Salgesch
Encyclopedia
Salgesch is a municipality
in the district of Leuk in the canton
of Valais
in Switzerland
.
The transformation of Salquenen from a farming village to today’s wine village began after World War II. Today, there are 203 hectares (501.6 acre) of vineyards and over forty wineries.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Sable a Cross Patee Fourche Argent.
The coat of arms of Salquenen bears the Maltese Cross in memory of the Knights of St. John of Malta
. In the 13th century, members of the Maltese Order settled in Salquenen and, in accordance with their beliefs, founded a lodging for pilgrims and travelers. The Knights of St. John remained in Salquenen for about 400 years.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.4%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.7% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.4%. Out of the forested land, 47.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.1% is used for growing crops and 2.6% is pastures, while 18.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.3% is in lakes and 3.0% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 10.6% is unproductive vegetation and 4.9% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Leuk district, on the right side of the Rhone
valley, across from the Pfynwald (Pfyn woods). It is the western-most German speaking municipality in Valais.
Most of the population speaks German
(1,057 or 88.2%) as their first language, French
is the second most common (107 or 8.9%) and Italian
is the third (11 or 0.9%).
, the gender distribution of the population was 50.9% male and 49.1% female. The population was made up of 601 Swiss men (44.6% of the population) and 85 (6.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 599 Swiss women (44.4%) and 63 (4.7%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 748 or about 62.4% were born in Salgesch and lived there in 2000. There were 287 or 24.0% who were born in the same canton, while 68 or 5.7% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 56 or 4.7% were born outside of Switzerland.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 21.8% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 61.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.8%.
, there were 459 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 619 married individuals, 80 widows or widowers and 40 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.62 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 72.2% 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 479 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. There were 142 households that consist of only one person and 37 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 489 households that answered this question, 29.0% were households made up of just one person and there were 10 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 128 married couples without children, 169 married couples with children There were 22 single parents with a child or children. There were 8 households that were made up of unrelated people and 10 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 205 single family homes (or 59.8% of the total) out of a total of 343 inhabited buildings. There were 72 multi-family buildings (21.0%), along with 25 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (7.3%) and 41 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (12.0%).
, a total of 436 apartments (85.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 56 apartments (11.0%) were seasonally occupied and 19 apartments (3.7%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.7 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.28%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
the most popular party was the CVP
which received 68.06% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(17.94%), the SP
(9.27%) and the FDP
(2.77%). In the federal election, a total of 711 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 73.6%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat
election a total of 788 votes were cast, of which 32 or about 4.1% were invalid. The voter participation was 82.8%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election
election a total of 706 votes were cast, of which 52 or about 7.4% were invalid. The voter participation was 73.1%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 569. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 122, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 274 of which 112 or (40.9%) were in manufacturing and 151 (55.1%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 173. In the tertiary sector; 79 or 45.7% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 21 or 12.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 32 or 18.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 1.2% were the insurance or financial industry, 10 or 5.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 9 or 5.2% were in education.
, there were 232 workers who commuted into the municipality and 331 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.4 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 11.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 56.7% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 14 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 1.17% of the population), and there was 1 individual who belongs to another Christian church. There were 7 (or about 0.58% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There were 2 individuals who were Buddhist
. 24 (or about 2.00% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 27 individuals (or about 2.25% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 83 who completed tertiary schooling, 69.9% were Swiss men, 21.7% were Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 128 students in the Salgesch 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 2 kindergarten classes (KG1 or KG2) and 25 kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school. In Salgesch there were a total of 8 classes and 128 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 Salgesch attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
, there were 66 students from Salgesch who attended schools outside the municipality.
Salquenen’s wine producers are extremely strict and the requirements of the label are rigorous. Grape production is limited to 800 grams per square metre.
The sugar content of Grand Cru grapes must be above 96° Oechsle. In addition, only grapes cultivated according to the methods of the integrated production are admitted. Sugar adding, blending or maturing in barrels is strictly forbidden.
The wines must age in the producers’ cellars for at least 15 months before being presented to a national wine-tasting commission. A wine can be called Grand Cru only if it is awarded 18 out of 20 points and will then be decorated with the golden label of the municipality of Salquenen.
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 Leuk 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....
.
History
Salgesch is first mentioned in the 11th Century as Salconio. In 1225 it was mentioned as Salquenum.The transformation of Salquenen from a farming village to today’s wine village began after World War II. Today, there are 203 hectares (501.6 acre) of vineyards and over forty wineries.
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 Sable a Cross Patee Fourche Argent.
