The Canton of Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland, situated in the
southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its
headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps.
The canton is simultaneously one of the driest regions of Switzerland in its
central Rhône valley and among the wettest, having large amounts of snow
and rain up on the highest peaks found in Switzerland. The canton of Valais is
widely known for the Matterhorn and resort towns such as Saas Fee, Verbier,
and Zermatt. It is composed of 13 districts and its capital is Sion.
History The Romans called the upper Rhône valley
Vallis Poenina. The Vallis Poenina was won by the Romans after a great fight at
Octodurus in 57 B.C., and was so thoroughly Romanized that both the
Celtic original inhabitants and the Germanic Burgundian invaders of the 5th
century, became Romance-speaking peoples. According to a tradition which
can be traced back to the middle of the 8th century, the Theban legion was
martyred at Agaunum about 285 or 302. From 888 onwards the lands were part of
the kingdom of Jurane Burgundy. Valais formed part of the kingdom of
Transjurane Burgundy, which fell to the Holy Roman Empire in 1032. It became
part of the duchy of Burgundia Minor, which was held from the emperors by the
house of Zähringen. In 999, King Rudolph III of Burgundy gave all temporal rights
and privileges to the Bishop of Sion, who was later styled praefect and count
of the Valais and is still a prince of the Holy Roman Empire. The count-bishops
then struggled to defend their area against the Zähringer and then the dukes
of Savoy, so that the medieval history of the Valais is inextricably linked
with that of the diocese of Sion. The Dukes of Savoy, however, succeeded in
winning most of the land west of Sion, while in the upper part of the valley
there were many feudal lords, such as the lords of Raron, those of La
Tour-Chatillon, and the counts of Visp. About the middle of the 13th century,
the large communities began to develop independence and grow in power. The name
Zenden or tithings probably came from a very ancient division of the bishop's
manors for administrative and judicial purposes. In the same century the upper
part of the valley was colonized by Germans from Hasli in the Canton of
Bern. The locals became German speaking, though many Romance local names still
remain. In 1354 the liberties of several of the seven Zenden were confirmed by
the Emperor Charles IV. By the late 14th century, the counts of
Savoy acquired the bishopric of Sion. The Zenden resisted his attempts to
gather both spiritual and secular power in the valley. In 1375-76, Zenden forces
crushed the army of the house of La Tour-Chatillon, and in 1388 utterly
defeated the forces of the bishop, the count and his nobles at Visp. The
German-speaking Zenden spread further into the valley. Starting in 1384 the
Morge stream was recognized as the boundary between Savoyard,
French-speaking Lower Valais and German-speaking episcopal Upper Valais.
During the Raron affair rebellion in 1414 to 1420, some cantons of the Swiss
Confederation took sides in the Valais. Lucerne, Uri and Unterwalden supported
the Upper Valais rebels, while Bern supported the noble Raron family. The
uprising was successful in driving out the Rarons, and almost brought the
Confederation to civil war. With the election of Walther von
Supersax of Conches as bishop in 1457, the German-speaking part of the valley
finally won the supremacy. At the outbreak of the Burgundian War in 1475
the bishop of Sion and the Zenden made a treaty with Bern. In November of the
same year they seized all Lower or Savoyard Valais up to Martigny. In March
1476, after the victory of Grandson, they advanced and captured St Maurice,
Evian, Thonon and Monthey. They had to give up the last three districts in
1477, but won them again in 1536. In the treaty of Thonon in 1569, Monthey, Val
d'llliez and Bouveret were permanently annexed to the Valais. These conquered
districts in the Lower Valais were always ruled as subject lands by the
bishop and Zenden of the Upper Valais. On March 12, 1529, Valais became an
associate member of the Swiss Confederation.
