S-chanf
Encyclopedia
S-chanf is a municipality
in the district of Maloja
in the Swiss
canton
of Graubünden
.
Localities in S-chanf municipality include Susauna, Chapella and Cinuos-chel.
The Rumantsh name S-chanf is prononuced [ʃtʃanf]. The German Scanfs was official until 1943.
Chapella is the site of a chapel mentioned in 1209. Susauna is mentioned as Sauzana in 1285.
The municipality is located in the Oberengadin sub-district of the Maloja district along the Inn river
and at the mouth of the Casanna pass. It consists of the linear village
of S-chanf with the sections of Cinuos-chel and Susauna. The village elevation is 1662 metres (5,452.8 ft).
Susauna is a hamlet on the territory of S-chanf municipality, situated on the road to Scaletta Pass
, a historic international trading route.
As of 2008. S-chanf had a population (as of ) of .; 11.4% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 7.5% per annum.
, the gender distribution of the population was 50.7% male and 49.3% female. The age distribution, , in S-chanf is; 66 children or 10.6% of the population are between 0 to 9 years old. 46 teenagers or 7.4% are 10 to 14, and 46 teenagers or 7.4% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 74 people or 11.9% of the population are between 20 to 29 years old. 119 people or 19.2% are 30 to 39, 82 people or 13.2% are 40 to 49, and 73 people or 11.8% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 43 people or 6.9% of the population are between 60 to 69 years old, 47 people or 7.6% are 70 to 79, there are 21 people or 3.4% who are 80 to 89, and there are 3 people or 0.5% who are 90 to 99.
In the 2007 federal election
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 44.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP
(24.5%), the SP
(23.8%) and the CVP
(5.4%).
In S-chanf about 67% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
).
S-chanf has an unemployment rate of 1.49%. , there were 45 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 21 businesses involved in this sector. 51 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 6 businesses in this sector. 119 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 32 businesses in this sector.
The historical population is given in the following table:
Romansh dialect of Puter or a Bündner variety of Alemannic German. About 68% of the population could understand Romansh at least passively.
Until the mid 19th century, all residents of the village spoke Romansh, but due to increasing trade with the outside world, its usage began to decline. In 1880 about 86% spoke Romansh as a first language, in 1910 it was 92% and in 1941 it was 81%. By 1970 it had dropped to 65%, and by 2000 to 52%.
, as it is near the confluence of the Val Trupchun, a pedestrian only area of the park, and the Engadin
. In the park, early risers may spot marmot
s and, high on the mountains, Steinbok
(ibex).
It has at least two hotels: the Aurora and the Scaletta.
S-chanf is the final destination of the "Engadine Ski Marathon", a popular cross country ski race over marathon
distance, which starts in Maloja
.
The twin homes
and barn at Nrs. 216/217 and the home with barn at Nr. 107 are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance
.
S-chanf is the home to a base of the Swiss Army, which maintains one of its antiaircraft target shooting ranges (serving also as finish area of the "Engadine Ski Marathon") in that area.
The hospice at La Chapella dates to about 1250. It was abandoned in the late 18th century, and re-opened as a youth center in 1967.
The chapel at Susauna dates to 1696, which had its own pastors from 1723 to 1834. It was abandoned in the 20th century and is now inhabited only seasonally
.
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 Maloja
Maloja (district)
Maloja District is an administrative district in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has an area of and has a population of . It is trilingual, with official languages used by municipalities inside the district being, in order of dominance, German, Italian, and Romansh.It consists of two...
in the Swiss
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....
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 Graubünden
Graubünden
Graubünden or Grisons is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. The canton shares borders with the cantons of Ticino, Uri, Glarus and St. Gallen and international borders with Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein...
.
Localities in S-chanf municipality include Susauna, Chapella and Cinuos-chel.
Name
S-chanf is first mentioned around 1137-39 as Scaneves. In 1356 it was mentioned as Scanevo.The Rumantsh name S-chanf is prononuced [ʃtʃanf]. The German Scanfs was official until 1943.
Chapella is the site of a chapel mentioned in 1209. Susauna is mentioned as Sauzana in 1285.
Geography
S-chanf has an area, , of 138 km² (53.3 sq mi). Of this area, 23.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 18.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (57.1%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).The municipality is located in the Oberengadin sub-district of the Maloja district along the Inn river
Inn River
The Inn is a river in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube and is approximately 500km long. The highest point of its drainage basin is the summit of Piz Bernina, at 4,049 metres.- Geography :...
and at the mouth of the Casanna pass. It consists of the linear village
Linear village
In geography, a linear village, or linear settlement, is a small to medium-sized settlement that is formed around a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Wraysbury, a village in Berkshire, is one of the longest villages in England....
of S-chanf with the sections of Cinuos-chel and Susauna. The village elevation is 1662 metres (5,452.8 ft).
Susauna is a hamlet on the territory of S-chanf municipality, situated on the road to Scaletta Pass
Scaletta Pass
Scaletta Pass is a mountain pass in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It lies in the Albula Range of the Alps. The path from Dischma leads to Cinuos-chel in the Inn Valley...
, a historic international trading route.
