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yoga holidays spa breaks St Moritz Hotel Cowshed Spa Cornwall yogaatwork.co.uk | St. Louis Vein Specialties | Varicose and Spider Vein Treatment in St. veinspecialtiesllc.com |
 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.
[edit] HistorySt. Moritz is first mentioned around 1137-39 as ad sanctum Mauricium.[1] [edit] Origin of the nameThe 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. [edit] 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. [edit] Demographics[edit] PopulationSt. 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]
[edit] PoliticsIn 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] [edit] EducationThe 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] [edit] EmploymentSt. 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] [edit] LanguagesMost 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.
[edit] 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. [edit] Weather
[edit] TourismSt. 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. [edit] Tourist attractions
[edit] Heritage sites of national significanceThe Segantini Museum is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.[7] [edit] In popular culture 
[edit] See also[edit] References
[edit] External links
Categories: Municipalities of Switzerland | Municipalities of Graubünden | Engadin | Host cities of the Winter Olympic Games | St. Moritz | Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland | Spa towns in Switzerland | Lakeside resorts in Switzerland | Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Graubünden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![St. Moritz [zoom] is located in Switzerland](/File:Switzerland_location_map.svg)
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