Riederalp
Encyclopedia
Riederalp is a municipality
in the district of Raron
in the canton
of Valais
in Switzerland
. It was created in 2003 through the merger of Goppisberg, Greich and Ried-Mörel.
The mid-mountain resort sits on a south-facing terrace, south of the 23 km (14.3 mi) long Aletsch Glacier
—Europe's largest, in the Bernese
Alps
. The altitude of the village (1930 m (6,332 ft)) allows good view of the Pennine Alps
with some of its highest summits such as the Fletschhorn
, Dom and Matterhorn
.
Most of the population speaks German
(95.6%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian
is the second most common (1.9%) and French
is the third (0.8%).
, the population was made up of 479 Swiss citizens and 57 non-citizen residents (10.63% of the population). , children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 23.9% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 59.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.7%.
, the construction rate of new housing units was 9.3 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.33%.
the most popular party was the CVP
which received 69.21% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(13.12%), the FDP
(9.33%) and the SP
(6.95%). In the federal election, a total of 290 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 69.4%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat
election a total of 269 votes were cast, of which 20 or about 7.4% were invalid. The voter participation was 68.3%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election
election a total of 288 votes were cast, of which 17 or about 5.9% were invalid. The voter participation was 72.9%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 240. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 24, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 8, all of which were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 208. In the tertiary sector; 21 or 10.1% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 11 or 5.3% were in the movement and storage of goods, 131 or 63.0% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was the insurance or financial industry, 2 or 1.0% were in education.
Of the working population, 28.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 20.9% used a private car.
in the Canton of Valais allows young children to attend one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten
. During that school year, there was one kindergarten class (KG1 or KG2) and 7 kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school. In Riederalp there were a total of 2 classes and 21 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 Riederalp attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
Riederalp is a traffic-free village (cable car access) with a small number of permanent residents who are dwarfed by the influx of in-season tourists. Seven ski lifts operate over the 30 km (18.6 mi) of Riederalp and adjoining Bettmeralp
's slope. In addition, there are 19 km (11.8 mi) of cross-country trails.
There are about 25 km (15.5 mi) of winter walking paths around the village. There is also a sports centre, and an indoor swimming pool at Bettmeralp.
s or Gondola lift
s from Morel
. The main Ski lift
s are:
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 Raron
Raron (district)
The district of Raron was one of the 12 districts comprising the Republic of Wallis and after 1848 the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Today it is divided into two demi-districts, which are geographically separated by the District of Brig....
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....
. It was created in 2003 through the merger of Goppisberg, Greich and Ried-Mörel.
Geography
Riederalp has an area, , of 21 square kilometre. Of this area, 27.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 42.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.0% is settled (buildings or roads) and 27.3% is unproductive land.The mid-mountain resort sits on a south-facing terrace, south of the 23 km (14.3 mi) long Aletsch Glacier
Aletsch Glacier
The Aletsch Glacier or Great Aletsch Glacier is the largest glacier in the Alps. It has a length of about and covers more than in the eastern Bernese Alps in the Swiss canton of Valais...
—Europe's largest, in the Bernese
Bernese Alps
The Bernese Alps are a group of mountain ranges in the western part of the Alps, in Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Bernese Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Valais, Lucerne, Obwalden, Fribourg and...
Alps
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
. The altitude of the village (1930 m (6,332 ft)) allows good view of the Pennine Alps
Pennine Alps
The Pennine Alps are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland and Italy...
with some of its highest summits such as the Fletschhorn
Fletschhorn
The Fletschhorn is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. It lies to the north of the Lagginhorn and the Weissmies in the same massif, to the east of the Saastal....
, Dom and Matterhorn
Matterhorn
The Matterhorn , Monte Cervino or Mont Cervin , is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its summit is 4,478 metres high, making it one of the highest peaks in the Alps. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points...
.
Demographics
Riederalp has a population of . , 10.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010 ) the population has changed at a rate of -3.9%. It has changed at a rate of -3.9% due to migration and at a rate of 3.6% 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....
(95.6%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian language
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 (1.9%) and 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...
is the third (0.8%).
, the population was made up of 479 Swiss citizens and 57 non-citizen residents (10.63% of the population). , children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 23.9% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 59.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.7%.
, the construction rate of new housing units was 9.3 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.33%.
Sights
The entire villages of Goppisberg and Greich are designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage SitesInventory 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 69.21% 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...
(13.12%), the FDP
FDP.The Liberals
FDP.The Liberals is a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It is the joint-largest party in the Federal Council, third-largest party in the National Council, and second-largest in the Council of States....
(9.33%) and the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(6.95%). In the federal election, a total of 290 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 69.4%.
