Castasegna facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Castasegna
Former municipality of Switzerland
Castasegna village
Coat of arms
Castasegna Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Castasegna Location in Canton of Graubünden Show map of Canton of Graubünden
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Graubünden
District	Maloja
Area
• Total	6.76 km2 (2.61 sq mi)
Elevation	696 m (2,283 ft)
Population
• Total	191
• Density	28.25/km2 (73.18/sq mi)
Postal code	7608
Surrounded by	Bondo, Soglio, Villa di Chiavenna (IT-SO)

Castasegna is a small village in Switzerland. It used to be its own town, but now it's part of the larger municipality called Bregaglia. Castasegna is located in the Grisons canton, which is like a state in Switzerland. It sits right near the border with Italy, in a beautiful area called the Bergell valley. The Mera River flows nearby.

History of Castasegna

Castasegna is an old place! It was first written about in history books way back in 1374. Back then, it was known as Castexegnia.

Geography and Location

A view of Castasegna village.

Castasegna covers an area of about 6.8 square kilometers (about 2.6 square miles). A good part of this land, about 40%, is covered by forests. About 19% of the land is used for farming. The rest is made up of buildings, roads, or natural features like rivers and mountains.

The village is located in the lower part of the Bergell valley. It's a "linear village," meaning it stretches out along a line, with the Italian border right at its edge. A nearby Italian village, Villa di Chiavenna, is very close. The main road through the valley used to go right through Castasegna's narrow streets. To make it easier for people to get around and reduce traffic in the village, the highway was moved to a new path lower down in the valley.

On January 1, 2010, Castasegna joined with several other villages. These included Bondo, Soglio, Stampa, and Vicosoprano. Together, they formed the new, larger municipality of Bregaglia.

People and Population

In 2008, Castasegna had a population of 191 people. A small part of the population, about 8.4%, were people from other countries. Over the ten years before 2008, the number of people living in Castasegna went down a bit.

In 2000, the population was pretty evenly split between males and females. About 10.5% of the people were young children (0-9 years old). Another 10.5% were teenagers (10-14 years old). There were also many adults and seniors living in the village.

When people voted in the 2007 federal election, the most popular political party was the SP. They received almost half of the votes. Other parties, like the SVP and the FDP, also received many votes.

Most adults in Castasegna (between 25 and 64 years old) have finished high school or gone on to higher education, like university. The unemployment rate in Castasegna is very low, at less than 1%.

In 2005, there were 14 people working in farming and related businesses. There were also 34 people working in manufacturing and construction. The largest number of people, 64, worked in service jobs, like shops, hotels, or offices.

Here's how the population of Castasegna has changed over the years:

Languages Spoken

Most people in Castasegna speak Italian. In 2000, about 80% of the population spoke Italian. German was the second most common language, spoken by about 15.8% of the people. A smaller number of people, about 3.2%, spoke Romansh. The Italian spoken in Castasegna is a special kind of dialect called Lombard. German speakers have lived in the village since the early 1900s.

Here's a table showing the languages spoken in Castasegna over different years:

Local Industry

Castasegna is home to a power plant operated by a company called Elektrizitätswerk der Stadt Zürich (EWZ). This plant helps to produce electricity.

Interesting Sights

Castasegna is famous for having the largest chestnut forest in all of Europe! This amazing forest is known as Brentan. The name of the town, Castasegna, actually means chestnut grove. It's no surprise that a chestnut tree is even shown on the town's coat of arms!

See also

In Spanish: Castasegna para niños