, 114 people or 17.3% are 40 to 49, and 100 people or 15.2% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 54 people or 8.2% of the population are between 60 to 69 years old, 37 people or 5.6% are 70 to 79, there are 11 people or 1.7% who are 80 to 89, and there is 1 person who is 90 to 99.
In the 2007 federal election
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 40.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
(28%), the FDP
(21.6%) and the CVP
(6.5%).
In La Punt-Chamues-ch about 82.3% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
).
La Punt-Chamues-ch has an unemployment rate of 0.97%. , there were 27 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 11 businesses involved in this sector. 64 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 11 businesses in this sector. 147 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 45 businesses in this sector.
The historical population is given in the following table:
Romansh dialect of Puter and German. Originally the entire village spoke Romansh, but due to increasing trade with the outside world Romansh usage began to decline. In 1880 about 71.6% spoke Romansh as a first language, while in 1900 it increased to 80% but in 1910 dropped to 69%. It stayed at that level until about 1970. In 1990 there were 48.3% who understood Romansh in La Punt-Chamues-ch and in 2000 it was 47.6%.
. Both the Albertini houses and the Chesa Mereleda are old Engadin style patrician houses for the Nereda-Albertini family from the 17th Century.
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 Maloja
Maloja (district)
Maloja District is an administrative district in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has an area of and has a population of . It is trilingual, with official languages used by municipalities inside the district being, in order of dominance, German, Italian, and Romansh.It consists of two...
in the Swiss
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....
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 Graubünden
Graubünden
Graubünden or Grisons is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. The canton shares borders with the cantons of Ticino, Uri, Glarus and St. Gallen and international borders with Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein...
.
History
La Punt-Chamues-ch is first mentioned around 1137-39 as Campolovasto. In 1244 it was mentioned as Ponte.Geography
La Punt-Chamues-ch has an area, , of 63.2 km² (24.4 sq mi). Of this area, 33.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 15.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (50.4%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).The municipality is located in the Oberengadin sub-district of the Maloja district. The municipality consists of two once separate towns, nowadays almost grown together. La Punt lies on the northern side of the valley, where the Albula pass
Albula Pass
Albula Pass is a Swiss mountain pass in the canton of Graubünden. It lies in the Albula Range of the Alps...
ends. The railway line, with a station, and the main road - road 27 - also pass through La Punt, as does the Inn river
Inn River
The Inn is a river in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube and is approximately 500km long. The highest point of its drainage basin is the summit of Piz Bernina, at 4,049 metres.- Geography :...
. Chamues-ch , which lies on the southern side of the valley, at the end of the Val Chamuera valley and on the foot of the Piz Mezzaun.
Both towns feature hotels and some stores, while the buildings used by the municipality and fire department lie in between.
Until 1943 La Punt-Chamues-ch was known as by its Italian name of Ponte-Campovasto.
Demographics
La Punt-Chamues-ch has a population (as of ) of . , 21.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 4.4%., the gender distribution of the population was 48.8% male and 51.2% female. The age distribution, , in La Punt-Chamues-ch is; 77 children or 11.7% of the population are between 0 to 9 years old. 47 teenagers or 7.1% are 10 to 14, and 36 teenagers or 5.5% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 73 people or 11.1% of the population are between 20 to 29 years old. 110 people or 16.7% are 30 to 39, 114 people or 17.3% are 40 to 49, and 100 people or 15.2% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 54 people or 8.2% of the population are between 60 to 69 years old, 37 people or 5.6% are 70 to 79, there are 11 people or 1.7% who are 80 to 89, and there is 1 person who is 90 to 99.
In the 2007 federal election
Swiss 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 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...
which received 40.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(28%), the FDP
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....
(21.6%) and 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...
(6.5%).
In La Punt-Chamues-ch about 82.3% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
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...
).
La Punt-Chamues-ch has an unemployment rate of 0.97%. , there were 27 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 11 businesses involved in this sector. 64 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 11 businesses in this sector. 147 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 45 businesses in this sector.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1850 | 232 |
| 1870 | 289 |
| 1900 | 245 |
| 1950 | 223 |
| 1990 | 569 |
| 2000 | 660 |
Languages
Most of the population speaks German (66.1%), with Romansh being second most common (20.6%) and Italian being third ( 7.7%). The official languages of the village are the Upper-EngadinEngadin
The Engadin or Engadine is a long valley in the Swiss Alps located in the canton of Graubünden in southeast Switzerland. It follows the route of the Inn River from its headwaters at Maloja Pass running northeast until the Inn flows into Austria one hundred kilometers downstream...
Romansh dialect of Puter and German. Originally the entire village spoke Romansh, but due to increasing trade with the outside world Romansh usage began to decline. In 1880 about 71.6% spoke Romansh as a first language, while in 1900 it increased to 80% but in 1910 dropped to 69%. It stayed at that level until about 1970. In 1990 there were 48.3% who understood Romansh in La Punt-Chamues-ch and in 2000 it was 47.6%.
| Languages in La Punt-Chamues-ch | ||||||
| Languages | Census 1980 | Census 1990 | Census 2000 | |||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| 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.... |
156 | 40.00 % | 341 | 59.93 % | 436 | 66.06 % |
| Romansh | 162 | 41.54 % | 145 | 25.48 % | 136 | 20.61 % |
| 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... |
39 | 10.00 % | 52 | 9.14 % | 51 | 7.73 % |
| Population | 390 | 100 % | 569 | 100 % | 660 | 100 % |
Heritage sites of national significance
The Albertini-Houses N. 324/325 and the Chesa Merleda are listed as Swiss heritage sites 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...
. Both the Albertini houses and the Chesa Mereleda are old Engadin style patrician houses for the Nereda-Albertini family from the 17th Century.