Gruyères (; frp, Gruviéres ; german: Greyerz) is a town in the district of Gruyère in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The medieval town is an important tourist location in the upper valley of the

Saane/Sarine The Sarine (; frp, Sarena ) or Saane () is a major river of Switzerland.6th longest, 7th largest basin, see List of rivers of Switzerland It is long and has a drainage area of . It is a tributary of the Aare. The Sarine rises in the Bernese Al ...

river, and gives its name to

Gruyère cheese Gruyère (, , ; german: Greyerzer) is a hard Swiss cheese that originated in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, and Berne in Switzerland. It is named after the town of Gruyères in Fribourg. In 2001, Gruyère gained the ''appell ...

. The medieval town is located at the top of high hill overlooking the Saane valley and the

Lake of Gruyère Lake of Gruyère (french: Lac de la Gruyère; german: Lac de la Gruyère or ) is an artificial lake in the La Gruyère region of the Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland. The reservoir was formed between the cities of Bulle and Fribourg, by building ...

Geography

Gruyères has an area, , of . Of this area, or 40.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 50.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 5.5% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.8% is either rivers or lakes and or 3.2% is unproductive land.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010 Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.1%. Out of the forested land, 46.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 4.6% is used for growing crops and 12.9% is pastures and 22.9% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Gruyères Castle (Château de Gruyères)

Gruyères is above sea level, south-south-east of the district capital

Bulle Bulle (; frp, Bulo ) is a municipality in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. In January 2006 Bulle incorporated the formerly independent municipality of La Tour-de-Trême. History Ancient times Bulle is first ...

. The historical town is placed on top of an isolated hill north of the alps, in the foothills of mount

Moléson The Moléson ( French: ''Le Moléson'') () is a mountain of the Swiss Prealps, overlooking the region of Gruyères in the canton of Fribourg. It lies at the northern end of the chain between Lake Geneva and the valley of the Sarine. The summit ...

. It is also the location where the

Saane The Sarine (; frp, Sarena ) or Saane () is a major river of Switzerland.6th longest, 7th largest basin, see List of rivers of Switzerland It is long and has a drainage area of . It is a tributary of the Aare. The Sarine rises in the Bernese Al ...

river (French name: Sarine) leaves the Fribourg alps. The area of the municipality comprises a section of the

valley and of the Fribourg alps. The central part of the area is the plains of

Alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

( above sea level) next to the alps, between Gruyères and Broc, from which the hill of Gruyères rises to

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. From the west, the brook Trême meets the Saane. East of the Saane, the municipality area ends in a small corner, bordered by the ridges of ''Dent de Broc'' ( above sea level) in the north and ''Dent du Chamois'' ( above sea level) in the south, ending at the valley of Motélon. The two peaks with their saddle between them are a popular subject for photographs of Gruyères. Southwest of Gruyères, the municipality comprises most of the catchment area of the brook ''Albeuve'', which originates on the flanks of mount Moléson. The top of mount Moléson is the highest point of the municipality, reaching

. West of the Moléson, the densely wooded right valley side of the Trême and the terrace of La Part Dieu belong to Gruyères. Gruyères panorama 140622

The municipality of Gruyères also comprises the two villages of Épagny ( above sea level) to the north and Pringy ( above sea level) to the west of the town hill. Further, the small village ''Saussivue'' ( above sea level) to the south and the holiday settlement '' Moléson-Village'' (above sea level) in the valley of the Albeuve in the foothills of mount Moléson as well as several isolated farms. Neighbour municipalities of Gruyères are Broc,

Charmey Charmey (; frp, Chàrmê ) is a former municipality in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Charmey and Cerniat merged into the new municipality of Val-de-Charmey.< ...

Bas-Intyamon Bas-Intyamon ( frp, Bâs-Enque-amont) is a municipality in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. The villages of Enney, Estavannens and Villars-sous-Mont formed it.Haut-Intyamon, Semsales, Vaulruz,

Vuadens Vuadens (; frp, Vouadens ) is a municipality in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. History Vuadens is first mentioned in 516 as ''curtis Wadingum''. In 929 it was mentioned as ''Vuadingis''. Geography Vuadens ...

La Tour-de-Trême Bulle (; frp, Bulo ) is a municipality in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. In January 2006 Bulle incorporated the formerly independent municipality of La Tour-de-Trême. History Ancient times Bulle is first ...

and Le Pâquier.

Coat of arms

The

blazon 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. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visu ...

of the municipal coat of arms is ''Gules, a Crane rising Argent.''

