Ernen
Encyclopedia
Ernen is a municipality
in the district of Goms in the canton
of Valais
in Switzerland
. In 2005 Ernen incorporated the formerly independent municipalities of Ausserbinn
, Mühlebach, and Steinhaus.
In 1979, Ernen was awarded the Wakker Prize
for the preservation of its architectural heritage.
The municipality is located on a moraine
terrace above the left side of the Rhone
. It consists of the village of Ernen and the hamlet
of Niederernen.
On 1 October 2004 the former municipalities of Steinhaus, Ausserbinn and Mühlebach merged into the municipality of Ernen, keeping the name Ernen.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Per pale Gules and Argent, two Greek Crosses couped palewise counterchanged.
Most of the population speaks German
(367 or 95.3%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian
is the second most common (5 or 1.3%) and Dutch
is the third (3 or 0.8%). There are 2 people who speak French
, 1 person who speaks Italian
.
, the gender distribution of the population was 50.1% male and 49.9% female. The population was made up of 252 Swiss men (47.8% of the population) and 12 (2.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 245 Swiss women (46.5%) and 18 (3.4%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 207 or about 53.8% were born in Ernen and lived there in 2000. There were 97 or 25.2% who were born in the same canton, while 48 or 12.5% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 26 or 6.8% were born outside of Switzerland.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25.6% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 56.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.6%.
, there were 162 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 186 married individuals, 26 widows or widowers and 11 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.58 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.63 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 77.5% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 231 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 64 households that consist of only one person and 12 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 172 households that answered this question, 37.2% 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 33 married couples without children, 54 married couples with children There were 11 single parents with a child or children. There were 4 households that were made up of unrelated people and 4 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 81 single family homes (or 33.9% of the total) out of a total of 239 inhabited buildings. There were 130 multi-family buildings (54.4%), along with 12 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (5.0%) and 16 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.7%).
, a total of 163 apartments (29.0% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 285 apartments (50.6%) were seasonally occupied and 115 apartments (20.4%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.8 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.7%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
. The entire village of Ernen is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
.
the most popular party was the CVP
which received 52.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(19.58%), the SP
(17.28%) and the Green Party
(4.67%). In the federal election, a total of 204 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 46.9%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat
election a total of 191 votes were cast, of which 27 or about 14.1% were invalid. The voter participation was 45.7%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election
election a total of 204 votes were cast, of which 6 or about 2.9% were invalid. The voter participation was 46.9%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 142. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 23, of which 18 were in agriculture and 5 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 32 of which 1 was in manufacturing and 9 (28.1%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 87. In the tertiary sector; 18 or 20.7% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 7 or 8.0% were in the movement and storage of goods, 41 or 47.1% were in a hotel or restaurant, 6 or 6.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 2 or 2.3% were in education and 3 or 3.4% were in health care.
, there were 62 workers who commuted into the municipality and 82 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 8.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 55% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 7 individuals (or about 1.82% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. 14 (or about 3.64% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 5 individuals (or about 1.30% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 38 who completed tertiary schooling, 71.1% were Swiss men, 13.2% were Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 19 students in the Ernen school system. The education system
in the Canton of Valais allows young children to attend one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten
. During that school year, there were no kindergarten classes (KG1 or KG2) and there were no kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school. In Ernen there were a total of 2 classes and 19 students in the primary school. The secondary school
program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling (orientation classes), followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. All the lower and upper secondary students from Ernen attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
, there were 44 students in Ernen who came from another municipality, while 29 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Municipalities of Switzerland
Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...
in the district of Goms in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. In 2005 Ernen incorporated the formerly independent municipalities of Ausserbinn
Ausserbinn
Ausserbinn is a former municipality of the canton of Valais, Switzerland, and now part of the municipality of Ernen. Prior to its incorporation within Ernen, it was one of Switzerland's smallest municipalities with a population of only 41....
, Mühlebach, and Steinhaus.
In 1979, Ernen was awarded the Wakker Prize
Wakker Prize
The Wakker Prize is awarded annually by the Swiss Heritage Society to a Municipality of Switzerland for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage....
for the preservation of its architectural heritage.
History
Ernen is first mentioned in 1214 as Aragnon. In 1220 it was mentioned as Arengnon and in 1510 it was Aernen.Geography
Ernen has an area, , of 35.4 square kilometre. Of this area, 36.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 35.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.5% is settled (buildings or roads) and 27.0% is unproductive land.The municipality is located on a moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
terrace above the left side of the Rhone
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
. It consists of the village of Ernen and the hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Niederernen.