The Valais resisted the Protestant Reformation, remaining faithful to the
Roman Catholic Church. In 1628 the Valais became a republic, the République
des Sept Dizains/Republik der Sieben Zehenden, under the guidance of the
prince-bishop of Sion and the bailli. The bishop remained in power until 1798
when Napoleon's troops invaded the Valais and declared a Revolutionary
République du Valais which was swiftly incorporated into the Helvetic Republic
until 1802 when it became the separate Rhodanic Republic. In 1810 the Rhodanic
Republic was annexed by Napoleonic France as the département of Simplon.
Independence was restored in 1813, and on August 4, 1815 the Valais finally
entered the Swiss confederation as a canton. In 1845, the Valais joined the
Catholic separate league which led to what is called the Sonderbund War.
99,000 Swiss Federal troops under General Henri Dufour were faced by
79,000 Separatists, but in the end the Valais chose not to fight.
Geography The canton of Valais lies in the
southwest of Switzerland. To its south lies Italy, to the southwest France. To
the north the canton is bounded by the Swiss cantons of Vaud and Bern; the
cantons of Uri and Ticino lie to its east.
The wide, glacial Rhône valley dominates the area. There are many side valleys
which branch off the main valley. These vary from narrow and remote to
reasonably populous and popular. At the head of the Mattertal valley lies
Zermatt, a pretty tourist village dominated by views of the Matterhorn.
Fifty of the mountains exceed 4,000 m with the highest, Monte Rosa, reaching
4,634 metres, and there are numerous glaciers including several of the
largest in the Alps. The Rhône drains almost the entire
canton and flows in the main valley from east to west down to Martigny, then in a
right angle north to its mouth in Lake Geneva. After the small town of
Saint-Maurice, the north-eastern banks of the river belong to the canton of
Vaud. However two areas are located on the south side of the Alps and are
drained by the Po: the valley south of the Simplon Pass and the small area
south of the Great St. Bernard Pass. The main valley is bounded by the Bernese
Alps in the north and the Pennine Alps in the south. Other ranges situated
partially in Valais are the Chablais Alps, the Mont Blanc Massif, the Urner
Alps and the Lepontine Alps. Only about half of the total area is considered
productive. Political subdivisions
= Districts = Valais is divided into 14 districts:
Lower Valais: Conthey with capital Conthey
Entremont with capital Sembrancher Hérens with capital Vex
Martigny with capital Martigny Monthey with capital Monthey
Saint-Maurice with capital Saint-Maurice Upper Valais:
Brig with capital Brig-Glis Goms with capital Münster-Geschinen
Leuk with capital Leuk Östlich Raron with capital Mörel-Filet
Westlich Raron with capital Raron Sierre with capital Sierre
Sion with capital Sion Visp with capital Visp
= Municipalities = There are 143 municipalities in the
canton. Demographics
The Western part of Valais is French-speaking, while the Eastern part
is German-speaking. The language border crosses the Rhone between the towns of
Sierre and Salgesch and follows the mountain ridge including Bella Tola,
Weisshorn and Dent Blanche. At the 2000 census, 62.8% of the population of
Valais spoke French or Arpitan, 28.4% spoke German or Walser German, 2.2%
spoke Italian and 6.6% spoke other languages. Only 114 people reported
speaking Romansh. The canton is thinly populated. Its
population is 331,763. As of 2007, the population included 57,061 foreigners,
or about 19.1% of the total population. The largest towns are the capital Sion,
Monthey, Sierre, Martigny and Brig-Glis. There is no major city located in the
canton. As of 2000 81% of the population is Roman Catholic, while only 6% are
Protestant. Economy
= Primary sector = Wine and fruit cognacs, e.g.
"Williamine" production and tourism are some of the main industries of the
canton. Agriculture is important, particularly
cattle breeding in the mountains and dairy farming in the plains. The wine
industry of the canton is the largest in Switzerland. There are also a large
number orchards in the area, and saffron is also gathered here.
= Secondary sector = Europe's tallest gravity dam is located
at Grande Dixence in the canton. Hydroelectric power plants from the
canton produce about a quarter of Swiss electricity.
The west part and the most industrial region of the canton is called Chablais.
