Sils im Engadin/Segl

"Sils Maria" redirects here. For the film, see Clouds of Sils Maria.
Sils im Engadin/Segl

Sils and Lake Sils

Coat of arms
Sils im Engadin/Segl
Coordinates: 46°26′N 9°46′E / 46.433°N 9.767°E / 46.433; 9.767Coordinates: 46°26′N 9°46′E / 46.433°N 9.767°E / 46.433; 9.767
Country Switzerland
Canton Graubünden
District Maloja
Area[1]
 • Total 63.57 km2 (24.54 sq mi)
Elevation (Church Segl Maria) 1,809 m (5,935 ft)
Population (Dec 2014[2])
 • Total 768
 • Density 12/km2 (31/sq mi)
Postal code 7514, 7515, 7517
SFOS number 3789
Localities Segl Maria, Segl Baselgia, Seglias, Val Fex as well as Grevasalvas, Blaunca and Buaira
Surrounded by Bivio, Chiesa in Valmalenco (IT-SO), Lanzada (IT-SO), Samedan, Silvaplana, Stampa
Website www.sils-segl.ch
SFSO statistics

Sils im Engadin/Segl (German: Sils im Engadin; Romansh  Segl ), often also as Sils i.E./Segl, is a municipality and a village in the district of Maloja, Upper Engadine in the Swiss canton of the Grisons.

The municipality consists of two the villages Segl Maria (Romansh, German: Sils Maria; Seglias is part of Segl Maria) and Segl Baselgia (German: Sils Baselgia; Baselgia is Romansh for church), the Val Fex (German: Fextal), and the three Maiensässe (Alpine pastures traditionally used for spring grazing) Grevasalvas, Blaunca and Buaira above Plaun da Lej on the left side of the valley.

Name and coat of arms

The municipality's official label uses both, the German and the Romansh version of the municipality's name. Segl is the Romansh version while Sils im Engadin is the German. Engadin is Romansh for "Valley of the Inn (Romansh: En)", the river, which flows northeast from Maloja through Sils Baselgia and eventually into the Danube at Passau, Germany at the German-Austrian border.

Sils i.E is distinguished from Sils im Domleschg in another Swiss watershed. Sils was originally divided into the three hamlets of Segl Baselgia and Segl Maria, and Seglias.

The coat of arms is Per fess Azure a Sun radiated Or and Or a Trout Azure spotted Gules.[3] It shows a blue upper half with a golden sun and a yellow lower section with a blue trout. It is a combination of the historical village coats of arms and represents the sunny and elevated location of the municipality and the fish-filled Lake Sils.

History

Sils im Engadin/Segl is first mentioned around 800–850 as Silles. In 1131 it was mentioned as Sillis.[4] Until 1943, Sils im Engadin/Segl was known as Sils im Engadin.[5]

Geography

Sils and Lake Sils
Segl Maria with the church in Segl Baselgia in the background

Located in the valley of Upper Engadine, Sils i.E./Segl nestles between Lake Sils and Lake Silvaplana at the foot of Piz Corvatsch and Piz da la Margna and below the Val Fex, a valley in the south. The municipality belongs to the Maloja District.

Sils i.E/Segl has an area, as of 2006, of 63.5 km2 (24.5 sq mi). Of this area, 27.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 10.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (61%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[6]

The plain is cultivated in grass, the steep slopes are heavily forested.

Demographics

Sils im Engadin/Segl has a population (as of 31 December 2014) of 768.[2] As of 2008, 29.3% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.[7] From 1999 to 2009, the population grew at a rate of 19.7%.[6]

As of 2000, the gender distribution of the population was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.[8] The age distribution, as of 2000, in Sils im Engadin/Segl is; 64 children or 8.5% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old. 35 teenagers or 4.7% are 10 to 14, and 40 teenagers or 5.3% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 135 people or 18.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 164 people or 21.8% are 30 to 39, 117 people or 15.6% are 40 to 49, and 88 people or 11.7% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 57 people or 7.6% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 36 people or 4.8% are 70 to 79, there are 13 people or 1.7% who are 80 to 89, and there are 2 people or 0.3% who are 90 to 99.[7]

In the 2007, federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 34.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (29.3%), the FDP (26.6%) and the CVP (7.2%).[6]

In Sils im Engadin/Segl, about 70.6% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).[6]

Sils im Engadin/Segl has an unemployment rate of 2.93%. As of 2005, there were 23 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 9 businesses involved in this sector. 177 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 16 businesses in this sector. 671 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 58 businesses in this sector.[6]

The historical population is given in the following table:[4][8]

year population
1850 219
1900 178
1930 359
1950 262
1960 298
1970 403
1980 434
1990 498
2000 751

Languages

Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (59.4%), with Italian being second most common (15.4%) and Romansh being third (12.0%).[6] Into the 19th century, the entire population spoke the Upper-Engadin Romansh dialect of Putèr. Due to increasing trade with the outside world, Romansh usage began to decline. In 1880 about 68% spoke Romansh as a first language, while in 1910 it was only 56% and in 1941 it increased to 61.5%. In the 1960s German became the majority language. However, in 2000 there were 33% of the population who at least understood Romansh.