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 269 votes were cast, of which 20 or about 7.4% were invalid. The voter participation was 68.3%, which is much more 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 288 votes were cast, of which 17 or about 5.9% were invalid. The voter participation was 72.9%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
Economy
, Riederalp had an unemployment rate of 2%. , there were 62 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 18 businesses involved in this sector. 9 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 4 businesses in this sector. 239 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 37 businesses in this sector.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 240. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 24, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 8, all of which were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 208. In the tertiary sector; 21 or 10.1% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 11 or 5.3% were in the movement and storage of goods, 131 or 63.0% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was the insurance or financial industry, 2 or 1.0% were in education.
Of the working population, 28.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 20.9% used a private car.
Education
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 21 students in the Riederalp school system. The education systemEducation 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 was one kindergarten class (KG1 or KG2) and 7 kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school. In Riederalp there were a total of 2 classes and 21 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 Riederalp attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
Sport
Beginners and intermediate skiers have the bulk of the 30 km (18.6 mi) of pistes, while expert skiers and snowboarders have a choice of off-piste at the top of the mountain.Riederalp is a traffic-free village (cable car access) with a small number of permanent residents who are dwarfed by the influx of in-season tourists. Seven ski lifts operate over the 30 km (18.6 mi) of Riederalp and adjoining Bettmeralp
Bettmeralp
Bettmeralp is a village and ski resort in the Swiss canton of Valais, 1'957 m above sea level, in the municipality of Betten.Bettmeralp is a car free village which can be reached by cable car from the Betten train station . From there another cable car leads near to the summit of Bettmerhorn, which...
's slope. In addition, there are 19 km (11.8 mi) of cross-country trails.
There are about 25 km (15.5 mi) of winter walking paths around the village. There is also a sports centre, and an indoor swimming pool at Bettmeralp.
Skilift system
Riederalp can be reached via two Aerial tramwayAerial tramway
An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...
s or Gondola lift
Gondola lift
A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...
s from Morel
Morel
Morchella, the true morels, is a genus of edible mushrooms closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi. These distinctive mushrooms appear honeycomb-like in that the upper portion is composed of a network of ridges with pits between them....
. The main Ski lift
Ski lift
The term ski lift generally refers to any transport device that carries skiers up a hill. A ski lift may fall into one of the following three main classes:-Lift systems and networks:...
s are:
| Name | Type | Elevation Ground Station |
Elevation Mountain Station |
Slope Length | Capacity Persons/Hour |
Construction Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morel Ried-Morel |
Aerial tramway Aerial tramway An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion... |
759 m (2,490.2 ft) | 1200 m (3,937 ft) | 1037 m (3,402.2 ft) | 700 | 1996 |
| Ried-Morel Roederalp |
Gondola Gondola lift A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,... |
1200 m (3,937 ft) | 1951 m (6,400.9 ft) | 1980 m (6,496.1 ft) | 700 | 1987 |
| Morel Riederalp |
Aerial tramway Aerial tramway An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion... |
759 m (2,490.2 ft) | 1950 m (6,397.6 ft) | 2798 m (9,179.8 ft) | 500 | 1974 |
| Moosfluh | Gondola Gondola lift A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,... |
1886 m (6,187.7 ft) | 2335 m (7,660.8 ft) | 1798 m (5,899 ft) | 2200 | 1995 |
| Riederfurka | Chairlift Chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs... |
1876 m (6,154.9 ft) | 2119 m (6,952.1 ft) | 702 m (2,303.1 ft) | 2050 | 1991 |
| Hohfluh | Chairlift Chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs... |
1929 m (6,328.7 ft) | 2227 m (7,306.4 ft) | 1010 m (3,313.6 ft) | 1090 | 1977 |
| Golmenegg | Surface lift Surface lift A surface lift is a type of cable transportation system used to transport skiers and snowboarders where riders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill.Types of surface lifts include the Poma lift, J-bar, T-bar, rope tow, and magic carpet.... |
1954 m (6,410.8 ft) | 2100 m (6,889.8 ft) | 906 m (2,972.4 ft) | 900 | 1970 |
| Alpenrose 1 | Surface lift Surface lift A surface lift is a type of cable transportation system used to transport skiers and snowboarders where riders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill.Types of surface lifts include the Poma lift, J-bar, T-bar, rope tow, and magic carpet.... |
1903 m (6,243.4 ft) | 1935 m (6,348.4 ft) | 179 m (587.3 ft) | 1000 | 1980 |
| Alpenrose 2 | Surface lift Surface lift A surface lift is a type of cable transportation system used to transport skiers and snowboarders where riders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill.Types of surface lifts include the Poma lift, J-bar, T-bar, rope tow, and magic carpet.... |
1903 m (6,243.4 ft) | 1935 m (6,348.4 ft) | 179 m (587.3 ft) | 720 | 1980 |