35-748: Fiesch is a municipality in the district of Goms in the canton of Valais in Switzerland . Nearby Fiescheralp is administered by Fiesch and is accessible by the Eggishorn lift. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site for its view of the Jungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area . Fiesch is first mentioned in 1203 as "Vios". In 1438 it is recorded as "Viesch", and has been known as Fiesch since 1905. The Fiesch derailment occurred in 2010. Fiesch has an area, as of 2011, of 11.3 square kilometers (4.4 sq mi). Of this area, 32.6%
70-471: A certain time in Switzerland are also allowed to participate in municipal politics. As at the cantonal and federal level, citizens enjoy political rights, including direct democratic ones, in their municipality. Municipalities are financed through direct taxes (such as income tax ), with rates varying more or less within a framework set by the canton (see Taxation in Switzerland ). As among the cantons, there
105-516: A child or children. There were 7 households that were made up of unrelated people and 7 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing. In 2000 there were 266 single family homes (or 54.8% of the total) out of a total of 485 inhabited buildings. There were 151 multi-family buildings (31.1%), along with 29 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (6.0%) and 39 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (8.0%). In 2000,
140-470: A private car. From the 2000 census, 804 or 80.7% were Roman Catholic , while 60 or 6.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church . Of the rest of the population, there were 80 members of an Orthodox church (or about 8.03% of the population), and there was 1 individual who belongs to another Christian church. There were 14 (or about 1.41% of the population) who were Islamic . 24 (or about 2.41% of
175-405: A total of 351 apartments (41.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 427 apartments (50.8%) were seasonally occupied and 62 apartments (7.4%) were empty. As of 2009, the construction rate of new housing units was 4.1 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010, was 1.02%. The historical population is given in the following chart: Fiesch is twinned with
210-554: A total of 6 classes and 98 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. There were 81 lower secondary students who attended school in Fiesch. All the upper secondary students attended school in another municipality. As of 2000, there were 122 students in Fiesch who came from another municipality, while 31 residents attended schools outside
245-449: Is a tax transfer among the municipalities to balance various levels of tax income. Switzerland has a relatively high number of small municipalities, with a population of 1,000 or less, especially in rural areas. Because of the increasing difficulty in providing professional government services and in finding volunteers for political offices in small municipalities, the cantons tend to encourage voluntary mergers of municipalities. This led to
280-497: Is used for agricultural purposes, while 40.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 6.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and 20.4% is unproductive land. The municipality is located in a small valley and on the slopes above both sides of the Weisswasser. The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure, a fess wavy Argent in base Coupeaux of the same. Fiesch has a population (as of December 2020) of 909. As of 2008, 17.9% of
315-798: The Bürgerrecht (citizenship), regardless of where they were born or where they may currently live. Instead of the place of birth , Swiss legal documents, e.g. passports, contain the Bürgerort (place of citizenship, or place of origin ). The Bürgergemeinde also often holds and administers the common property in the village for the members of the community. Each canton determines the powers and responsibilities of its municipalities. These may include providing local government services such as education, medical and social services, public transportation, and tax collection. The degree of centralization varies from one canton to another. The federal constitution protects
350-469: The Swiss Confederation . In most cantons, municipalities are also part of districts or other sub-cantonal administrative divisions. There are 2,131 municipalities as of January 2024 . Their populations range between several hundred thousand ( Zürich ), and a few dozen people ( Kammersrohr , Bister ), and their territory between 0.32 km² ( Rivaz ) and 439 km² ( Scuol ). The beginnings of
385-457: The secondary sector and there were 14 businesses in this sector. 551 people were employed in the tertiary sector , with 78 businesses in this sector. There were 532 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 41.9% of the workforce. In 2008 the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 511. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 5, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in
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#1732858495563420-467: The 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 179 students in the Fiesch 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 31 kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school . In Fiesch there were
455-403: The autonomy of municipalities within the framework set out by cantonal law. Municipalities are generally governed by an executive council headed by a president or mayor . Legislative authority is exercised by a town meeting of all citizens, or by a municipal parliament, depending on the size of the municipality, and on cantonal and municipal law. In some cantons, foreigners who have lived for
490-697: The exercise of political rights for everyone except the members of the Bürgergemeinde . In the Regeneration era (1830–1848), the liberal revolutions of the common people helped to restore some rights again in a few cantons. In other cantons, the Bürgergemeinden were able to maintain power as political communities. In the city of Zürich it was not until the Municipal Act of 1866 that the political municipality came back into existence. The relationship between
525-539: The gender distribution of the population was 50.9% male and 49.1% female. The population was made up of 403 Swiss men (41.5% of the population) and 92 (9.5%) non-Swiss men. There were 382 Swiss women (39.3%) and 95 (9.8%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 433 or about 43.5% were born in Fiesch and lived there in 2000. There were 272 or 27.3% who were born in the same canton, while 103 or 10.3% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 172 or 17.3% were born outside of Switzerland. The age distribution of
560-470: The insurance or financial industry, 9 or 2.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 0.9% were in education and 80 or 17.7% were in health care. In 2000, there were 285 workers who commuted into the municipality and 183 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.6 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 10.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 39.1% used
595-567: The modern municipality system date back to the Helvetic Republic . Under the Old Swiss Confederacy , citizenship was granted by each town and village to only residents. These citizens enjoyed access to community property and in some cases additional protection under the law. Additionally, the urban towns and the rural villages had differing rights and laws. The creation of a uniform Swiss citizenship, which applied equally for citizens of
