Safien

Safien is a former municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The municipalities of Valendas, Versam, Safien and Tenna merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Safiental.[1]

Safien
Former municipality of Switzerland
Coat of arms
Location of Safien
Safien
Safien
Coordinates: 46°40′N 9°18′E
CountrySwitzerland
CantonGraubünden
DistrictSurselva
Area
 • Total100.58 km2 (38.83 sq mi)
Elevation
1,315 m (4,314 ft)
Population
 (Dec 2011)
 • Total294
 • Density2.9/km2 (7.6/sq mi)
Postal code
7107
SFOS number3651
Surrounded byCasti-Wergenstein, Duvin, Flerden, Mathon, Nufenen, Pitasch, Portein, Präz, Riein, Sankt Martin, Sarn, Splügen, Sufers, Tenna, Tschappina, Vals
Twin townsBettingen (Switzerland)
Websitewww.safien.ch
SFSO statistics

History

Safien is first mentioned in 1219 as Stosavia.[2]

Geography
Thalkirch church, Safien

Safien had an area, as of 2006, of 100.6 km2 (38.8 sq mi). Of this area, 45.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 18.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (35.4%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[3]

The former municipality was the capital of the Safien sub-district of the Surselva district in the mid and upper Safien valley. The only other municipality in the sub-district was Tenna, which occupied the lower Safien valley. The valley is drained by the Rabiusa river.

The former municipality consists of the village of Safien-Platz (elevation: 1,350 m (4,430 ft)) and scattered hamlets and single farm houses throughout the valley.

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules a Cross gyronny Argent and Sable[4] It is based on the simple design of the sub-district, with different colors.

Demographics

Safien had a population (as of 2011) of 294.[5] As of 2008, 0.3% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.[6] Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -15%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (96.1%), with Italian being second most common ( 1.6%) and Albanian being third ( 1.6%).[3]

As of 2000, the gender distribution of the population was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.[7] The age distribution, as of 2000, in Safien is; 49 children or 15.9% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 43 teenagers or 14.0% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 24 people or 7.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 37 people or 12.0% are between 30 and 39, 39 people or 12.7% are between 40 and 49, and 36 people or 11.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 30 people or 9.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 28 people or 9.1% are between 70 and 79, there are 18 people or 5.8% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 4 people or 1.3% who are between 90 and 99.[6]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 62.4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (18.8%), the FDP (7.4%) and the CVP (5.4%).[3]

In Safien about 61.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).[3]

Safien has an unemployment rate of 0.46%. As of 2005, there were 89 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 35 businesses involved in this sector. 15 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 32 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 12 businesses in this sector.[3]

The historical population is given in the following table:[2]

year population
1803 770
1850 685
1900 455
1950 453
2000 308
2010 305
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gollark: It's technically legal to cause localized auroras and then use open broadcasts from weather satellites to detect these.

References
  1. Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (in German) accessed 2 January 2013
  2. Safien in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  3. Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 02-Dec-2009
  4. Flags of the World.com accessed 02-Dec-2009
  5. Swiss Federal Statistics Office – STAT-TAB Ständige und Nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Region, Geschlecht, Nationalität und Alter (in German) accessed 3 October 2012
  6. Graubunden Population Statistics Archived 2009-08-27 at the Wayback Machine (in German) accessed 21 September 2009
  7. Graubunden in Numbers Archived 2009-09-24 at the Wayback Machine (in German) accessed 21 September 2009
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