Fiesch | |
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 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Location of Fiesch | |
  Fiesch  Fiesch | |
| Coordinates:46°24′N8°8′E / 46.400°N 8.133°E /46.400; 8.133 | |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Canton | Valais |
| District | Goms |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Russi Klaus |
| Area | |
• Total | 11.3 km2 (4.4 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,049 m (3,442 ft) |
| Population (December 2002) | |
• Total | 1,002 |
| • Density | 88.7/km2 (230/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 3984 |
| SFOS number | 6057 |
| ISO 3166 code | CH-VS |
| Surrounded by | Bellwald,Betten,Ernen,Fieschertal,Lax |
| Website | www.gemeinde-fiesch.ch |
Fiesch is amunicipality in the district ofGoms in thecanton ofValais inSwitzerland. Nearby Fiescheralp is administered by Fiesch and is accessible by theEggishorn lift.
It has been designated aUNESCO World Heritage site for its view of theJungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area.
Fiesch is first mentioned in 1203 as "Vios". In 1438 it is recorded as "Viesch", and has been known as Fiesch since 1905.[2]
TheFiesch derailment occurred in 2010.
Fiesch has an area, as of 2011[update], of 11.3 square kilometers (4.4 sq mi). Of this area, 32.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 40.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 6.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and 20.4% is unproductive land.[3]
The municipality is located in a small valley and on the slopes above both sides of the Weisswasser.
Theblazon of the municipalcoat of arms isAzure, a fess wavy Argent in base Coupeaux of the same.[4]
_und_Furkastrasse_(nach_vorn_und_rechts).JPG)
Fiesch has a population (as of December 2020[update]) of 909.[5] As of 2008[update], 17.9% of the population are resident foreign nationals.[6] Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of -4.5%. It has changed at a rate of -2% due to migration and at a rate of -2% due to births and deaths.[3]
Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaksGerman (872 or 87.6%) as their first language,Serbo-Croatian is the second most common (87 or 8.7%) andAlbanian is the third (13 or 1.3%). There are 7 people who speakFrench, 1 person who speaksItalian.[7]
As of 2008[update], the gender distribution of the population was 50.9% male and 49.1% female. The population was made up of 403 Swiss men (41.5% of the population) and 92 (9.5%) non-Swiss men. There were 382 Swiss women (39.3%) and 95 (9.8%) non-Swiss women.[8] Of the population in the municipality 433 or about 43.5% were born in Fiesch and lived there in 2000. There were 272 or 27.3% who were born in the same canton, while 103 or 10.3% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 172 or 17.3% were born outside of Switzerland.[7]
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.9%.[3]
As of 2000[update], there were 401 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 514 married individuals, 57 widows or widowers and 24 individuals who are divorced.[7]
As of 2000[update], there were 372 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household.[3] There were 97 households that consist of only one person and 35 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 379 households that answered this question, 25.6% were households made up of just one person and there were 2 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 110 married couples without children, 145 married couples with children There were 11 single parents with a child or children. There were 7 households that were made up of unrelated people and 7 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.[7]
In 2000[update] there were 266 single family homes (or 54.8% of the total) out of a total of 485 inhabited buildings. There were 151 multi-family buildings (31.1%), along with 29 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (6.0%) and 39 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (8.0%).[9]
In 2000[update], a total of 351 apartments (41.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 427 apartments (50.8%) were seasonally occupied and 62 apartments (7.4%) were empty.[9] As of 2009[update], the construction rate of new housing units was 4.1 new units per 1000 residents.[3] The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010[update], was 1.02%.[3]
The historical population is given in the following chart:[2][10]
Fiesch istwinned with the town ofNeufra,Germany.[11]
In the2007 federal election the most popular party was theCVP which received 60.07% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were theSVP (16.05%), theSP (14.91%) and theFDP (7.37%). In the federal election, a total of 356 votes were cast, and thevoter turnout was 50.6%.[12]
In the 2009Conseil d'État/Staatsrat election a total of 352 votes were cast, of which 18 or about 5.1% were invalid. The voter participation was 51.4%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 54.67%.[13] In the 2007Swiss Council of States election a total of 356 votes were cast, of which 7 or about 2.0% were invalid. The voter participation was 51.4%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 59.88%.[14]
The main source of income of the village istourism, especiallyhiking,mountain biking,paragliding,snowboarding andskiing, along with many othersports for which the village is an ideal starting point. Above Fiesch, in theFiescheralp (previously referred to asKühboden), there is a ski resort and a launch point forhang glider andparaglider pilots.
