Albinen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Albinen
Albinen village
Coat of arms
Albinen Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Albinen Location in Canton of Valais Show map of Canton of Valais
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Valais
District	Leuk
Area
• Total	15.56 km2 (6.01 sq mi)
Elevation	1,300 m (4,300 ft)
Population  (Dec 2020 )
• Total	243
• Density	15.62/km2 (40.45/sq mi)
Postal code	3955
Surrounded by	Guttet-Feschel, Inden, Leuk, Leukerbad

Albinen is a small town, also called a municipality, located in the Leuk district. It's found in the Valais canton of Switzerland. This charming village is known for its beautiful mountain setting.

A Look Back in Time: Albinen's History

Albinen was first written about in the year 1224. Back then, it was called Albignun. Later, people knew it as Albinnon or by its French name, Arbignon. This shows how old and interesting the village is!

Exploring Albinen's Geography

Albinen covers an area of about 15.5 square kilometers (about 6 square miles). A big part of this land, almost half (46.4%), is used for farming. Another large part (39.5%) is covered by forests.

Land Use in Albinen

Only a small portion of Albinen (3.4%) has buildings and roads. A tiny bit (0.3%) is rivers or lakes. The rest (10.7%) is land that can't be used for farming or building, like rocky areas.

Most of the forested land is thick forest. Some areas have small groups of trees or orchards. For farming, most of the land is used for pastures where animals graze.

Village Life and Settlements

Albinen is in the Leuk district. It includes the main village of Albinen. There are also mountain settlements called Chermignon and Torrent. Long ago, farmers in Albinen lived a semi-nomadic life. This means they moved their animals between different pastures depending on the season. Because of this, they had special herding camps. These camps, like Ober Dorbu and Tschingere, are now vacation villages.

Albinen's Mountain Location

Albinen is in the south of Switzerland, high up in the Swiss Alps. It sits at about 1,275 meters (4,183 feet) above sea level. The village is on a sunny slope, nestled between two creeks.

The land of Albinen stretches from the Dala river, which is 760 meters (2,493 feet) above sea level, all the way up to the Torrenthorn mountain, which is 2,997 meters (9,833 feet) high.

Nature and Wildlife: Flora and Fauna

The plants and animals you see in Albinen change as you go higher up the mountains. Lower down, you'll find lots of woods and green meadows. As you climb higher, the landscape turns into mountain meadows, rocks, and cliffs.

Plants and Flowers

You can find many different kinds of wild flowers here. They are especially beautiful in spring and early summer when they are all blooming. In autumn, the larch trees turn a bright yellow. Bushes also show off amazing colors like red, orange, and yellow.

Animals in Albinen

Albinen is home to many types of birds. You might also spot local wildlife. This includes deer, chamois (a type of goat-antelope), foxes, lynx, and even steinbock (a type of wild goat).

Albinen's Coat of Arms

A coat of arms is like a special symbol for a town or family. Albinen's coat of arms shows a black cross coming out of green hills on a silver background.

Who Lives in Albinen: Demographics

Albinen has a population of about 266 people (as of December 2002). In 2008, a small part of the population (6.8%) were people from other countries. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009), the number of people living here has changed a little. More people moved in than moved out, but there were more deaths than births.

Languages Spoken

Most people in Albinen (97.7%) speak German as their main language. A few people (0.8%) speak French, and even fewer (0.4%) speak Romansh.

Population Breakdown

In 2008, about 48.1% of the people were male and 51.9% were female. Most people in Albinen (about 59.4%) were born there. Others were born in the same canton (15.3%), elsewhere in Switzerland (12.6%), or outside Switzerland (9.2%).

Age Groups

Looking at the age of people in 2000:

• Children and teenagers (0–19 years old) made up 23.4% of the population.
• Adults (20–64 years old) made up 51.7%.
• Seniors (over 64 years old) made up 24.9%.

Population Over Time

The chart below shows how Albinen's population has changed over many years:

Must-See Sights in Albinen

The entire village of Albinen is very special. It is listed as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites. This means it's an important place to protect because of its history and beauty.

Tourism and Fun Activities

Albinen's main business is tourism. The village is quiet and sunny, which makes it a great place to visit. It's also close to famous places in the Swiss Alps like Zermatt, Saas-Fee, and Leukerbad.

Getting Around Albinen

A regular bus service connects Albinen to nearby towns. You can reach Leuk, the main town, in about 20 minutes. From Leuk, you can catch trains to other parts of Switzerland. The bus also goes to the alpine resort of Leukerbad in about 15 minutes. Leukerbad is famous for its hot water pools.

Hiking and Adventure

Albinen Tourism takes care of many hiking trails. These trails have different lengths and difficulty levels, so there's something for everyone. A very exciting part of the trails is the "Albinenleitern." This is a series of ladders that climb up a cliff. Long ago, these ladders were the main way to get between Albinen and Leukerbad.

Skiing and Mountain Fun

A cable car connects Albinen to the Rinderhütte ski station. This station is in the Torrent mountain area, at 2,313 meters (7,589 feet) above sea level. In winter, it's a paradise for skiers with over 50 kilometers (31 miles) of slopes.

In summer, Torrent offers many hiking and mountain biking trails. The views from Torrent are amazing! You can see the 4,000-meter (13,123-foot) peaks of the Swiss, French, and Italian Alps.

Exploring Albinen's Old Town

Historic aerial photograph of Albinen from 1955

Albinen is famous for being one of the best-preserved traditional Swiss mountain villages. When you walk through it, you'll see narrow stone alleys. These alleys wind between old houses made of larch wood. Many of these homes and sheds are hundreds of years old. They show the amazing building skills of people from long ago.

The old church in Albinen was damaged by an earthquake. So, a newer church building replaced it. This church is one of the main landmarks of Albinen. Its design fits in well with the old buildings around it.

How People Make a Living: Economy

In 2010, the unemployment rate in Albinen was low, at 1.8%. This means most people who wanted jobs had them.

Jobs in Albinen

In 2008, about 16 people worked in farming. There were 8 businesses related to farming. In the construction sector, 11 people worked in 2 businesses. The biggest number of jobs was in the service sector, with 48 people working in 11 businesses. This sector includes things like hotels, restaurants, and shops.

Many people who live in Albinen also travel to other towns for work. In 2000, 14.9% of working people used public transportation to get to their jobs. More people, 51.8%, used a private car.

Religion in Albinen

Inside the Albinen village church

Based on information from 2000, most people in Albinen (84.3%) were Roman Catholic. About 10.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. A small number of people (3.07%) did not belong to any church.

Learning and Education

In Albinen, about 30.7% of the people have finished high school. A smaller group, 7.3%, have gone on to higher education, like university. Of those who went to university, most were Swiss men.

In 2000, 13 students from Albinen went to schools outside the village.

See also

In Spanish: Albinen para niños