Versam is a former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in the district of

Surselva Surselva Region is one of the eleven administrative districts in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It was created on 1 January 2017 as part of a reorganization of the canton.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 ...

of Graubünden in

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 municipalities of Valendas, Versam,

Safien Safien is a former municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The municipalities of Valendas, Versam, Safien and Tenna merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Safiental.

and Tenna merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Safiental.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 2 January 2013

History

Versam is first mentioned in 1050 as ''a valle Versamia''.

Geography

Versam had an area, , of . Of this area, 16.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 70.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (10.6%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). The former municipality is located in the Ilanz sub-district of the Surselva district. It is located above the

Vorderrhein The Vorderrhein (German; English: ''Anterior Rhine''; Sursilvan: ; Sutsilvan: ''Ragn Anteriur''; Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader, and Puter: ''Rain Anteriur''; Surmiran: ''Ragn anteriour'') is one of the two sources of the Rhine. Its catchment ar ...

canyon at the entrance to the Safien Valley. It consists of the

linear village Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship ('' function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear ...

of Versam and the

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

of Versam-Station, Arezen, Calörtsch and Sculms.

Demographics

Versam had a population (as of 2011) of 226.{Swiss Federal Statistics Office – STAT-TAB
''Ständige und Nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Region, Geschlecht, Nationalität und Alter'' accessed 3 October 2012 , 4.0% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -18.5%. Most of the population () speaks German (98.0%), with Romansh being second most common ( 1.6%) and Spanish being third ( 0.4%).Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 20-Nov-2009 , the gender distribution of the population was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.Graubunden in Numbers
accessed 21 September 2009 The age distribution, , in Versam is; 35 children or 13.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 33 teenagers or 12.9% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 12 people or 4.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 41 people or 16.1% are between 30 and 39, 36 people or 14.1% are between 40 and 49, and 25 people or 9.8% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 29 people or 11.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 25 people or 9.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 15 people or 5.9% who are between 80 and 89 there are 4 people or 1.6% who are between 90 and 99.Graubunden Population Statistics
accessed 21 September 2009 In the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not ...

the most popular party was the SVP which received 42.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (30.7%), the FDP (16.7%) and the CVP (9.1%). In Versam about 78.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a ''

Fachhochschule 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 ...

''). Versam has an unemployment rate of 0.52%. , there were 41 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 17 businesses involved in this sector. 7 people are 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 construc ...

and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 52 people are 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 9 businesses in this sector. The historical population is given in the following table: {, class="wikitable" , - ! year ! population , - , 1803 , 357 , - , 1850 , 396 , - , 1900 , 316 , - , 1950 , 354 , - , 2000 , 255 , -

Transport

Versam-Safien station, on the line of the

Rhaetian Railway The Rhaetian Railway (german: Rhätische Bahn; it, Ferrovia retica; rm, Viafier retica), abbreviated RhB, is a Swiss transport company that owns the largest network of all private railway operators in Switzerland. Headquartered in Chur, the Rh ...

that links

Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Luxe ...

and Disentis, is located and some lower than the village of Versam, and about to the north. To reach the village directly, a Postauto bus service provides a connection, which also serves

Thalkirch Safien is a former Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Surselva (district), Surselva in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden. The municipalities of Valendas, Versam, Safien and Tenna, Swi ...

and Tenna.

References

External links

Official website
* {{authority control Safiental Villages in Graubünden Former municipalities of Graubünden