Demographics

Gruyères has a population () of . , 14.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Superweb database - Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008
accessed 19 June 2010 Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 21.2%. Migration accounted for 17.5%, while births and deaths accounted for 4.2%.
accessed 28 November-2011 Most of the population () speaks French (1,398 or 90.4%) as their first language,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

is the second most common (60 or 3.9%) and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

is the third (18 or 1.2%). There are 7 people who speak

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...

and 2 people who speak Romansh. , the population was 50.6% male and 49.4% female. The population was made up of 760 Swiss men (42.0% of the population) and 154 (8.5%) non-Swiss men. There were 764 Swiss women (42.3%) and 130 (7.2%) non-Swiss women.Canton of Fribourg Statistics
accessed 3 November 2011 Of the population in the municipality, 508 or about 32.9% were born in Gruyères and lived there in 2000. There were 598 or 38.7% who were born in the same canton, while 194 or 12.5% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 182 or 11.8% were born outside of Switzerland. , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 29.7% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 55% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.3%. , there were 684 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 710 married individuals, 94 widows or widowers and 58 individuals who are divorced.STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000
accessed 2 February 2011 , there were 581 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 176 households that consist of only one person and 53 households with five or more people. , a total of 562 apartments (64.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 257 apartments (29.5%) were seasonally occupied and 53 apartments (6.1%) were empty.Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB - Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 - Gebäude und Wohnungen
accessed 28 January 2011 , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.2 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.74%. The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width:960 height:210 PlotArea = height:150 left:100 bottom:50 right:100 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:1800 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:400 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:80 start:0 PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1850 from:start till:972 text:"972" bar:1860 from:start till:952 text:"952" bar:1870 from:start till:1095 text:"1,095" bar:1880 from:start till:1075 text:"1,075" bar:1888 from:start till:1207 text:"1,207" bar:1900 from:start till:1389 text:"1,389" bar:1910 from:start till:1502 text:"1,502" bar:1920 from:start till:1711 text:"1,711" bar:1930 from:start till:1465 text:"1,465" bar:1941 from:start till:1356 text:"1,356" bar:1950 from:start till:1302 text:"1,302" bar:1960 from:start till:1349 text:"1,349" bar:1970 from:start till:1234 text:"1,234" bar:1980 from:start till:1295 text:"1,295" bar:1990 from:start till:1460 text:"1,460" bar:2000 from:start till:1546 text:"1,546"

Economics

Gruyères has always been a rural town. Agricultural products from the surroundings were processed and brought to the market here. Formerly, the focus was on trading cheese and small and big animals. There were several mills and sawmills and since the 18th century a gunpowder factory. Until the beginning of the 20th century, straw-twisting was also rather important. Agriculture is still specialized in milk production and cattle-breeding. It delivers raw materials for the cheese production and meat treating. Most important is

. Forestry is also a factor, but tillage is less applied. In secondary sector, there are cabinetmaking, precision mechanics and craftworks. Services has a lot of jobs to offer in gastronomics and hotels. The villages of Epagny and Pringy have in the last years become a living place for commuters, mostly working in the town of Bulle. , Gruyères had an unemployment rate of 2.5%. , there were 59 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 19 businesses involved in this sector. 229 people were employed in the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructio ...

and there were 27 businesses in this sector. 447 people were employed in the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

, with 69 businesses in this sector. There were 757 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which women made up 42.8% of the workforce. the total number of

full-time equivalent Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit that indicates the workload of an employed person (or student) in a way that makes workloads or class loads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often used to measure a w ...

jobs was 601. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 44, of which 39 were in agriculture and 5 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 215 of which 120 or (55.8%) were in manufacturing and 95 (44.2%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 342. In the tertiary sector; 62 or 18.1% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 33 or 9.6% were in the movement and storage of goods, 131 or 38.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was in the information industry, 3 or 0.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 35 or 10.2% were in education and 45 or 13.2% were in health care. , there were 366 workers who commuted into the municipality and 478 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 7.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 69.7% used a private car.

History

Graves from the Hallstatt era and La Tène era (325-250 BC) as well as other traces from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

were discovered in Epagny. The remains of a

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

villa from the 2nd-3rd century AD and an

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

cemetery were also found nearby. A Roman settlement was probably located on a hill in Gruyères. Gruyere2

Gruyères stands in the midst of the Fribourg green pre-Alpine foothills. The castle towers above the medieval town. Gruerius, the legendary founder of Gruyères, captured a crane (in French: “grue”) and chose it as his heraldic animal, inspiring the name Gruyères. Despite the importance of the House of Gruyères, its beginnings remain quite mysterious. Gruyères is first mentioned around 1138-39 as ''de Grueri''. The town developed beneath the castle, which the Count of Gruyere had built on top of the hill, to control the upper Saanen valley. By 1195-96 it became a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

with a central street and city walls. The town developed separately of the castle. In 1397 Count Rudolph IV of Gruyères confirmed an older

town charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally the granting of a charter ...

that was based on the model of

Moudon Moudon (; la, Minnodunum; german: Milden) is a municipality in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It was the seat of Moudon District and is now in the Broye-Vully district. History Montmagny was known as ''Minnodunum'' or ''Minnidunum'' during ...

