Zuoz
Encyclopedia
Zuoz is a municipality
in the district of Maloja
in the Swiss
canton
of Graubünden
.
villages such as St. Moritz
and Samedan
.
In 1137-39 the village was acquired from the count
von Gamertingen by the Bishop of Chur
. In 1244 Bishop Volkart appointed Andreas Planta from Zuoz to be the chancellor
of the Oberengadin. The Planta family remained in power until 1798. In 1367, Zuoz joined the League of God's House
under the leadership of the Amtmann
Thomas Planta.
The continuing arguments between Zuoz and Samedan
led, in 1438, to the division of the court into two parts, the courts of Sur and Suot Funtauna Merla. In 1492, the village bought the Bishop's property and rights to tax in Zuoz. Then, in 1526 the Bishop lost the right to high justice
with the Ilanzer articles. In the Swabian War
the inhabitants ignited their fields to force the enemy to retreat. Over the course of the 15th Century, several villages became independent of Zuoz. S-chanf
left in 1518, La Punt-Chamues-ch
in 1528 and Madulain
in 1534. In 1554, Zuoz joined the Protestant Reformation
and converted.
In 1512, the Three Leagues
conquered the Valtellina
valley. The improved trade routes and money that this valley brought, led to a golden age in the Engadin valley. During this time in Zuoz; a Latin school was established, the first written Romansh language was developed and choir
singing spread in both religious and everyday theater. In addition Zuozer students visited foreign schools.
After the Bündner Wirren (or Confusion of the Leagues) from 1618 to 1639, many residents of the village emigrated seeking jobs in other regions. The loss of the Valtellina valley led to further emigrations and loss of political power. Following the end of the Ancien Régime
and creation of the Canton of Raetia
in the French controlled Helvetic Republic
in 1798, all of Zuoz's privileges and political power vanished. It became a simple farming village.
The municipality is located in the Oberengadin sub-district of the Maloja district. The village center is located on the slope of Munt Albanas and is surrounded by new developments.
, the gender distribution of the population was 51.7% male and 48.3% female. The age distribution, , in Zuoz is; 127 children or 9.4% of the population are between 0 to 9 years old. 88 teenagers or 6.5% are 10 to 14, and 241 teenagers or 17.8% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 154 people or 11.4% of the population are between 20 to 29 years old. 164 people or 12.1% are 30 to 39, 202 people or 14.9% are 40 to 49, and 152 people or 11.2% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 101 people or 7.5% of the population are between 60 to 69 years old, 87 people or 6.4% are 70 to 79, there are 34 people or 2.5% who are 80 to 89, there are 2 people or 0.1% who are 90 to 99, and 1 person who is 100 or more.
In the 2007 federal election
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 42.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP
(25.6%), the SP
(25.2%) and the CVP
(5%).
In Zuoz about 72.5% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
).
Zuoz has an unemployment rate of 1.37%. , there were 40 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 10 businesses involved in this sector. 116 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 15 businesses in this sector. 462 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 59 businesses in this sector.
From the , 476 or 35.2% are Roman Catholic, while 667 or 49.3% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
. Of the rest of the population, there are 36 individuals (or about 2.66% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 7 individuals (or about 0.52% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 14 (or about 1.03% of the population) who are Islam
ic. There are 6 individuals (or about 0.44% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 107 (or about 7.91% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 40 individuals (or about 2.96% of the population) did not answer the question.
The historical population is given in the following table:
Zuoz is home to the Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz
, a prestigious preparatory school
which has a high proportion of foreign nationals.
It is also home to the famous "Posthotel Engadina", a hotel with 2 restaurants, a cafe, a pool and newly refurbished rooms.
.
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...
.
History
Zuoz is first mentioned about 840 as Zuzes. Historically, Zuoz was the political center of the upper Engadin. It was the seat of the local bishop. But, it has long ago been supplanted by other 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...
villages such as St. Moritz
St. Moritz
St. Moritz is a resort town in the Engadine valley in Switzerland. It is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden...
and Samedan
Samedan
Samedan is a town and municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-History:Samedan is first mentioned in 1139 as Samaden. In 1334 it was mentioned as Semeden, in 1367 as Semaden, in 1498 as Sumada and in 1527 as Sameden...