Demographics
In 1850, S-chanf had a population of 439, all of them Rumantsh speaking. Population declined to 402 by 1900, and rose again to 460 by 1950.As of 2008. S-chanf had a population (as of ) of .; 11.4% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 7.5% per annum.
, the gender distribution of the population was 50.7% male and 49.3% female. The age distribution, , in S-chanf is; 66 children or 10.6% of the population are between 0 to 9 years old. 46 teenagers or 7.4% are 10 to 14, and 46 teenagers or 7.4% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 74 people or 11.9% of the population are between 20 to 29 years old. 119 people or 19.2% are 30 to 39, 82 people or 13.2% are 40 to 49, and 73 people or 11.8% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 43 people or 6.9% of the population are between 60 to 69 years old, 47 people or 7.6% are 70 to 79, there are 21 people or 3.4% who are 80 to 89, and there are 3 people or 0.5% who are 90 to 99.
In the 2007 federal election
Swiss 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 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...
which received 44.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....
(24.5%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(23.8%) and 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...
(5.4%).
In S-chanf about 67% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
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...
).
S-chanf has an unemployment rate of 1.49%. , there were 45 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 21 businesses involved in this sector. 51 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 6 businesses in this sector. 119 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 32 businesses in this sector.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1781 | 423 |
| 1806 | 450 |
| 1850 | 439 |
| 1900 | 402 |
| 1950 | 460 |
| 2000 | 620 |
Languages
Most of the population speaks Romansh (51.8%), with German being second most common (37.3%) and Italian being third (5.6%). The population speaks either the Upper-EngadinEngadin
The Engadin or Engadine is a long valley in the Swiss Alps located in the canton of Graubünden in southeast Switzerland. It follows the route of the Inn River from its headwaters at Maloja Pass running northeast until the Inn flows into Austria one hundred kilometers downstream...
Romansh dialect of Puter or a Bündner variety of Alemannic German. About 68% of the population could understand Romansh at least passively.
Until the mid 19th century, all residents of the village spoke Romansh, but due to increasing trade with the outside world, its usage began to decline. In 1880 about 86% spoke Romansh as a first language, in 1910 it was 92% and in 1941 it was 81%. By 1970 it had dropped to 65%, and by 2000 to 52%.
| Languages in S-chanf | ||||||
| Languages | Census 1980 | Census 1990 | Census 2000 | |||
| Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | ||
| 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.... |
74 | 16.02 % | 129 | 25.60 % | 231 | 37.26 % |
| Romansh | 344 | 74.46 % | 336 | 66.67 % | 321 | 51.77 % |
| 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... |
26 | 5.63 % | 27 | 5.36 % | 35 | 5.65 % |
| Population | 462 | 100 % | 504 | 100 % | 620 | 100 % |
Tourism and infrastructure
S-chanf is one of the pedestrian gateways into the Swiss National ParkSwiss National Park
The Swiss National Park is located in the canton of Graubünden in the east of Switzerland between Zernez, S-chanf, Scuol and the Fuorn Pass in the Engadin valley on the border with Italy....
, as it is near the confluence of the Val Trupchun, a pedestrian only area of the park, and the Engadin
Engadin
The Engadin or Engadine is a long valley in the Swiss Alps located in the canton of Graubünden in southeast Switzerland. It follows the route of the Inn River from its headwaters at Maloja Pass running northeast until the Inn flows into Austria one hundred kilometers downstream...
. In the park, early risers may spot marmot
Marmot
The marmots are a genus, Marmota, of squirrels. There are 14 species in this genus.Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. Those most often referred to as marmots tend to live in mountainous areas such as the Alps, northern Apennines, Eurasian steppes, Carpathians, Tatras, and Pyrenees in...
s and, high on the mountains, Steinbok
Steinbok
Steinbok may refer to: its German for schnapps* Ibex* Steenbok, a small antelope of southern and eastern Africa* Steinbok, a mountain in British Columbia, Canada...
(ibex).
It has at least two hotels: the Aurora and the Scaletta.
S-chanf is the final destination of the "Engadine Ski Marathon", a popular cross country ski race over marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
distance, which starts in Maloja
Maloja
Maloja may refer to:* Maloja , an administrative district in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.* Maloja Pass, an alpine pass in the Swiss canton of Graubünden....
.
The twin homes
Semi-detached
Semi-detached housing consists of pairs of houses built side by side as units sharing a party wall and usually in such a way that each house's layout is a mirror image of its twin...
and barn at Nrs. 216/217 and the home with barn at Nr. 107 are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance
Swiss 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...
.
S-chanf is the home to a base of the Swiss Army, which maintains one of its antiaircraft target shooting ranges (serving also as finish area of the "Engadine Ski Marathon") in that area.
The hospice at La Chapella dates to about 1250. It was abandoned in the late 18th century, and re-opened as a youth center in 1967.
The chapel at Susauna dates to 1696, which had its own pastors from 1723 to 1834. It was abandoned in the 20th century and is now inhabited only seasonally
Transhumance in the Alps
Transhumance in the Alps, or seasonal migration between valley and high pastures is a traditional practice that has shaped much of the landscape in the Alps, as without it, most areas below 2000 m would be forests.While tourism and industry contribute today much to Alpine economy, seasonal...
.
External links
- http://www.s-chanf.ch