The coat of arms of Salquenen bears the Maltese Cross in memory of the Knights of St. John of Malta
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
. In the 13th century, members of the Maltese Order settled in Salquenen and, in accordance with their beliefs, founded a lodging for pilgrims and travelers. The Knights of St. John remained in Salquenen for about 400 years.
Geography
Salgesch has an area, , of 11.3 square kilometre. Of this area, 2.42 square kilometre or 21.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 5.72 square kilometre or 50.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.1 square kilometre or 9.7% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.37 square kilometre or 3.3% is either rivers or lakes and 1.75 square kilometre or 15.4% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.4%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.7% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.4%. Out of the forested land, 47.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.1% is used for growing crops and 2.6% is pastures, while 18.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.3% is in lakes and 3.0% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 10.6% is unproductive vegetation and 4.9% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality is located in the Leuk district, on the right 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...
valley, across from the Pfynwald (Pfyn woods). It is the western-most German speaking municipality in Valais.
Demographics
Salgesch has a population of . , 10.1% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 4.7%. It has changed at a rate of -0.2% due to migration and at a rate of 0.3% 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....
(1,057 or 88.2%) as their first language, 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 second most common (107 or 8.9%) and 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...
is the third (11 or 0.9%).
, the gender distribution of the population was 50.9% male and 49.1% female. The population was made up of 601 Swiss men (44.6% of the population) and 85 (6.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 599 Swiss women (44.4%) and 63 (4.7%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 748 or about 62.4% were born in Salgesch and lived there in 2000. There were 287 or 24.0% who were born in the same canton, while 68 or 5.7% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 56 or 4.7% were born outside of Switzerland.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 21.8% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 61.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.8%.
, there were 459 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 619 married individuals, 80 widows or widowers and 40 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.62 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 72.2% 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 479 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. There were 142 households that consist of only one person and 37 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 489 households that answered this question, 29.0% were households made up of just one person and there were 10 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 128 married couples without children, 169 married couples with children There were 22 single parents with a child or children. There were 8 households that were made up of unrelated people and 10 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 205 single family homes (or 59.8% of the total) out of a total of 343 inhabited buildings. There were 72 multi-family buildings (21.0%), along with 25 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (7.3%) and 41 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (12.0%).
, a total of 436 apartments (85.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 56 apartments (11.0%) were seasonally occupied and 19 apartments (3.7%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.7 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.28%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
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 68.06% 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...
(17.94%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(9.27%) and 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....
(2.77%). In the federal election, a total of 711 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 73.6%.
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 788 votes were cast, of which 32 or about 4.1% were invalid. The voter participation was 82.8%, 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 706 votes were cast, of which 52 or about 7.4% were invalid. The voter participation was 73.1%, which is much more than the cantonal average of 59.88%.
Economy
, Salgesch had an unemployment rate of 2.4%. , there were 223 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 100 businesses involved in this sector. 300 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 25 businesses in this sector. 213 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 47 businesses in this sector. There were 586 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 35.0% 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 569. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 122, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 274 of which 112 or (40.9%) were in manufacturing and 151 (55.1%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 173. In the tertiary sector; 79 or 45.7% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 21 or 12.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 32 or 18.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 1.2% were the insurance or financial industry, 10 or 5.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 9 or 5.2% were in education.
, there were 232 workers who commuted into the municipality and 331 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.4 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 11.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 56.7% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 1,095 or 91.4% were Roman Catholic, while 28 or 2.3% 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 14 members of an Orthodox church
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
(or about 1.17% of the population), and there was 1 individual who belongs to another Christian church. There were 7 (or about 0.58% of the population) who were Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic. There were 2 individuals who were Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. 24 (or about 2.00% 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 27 individuals (or about 2.25% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Salgesch about 407 or (34.0%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 83 or (6.9%) 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 83 who completed tertiary schooling, 69.9% were Swiss men, 21.7% were Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 128 students in the Salgesch 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 2 kindergarten classes (KG1 or KG2) and 25 kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school. In Salgesch there were a total of 8 classes and 128 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 Salgesch attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
, there were 66 students from Salgesch who attended schools outside the municipality.
Grand Cru de Salquenen
Grand Cru de Salquenen is a wine produced only in the municipality.Salquenen’s wine producers are extremely strict and the requirements of the label are rigorous. Grape production is limited to 800 grams per square metre.
The sugar content of Grand Cru grapes must be above 96° Oechsle. In addition, only grapes cultivated according to the methods of the integrated production are admitted. Sugar adding, blending or maturing in barrels is strictly forbidden.
The wines must age in the producers’ cellars for at least 15 months before being presented to a national wine-tasting commission. A wine can be called Grand Cru only if it is awarded 18 out of 20 points and will then be decorated with the golden label of the municipality of Salquenen.