.
In 1137-39 the village was acquired from the count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
von Gamertingen by the Bishop of Chur
Bishop of Chur
The Bishop of Chur is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chur, Grisons, Switzerland .-History:...
. In 1244 Bishop Volkart appointed Andreas Planta from Zuoz to be the chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
of the Oberengadin. The Planta family remained in power until 1798. In 1367, Zuoz joined the League of God's House
League of God's House
The League of God's House was formed in what is now Switzerland on January 29, 1367 to resist the rising power of the Bishopric of Chur and the House of Habsburg. The League allied with the Grey League and the League of the Ten Jurisdictions in 1471 to form the Three Leagues...
under the leadership of the Amtmann
Amtmann
Amtmann can be :*a feudal, administrative and/or gubernatorial title, such as Bezirksamtmann . Amtmann, ammann and amman were a kind of bailiff in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and in Brussels....
Thomas Planta.
The continuing arguments between Zuoz and Samedan
Samedan
Samedan is a town and municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-History:Samedan is first mentioned in 1139 as Samaden. In 1334 it was mentioned as Semeden, in 1367 as Semaden, in 1498 as Sumada and in 1527 as Sameden...
led, in 1438, to the division of the court into two parts, the courts of Sur and Suot Funtauna Merla. In 1492, the village bought the Bishop's property and rights to tax in Zuoz. Then, in 1526 the Bishop lost the right to high justice
High Justice
High Justice is a 1974 collection of science fiction short stories by Jerry Pournelle. It was republished in a omnibus edition with Exiles to Glory in 2009 as Exile -- and Glory....
with the Ilanzer articles. In the Swabian War
Swabian War
The Swabian War of 1499 was the last major armed conflict between the Old Swiss Confederacy and the House of Habsburg...
the inhabitants ignited their fields to force the enemy to retreat. Over the course of the 15th Century, several villages became independent of Zuoz. S-chanf
S-chanf
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.-Name:...
left in 1518, La Punt-Chamues-ch
La Punt-Chamues-ch
La Punt - Chamues-ch is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-History:La Punt-Chamues-ch is first mentioned around 1137-39 as Campolovasto. In 1244 it was mentioned as Ponte.-Geography:...
in 1528 and Madulain
Madulain
Madulain is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-Geography:Madulain has an area, , of . Of this area, 33.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 14.6% is forested...
in 1534. In 1554, Zuoz joined the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
and converted.
In 1512, the Three Leagues
Three Leagues
The Three Leagues was the alliance of 1471 of the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions and the Grey League, leading eventually to the formation of the Swiss canton of Graubünden. Most of the lands of Graubünden were part of the Roman province Raetia in 15 BC...
conquered the Valtellina
Valtellina
Valtellina or the Valtelline valley ; is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its skiing, its hot spring spas, its cheeses and its wines...
valley. The improved trade routes and money that this valley brought, led to a golden age in the Engadin valley. During this time in Zuoz; a Latin school was established, the first written Romansh language was developed and choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
singing spread in both religious and everyday theater. In addition Zuozer students visited foreign schools.
After the Bündner Wirren (or Confusion of the Leagues) from 1618 to 1639, many residents of the village emigrated seeking jobs in other regions. The loss of the Valtellina valley led to further emigrations and loss of political power. Following the end of the Ancien Régime
Early Modern Switzerland
The early modern history of the Old Swiss Confederacy , lasting from formal independence in 1648 to the French invasion of 1798 came to be referred as Ancien Régime retrospectively, in post-Napoleonic Switzerland.The early modern period was characterized by an increasingly...
and creation of the Canton of Raetia
Canton of Raetia
Raetia was the name of a canton of the Helvetic Republic from 1798 to 1803, corresponding to modern Graubünden and composed of the Free State of the Three Leagues...
in the French controlled Helvetic Republic
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...
in 1798, all of Zuoz's privileges and political power vanished. It became a simple farming village.
