Zernez is a village and a
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 go ...
in the
Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region
Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region is one of the eleven administrative districts in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in ...
in the
Swiss canton of
Graubünden. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of
Lavin
Lavin is a former municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Lavin and Susch merged into the municipality of Zernez.
History
Lavin is first mentioned in the 12th ...
and
Susch merged into the municipality of Zernez.
Zernez is a major node in the regional road network, with roads leading into the Upper Engadine and towards
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, the Lower Engadine and towards
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, over the
Fuorn Pass into the
Val Mustair
Val may refer to: Val-a
Film
* Val (film), ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo
Military equipment
* Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies
* AS ...
and over the
Flüela Pass. Zernez is the center for visitors of the
Swiss National Park
The Swiss National Park ( rm, Parc Naziunal Svizzer; german: Schweizerischer Nationalpark; it, Parco Nazionale Svizzero; french: Parc National Suisse) is located in the Western Rhaetian Alps, in eastern Switzerland. It is within the canton of ...
(
Romansh: Parc Naziunal).
History
Zernez is first mentioned in 1131 as ''Gumpo de Ernece''. In 1161-64 it was mentioned as ''Zarnetz'' though both references are found in a copy of the document from 1365.
[
]
Geography and climate
Topography
After the 2015 merger Zernez had an area of . Before the merger Zernez had an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of . Of this area, about 7.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 35.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and 55.9% is unproductive land. Over the past two decades (1979/85-2004/09) the amount of land that is settled has increased by and the agricultural land has decreased by .[Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Regional portraits]
accessed 2 May 2016
Until 2017 the municipality was located in the Sur Tasna sub-district of the Inn district, after 2017 it was part of the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region. It is located along the Ofen Pass road into the Engadin
The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ...
e. It consists of the village of Zernez and the section of Brail.
Lai da Ova Spin is a compensation reservoir on the river Spöl. It is located in the upper areas of the Lower Engadine valley (Romansh: Engiadina Bassa). It is located at an elevation of and is connected to the railway network of the Rhätische Bahn. In Zernez, the stream Spöl empties into the Inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
(Romansh: En).
Climate
Zernez has an average of 102.7 days of rain per year and on average receives of precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
. The wettest month is August during which time Zernez receives an average of of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 11.4 days. The driest month of the year is February with an average of of precipitation over 11.4 days.[, the weather station elevation is 1471 meters above sea level.]
Demographics
Population
Zernez has a population () of . , 18.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 3 years (2010-2013) the population has changed at a rate of 1.14%. The birth rate
The birth rate for a given period is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registration system for births; populati ...
in the municipality, in 2013, was 8.7 while the death rate
Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of de ...
was 6.9 per thousand residents.[
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 20.6% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) are 59.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 19.9%.][