. On 22 June 1476 Gruyères participated in the

Battle of Morat The Battle of Morat (also known as the Battle of Murten) was a battle in the Burgundian Wars (1474–77) that was fought on 22 June 1476 between Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, and a Swiss Confederate army at Morat/Murten, about 30 kil ...

against

Charles the Bold Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ...

, Duke of

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former Regions of France, administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Duke of Burgundy, Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11 ...

. With the help of the

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy (Modern German: ; historically , after the Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or In the charters of the 14th century ...

, they routed the Burgundian army and captured three capes of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

which belonged to

including one with the emblems of

Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged ...

, his father. At the time of the battle he was celebrating the anniversary of the death of his father. Church Gruyères 2016

The town church of Gruyères originally belonged to the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of Bulle. Count Rudolph III allowed the villages on the left bank of the Saane to build St. Theodul's church. When it was dedicated in 1254, it was the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities ...

of the new Gruyères parish. The Counts of Gruyères were buried under the altar of St. Michael in the church. It was mostly destroyed in 1670 and again in 1856 by fire, which only left the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

and tower undamaged. The renovated church was consecrated in 1860. In addition to the parish church, the Counts had the Chapel of St. John the Baptist in the castle, with two glass windows dating from the late 15th century. The Chapel of St. Moritz in the old hospital was built with the hospital in 1431. The Chapelle du Berceau was built in 1612, following a plague that killed 140. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...

, nuns from St. Bernard and the

Visitation Order , image = Salesas-escut.gif , size = 175px , abbreviation = V.S.M. , nickname = Visitandines , motto = , formation = , founder = Saint Bishop Francis de ...

fled from

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerlan ...

and Dole to settle in Gruyères. The latter remained in town between 1639 and 1651 and conducted a private school. Starting in the 15th century a primary school opened in town which was open mainly to boys. A secondary school opened in town in the 20th century but it moved in 1973 to Bulle. Gruyères had a

plague house A pest house, plague house, pesthouse or fever shed was a type of building used for persons afflicted with communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera, smallpox or typhus. Often used for forcible quarantine, many towns and cities had one ...

which was first mentioned in 1341. The town's hospital was founded in the mid-15th century and remained in operation until the second half of the 19th century. One side of the hospital building housed the primary school until 1988 and was then renovated into a nursing home. Between 1891 and 1925 the Ingenbohl sisters ran the Deaf and Dumb Institute of Saint-Joseph in Gruyères. In 1925 it moved to Fribourg. Nineteen counts are accounted for in the period between the 11th and 16th centuries. The last of them, Michel, had been in financial trouble almost all his life only to end in bankruptcy in 1554. His creditors the cantons of Fribourg and Bern shared his earldom between them. From 1555 to 1798 the castle became residence to the bailiffs and then to the prefects sent by Fribourg. In 1849 the castle was put up for sale and sold to the Bovy and Balland families, who stayed at the castle during summer time and restored it with the help of their painter friends. The castle was then bought back by the canton of Fribourg in 1938, made into a museum and opened to the public. Since 1993, a foundation ensures the conservation as well as the highlighting of the building and the collection.

Heritage sites of national significance

Gruyères Castle The Castle of Gruyères (in French: ''château de Gruyères''), located in the medieval town of Gruyères, Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg, is one of the most famous in Switzerland. It is a Swiss Swiss inventory of cultural property of national ...

* Saint-Germain Castle *the town's fortifications *the Grange du Laviau *the House at Rue du Bourg 7 *the House at Rue du Bourg 39 and the House dite de Chalamala at Rue du Bourg 47 are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance *The Former Chartreuse De La Part-Dieu *The entire village of Gruyères and the La Part-Dieu area are part of the

Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) 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 The types are based on t ...

