Bagnes () is a former municipality in the district of Entremont in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. On 1 January 2021 the former municipalities of Bagnes and Vollèges merged to form the new municipality of Val de Bagnes.

With an area of , Bagnes used to be the largest municipality of Switzerland until the formation of Glarus Süd in 2011.

History

thumb|Aerial view (1964)

Bagnes was first mentioned in 1150 as Banie. It was formerly known by its German name, Bangis, although this is no longer used.

Before 1150, when it came to the abbey of Saint-Maurice, Bagnes was owned by the Counts of Savoy. It remained under the abbey's authority until 1798, when it became part of the Entremont district. Verbier castle (also called the abbaye) is first mentioned in 1287 in Le Châble and was presumably destroyed in 1476.

The facade of the late gothic parish church of St. Mauritius was built in 1520 and the choir was finished in 1534. The ossuary dates back to 1560 and the parish house to the 16th century.

In 1953, the village was connected to the Martigny-Sembrancher-Le Châble rail line.

Geography

thumb|left|Lac de Mauvoisin and dam in Bagnes municipality

Bagnes had an area, , of . Of this area, 15.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 12.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.9% is settled (buildings or roads) and 70.1% is unproductive land.

Demographics

thumb|Le Châble village

thumb|Bonatchiesse village

Bagnes had a population (as of 2019) of 8,144. , 26.3% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 24.3%. It has changed at a rate of 29.3% due to migration and at a rate of 2.7% due to births and deaths.

Most of the population () speaks French (5,714 or 87.4%) as their first language, Portuguese is the second most common (246 or 3.8%) and English is the third (178 or 2.7%). There are 139 people who speak German, 99 people who speak Italian and 2 people who speak Romansh. Of the population in the municipality 3,508 or about 53.7% were born in Bagnes and lived there in 2000. There were 744 or 11.4% who were born in the same canton, while 694 or 10.6% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 1,422 or 21.8% were born outside of Switzerland.

, there were 2,469 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household.

, a total of 2,331 apartments (32.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 4,690 apartments (65.1%) were seasonally occupied and 187 apartments (2.6%) were empty.

Heritage sites of national significance

thumb|Church of St-Maurice

The Alpage (alpine pasture) de Louvie and the Church of St-Maurice with ossuary and the former rectory are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The villages of Bruson, Le Châble, Médières and Sarreyer along with the hamlet of Fontenelle are all part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Politics

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 47.96% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (17.51%), the SVP (16.97%) and the SP (10%). In the federal election, a total of 2,039 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 46.3%.

In the 2009 Conseil d'État/Staatsrat election a total of 1,597 votes were cast, of which 124 or about 7.8% were invalid. The voter participation was 37.3%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election a total of 2,002 votes were cast, of which 157 or about 7.8% were invalid. The voter participation was 46.5%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 59.88%.

Economy

, Bagnes had an unemployment rate of 3.9%. , there were 282 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 107 businesses involved in this sector. 1,017 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 103 businesses in this sector. 2,525 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 390 businesses in this sector.

, there were 590 workers who commuted into the municipality and 501 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.2 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 10.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 53.8% used a private car.

  • Roland Collombin, two-time World Cup downhill champion and Olympic silver medalist, born and still lives in Versegères
  • Marie Troillet, Swiss ski mountaineer, was born in Bagnes
  • Joseph Vaudan (1925 - 2008), Catholic priest responsible for the birth of commercial wine making in Valle d'Aosta

References

  • Official website