In 2013 there were 508 private households in Zernez. Of the 282 inhabited buildings in the municipality, in 2000, about 29.4% were single family homes and 38.3% were multiple family buildings. Additionally, about 43.6% of the buildings were built before 1919, while 10.6% were built between 1991 and 2000.][Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB - Thema 09 - Bau- und Wohnungswesen ]
accessed 5 May 2016 In 2012 the rate of construction of new housing units per 1000 residents was 5.22. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 4.03%.[
The historical population is given in the following table:]
Historic Population
The historical population is given in the following chart:
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id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8)
ImageSize = width:1100 height:500
PlotArea = height:350 left:100 bottom:90 right:100
Legend = columns:3 left:220 top:70 columnwidth:160
AlignBars = justify
DateFormat = x.y
Period = from:0 till:1800
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AlignBars = justify
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:300 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:60 start:0
Colors=
id:ZE value:yellowgreen legend:Zernez
id:LA value:green legend:Lavin
id:SU value:blue legend:Susch
PlotData=
color:yellowgreen width:30 mark:(line,white) align:center
bar:1850 from: 0 till:603 text:"603" color:ZE
bar:1860 from: 0 till:603 text:"603" color:ZE
bar:1870 from: 0 till:565 text:"565" color:ZE
bar:1880 from: 0 till:528 text:"528" color:ZE
bar:1888 from: 0 till:555 text:"555" color:ZE
bar:1900 from: 0 till:596 text:"596" color:ZE
bar:1910 from: 0 till:1075 text:"1075" color:ZE
bar:1920 from: 0 till:760 text:"760" color:ZE
bar:1930 from: 0 till:728 text:"728" color:ZE
bar:1941 from: 0 till:738 text:"738" color:ZE
bar:1950 from: 0 till:739 text:"739" color:ZE
bar:1960 from: 0 till:712 text:"712" color:ZE
bar:1970 from: 0 till:906 text:"906" color:ZE
bar:1980 from: 0 till:920 text:"920" color:ZE
bar:1990 from: 0 till:869 text:"869" color:ZE
bar:2000 from: 0 till:959 text:"959" color:ZE
bar:1850 from: 603 till:970 text:"367" color:LA
bar:1860 from: 603 till:990 text:"387" color:LA
bar:1870 from: 565 till:791 text:"226" color:LA
bar:1880 from: 528 till:793 text:"265" color:LA
bar:1888 from: 555 till:800 text:"245" color:LA
bar:1900 from: 596 till:845 text:"249" color:LA
bar:1910 from: 1075 till:1369 text:"294" color:LA
bar:1920 from: 760 till:1012 text:"252" color:LA
bar:1930 from: 728 till:944 text:"216" color:LA
bar:1941 from: 738 till:998 text:"260" color:LA
bar:1950 from: 739 till:981 text:"242" color:LA
bar:1960 from: 712 till:908 text:"196" color:LA
bar:1970 from: 906 till:1061 text:"155" color:LA
bar:1980 from: 920 till:1102 text:"182" color:LA
bar:1990 from: 869 till:1053 text:"184" color:LA
bar:2000 from: 959 till:1133 text:"174" color:LA
bar:1850 from: 970 till:1371 text:"401" color:SU
bar:1860 from: 990 till:1329 text:"339" color:SU
bar:1870 from: 791 till:1159 text:"368" color:SU
bar:1880 from: 793 till:1179 text:"386" color:SU
bar:1888 from: 800 till:1164 text:"364" color:SU
bar:1900 from: 845 till:1194 text:"349" color:SU
bar:1910 from: 1369 till:1778 text:"409" color:SU
bar:1920 from: 1012 till:1304 text:"292" color:SU
bar:1930 from: 944 till:1201 text:"257" color:SU
bar:1941 from: 998 till:1279 text:"281" color:SU
bar:1950 from: 981 till:1264 text:"283" color:SU
bar:1960 from: 908 till:1124 text:"216" color:SU
bar:1970 from: 1061 till:1282 text:"221" color:SU
bar:1980 from: 1102 till:1319 text:"217" color:SU
bar:1990 from: 1053 till:1256 text:"203" color:SU
bar:2000 from: 1133 till:1332 text:"199" color:SU
note: Population increase in 1910 due to railway construction
Languages
Most of the population () speaks (Rhaeto-)Romansh (61.1%), with German being second most common (31.3%) and Italian being third ( 4.4%).[ The Romansh speaking majority speak the ]Vallader
Vallader (Vallader, Sursilvan, Puter, Surmiran, and Rumantsch Grischun: ''vallader'' ; Sutsilvan: ') is a variety of the Romansh language spoken in the Lower Engadine valley (''Engiadina Bassa'') of southeast Switzerland, between Martina ...
dialect. In 1880 there were 84% of the population spoke Romansh as their first language, in 1900 it was 79% and in 1941 it was 78%. In 1990 about 81% understood Romansh and in 2000 it was 80%.