. File:La Part-Dieu Gruyères Nov 2011.jpg, Former Chartreuse De La Part-Dieu File:Gruyères01.JPG,

File:Saint-Germain Gruyères Nov 2011.jpg, Saint-Germain Castle File:Tower of Castle of Gruyères.jpg, Fortifications File:Grange de Laviau Gruyères Nov 2011.jpg, Grange du Laviau at Route de Saussivue 73 A File:Rue du Bourg 7 Gruyères Aug 2011.jpg, House at Rue du Bourg 7 File:Rue du Bourg 39 Gruyères Aug 2011.jpg, House at Rue du Bourg 39 File:Chalamala Bourg 47 Gruyères Aug 2011.jpg, House dite de Chalamala at Rue du Bourg 47

Tourism

Gruyère cheese is an important factor in supporting the tourist trade in the region. A major tourist attraction is the medieval town of Gruyères with its castle, containing a regional museum and an arts museum. There are cultural activities in the castle (concerts, theater). There is a cheese factory in Pringy which is open to visitors. Nearby is Mont Moléson, a mountain suitable for climbing, or for the less athletic there is a cablecar to the summit which was rebuilt in 1998. The resort town Moléson-Village caters for both summer and winter tourism. In 1998 Swiss

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

painter, sculptor and set designer

H. R. Giger Hans Ruedi Giger ( ; ; 5 February 1940 – 12 May 2014) was a Swiss artist best known for his airbrushed images that blended human physiques with machines, an art style known as " biomechanical". Giger later abandoned airbrush for pastels, mar ...

acquired the Saint-Germain Castle, and it now houses the H. R. Giger Museum, a permanent repository of his work and is a popular tourist destination. Next to this, there is a museum holding antiquities from

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

Main sights

The castle was constructed between 1270 and 1282 in the typical square plan of the fortifications in Savoy. The end of the 15th century stands out as the golden age in the history of the counts. In 1476, count Louis takes part in the Burgundy war by the Confederates’ side. Following this deed of valour, modernization works were undertaken. The adjustment of the esplanade with its chapel, the spiral staircase in the courtyard and the transformation of the main building go back to that time. Thus, the castle loses its fortress appearance to become a stately residence. The baroque interiors remind one of the time when the bailiffs sent by Fribourg lived there. The romantic landscapes were painted in the mid-19th century by

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; July 16, 1796 – February 22, 1875), or simply Camille Corot, is a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching. He is a pivotal figure in landscape painting and his vast o ...

Barthélemy Menn Barthélemy Menn (20 May 1815 – 10 October 1893) was a Swiss painter and draughtsman who introduced the principles of ''plein-air'' painting and the ''paysage intime'' into Swiss art. Early life Menn was the youngest of four sons, born in Genev ...

and other artists.

Politics

In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SP which received 28.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (21.5%), the SVP (20.7%) and the FDP (14.4%).Canton of Fribourg National Council Election of 23 October 2011 Statistics
accessed 3 November 2011 The SPS improved their position in Gruyères rising to first, from third in 2007 (with 21.4%) The CVP moved from first in 2007 (with 27.9%) to second in 2011, the SVP moved from second in 2007 (with 25.0%) to third and the FDP retained about the same popularity (15.9% in 2007). A total of 609 votes were cast in this election, of which 6 or 1.0% were invalid.

Religion

From the , 1,261 or 81.6% were Roman Catholic, while 92 or 6.0% belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...

. Of the rest of the population, there were 10 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.65% of the population), and there were 43 individuals (or about 2.78% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 2 individuals (or about 0.13% of the population) who were

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and 32 (or about 2.07% of the population) who were

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

ic. There was 1 individual who belonged to another church. 74 (or about 4.79% of the population) belonged to no church, are

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

, and 51 individuals (or about 3.30% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

In Gruyères about 456 or (29.5%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 155 or (10.0%) have completed additional higher education (either

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

or a ''

Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied art ...

''). Of the 155 who completed tertiary schooling, 61.9% were Swiss men, 24.5% were Swiss women, 10.3% were non-Swiss men and 3.2% were non-Swiss women. The Canton of Fribourg school system provides one year of non-obligatory

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

, followed by six years of Primary school. This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude. Following the lower Secondary students may attend a three or four year optional upper Secondary school. The upper Secondary school is divided into gymnasium (university preparatory) and vocational programs. After they finish the upper Secondary program, students may choose to attend a Tertiary school or continue their

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

.Chart of the education system in Canton Fribourg
During the 2010-11 school year, there were a total of 240 students attending 18 classes in Gruyères. A total of 363 students from the municipality attended any school, either in the municipality or outside of it. There was one kindergarten class with a total of 17 students in the municipality. The municipality had 7 primary classes and 149 students. During the same year, there were 3 lower secondary classes with a total of 31 students. There were 2 vocational upper Secondary classes and were 5 upper Secondary classes, with 40 upper Secondary students and 3 vocational upper Secondary students The municipality had no non-university Tertiary classes, but there were 3 specialized Tertiary students who attended classes in another municipality. , there were 31 students in Gruyères who came from another municipality, while 109 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

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External links

* * http://www.castle-gruyeres.ch
HR Giger Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruyeres Tourist attractions in Switzerland Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Fribourg