630-462: The municipalities under cantonal or federal law. Municipalities are numbered by the Swiss Federal Office for Statistics (see Community Identification Number#Switzerland ). One or more postal codes (PLZ/NPA) can by assigned to a municipality or shared with other municipalities. Between 2011 and 2021 nine of the smallest municipalities merged into others as part of the effort to eliminate
665-477: The municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 97 households that consist of only one person and 35 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 379 households that answered this question, 25.6% 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 110 married couples without children, 145 married couples with children There were 11 single parents with
700-495: The municipality. Fiesch is home to the Regionalbibliothek Goms in Fiesch library. The library has (as of 2008) 3,843 books or other media, and loaned out 3,885 items in the same year. It was open a total of 150 days with average of 6 hours per week during that year. Fiesch is served by the following transport connections: From the village one cable car brings you to Fiescheralp. This new cable car starts directly at
735-436: The number of municipalities dropping by 384 between the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2019. Some municipalities designate themselves as "city" ( ville or Stadt ) or as "village" ( Dorf ). These designations result from tradition or local preference – for example, several small municipalities designated as cities held city rights in medieval times – and normally do not impact the legal or political rights or obligations of
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#1732858495563770-525: The old towns and their tenants and servants, led to conflict. The wealthier villagers and urban citizens held rights to forests, common land and other municipal property which they did not want to share with the "new citizens", who were generally poor. The compromise solution, which was written into the municipal laws of the Helvetic Republic, is still valid today. Two politically separate but often geographically similar organizations were created. The first,
805-408: The political municipality and the Bürgergemeinde was often dominated by the latter's ownership of community property. Often the administration and profit from the property were totally held by the Bürgergemeinden , leaving the political municipality dependent on the Bürgergemeinde for money and use of the property. It was not until the political municipality acquired rights over property that served
840-447: The political voting and electoral body rights from the Bürgergemeinde . In the cities, the percentage of members in the Bürgergemeinde in the population was reduced as a result of increasing emigration to the cities. This led to the Bürgergemeinde losing its former importance to a large extent. However, the Bürgergemeinde has remained, and it includes all individuals who are citizens of the Bürgergemeinde , usually by having inherited
875-431: The population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.9%. As of 2000, there were 401 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 514 married individuals, 57 widows or widowers and 24 individuals who are divorced. As of 2000, there were 372 private households in
910-503: The population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of -4.5%. It has changed at a rate of -2% due to migration and at a rate of -2% due to births and deaths. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (872 or 87.6%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian is the second most common (87 or 8.7%) and Albanian is the third (13 or 1.3%). There are 7 people who speak French , 1 person who speaks Italian . As of 2008,
945-521: The population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist , and 13 individuals (or about 1.31% of the population) did not answer the question. In Fiesch about 370 or (37.1%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education , and 90 or (9.0%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule ). Of the 90 who completed tertiary schooling, 67.8% were Swiss men, 15.6% were Swiss women, 8.9% were non-Swiss men and 7.8% were non-Swiss women. During
980-498: The public (such as schools, fire stations, etc.) and taxes, that they obtained full independence. For example, in the city of Bern, it was not until after the property division of 1852 that the political municipality had the right to levy taxes. It was not until the Federal Constitution of 1874 that all Swiss citizens were granted equal political rights on local and Federal levels. This revised constitution finally removed all
1015-415: The secondary sector was 54 of which 23 or (42.6%) were in manufacturing and 31 (57.4%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 452. In the tertiary sector; 84 or 18.6% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 55 or 12.2% were in the movement and storage of goods, 119 or 26.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was in the information industry, 18 or 4.0% were
1050-429: The smallest communities. Only Bister has not merged into a new municipality although the smallest municipality is now Kammersrohr with a population of just 32. In addition to the municipalities as basic territorial political subdivisions, a number of other local subdivisions exist in several cantons. These include: Social Democratic Party of Switzerland Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1085-659: The so-called municipality, was a political community formed by election and its voting body consists of all resident citizens. However, the community land and property remained with the former local citizens who were gathered together into the Bürgergemeinde /bourgeoisie. During the Mediation era (1803–1814), and especially during the Restoration era (1814–1830), many of the gains toward uniform citizenship were lost. Many political municipalities were abolished and limits were placed on
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1120-659: The town of Neufra , Germany . In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 60.07% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (16.05%), the SP (14.91%) and the FDP (7.37%). In the federal election, a total of 356 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 50.6%. In the 2009 Conseil d'État/Staatsrat election a total of 352 votes were cast, of which 18 or about 5.1% were invalid. The voter participation
1155-469: The train station and has been opened in 2019. The main lifts are: Municipalities of Switzerland Municipalities ( German : Gemeinden , Einwohnergemeinden or politische Gemeinden ; French : communes ; Italian : comuni ; Romansh : vischnancas ) are the lowest level of administrative division in Switzerland. Each municipality is part of one of the Swiss cantons , which form
1190-464: The village is an ideal starting point. Above Fiesch, in the Fiescheralp (previously referred to as Kühboden ), there is a ski resort and a launch point for hang glider and paraglider pilots. As of 2010, Fiesch had an unemployment rate of 2.4%. As of 2008, there were 10 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 7 businesses involved in this sector. 57 people were employed in
1225-454: Was 51.4%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election a total of 356 votes were cast, of which 7 or about 2.0% were invalid. The voter participation was 51.4%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 59.88%. The main source of income of the village is tourism , especially hiking , mountain biking , paragliding , snowboarding and skiing , along with many other sports for which
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