The area is very important for the economy. The lands from the Valais part
of Lake Geneva to the town of St-Maurice are located in the Chablais. There are a
lot of factories, the most important are the subsidiaries of Novartis and
Syngenta, in Monthey. In the town of Collombey-Muraz, there is an oil
refinery. Near Visp there is a large aluminium
processing plant. Other metal products and chemicals are produced around Visp
and Sierre, including Swiss Diamond International aluminum cookware.
= Tertiary sector = The Valais has a long touristic
tradition. Hoteliers were at the base of the development of Valais Tourism. Many
of them, such as César Ritz, spent time and money to satisfy a clientele from
around the world. The Valais counts more than 120 winter
and summer destinations, including: Goms: Fiesch-Eggishorn, Bellwald, Binn,
Ernen, Obergoms, Oberwald Aletsch: Bettmeralp, Fiescheralp,
Riederalp Brig-Glis and surrounding area: Blatten,
Belalp, Mund, Termen, Birgisch Visp and surrounding area:
Visperterminen, Bürchen, Eischoll, Stalden, Törbel, Unterbäch
Zermatt with Matterhorn and the largest summer ski area of Switzerland, on the
southern slopes of Breithorn reachable from the cable car station of the Klein
Matterhorn Saas Valley: Saas-Fee, Saas-Almagell,
Saas-Grund with Fee Glacier, the second largest ski area of was in Switzerland
Leukerbad Sierre, Salquenen and Anniviers,
Chandolin, St. Luc, Grimentz, Vercorin, Zinal
Crans-Montana Sion and surrounding area: Anzère, Val
d'Hérens, Arolla, Euseigne, Evolène, Hérémence, Mase, Saint-Martin
4 Vallées ski area: Nendaz, Verbier, Veysonnaz, Thyon-Les Collons,
Mayens-de-Riddes/La Tzoumaz Chablais and Portes du Soleil, Champéry,
Champoussin, Morgins, Les Crosets, Torgon, Val-d'Illiez, Le Bouveret,
Saint-Maurice, Monthey, Evionnaz, St. Gingolph
St. Bernard Region: Les Marécottes, Bruson, La Fouly, Champex,
Vichères-Liddes The Matterhorn near Zermatt is one of
the biggest tourist attractions in the Swiss mountains, as is its sister valley
immediately east Saas Fee. Other parts of the mountains of the canton further
west are popular as well, such as the more French-speaking resorts near
Verbier and the Evolene and Arolla region. The resorts on the north side of
the main Rhône valley are popular, looking out southwards towards the
Peninne Alps and still part of the southern slope of the Bernese Alps, such
as the family-oriented resort of Crans-Montana. The resorts in the Goms
are slightly less known, yet also receive attention during the summer
hiking season and the winter ski season. Transport
A small airport is located at Sion, but the main routes of transport are rail
and road. Both networks are extensive and benefit from tourism. There are
three major rail tunnels at the Simplon, Lötschberg and Furka and a road tunnel
at the Great St Bernard. Many of the road passes are well known, such as the
Grimsel Pass. The longest land tunnel in the world, the Lötschberg Base Tunnel,
is in operation since late 2007, connecting by rail the town of Frutigen
in canton Bern, with the town of Visp in canton Valais/Wallis. This is to better
allay car traffic in the highly scenic Kandertal, and also to provide faster
transport through the Bernese Alps from the populous Mittelland in the north to
the southern canton of Valais. Cars may be loaded onto the trains as freight.
The old train line still carries traffic particularly road traffic as freight,
and has highly scenic sections in both cantons on either side of the old tunnel
through the dividing ridgeline, yet is somewhat slower than the new route which
has a much longer tunnel section. Because of the tourism there are many
mountain railways and cable cars in the mountains. The scenic rail route across
the Furka Pass originates in the canton of Valais.
See also Le Nouvelliste
Franco-Provençal language List of mountains of Valais
Notes and references External links
Cantonal government Official information from Valais/Wallis
Promotion Official statistics