A town of southeast Switzerland on the Inn River in the Upper Engadine. It is noted as a skiing resort and was the site of the Winter Olympics in 1928 and 1948. Population: 5,120.
Saint Moritz
Dictionary:
Saint Mo·ritz (sānt' mə-rĭts', săN mô-rēts')  |
A town of southeast Switzerland on the Inn River in the Upper Engadine. It is noted as a skiing resort and was the site of the Winter Olympics in 1928 and 1948. Population: 5,120.
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| Geography: St. Mo·ritz |
[sānt ʹmawrits]
Resort and winter sports center in SE Switzerland.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Saint Moritz |
Saint Moritz (sānt môr'ĭts, mərĭts'), Ger. Sankt Moritz, town (1990 est. pop. 5,300), Grisons canton, SE Switzerland, in the Upper Engadine, on the Lake of St. Moritz. One of the largest winter sports centers in the world, it is also a famous year-round resort. It is surrounded by magnificent peaks and has long-frequented mineral springs. The Olympic winter games were held there in 1928 and in 1948. The town is along a major international highway and has an airport nearby.
| Dialing Code: The telephone dialing code for: Sankt Moritz (St. Moritz), Switzerland |
The country code is: 41
The city code is: 81
| Wikipedia: St. Moritz |
| St. Moritz | ||||||||||
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| Population | 5,146 (December 2007[update]) | |||||||||
| - Density | 179 /km2 (465 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 28.69 km2 (11.08 sq mi) | |||||||||
| Elevation | 1,822 m (5,978 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 7500 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 3787 | |||||||||
| Localities | Champfèr | |||||||||
| Surrounded by (view map) |
Bever, Celerina/Schlarigna, Samedan, Silvaplana | |||||||||
| Twin towns | Bariloche (Argentina), Kutchan (Japan), Vail (USA) | |||||||||
| Website | www.stmoritz.ch SFSO statistics |
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![St. Moritz [zoom] is located in Switzerland](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Switzerland_location_map.svg)
St. Moritz (German: Sankt Moritz, Romansh: San Murezzan) is an exclusive resort town in the Engadine valley in Switzerland. It is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The highest summit in the Eastern Alps, the Piz Bernina, lies a few kilometres south of the town.
Contents |
History
St. Moritz is first mentioned around 1137-39 as ad sanctum Mauricium.[1]
Origin of the name
The town was named after Saint Maurice, a Coptic Orthodox and Roman Catholic saint. Since the registration of a new trademark by the tourist office in 1987, St. Moritz is also known as Top of the World.
Geography
St. Moritz has an area, as of 2006[update], of 28.7 square kilometers (11.1 sq mi). Of this area, 28.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 19.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 8.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (44.1%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[2]
The municipality is located in the Oberengadin sub-district of the Maloja district. It consists of the settlements of St. Moritz-dorf (elevation 1,830 m (6,004 ft)), Bad (ele. 1,775 m (5,823 ft)) and Champfèr (ele. 1,825 m (5,988 ft)) as well as the village section of Suvretta.