Geography
Zuoz has an area, , of 65.6 km² (25.3 sq mi). Of this area, 49.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 9.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (40.2%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).The municipality is located in the Oberengadin sub-district of the Maloja district. The village center is located on the slope of Munt Albanas and is surrounded by new developments.
Demographics
Zuoz has a population (as of ) of . , 37.0% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -5.8%., the gender distribution of the population was 51.7% male and 48.3% female. The age distribution, , in Zuoz is; 127 children or 9.4% of the population are between 0 to 9 years old. 88 teenagers or 6.5% are 10 to 14, and 241 teenagers or 17.8% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 154 people or 11.4% of the population are between 20 to 29 years old. 164 people or 12.1% are 30 to 39, 202 people or 14.9% are 40 to 49, and 152 people or 11.2% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 101 people or 7.5% of the population are between 60 to 69 years old, 87 people or 6.4% are 70 to 79, there are 34 people or 2.5% who are 80 to 89, there are 2 people or 0.1% who are 90 to 99, and 1 person who is 100 or more.
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 42.3% 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....
(25.6%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(25.2%) 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%).
In Zuoz about 72.5% 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...
).
Zuoz has an unemployment rate of 1.37%. , there were 40 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 10 businesses involved in this sector. 116 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 15 businesses in this sector. 462 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 59 businesses in this sector.
From the , 476 or 35.2% are Roman Catholic, while 667 or 49.3% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
Swiss 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 are 36 individuals (or about 2.66% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 7 individuals (or about 0.52% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 14 (or about 1.03% of the population) who are Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic. There are 6 individuals (or about 0.44% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 107 (or about 7.91% of the population) belong 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 40 individuals (or about 2.96% of the population) did not answer the question.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1781 | 423 |
| 1850 | 378 |
| 1900 | 425 |
| 1930 | 969 |
| 1941 | 693 |
| 1950 | 779 |
| 1960 | 1,001 |
| 1970 | 1,165 |
| 1980 | 1,186 |
| 1990 | 1,199 |
| 2000 | 1,353 |
Languages
Most of the population speaks German (53.2%), with Romansh being second most common (25.8%) and Italian being third ( 9.8%). Until the 19th Century, the entire population spoke the Upper-Engadin Romansh dialect of Puter. Due to increasing trade with the outside world, Romansh usage began to decline. In 1880 about 85% spoke Romansh as a first language, while in 1910 and again in 1941 it was only 56%.| Languages in Zuoz | ||||||
| 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.... |
457 | 38.53 % | 547 | 45.62 % | 720 | 53.22 % |
| Romansh | 461 | 38.87 % | 407 | 33.94 % | 349 | 25.79 % |
| 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... |
183 | 15.43 % | 144 | 12.01 % | 133 | 9.83 % |
| Population | 1186 | 100 % | 1199 | 100 % | 1353 | 100 % |
Sights
Zuoz is an example of a traditional Engadin village. It has many cobblestoned streets, an elegant town center and numerous beautiful old buildings. In the winter it offers four t-bar ski-lifts and a cross-country ski center. In the summer it has a golf course and numerous hiking trails.Zuoz is home to the Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz
Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz
Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz is a private preparatory school and international boarding school located in the village of Zuoz in the Engadin valley in Switzerland. Since its founding in 1904, it has catered to an international student body. Currently 40% of its students come from Switzerland, 35% Germany...
, a prestigious preparatory school
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
which has a high proportion of foreign nationals.
It is also home to the famous "Posthotel Engadina", a hotel with 2 restaurants, a cafe, a pool and newly refurbished rooms.
Heritage sites of national significance
The Chaplutta S. Bastiaun and Chasa Pult are listed as Swiss heritage sites 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...
.