Ardez () is a former

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

in the district of

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 accomm ...

in the canton of Graubünden in eastern

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The village is located in the Lower

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine (;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 ''Gidegna'' ...

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

Tarasp Tarasp is a former municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Inn District, Switzerland, Inn in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden. Its eleven settlements are situated within the Lower Engadin ...

, Ftan and Sent merged into the municipality of

Scuol Scuol () is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Grisons. The official language in Scuol is Romansh language, Romansh. On 1 January 2 ...

History

Ardez is first mentioned circa 840 as ''Ardezis''. Up to the 19th century, it was also known by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

name of ''Steinsberg''. Lords ''de Ardetz'' are documented for the period 1161–1310. The lords of

, the bishop of

Chur '' Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where ...

, Marienberg Abbey, the county of

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

and the bailiffs of Matsch had possessions and rights in Ardez. Steinsberg Castle, the castle of Ardez, was bought by the bishop of Chur before 1209. It was destroyed together with the village in 1499 during the

Swabian War The Swabian War of 1499 ( (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 Habsburg. What had begun ...

. (The tower has been restored several times.) The old parish of Ardez also included Guarda, Lavin,

Susch Susch (formally Süs) is a village and 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 Zernez is a village an ...

and

Galtür Galtür is a village and ski resort in the upper Paznaun valley in Austrian state of Tyrol located in the Central Eastern Alps 35 km southwest of Landeck near the border of Vorarlberg and Switzerland. History Galtür was settled by th ...

in the Tyrolean

Paznaun The Paznaun () is a valley in Tyrol, Austria, leading south-west from Pians (856 m) to the Bielerhöhe (2071 m), a mountain pass at the border of Vorarlberg and Tyrol. The Paznaun is watered by the Trisanna and surrounded by the C ...

valley. In 1538 it became

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. The church was rebuilt 1576/1577. In 1622 Ardez was destroyed by Austrian troops; in 1652 it bought its freedom from Austria. The inhabitants of Ardez farmed their arable land and raised cattle; until the middle of the 19th century they also exported wood to Tyrol. In 1913, Ardez railway station was opened. In 1975, the largely intact village of Ardez was chosen as one of four Swiss model villages for the European year of monument preservation; after that, numerous houses were renovated.

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

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. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

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 the most popular party was the SVP which received 47.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (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 (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...

''). 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 constructi ...

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 ...

, 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 (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, Swi ...

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 '' Chastè'' ("castle"; a prehistoric site, a medieval fortress and a church) and the ''Chasa dubla'' (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 () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

(Melauner culture) into the early

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

(

Fritzens-Sanzeno The Fritzens-Sanzeno culture is an archaeological culture attested in the second Iron Age, from ca. 500 BC until the end of the first century BC, in the Alpine region of Trentino and South Tyrol; in the period of maximum expansion it also reached ...

culture) as well as some finds from the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

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