Alvaneu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alvaneu
Former municipality of Switzerland
Coat of arms
Alvaneu Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Alvaneu Location in Canton of Graubünden Show map of Canton of Graubünden
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Graubünden
District	Albula
Area
• Total	35.63 km2 (13.76 sq mi)
Elevation	1,181 m (3,875 ft)
Population  (Dec 2013)
• Total	403
• Density	11.311/km2 (29.29/sq mi)
Postal code	7492
Surrounded by	Arosa, Brienz/Brinzauls, Filisur, Lantsch/Lenz, Schmitten, Surava, Tiefencastel

Alvaneu (in Romansh: Alvagni) was once a town, called a municipality, in the Albula area of Graubünden in Switzerland. On January 1, 2015, Alvaneu joined with six other towns. These towns were Alvaschein, Mon, Stierva, Tiefencastel, Brienz/Brinzauls, and Surava. Together, they formed a new, larger municipality called Albula/Alvra.

In 2007, a media expert named Peter Martin Wettler was given a special title. The village leaders named him the Prince of Belfort.

History of Alvaneu

Alvaneu is a very old place. It was first written about in the year 1244. Back then, its name was spelled Aluenude. Later, in 1530, it was mentioned as Allweneü.

Geography of Alvaneu

Alvaneu covered an area of about 35.7 square kilometers (13.8 square miles). A large part of this land, about 27%, was used for farming. Forests covered about 32.8% of the area.

Around 2% of the land had buildings or roads. The remaining 38.2% was made up of things like rivers, glaciers, or mountains. This means it was not used for farming or building.

The town was located on a flat area above the Albula river. It included the main village, Alvaneu (also known as Alvaneu-Dorf). There was also Alvaneu-Bad, which was down in the valley. Other small settlements like Aclas d'Alvagni, Creusch, and Ramoz were also part of Alvaneu.

People of Alvaneu

In 2013, Alvaneu had a population of 403 people. By 2007, about 7.6% of the people living there were from other countries. Over ten years, the number of people living in Alvaneu went down by about 6.2%.

In the 2007 national election, the most popular political group was the SVP. They received 42% of the votes. Other popular groups included the CVP (25.1%), the SPS (22.8%), and the FDP (7.9%). These groups are like teams with different ideas for how to run the country.

Many adults in Alvaneu have completed a good amount of schooling. About 69.7% of people aged 25-64 have finished high school or gone on to higher education. This could be a university or a special college called a Fachhochschule.

Alvaneu had a very low unemployment rate, only 0.27%. This means almost everyone who wanted a job had one. In 2005, many people worked in different types of jobs:

• Primary sector: 43 people worked in farming or other jobs that get raw materials from nature. There were 16 businesses in this area.
• Secondary sector: 37 people worked in manufacturing or building things. There were 4 businesses in this area.
• Tertiary sector: 124 people worked in services, like shops, hotels, or offices. There were 23 businesses in this area.

The number of people living in Alvaneu has changed over time:

Languages in Alvaneu

For a long time, the main language spoken in Alvaneu was Romansh. However, over the years, fewer people spoke it. In 1880, about 80.1% of people spoke Romansh. By 1970, only 47.03% did. The last time most people spoke Romansh was in 1960.

Here's how the languages changed over the years:

Even though some people still speak Romansh (about 31%), German is now the only official language for the town's business. In 2000, most people (76.4%) spoke German. Romansh was the second most common (16.9%), and Italian was third (3.5%).

Images for kids

• 

  Belfort castle ruins near Alvaneu

• 

  An aerial view of Alvaneu from 2300 meters high, taken by Walter Mittelholzer in 1925.

See also

In Spanish: Alvaneu para niños