Demographics
Population
St. Moritz has a population (as of 2008[update]) of 5,148, of which 38.0% are foreign nationals.[3] Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -4.9%.[2]
As of 2000[update], the gender distribution of the population was 45.4% male and 54.6% female.[4] The age distribution, as of 2000[update], in St. Moritz is; 34 children or 10.4% of the population are between 0 to 9 years old. 18 teenagers or 5.5% are 10 to 14, and 13 teenagers or 4.0% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 25 people or 7.6% of the population are between 20 to 29 years old. 45 people or 13.8% are 30 to 39, 39 people or 11.9% are 40 to 49, and 49 people or 15.0% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 34 people or 10.4% of the population are between 60 to 69 years old, 26 people or 8.0% are 70 to 79, there are 32 people or 9.8% who are 80 to 89, and there are 12 people or 3.7% who are 90 to 99.[3]
| Historic Population[1][4] | |
|---|---|
| year | population |
| 1803 | 183 |
| 1850 | 228 |
| 1900 | 1,603 |
| 1910 | 3,197 |
| 1950 | 2,558 |
| 1960 | 3,751 |
| 1970 | 5,699 |
| 1980 | 5,900 |
| 1990 | 5,426 |
| 2000 | 5,589 |
| Population by Nationality (Census 2000) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Number Without dual-citizens |
Number Including dual-citizens |
| Switzerland | 3079 | 3527 |
| Italy | 897 | 1162 |
| Portugal | 435 | 445 |
| Germany | 202 | 232 |
| Serbia-Montenegro | 106 | 108 |
| Austria | 74 | 104 |
| France | 56 | 73 |
| Croatia | 62 | 63 |
| Spain | 33 | 41 |
| Great Britain | 20 | 32 |
| Netherlands | 17 | 29 |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina | 27 | 28 |
Politics
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 34.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (24.5%), the SP (22.4%) and the CVP (17%).[2]
Education
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In St. Moritz about 65.8% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).[2]
Employment
St. Moritz has an unemployment rate of 1.38%. As of 2005[update], there were 73 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 10 businesses involved in this sector. 900 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 55 businesses in this sector. 3,501 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 468 businesses in this sector.[2]
Languages
Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (58.8%), with Italian being second most common (21.8%) and Portugese being third ( 6.6%).[2] Originally, the entire population spoke the Upper-Engadin Romansh dialect of Puter. Due to increasing trade with the outside world, Romansh usage began to decline. In 1880 only 50.2% spoke Romansh as a first language. Romansh lost ground to both German and Italian. In 1900, 31% of the population spoke Italian as a first language, and in 1910 it was about the same. In the following years, the percentage of Romansh and Italian speakers both decreased against German speakers. In 1941 only 20% spoke Romansh, and in 1970 it was 8%. In 2000, only 13% of the population of St. Moritz even understood Romansh.
| Languages in St. Moritz GR | ||||||
| Languages | Census 1980 | Census 1990 | Census 2000 | |||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| German | 3092 | 52.41 % | 3186 | 58.72 % | 3286 | 58.79 % |
| Romansh | 569 | 9.64 % | 338 | 6.23 % | 264 | 4.72 % |
| Italian | 1608 | 27.25 % | 1157 | 21.32 % | 1220 | 21.83 % |
| Population | 5900 | 100 % | 5426 | 100 % | 5589 | 100 % |
Sport
St. Moritz has been the host city for the 1928 and 1948 Winter Olympics. It also hosted the 1934, 1974 and 2003 Alpine Skiing World Championships. It is one of three cities that have hosted the Winter Olympic Games twice, the others being Innsbruck, Austria and Lake Placid, New York in the United States. Additionally, it has hosted the FIBT World Championships (bobsleigh and skeleton racing) a record 21 times. Since 1985, St Moritz has hosted the Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow; an annual high-goal tournament featuring many of the world's finest teams. In its current form. the tournament lasts four days and is played on a specially marked field on located on the frozen lake. [5]
St. Moritz is extremely popular in the summer months as an altitude training base for distance athletes, particularly cyclists, runners, and race walkers. Its popularity extends to the altitude, weather, world class athletics track, and availability of paths and trails in the area.
