Madulain facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Madulain
Coat of arms
Madulain Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Madulain Location in Canton of Graubünden Show map of Canton of Graubünden
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Graubünden
District	Maloja
Area
• Total	16.28 km2 (6.29 sq mi)
Elevation	1,697 m (5,568 ft)
Population  (Dec 2020 )
• Total	206
• Density	12.65/km2 (32.77/sq mi)
Postal code	7523
Surrounded by	Bever, La Punt Chamues-ch, Pontresina, S-chanf, Zuoz

Madulain is a small town, also called a municipality, located in the beautiful Maloja Region in Switzerland. It's part of the Graubünden canton, which is like a state in Switzerland.

A Look Back in Time

Madulain was first written about a long time ago, around the years 1137-1139. Back then, it was known as Madulene.

A castle called Guardaval Castle was built near Madulain in the 1200s. It was used by the Bishop of Chur to manage his lands in the Upper Engadine area.

However, in 1409, the Bishop had to give the castle to a group called the League of God's House. This was because he owed them money. After that, the castle was no longer used for managing the land and slowly fell into ruin.

Where is Madulain?

Madulain in the winter

Aerial view of Madulain (1947)

Madulain covers an area of about 16.35 square kilometers (6.3 square miles). A good part of this land, about 30.7%, is used for farming. Forests cover about 14.5% of the area.

About 2.6% of the land has buildings or roads, and more than half, 52.2%, is unproductive land like mountains or rocky areas. The amount of land covered by buildings has slowly increased over the years.

Madulain is located in the upper Engadin valley. It sits between the towns of La Punt Chamues-ch and Zuoz. It's also only about 15 minutes away from the famous town of St. Moritz. The Inn River flows through the area.

The town itself is a Haufendorf village. This means it's an irregular, unplanned village with buildings packed closely together around a central area. Madulain is situated on the Inn River at an elevation of about 1,684 meters (5,525 feet) above sea level. Before 1943, the town was known as Madulein.

Who Lives in Madulain?

Madulain has a population of 229 people, as of December 2015. In 2014, about 32.3% of the people living there were foreign nationals. This means they were born in other countries. For example, in 2015, a small number of people (about 9.6%) were born in Italy, and about 11.8% were born in Portugal.

Between 2010 and 2014, the population of Madulain grew by about 19.59%. In 2014, the birth rate and death rate were both 13.1 for every thousand residents.

In 2014, children and teenagers (up to 19 years old) made up 17.7% of the population. Adults (20-64 years old) were 65.5%, and seniors (over 64 years old) were 16.8%.

Most people in Madulain live in private homes. In 2014, there were 109 private households, with an average of 2.13 people per home. Many of the buildings in the town are single-family homes or buildings with multiple families.

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

Languages Spoken

Most people in Madulain speak German, which is about 53.9% of the population as of 2000. The second most common language is Romansh (22.2%), and Italian is third (17.2%).

For a long time, until the early 1800s, everyone in the village spoke Puter, a dialect of Romansh. But as Madulain traded more with other places, fewer people spoke Romansh. By 1910, more people spoke German than Romansh.

However, during World War II, the main language spoken in the village changed a few times. In 1941, half the village spoke Romansh. But by 1970, German was again the most common language.

The table below shows the language changes in Madulain over the years:

Education in Madulain

Many adults in Madulain, about 71.2% of those aged 25-64, have completed higher education. This means they have gone to a university or a specialized college.

Economy and Jobs

Madulain is considered a "semitourist community." This means tourism is important, but it's not the only thing the town relies on.

In 2014, there were 77 people working in Madulain. Most jobs were in the service industry, like hotels, restaurants, and shops. This sector provided 53 jobs in 23 different businesses.

Some people also worked in farming (15 people in 5 businesses) and in manufacturing or construction (9 workers in 4 businesses).

Getting Around

Madulain has its own railway station, called Madulain. It's on the Bever–Scuol-Tarasp line. You can take trains from here to places like St. Moritz, Landquart, Scuol-Tarasp, and Pontresina.

See also

In Spanish: Madulain para niños