Stalden

The Ritibrücke in Neubrückenstraße below Stalden

Stalden ( Valais German: Schtaalu ) is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking part of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Due to its high number of bridges on a relatively small area, it is also called " The Bridge village."

Geography

In Stalden the Saas Valley and the Matter meet. Numerous bridges from different eras occupy the busy traffic, which already prevailed earlier in this region and are evidence that Stalden was an important hub for the transport of goods early. The oldest bridge is the Chibrücke from 1544, which was built by the architect Ulrich Ruffiner. Today the Vispa over the St. Michael's Bridge and the Killerhof Bridge crosses the valley road to Saas -Fee and Zermatt.

Historical

Stalden, commonly known as the Bridge village became known, first mentioned in 1213. The former hamlet or village was called Merjen / Merju. It can be assumed that the locality Stalden was known as an important point of this passage at the time.

Attractions

Traffic

Stalden provides a hub and a regional center represents the Matterhorn -Gotthard -Bahn, which operates the route from Visp to Zermatt, maintains the Station. The post bus, the lines Stalden - Toerbel ( winter / summer until after Moosalp ) and Visp - Saas -Fee. A cable-car in the 2- sector model goes up to Staldenried and on to the village of Gspon.

Policy

The executive, the council consists of seven members. The mayor is Egon Furrer (as of 2013).

Economy

In Stalden few industrial enterprises are located. This allows one sawmill, carpentry 2, 1 steel processing factory and the 2 Wasserkrraftwerke among them. The industry is medium strong and is provided mainly by small businesses, such as the butcher Zuber, which is a major employer in the community. The services are mainly restricted to catering services and hotels and small enterprises. Even though the population numbers have decreased over the last years, the economy of the community Stalden is very well put.

Education

The educational center of St. Michael is the regional center of education Stalden and environment. It includes the orientation school for Stalden, Toerbel, Staldenried, Eisten and Embd as well as a primary school and a kindergarten.