Weather
| Weather data for Samedan | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | -2.2 (28) |
-0.2 (32) |
2.7 (37) |
6.4 (44) |
11.7 (53) |
15.5 (60) |
18.4 (65) |
17.7 (64) |
15.1 (59) |
10.8 (51) |
3.5 (38) |
-1.5 (29) |
8.2 (47) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | -9.4 (15) |
-8.2 (17) |
-3.9 (25) |
0.8 (33) |
5.5 (42) |
8.9 (48) |
11.2 (52) |
10.5 (51) |
7.6 (46) |
3.2 (38) |
-3.4 (26) |
-8.2 (17) |
1.2 (34) |
| Average low °C (°F) | -18 (-0) |
-17.2 (1) |
-11.9 (11) |
-5.5 (22) |
-1.1 (30) |
1.5 (35) |
3 (37) |
2.8 (37) |
-0.1 (32) |
-4.2 (24) |
-10.6 (13) |
-16.1 (3) |
-6.5 (20) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 30 (1.18) |
25 (0.98) |
31 (1.22) |
44 (1.73) |
81 (3.19) |
87 (3.43) |
89 (3.5) |
99 (3.9) |
72 (2.83) |
59 (2.32) |
54 (2.13) |
31 (1.22) |
700 (27.56) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 6.1 | 5.3 | 6.2 | 7.4 | 10.3 | 10.7 | 10.4 | 11.5 | 7.3 | 6.9 | 7.1 | 6.3 | 95.5 |
| Source: MeteoSchweiz [6] 8 May 2009 | |||||||||||||
Tourism
St. Moritz is considered the oldest and one of the most famous winter resorts in the world. Due to its favorable location residents enjoy over 300 days of sunshine a year. Every winter this alpine village hosts the "White Turf" horse race on the frozen Lake St. Moritz attended by the international Upper class.
Popular pastimes include skiing and hiking, and nearby there is also the world famous Cresta Run toboggan course.
The year-round population is 5600, with some 3000 seasonal employees supporting hotels and rental units with a total of 13,000 beds.
Tourist attractions
- The Segantini Museum: dedicated to Giovanni Segantini, a painter that lived the last 5 years of his life in Engadine painting "nature, life, death".
- The bobsled run: a very rare natural bob sleigh. It is typically up and running by mid December each year
- Viewing the glacier landscape: there are a number of notable vistas. Much can be seen by descending from Diavolezza to the Morteratsch Glacier.
- The 3300 metres high Piz Corvatsch with its ice cave and its eight-kilometer long ski slope down to St.Moritz-Bad.
Heritage sites of national significance
The Segantini Museum is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.[7]
In popular culture
- St. Moritz was mentioned in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger as a skiing resort. Also mentioned in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only.
- In the Ian Fleming novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service the villain Blofeld uses Piz Gloria, a mountaintop facility in a resort near St. Moritz, as his base of operations. The real Piz Gloria is in another part of Switzerland.
- St. Moritz is seen on the Smallville episode "Lucy" when Lois Lane's sister, Lucy Lane, is being chased on the ski slopes.
- St. Moritz is mentioned in the song Where do you go to my lovely by Peter Sarstedt and the song I Wouldn't Dream Of It by the New Zealand band Split Enz.
- St. Moritz is also mentioned in the book of the Belgian writer Aster Berkhof named 'Veel geluk, professor!'
- St. Moritz is also a brand of menthol cigarettes distributed by British American Tobacco.
- Singer/musician Panda Bear has a song titled "Winter In St. Moritz" on his self-titled album.
- Writer Paul E. Erdman mentions the town of St. Moritz in his novel The Crash of '79. Additionally, it plays host to the characters Bill Hitchcock and his fiance Ursula Hartmann during a winter getaway.
See also
References
- ^ a b St. Moritz in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ a b c d e f Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 20-Oct-2009
- ^ a b Graubunden Population Statistics (German) accessed 21 September 2009
- ^ a b Graubunden in Numbers (German) accessed 21 September 2009
- ^ Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow [1]
- ^ "Temperature and Precipitation Average Values-Table, 1961-1990" (in German, French, Italian). Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss. http://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/web/de/klima/klima_schweiz/tabellen.html. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
- ^ Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance 21.11.2008 version, (German) accessed 20-Oct-2009
- This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.
External links
- http://www.stmoritz.ch Official website
- http://www.stmoritz-gemeinde.ch (German) (French) (Italian) (Romansh) Municipality
- St. Moritz in Romansh, German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
Media related to St. Moritz at Wikimedia Commons
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