On 1 October 2004 the former municipalities of Steinhaus, Ausserbinn and Mühlebach merged into the municipality of Ernen, keeping the name Ernen.
Coat of arms
The blazonBlazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
of the municipal coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
is Per pale Gules and Argent, two Greek Crosses couped palewise counterchanged.
Demographics
Ernen has a population of . , 5.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of -8.3%. It has changed at a rate of 0% due to migration and at a rate of -7.1% due to births and deaths.Most of the population speaks German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(367 or 95.3%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
is the second most common (5 or 1.3%) and Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
is the third (3 or 0.8%). There are 2 people who speak French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, 1 person who speaks Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
.
, the gender distribution of the population was 50.1% male and 49.9% female. The population was made up of 252 Swiss men (47.8% of the population) and 12 (2.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 245 Swiss women (46.5%) and 18 (3.4%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 207 or about 53.8% were born in Ernen and lived there in 2000. There were 97 or 25.2% who were born in the same canton, while 48 or 12.5% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 26 or 6.8% were born outside of Switzerland.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25.6% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 56.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.6%.
, there were 162 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 186 married individuals, 26 widows or widowers and 11 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.58 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.63 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 77.5% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 231 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 64 households that consist of only one person and 12 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 172 households that answered this question, 37.2% 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 33 married couples without children, 54 married couples with children There were 11 single parents with a child or children. There were 4 households that were made up of unrelated people and 4 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 81 single family homes (or 33.9% of the total) out of a total of 239 inhabited buildings. There were 130 multi-family buildings (54.4%), along with 12 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (5.0%) and 16 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.7%).
, a total of 163 apartments (29.0% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 285 apartments (50.6%) were seasonally occupied and 115 apartments (20.4%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.8 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.7%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
The Erner Galgen, the Jost-Sigristen House, and the Tellen Hous are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significanceSwiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...
. The entire village of Ernen is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
The Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage.-Sites of national importance:-Types:...
.
Politics
In the 2007 federal electionSwiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...
the most popular party was the CVP
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...
which received 52.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
(19.58%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(17.28%) and the Green Party
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
(4.67%). In the federal election, a total of 204 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was 46.9%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat
Conseil d'Etat (Switzerland)
In Switzerland, Conseil d'Etat is the name of the council constituting the cantonal government of French-speaking cantons. It is not to be confused with the Conseil des États which is a chamber of the Swiss parliament....
election a total of 191 votes were cast, of which 27 or about 14.1% were invalid. The voter participation was 45.7%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election
Swiss Council of States election, 2007
Elections were held to the Council of States of Switzerland in October and November 2007 as part of the 2007 federal election. All 46 members of the Council of States were elected from all cantons of Switzerland. The first round was held on 21 October...
election a total of 204 votes were cast, of which 6 or about 2.9% were invalid. The voter participation was 46.9%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
Economy
, Ernen had an unemployment rate of 0.3%. , there were 30 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 14 businesses involved in this sector. 35 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 7 businesses in this sector. 108 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 26 businesses in this sector. There were 175 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 35.4% of the workforce.the total number of full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
jobs was 142. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 23, of which 18 were in agriculture and 5 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 32 of which 1 was in manufacturing and 9 (28.1%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 87. In the tertiary sector; 18 or 20.7% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 7 or 8.0% were in the movement and storage of goods, 41 or 47.1% were in a hotel or restaurant, 6 or 6.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 2 or 2.3% were in education and 3 or 3.4% were in health care.
, there were 62 workers who commuted into the municipality and 82 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 8.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 55% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 337 or 87.5% were Roman Catholic, while 25 or 6.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed ChurchSwiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 7 individuals (or about 1.82% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. 14 (or about 3.64% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
or atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, and 5 individuals (or about 1.30% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Ernen about 130 or (33.8%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 38 or (9.9%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a FachhochschuleFachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
). Of the 38 who completed tertiary schooling, 71.1% were Swiss men, 13.2% were Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 19 students in the Ernen school system. The education system
Education in Switzerland
The education system in Switzerland is very diverse, because the constitution of Switzerland delegates the authority for the school system mainly to the cantons...
in the Canton of Valais allows young children to attend one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
. During that school year, there were no kindergarten classes (KG1 or KG2) and there were no kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school. In Ernen there were a total of 2 classes and 19 students in the primary school. The secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling (orientation classes), followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. All the lower and upper secondary students from Ernen attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
, there were 44 students in Ernen who came from another municipality, while 29 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
External links
- Ernen Online Official website
- Tourism website