Ardez () 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 Inn 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 ...

of Graubünden in eastern

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 village is located in the Lower

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 ...

valley. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Ardez, Guarda,

Tarasp Tarasp is a former municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. Its eleven settlements are situated within the Lower Engadin valley along the Inn River, at the foot of the Sesvenna Range. On 1 January 2015 the former ...

Ftan Ftan is a former municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Ardez, Guarda, Tarasp, Ftan and Sent merged into the municipality of Scuol.Sent Sent is a former municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss Canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Ardez, Guarda, Tarasp, Ftan and Sent merged into the municipality of Scuol.

merged into the municipality of

Scuol Scuol () is a municipality in the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region in the Swiss canton of Grisons. The official language in Scuol is Romansh. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Ardez, Guarda, Tarasp, Ftan and Sent merged in ...

History

Ardez is first mentioned in 840 as ''Ardezis''. In to the 19th century it was known by the

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 ...

name of ''Steinsberg''.

Geography

Ardez had an area, , of . Of this area, 29.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 20% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (49.5%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). The former municipality is located in the Sur Tasna sub-district of the Inn district, with the village on the left bank of the Inn river. It consists of the village of Ardez 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 Bos-cha and Sur En.

Demographics

Ardez had a population (as of 2014) of 427. , 9.8% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 0.5%.Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 12-Oct-2009 , the gender distribution of the population was 52.0% male and 48.0% female.Graubunden in Numbers
accessed 21 September 2009 The age distribution, , in Ardez is; 48 children or 12.0% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old. 23 teenagers or 5.7% are 10 to 14, and 23 teenagers or 5.7% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 40 people or 10.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 55 people or 13.7% are 30 to 39, 54 people or 13.5% are 40 to 49, and 58 people or 14.5% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 35 people or 8.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 42 people or 10.5% are 70 to 79, there are 20 people or 5.0% who are 80 to 89, and there are 3 people or 0.7% who are 90 to 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 47.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the

SPS SPS may refer to: Law and government * Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the WTO * NATO Science for Peace and Security * Single Payment Scheme, an EU agricultural subsidy * The Standard Procurement System, ...

(29.8%), the FDP (13.8%) and the CVP (7.2%). In Ardez about 70% 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 ...

''). Ardez has an unemployment rate of 1.08%. , there were 40 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 19 businesses involved in this sector. 33 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 7 businesses in this sector. 49 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 15 businesses in this sector. The historical population is given in the following table: : Population increase during railway construction.

Languages

Most of the population () speaks

Rhaeto-Romance Rhaeto-Romance, Rheto-Romance, or Rhaetian, is a purported subfamily of the Romance languages that is spoken in south-eastern Switzerland and north-eastern Italy. The name "Rhaeto-Romance" refers to the former Roman province of Raetia. The questi ...

(73.8%), with German being second most common (20.2%) and Italian being third ( 3.0%). The majority of the population 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 of Romansh. Romansh is taught in the village school and spoken in the municipality. Until 1900 the municipality was nearly Romansh only (1880 94%, 1900 94%). The majority dropped throughout the 20th Century (1941 84%, 1980 83%). The modern situation with languages is given in the following table:

Heritage sites of national significance

The '' Chasté'' (a prehistoric site, a medieval fortress and a church) and the ''Doppelwohnhaus'' (Double-house) with barn are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance
21.11.2008 version, accessed 12-Oct-2009 The ''Chastè'' site includes settlements from the late

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 pri ...

(Melauner culture) into the early

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

( Fritzens-Sanzeno culture) as well as some finds from the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

Photo gallery Ruina chanoua at Ardez

File:Bergtocht van Guarda via Ardez en Ftan naar Scuol. 20-09-2019. (actm.) 24.jpg, West side. File:Bergtocht van Guarda via Ardez en Ftan naar Scuol. 20-09-2019. (actm.) 25.jpg, West side. File:Bergtocht van Guarda via Ardez en Ftan naar Scuol. 20-09-2019. (actm.) 28.jpg, North side. File:Bergtocht van Guarda via Ardez en Ftan naar Scuol. 20-09-2019. (actm.) 29.jpg, East side. File:Bergtocht van Guarda via Ardez en Ftan naar Scuol. 20-09-2019. (actm.) 31.jpg, Information panel.

References

External links

Official websitePictures of Ardez
* {{Authority control Scuol Former municipalities of Graubünden Cultural property of national significance in Graubünden Populated places disestablished in 2015