Languages in Sils im Engadin/Segl
Languages Census 1980 Census 1990 Census 2000
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
German 210 48.39% 291 58.43% 446 59.39%
Romansh 137 31.57% 122 24.50% 90 11.98%
Italian 67 15.44% 71 14.26% 116 15.45%
Population 434 100% 498 100% 751 100%

Transportation

Settlement in the Fex Valley

The Fex Valley is officially car-free except for residents of the valley. The Furtschellas cable car begins near the village and leads to many ski runs and, in summer, to trails above the tree line.

Climate

Climate data for Segl-Maria (1981-2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) −0.1
(31.8)		 1.0
(33.8)		 3.6
(38.5)		 5.8
(42.4)		 10.8
(51.4)		 14.6
(58.3)		 17.5
(63.5)		 17.0
(62.6)		 13.4
(56.1)		 9.5
(49.1)		 4.0
(39.2)		 0.4
(32.7)		 8.1
(46.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) −6.8
(19.8)		 −6.5
(20.3)		 −2.9
(26.8)		 0.7
(33.3)		 5.6
(42.1)		 9.1
(48.4)		 11.5
(52.7)		 11.2
(52.2)		 8.0
(46.4)		 4.0
(39.2)		 −1.4
(29.5)		 −4.9
(23.2)		 2.3
(36.1)
Average low °C (°F) −12.4
(9.7)		 −12.7
(9.1)		 −8.4
(16.9)		 −3.7
(25.3)		 1.2
(34.2)		 4.2
(39.6)		 6.6
(43.9)		 6.4
(43.5)		 3.4
(38.1)		 −0.3
(31.5)		 −5.4
(22.3)		 −9.3
(15.3)		 −2.5
(27.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 48
(1.89)		 36
(1.42)		 51
(2.01)		 70
(2.76)		 105
(4.13)		 114
(4.49)		 114
(4.49)		 124
(4.88)		 101
(3.98)		 95
(3.74)		 92
(3.62)		 61
(2.4)		 1,011
(39.8)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 57
(22.4)		 43.8
(17.24)		 56.5
(22.24)		 50.9
(20.04)		 17.1
(6.73)		 1.8
(0.71)		 0.2
(0.08)		 0.3
(0.12)		 2.7
(1.06)		 13.3
(5.24)		 51.9
(20.43)		 58
(22.8)		 353.5
(139.17)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 6.6 5.6 6.5 8.9 11.3 11.1 10.9 11.1 8.3 8.7 8.5 8.0 105.5
Average snowy days (≥ 1.0 cm) 7.6 6.7 7.3 7.1 2.2 0.4 0 0.1 0.4 1.8 6.6 7.4 47.6
Average relative humidity (%) 78.2 77.1 77.0 76.7 76.6 73.3 71.9 76.6 77.9 78.0 79.1 79.4 76.8
Source: MeteoSwiss [9]

Notable residents and visitors

Nietzsche's summer home in Sils, now a museum

Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche summered in Sils in 1881 and between 1883 and 1888, and the house he lived in – the Nietzsche-Haus – is now a small museum. Anne Frank was in Sils for several vacations, and Hermann Hesse also visited Sils. Annemarie Schwarzenbach lived in Sils since 1935 and died there in 1942 after a bicycle accident.

In popular culture

The area is the setting for much of the 2014 film Clouds of Sils Maria, written and directed by Olivier Assayas, and starring Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, and Chloë Grace Moretz.

References

  1. ↑ Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen
  2. 1 2 Swiss Federal Statistics Office – STAT-TAB Ständige und Nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Region, Geschlecht, Nationalität und Alter (German) accessed 31 August 2015
  3. ↑ Flags of the world accessed 21 October 2009
  4. 1 2 Sils im Engadin/Segl in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  5. ↑ Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (German) accessed 23 September 2009
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 21-Oct-2009
  7. 1 2 Graubunden Population Statistics (German) accessed 21 September 2009
  8. 1 2 Graubunden in Numbers (German) accessed 21 September 2009
  9. ↑ "Climate Norm Value Tables". Climate diagrams and normals from Swiss measuring stations. Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss). Retrieved 23 January 2013. The weather station elevation is 1798 meters above sea level.

External links

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