Sur, Switzerland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sur
Former municipality of Switzerland
Coat of arms
Sur Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Sur Location in Canton of Graubünden Show map of Canton of Graubünden
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Graubünden
District	Albula
Area
• Total	23.18 km2 (8.95 sq mi)
Elevation	1,530 m (5,020 ft)
Population  (Dec 2014)
• Total	68
• Density	2.934/km2 (7.60/sq mi)
Postal code	7456
Surrounded by	Bever, Bivio, Marmorera, Mulegns, Tinizong-Rona

Sur (which is called Sour in the local Romansh language) is a small village in Switzerland. It used to be its own town, known as a municipality. Sur is located in the Sursés area, which is part of the Albula district in the Graubünden region.

On January 1, 2016, Sur joined with several other nearby towns. These included Bivio, Cunter, Marmorera, Mulegns, Riom-Parsonz, Salouf, Savognin, and Tinizong-Rona. Together, they formed a new, larger municipality called Surses.

Most people in Sur speak Romansh, which is one of Switzerland's national languages. They speak a special kind of Romansh called the Surmiran dialect. In 2000, about 75% of the people said Romansh was their main language.

A Look Back: Sur's History

Sur has a long and interesting history. Close to the village, you can find Burg Spliatsch. This castle was built around the early 1200s by a family known as the Marmels.

In 1663, a group of monks called Capuchin friars built a new church in Sur. This church, named S. Catregna (or Katharina), was built in a fancy style called Baroque. It was built on the old ruins of a church from the Middle Ages called St. Bartholomäus.

Today, this church is part of a larger church area, or parish, that includes the villages of Mulegns and Marmorera. Before 1850, Sur was part of a bigger area called Oberhalbstein. This area belonged to a group of towns known as the League of God's House.

In the past, before the Rhaetian Railway was built, Sur was mostly a group of farmhouses. A big job for many people in Sur was guiding travelers through the mountains.

Where is Sur? Sur's Geography

Sur is located in the beautiful Surses area. In 2006, the total area of Sur was about 23.2 square kilometers (about 9 square miles).

A large part of this land, about 42.5%, is used for farming. Forests cover about 13.2% of the area. Only a small part, 0.5%, has buildings or roads. The rest of the land, about 43.8%, is made up of natural features like rivers, glaciers, or mountains.

The former municipality of Sur includes smaller areas called hamlets. These are Furnatsch and Tgacrest. There are also four special camps in a place called Flix where shepherds take their animals to graze in the mountains.

Who Lives in Sur? Population and People

In 2014, Sur had a population of 68 people. About 16.7% of the people living in Sur in 2008 were from other countries. Over the last 10 years, the number of people living in Sur has slowly gone down.

In 2000, there were slightly more females (53.1%) than males (46.9%) living in Sur. The village has people of all ages. For example, about 12.9% of the population were children under 9 years old.

Many adults in Sur have a good education. About 58.3% of people aged 25 to 64 have finished high school or gone on to higher education, like university.

Sur has a very low unemployment rate, which means most people who want to work can find jobs. In 2005, many people worked in farming. Others worked in manufacturing or in service jobs like tourism.

Here's how Sur's population has changed over time:

Languages Spoken in Sur

As of 2000, most people in Sur speak Rhaeto-Romance, which is 75.3% of the population. German is the second most common language, spoken by 21.5% of the people. A smaller number of people, 3.2%, speak Italian.

This table shows how the languages spoken in Sur have changed over the years:

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See also

In Spanish: Sur (Grisones) para niños