Valendas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Valendas
Former municipality of Switzerland
Coat of arms
Valendas Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Valendas Location in Canton of Graubünden Show map of Canton of Graubünden
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Graubünden
District	Surselva
Area
• Total	22.79 km2 (8.80 sq mi)
Elevation	810 m (2,660 ft)
Population  (Dec 2011)
• Total	298
• Density	13.076/km2 (33.87/sq mi)
Postal code	7122
Surrounded by	Castrisch, Flims, Riein, Sagogn, Tenna, Versam

Valendas is a small, charming village in Switzerland. It is located in the beautiful canton of Graubünden. For a long time, Valendas was its own municipality. But on January 1, 2013, it joined with three other villages. These were Versam, Safien, and Tenna. Together, they formed a new, larger municipality called Safiental. Valendas is part of the Surselva district.

History of Valendas

Valendas has a long history. People first wrote about it way back in the year 765. Back then, it was called in Valendano. This shows that the area has been settled for a very long time.

Geography and Landscape

Carrera hamlet near Valendas

Valendas village

Aerial view of Valendas (1947)

Valendas is a pretty place with lots of nature. It covers an area of about 22.8 square kilometers (about 8.8 square miles). A big part of this land, almost half, is covered by forests. About a fifth of the land is used for farming. Only a small part has buildings or roads. The rest is made up of rivers, mountains, or glaciers.

The village of Valendas is located above the right side of the Vorderrhein canyon. This canyon is a deep valley carved by the Vorderrhein river. Valendas itself is a haufendorf village. This means it grew in an unplanned way, with houses packed closely together around a central area. Besides the main village, there are also smaller groups of houses called hamlets. These include Carrera, Brün, Dutjen, and Turisch.

Population and People

In 2011, Valendas had a population of 298 people. This number has gone down a little over the last ten years. Most people in Valendas speak German. About 97% of the population uses German as their main language. A small number of people also speak Romansh, which is another official language in Switzerland.

In 2000, there were slightly more males than females living in Valendas. About 13.6% of the population were children aged 0 to 9 years old. Another 12.9% were teenagers between 10 and 19 years old. This means a good portion of the population was young people.

When it comes to education, many adults in Valendas have completed higher education. About 68% of people aged 25 to 64 have finished either advanced secondary school or a university degree. This shows a strong focus on learning in the community.

Most people in Valendas work in farming. This is called the primary economic sector. There are also jobs in manufacturing and services. The unemployment rate in Valendas is very low, which means almost everyone who wants a job has one.

The table below shows how the population of Valendas has changed over time:

Important Buildings and Heritage

Valendas is home to some very old and special buildings. Two of them are listed as important heritage sites of national significance. These are the Türelihus and the Haus Joos with its attached barn.

Türelihus

The Türelihus, or Türeli House, is in the middle of Valendas. It is one of the most historically valuable houses in the village. Inside, you can still see many original furnishings from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The first part of the building was built in 1485. It was made bigger in 1554, which added a spiral staircase inside a tower. A barn was also added at that time. Later, in 1775, it was renovated in the Baroque style. The Türelihus has four stories. For many years, it was empty and started to fall apart. In 1994, people tried to fix it, but only managed to put on a temporary roof.

Haus Joos

The oldest part of the Haus Joos might be from around the year 1300. The barn connected to it has the year 1572 carved into it. This shows how old these buildings are. However, the Haus Joos is currently not in good condition. It has not been used for several years.

Getting Around

The Valendas-Sagogn train station is not far from the village. It is about 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles) away and a bit lower down. This station is on the Rhaetian Railway line. This train line connects the towns of Chur and Disentis. It makes it easy for people to travel to and from Valendas.

See also

In Spanish: Valendas para niños