As of 2010[update], Fiesch had an unemployment rate of 2.4%. As of 2008[update], there were 10 people employed in theprimary economic sector and about 7 businesses involved in this sector. 57 people were employed in thesecondary sector and there were 14 businesses in this sector. 551 people were employed in thetertiary sector, with 78 businesses in this sector.[3] There were 532 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 41.9% of the workforce.
In 2008[update] the total number offull-time equivalent jobs was 511. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 5, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 54 of which 23 or (42.6%) were in manufacturing and 31 (57.4%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 452. In the tertiary sector; 84 or 18.6% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 55 or 12.2% were in the movement and storage of goods, 119 or 26.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was in the information industry, 18 or 4.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 9 or 2.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 0.9% were in education and 80 or 17.7% were in health care.[15]
In 2000[update], there were 285 workers who commuted into the municipality and 183 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.6 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving.[16] Of the working population, 10.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 39.1% used a private car.[3]
From the 2000 census[update], 804 or 80.7% wereRoman Catholic, while 60 or 6.0% belonged to theSwiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 80members of an Orthodox church (or about 8.03% of the population), and there was 1 individual who belongs to another Christian church. There were 14 (or about 1.41% of the population) who wereIslamic. 24 (or about 2.41% of the population) belonged to no church, areagnostic oratheist, and 13 individuals (or about 1.31% of the population) did not answer the question.[7]
In Fiesch about 370 or (37.1%) of the population have completed non-mandatoryupper secondary education, and 90 or (9.0%) have completed additional higher education (eitheruniversity or aFachhochschule). Of the 90 who completed tertiary schooling, 67.8% were Swiss men, 15.6% were Swiss women, 8.9% were non-Swiss men and 7.8% were non-Swiss women.[7]
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 179 students in the Fiesch school system. Theeducation system in the Canton of Valais allows young children to attend one year of non-obligatoryKindergarten.[17] During that school year, there 2 kindergarten classes (KG1 or KG2) and 31 kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years ofprimary school. In Fiesch there were a total of 6 classes and 98 students in the primary school. Thesecondary school program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling (orientation classes), followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. There were 81 lower secondary students who attended school in Fiesch.[18] All the upper secondary students attended school in another municipality.
As of 2000[update], there were 122 students in Fiesch who came from another municipality, while 31 residents attended schools outside the municipality.[16]
Fiesch is home to theRegionalbibliothek Goms in Fiesch library. The library has (as of 2008[update]) 3,843 books or other media, and loaned out 3,885 items in the same year. It was open a total of 150 days with average of 6 hours per week during that year.[19]
Fiesch is served by the following transport connections:
From the village, a gondola lift rises to Fiescheralp directly from the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn railway station and Postbus terminal.
The main lifts are:[20]
| Name | type | elevation (ground station) | elevation (mountain station) | slope length | capacity (persons/hour) | construction year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiesch- -alp 1+2 (removed) | cable car | 1074 | 2227 | 2940 | 800 | 1973 |
| Fiesch- -alp 3+4 (removed) | cable car | 1071 | 2221 | 2937 | 270 | 1966 |
| Fiescheralp-Eggishorn | cable car | 2225 | 2879 | 1836 | 495 | 1968 |
| Heimat | chairlift | 1858 | 2301 | 1144 | 1400 | 2000 |
| Talegga | chairlift | 2208 | 2727 | 1782 | 2200 | 2010 |
| Flesch | chairlift | 2208 | 2630 | 1357 | 2400 | 1993 |
| Trainer 1 | surface lift | 2206 | 2264 | 218 | 1200 | 1987 |
| Trainer 2 | surface lift | 2206 | 2264 | 218 | 1200 | 1987 |
| Laxeralp 1 | surface lift | 2135 | 2179 | 396 | 1100 | 1981 |
| Laxeralp 2 | surface lift | 2179 | 2280 | 394 | 1214 | 1981 |
Municipalities inGoms District, Switzerland | ||
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