Paspels () is a former municipality in the district of Hinterrhein in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Almens, Paspels, Pratval, Rodels and Tomils merged to form the new municipality of Domleschg.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 2 January 2013
History Paspels is first mentioned in 1237 as in villa Pascuals though the original record no longer exists. In 1246 it was mentioned as de Pascuals.
Geography
Before the merger, Paspels had a total area of . Of this area, 33.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 56.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 6.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (3.9%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).
The former municipality is located in the Domleschg sub-district, of the Hinterrhein district. It consists of a linear village and a haufendorf (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) on a terrace above the Hinterrhine as well as the hamlets of Dusch and Canova.
Canovasee is a lake located in the municipality.
Demographics Paspels had a population (as of 2013) of 475.Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 16 January 2015 , 3.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 11.8%.
, the gender distribution of the population was 47.4% male and 52.6% female.Graubunden in Numbers accessed 21 September 2009 The age distribution, , in Paspels is; 72 people or 17.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old. 29 people or 7.1% are 10 to 14, and 19 people or 4.6% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 26 people or 6.4% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 65 people or 15.9% are 30 to 39, 70 people or 17.1% are 40 to 49, and 46 people or 11.2% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 38 people or 9.3% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 26 people or 6.4% are 70 to 79, there are 16 people or 3.9% who are 80 to 89, and there are 2 people or 0.5% who are 90 to 99.Graubunden Population Statistics accessed 21 September 2009
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SPS which received 39.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (23%), the FDP (17.8%) and the CVP (15.7%).
In Paspels about 81.5% of the population (between age 25 and 64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).
Paspels has an unemployment rate of 0.6%. , there were 18 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 6 businesses involved in this sector. 8 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 63 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 14 businesses in this sector.
The historical population is given in the following table: year population 1808 245 1850 323 1900 302 1950 350 1960 286 1970 289 1980 318 1990 358 2000 409
Languages Most of the population () speaks German (94.4%), with Romansh being second most common ( 3.7%) and Italian being third ( 1.0%). + Languages in Paspels Languages Census 1980 Census 1990 Census 2000 Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent German 246 77.36% 320 89.39% 386 94.38%Romanish 63 19.81% 31 8.66% 15 3.67%Italian 3 0.94% 3 0.84% 4 0.98%Population 318 100% 358 100% 409 100%
Heritage sites of national significance
The Church of S. Luregn/St. Lorenz and the Chapel of S. Maria-Magdalena in the hamlet of Dusch are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance 21.11.2008 version, accessed 05-Oct-2009 The early medieval Church of S. Luregn/St. Lorenz was first mentioned in 1237. It was the parish church for the right side of the Hinterrhein valley. The Chapel of S. Maria-Magdalena was built in 1508 and was initially under the monastery of Churwalden. However, in the 16th century, the hamlet of Dusch converted to the Reformation and therefore the chapel was also converted.
Sightseeing Attractions
1996–1998: sixth form schoolhouse by Valerio Olgiati and intern Raphael Zuber
References
External links
Official Web site