Samnaun facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Samnaun
Coat of arms
Samnaun Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Samnaun Location in Canton of Grisons Show map of Canton of Grisons
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Grisons
District	Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair
Area
• Total	56.28 km2 (21.73 sq mi)
Elevation (Church)	1,844 m (6,050 ft)
Population  (Dec 2020 )
• Total	784
• Density	13.930/km2 (36.079/sq mi)
Postal code	7562-63
Localities	Compatsch, Laret, Plan, Ravaisch and Samnaun
Surrounded by	Ischgl (AT-7), Kappl (AT-7), Ramosch, See (AT-7), Spiss (AT-7), Valsot

Samnaun (which is also called Romansh: Samignun) is a cool mountain village and a valley located high up in the Alps. You can find it at the very eastern end of Switzerland. It's a special kind of town, called a municipality, in the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region within the Swiss canton of Graubünden.

History of Samnaun

The Samnaun valley was first used a long time ago by people who moved their farm animals, like sheep and cows, to different pastures depending on the season. This is called seasonal mountain pasture. Villages like Tschlin and Ramosch used this area.

Around the year 1220, the first permanent farmhouses were built here. These farms and their fields were later given as a gift to the Marienberg Abbey by the counts of Tarasp in the 12th century.

Geography and Location

Ski area of Samnaun

The Samnaun valley

Aerial view of Samnaun (1954)

Samnaun covers an area of about 56.2 square kilometers (21.7 square miles). A big part of this land, about 46%, is used for farming. Forests cover about 11.7% of the area. Only a small part, less than 1%, has buildings or roads. The rest of the land, about 41%, is made up of mountains, rivers, or glaciers.

The village is located in a valley that branches off the main Engadin valley. It sits at an elevation of about 1,700 to 1,840 meters (5,577 to 6,037 feet) above sea level. Samnaun is made up of five smaller village parts: Compatsch, Laret, Plan (Plaun), Ravaisch, and Samnaun itself.

Why Samnaun is Duty-Free

For a long time, in the 1800s, it was very hard to reach Samnaun by road from Switzerland. The only easy way to get there was through Spiss in Austria. Because of this, Samnaun was not included in the main Swiss Customs Area. This meant people didn't have to pay taxes on goods bought there, making it a special 'duty-free' zone.

Even after a road was built in 1905 connecting Samnaun to Martina in Switzerland, the duty-free status remained. This is still a special feature of Samnaun today! Sometimes, if there's a lot of snow, the road to Switzerland can be blocked. Then, the only way to reach Samnaun is still through Austria.

Fun for Visitors: Tourism

Samnaun is a very popular place for tourists, especially for skiing! It shares a big ski resort with the town of Ischgl in Tyrol, Austria.

The Silvretta Arena Samnaun / Ischgl ski area is huge! It's located high up, between 1,400 and 2,875 meters (4,593 to 9,432 feet) above sea level. This amazing ski area has about 238 kilometers (148 miles) of ski slopes. It also has 44 ski lifts and cable cars to take you up the mountains. One of its most famous features is the world's first double-decker cable car, which can carry 180 people at once!

People of Samnaun: Demographics

Samnaun has a population of about 752 people. A small part of the population, around 19%, are people from other countries. Over the last ten years, the number of people living in Samnaun has grown a little bit.

Most people in Samnaun speak German. In fact, about 93.5% of the population speaks German. Interestingly, the German spoken here is a special kind called Bavarian, which is not common in other parts of Switzerland. A long time ago, until the late 1800s, people in Samnaun spoke a dialect of Romansh.

Here's a quick look at how the main languages have changed over the years:

Many adults in Samnaun have completed higher education. This means they have gone to a university or a special college after high school. The unemployment rate in Samnaun is very low, which is good news for the local economy. Most jobs are in the tourism industry, like hotels, restaurants, and ski resorts.

The population of Samnaun has changed over time:

See also

In Spanish: Samnaun para niños