Flerden

Flerden
Coat of arms
Flerden
Location of Flerden
Coordinates: 46°42′N 9°24′E / 46.700°N 9.400°ECoordinates: 46°42′N 9°24′E / 46.700°N 9.400°E
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Graubünden
District	Hinterrhein
Government
• Mayor	Kasper Marugg
Area[1]
• Total	6.09 km^2 (2.35 sq mi)
Elevation	1,231 m (4,039 ft)
Population (Dec 2014[2])
• Total	223
• Density	37/km^2 (95/sq mi)
Postal code	7426
SFOS number	3662
Surrounded by	Masein, Portein, Safien, Tschappina, Urmein
Website	www.flerden.ch SFSO statistics

Flerden (Romansh: Flearda) is a municipality in the district of Hinterrhein in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.

History

Flerden is first mentioned in 1156 as Flirden.^[3]

Geography

Flerden has an area, as of 2006, of 6.1 km² (2.4 sq mi). Of this area, 54.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (11.7%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).^[4]

The municipality is located in the Thusis sub-district, of the Hinterrhein district. It consists of the haufendorf (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Flerden on the inner Heinzenberg at an elevation of 1,234 m (4,049 ft).

Demographics

Flerden has a population (as of 31 December 2014) of 223.^[2] As of 2008, 2.0% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 15.3%.^[4]

As of 2000, the gender distribution of the population was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.^[5] The age distribution, as of 2000, in Flerden is; 14 people or 8.8% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old. 22 people or 13.8% are 10 to 14, and 13 people or 8.1% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 9 people or 5.6% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 17 people or 10.6% are 30 to 39, 30 people or 18.8% are 40 to 49, and 21 people or 13.1% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 12 people or 7.5% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 16 people or 10.0% are 70 to 79, there are 6 people or 3.8% who are 80 to 89.^[6]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 47.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (24.4%), the SPS (14%) and the CVP (12.7%).^[4]

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Flerden about 81% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).^[4]

Flerden has an unemployment rate of 0.32%. As of 2005, there were 42 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 16 businesses involved in this sector. 3 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 2 businesses in this sector. 15 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 4 businesses in this sector.^[4]

The historical population is given in the following table:^[3][5]

year	population
1808	148
1850	122
1900	109
1950	150
1960	132
1970	105
1980	128
1990	158
2000	160

Languages

Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (95.6%), with Romansh being second most common ( 3.8%) and Italian being third ( 0.6%).^[4]

Languages in Flerden
Languages	Census 1980		Census 1990		Census 2000
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
German	123	96.09%	157	99.37%	153	96.0%
Romanish	4	3.12%	1	0.63%	6	4.0%
Population	128	100%	158	100%	160	100%

References

1. Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen
2. Swiss Federal Statistics Office – STAT-TAB Ständige und Nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Region, Geschlecht, Nationalität und Alter (German) accessed 31 August 2015
3. Flerden in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
4. Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 7 October 2009
5. Graubunden in Numbers (German) accessed 21 September 2009
6. Graubunden Population Statistics (German) accessed 21 September 2009