Samnaun ( rm, Samignun) is a high

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

village and a valley at the eastern end 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 ...

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 ...

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 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.

History

The valley was first used as a seasonal mountain pasture for the villages of

Tschlin Tschlin is a former municipality in the district of Inn in the canton of Graubünden in the extreme east of Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the municipalities of Ramosch and Tschlin merged to form the new municipality of Valsot.

and

Ramosch Ramosch is a former municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2013 the municipalities of Ramosch and Tschlin merged to form the new municipality of Valsot.Marienberg Abbey Marienberg Abbey (german: Abtei Marienberg; it, Abbazia Monte Maria) is a Benedictine Order, Benedictine abbey in Mals, Vinschgau in South Tyrol, northern Italy. It was founded in 1149 or 1150 by Ulrich von Tarasp and other nobles. It has ma ...

by the counts of

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 ...

in the 12th century.

Geography

Samnaun has an area of . Of this area, 46.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 11.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.9% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (41.2%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). Until 2017 it was part of the Ramosch sub-district, of the Inn district, after 2017 it was part of the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region. It is located in a left side valley of 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 ...

valley, at an elevation of . It consists of five village sections; Compatsch, Laret, Plan (Plaun), Ravaisch and Samnaun. In the 19th century, Samnaun could only be reached by road from

Spiss Spiss is a municipality in the district of Landeck in the 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 n ...

in Austria. Thus Samnaun was excluded from the

Swiss Customs Area Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

. It retains a privileged '

duty-free A duty-free shop (or store) is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, w ...

' status, albeit not without controversy, in the twenty-first century. The exception was maintained even after a road was built in 1905 linking Samnaun to Martina, at the most eastern point of the

Lower Engadine 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 '' ...

. In winters with exceptionally heavy snowfall that blocks the road, Samnaun at times can only be reached via Austria.

Tourism

Samnaun shares a ski resort with the municipality of

Ischgl Ischgl () is a town in the Paznaun valley in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Its ski resort is connected with that of Samnaun across the border in Switzerland to form one of the largest in the Alps. Ischgl was a major hotspot of the COVID-19 pandem ...

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

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 ...

. The Silvretta Arena Samnaun / Ischgl ski area (located above sea level) has about of slopes. The ski resort has 44 ski lifts and cable cars as well as the world's first double-decker cable car with a capacity of 180 people.

Demographics

Samnaun has a population (as of ) of . , 19.2% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 1%.Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 12-Oct-2009 , the gender distribution of the population was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.Graubunden in Numbers
accessed 21 September 2009 The age distribution, , in Samnaun is; 267 children or 8.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old. 155 teenagers or 5.1% are 10 to 14, and 281 teenagers or 9.2% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 460 people or 15.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 541 people or 17.6% are 30 to 39, 462 people or 15.1% are 40 to 49, and 385 people or 12.5% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 209 people or 6.8% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 189 people or 6.2% are 70 to 79, there are 103 people or 3.4% who are 80 to 89, and there are 17 people or 0.6% 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 CVP which received 45.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (29.2%), the FDP (15.5%) and 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, ...

(7.2%). In Samnaun about 53.6% 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 ...

''). Samnaun has an unemployment rate of 1.01%. , there were 46 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 26 businesses involved in this sector. 52 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 10 businesses in this sector. 743 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 105 businesses in this sector. The historical population is given in the following table:

Languages

Most of the population () speaks German (93.5%), with Portuguese being second most common (1.7%) and Serbo-Croatian being third (1.6%). Uniquely within Switzerland, the form of

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 ...

spoken by the residents of Samnaun is a variant of the

Bavarian language Bavarian (german: Bairisch , Bavarian: ''Boarisch'') or alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a West Germanic language, part of the Upper German family, together with Alemannic and East Franconian. Bavarian is spoken by approximately 12 million ...

. Until the second half of the nineteenth century the population spoke a dialect of Romansh close to

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 ...

.Ritter, Ada. 1981. "Historische Lautlehre der ausgestorbenen romanischen Mundart von Samnaun (Schweiz, Kanton Graubünden)". ''Romania Occidentalis'', 6.

References

External links

Samnaun TourismSamnaun Engadin
* * {{Authority control Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland Municipalities of Graubünden Duty-free zones of Europe Special economic zones Tax avoidance