Education
In Zernez about 72.5% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a '' Fachhochschule'').[
]
Economy
, there were a total of 653 people employed in the municipality. Of these, a total of 63 people worked in 18 businesses in the primary economic sector. 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 constructi ...
employed 208 workers in 27 separate businesses. Finally, 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 ...
provided 382 jobs in 88 businesses. In 2013 a total of 5.2% of the population received social assistance.[
]
Criminality
In 2014 the crime rate, of the over 200 crimes listed in the Swiss Criminal Code
, french: Code pénal suisse (CP), it, Codice penale svizzero (CP), rm, Cudesch penal svizzer
, citation =
, territorial_extent = Switzerland
, enacted_by = Federal Assembly of Switzerland
, date_enacted = 20 Decemb ...
(running from murder, robbery and assault to accepting bribes and election fraud), in Zernez was 52 per thousand residents, slightly lower than the national average (64.6 per thousand). During the same period, the rate of drug crimes was 7.8 per thousand residents. The rate of violations of immigration, visa and work permit laws was 0.9 per thousand residents, which is only 18.4% of the rate for the entire country.
Politics
In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SVP with 45.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the BDP (25.6%), the SP (9.6%) and the FDP (8.0%). In the federal election, a total of 443 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...
was 58.2%.
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 45.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (23.4%), the FDP (20.6%) and the CVP (7.2%).[Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
accessed 13-Oct-2009
Sights
Heritage sites of national significance
The abandoned village of ''Gonda'', the '' Reformed Church in Zernez'', the ''Schloss Wildenberg ( Wildenberg Castle)'', the ''Palazzo Bezzola'' and the ''Richtstätte/Galgen Fuorcha'' are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance
21.11.2008 version, accessed 13-Oct-2009
The church was first built in 1367. When the Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
entered Zernez in 1553, the church was stripped of all the statues and paintings. Then, in 1609 the old church was replaced with a new baroque building, though the romanesque bell tower of the old church was retained.
The castle was built in the 12th Century but was rebuilt into a baroque castle later. Since 1956 it has served as the town hall.
Other sights
In addition to the four Swiss Heritage Sites of National Significance, Zernez has several other notable sites. These include the gothic catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
chapel of St. Sebastian, the ''Morenturm'', the ''Swiss National Park'' and park house, the abandoned tower of ''La Serra'' and in Brail, a medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
Reformed church.
The chapel of St. Sebastian stopped being used as a catholic chapel following the Reformation. In 1952 it was put back into service as a chapel. The ''Morenturm'' is a medieval tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...
in the village. The Swiss National Park, , is the only National Park in Switzerland. It has an area of and is the largest protected area of the country. It was one of the earliest national parks in Europe, being founded on 1 August 1914. The ''Nationalparkhaus'' in Zernez is a museum for the National Park. The tower of ''La Serra'' was built either in the 13th or 14th Century, though it could have been built as late as just before the Swabian War
The Swabian War of 1499 ( gsw, Schwoobechrieg (spelling depending on dialect), called or ("Swiss War") in Germany and ("War of the Engadin") in Austria) was the last major armed conflict between the Old Swiss Confederacy and the House of ...
in 1495. During the ''Bündner Wirren
The Bündner Wirren ( rm, Scumbigls grischuns/Scumpigls grischuns/Sgurdins grischuns, french: Troubles des Grisons, it, Torbidi grigionesi, English: ''Graubünden disturbances'' or ''Revolt of the Leagues'') was a conflict that lasted between 161 ...
'' (or Confusion of the Leagues) it was reinforced and a regiment from Schauenstein was stationed there. After the Confusion, it was abandoned and fell into disrepair. In 1996–98 it was repaired and reinforced.
File:Gonda Kirche Aufsicht.JPG, Abandoned village of Gonda
File:Zernez-Kirche.jpg, Reformed Church in Zernez
File:Zernez_Schloss_Wildenberg.jpg, Schloss Planta-Wildenberg (Planta-Wildenberg Castle), medieval tower-house with Baroque annexe
File:LaSerra.JPG, La Serra tower outside Zernez
File:Zernez-Turm.jpg, Morenturm, a medieval tower house
Transportation
The municipality has four railway stations: , , , and . All four are located on the Bever–Scuol-Tarasp line and between them have with regular service to , , , , and .
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Cultural property of national significance in Graubünden
Populated places on the Inn (river)