Gruyères (; ; Fribourgeois: Grevire; ) is a town in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg, Switzerland.
The medieval town is an important tourist location in the upper valley of the Saane/Sarine River and gives its name to Gruyère cheese. The medieval town is located at the top of an hill overlooking the Saane Valley and the Lake of Gruyère.
Geography
thumb|left|The landscape of Gruyères
Gruyères has an area, , of , of which (40.5%) are used for agricultural purposes, while or 50.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 5.5% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.8% is either rivers or lakes and or 3.2% is unproductive land.
Of the built-up area, housing and buildings made up 2.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.1%. Of the forested land, 46.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 4.6% is used for growing crops, 12.9% is pastures, and 22.9% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
Demographics
Gruyères has a population () of . , 14.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 21.2%. Migration accounted for 17.5%, while births and deaths accounted for 4.2%.
Most of the population () speaks French (1,398 or 90.4%) as their first language, German is the second most common (60 or 3.9%) and Portuguese is the third (18 or 1.2%). There are 7 people who speak Italian and 2 people who speak Romansh. Of the population in the municipality, 508 or about 32.9% were born in Gruyères and lived there in 2000. There were 598 or 38.7% who were born in the same canton, while 194 or 12.5% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 182 or 11.8% were born outside of Switzerland.
, there were 581 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.2 new units per 1000 residents.
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bar:1900 from:start till:1389 text:"1,389"
bar:1910 from:start till:1502 text:"1,502"
bar:1920 from:start till:1711 text:"1,711"
bar:1930 from:start till:1465 text:"1,465"
bar:1941 from:start till:1356 text:"1,356"
bar:1950 from:start till:1302 text:"1,302"
bar:1960 from:start till:1349 text:"1,349"
bar:1970 from:start till:1234 text:"1,234"
bar:1980 from:start till:1295 text:"1,295"
bar:1990 from:start till:1460 text:"1,460"
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Economics
thumb|[[Trackless train in Gruyères]]
Gruyères has always been a rural town. Agricultural products from the surroundings were processed and brought to the market here. Formerly, the focus was on trading cheese and small and big animals. There were several mills and sawmills and since the 18th century a gunpowder factory. Until the beginning of the 20th century, straw-twisting was also rather important.
Agriculture is still specialized in milk production and cattle-breeding. It delivers raw materials for the cheese production and meat treating. Most important is Gruyère cheese. Forestry is also a factor, but tillage is less applied. In secondary sector, there are cabinetmaking, precision mechanics and craftworks. Services has a lot of jobs to offer in gastronomics and hotels. The villages of Epagny and Pringy have in the last years become a living place for commuters, mostly working in the town of Bulle.
, Gruyères had an unemployment rate of 2.5%. , there were 59 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 19 businesses involved in this sector. 229 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 27 businesses in this sector. 447 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 69 businesses in this sector.
, there were 366 workers who commuted into the municipality and 478 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 7.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 69.7% used a private car.
Gallery
<gallery mode=packed>
File:Rue du Bourg, Gruyères-IMG 0567.jpg|Rue du Bourg
File:La Part-Dieu Gruyères Nov 2011.jpg|Former Chartreuse De La Part-Dieu
File:Gruyères01.JPG|Gruyères Castle
File:Saint-Germain Gruyères Nov 2011.jpg|Saint-Germain Castle
File:Tower of Castle of Gruyères.jpg|Fortifications
File:Grange de Laviau Gruyères Nov 2011.jpg|Grange du Laviau at Route de Saussivue 73 A
File:Rue du Bourg 7 Gruyères Aug 2011.jpg|House at Rue du Bourg 7
File:Rue du Bourg 39 Gruyères Aug 2011.jpg|House at Rue du Bourg 39
File:Chalamala Bourg 47 Gruyères Aug 2011.jpg|House dite de Chalamala at Rue du Bourg 47
</gallery>
Tourism
thumb|left|The medieval city
thumb|right|The Moléson
Gruyère cheese is an important factor in supporting the tourist trade in the region. A major tourist attraction is the medieval town of Gruyères with its castle, containing a regional museum and an arts museum. There are cultural activities in the castle (concerts, theater). There is a cheese factory in Pringy which is open to visitors. Nearby is Mont Moléson, a mountain suitable for climbing, or for the less athletic there is a cablecar to the summit which was rebuilt in 1998. The resort town Moléson-Village caters for both summer and winter tourism.
In 1998 Swiss surrealist painter, sculptor and set designer H. R. Giger acquired the Saint-Germain Castle, and it now houses the H. R. Giger Museum and Bar, a permanent repository of his work and is a popular tourist destination. Next to this, there is a museum holding antiquities from Tibet.
Main sights
The castle was constructed between 1270 and 1282 in the typical square plan of the fortifications in Savoy. The end of the 15th century stands out as the golden age in the history of the counts. In 1476, count Louis takes part in the Burgundy war by the Confederates’ side. Following this deed of valour, modernization works were undertaken. The adjustment of the esplanade with its chapel, the spiral staircase in the courtyard and the transformation of the main building go back to that time. Thus, the castle loses its fortress appearance to become a stately residence. The baroque interiors remind one of the time when the bailiffs sent by Fribourg lived there. The romantic landscapes were painted in the mid-19th century by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Barthélemy Menn and other artists.
Politics
In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SP which received 28.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (21.5%), the SVP (20.7%) and the FDP (14.4%).
The SPS improved their position in Gruyères rising to first, from third in 2007 (with 21.4%) The CVP moved from first in 2007 (with 27.9%) to second in 2011, the SVP moved from second in 2007 (with 25.0%) to third and the FDP retained about the same popularity (15.9% in 2007). A total of 609 votes were cast in this election, of which 6 or 1.0% were invalid.
Religion
From the , 1,261 or 81.6% were Roman Catholic, while 92 or 6.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 10 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.65% of the population), and there were 43 individuals (or about 2.78% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 2 individuals (or about 0.13% of the population) who were Jewish, and 32 (or about 2.07% of the population) who were Islamic. There was 1 individual who belonged to another church. 74 (or about 4.79% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 51 individuals (or about 3.30% of the population) did not answer the question.
During the 2010–11 school year, there were a total of 240 students attending 18 classes in Gruyères. A total of 363 students from the municipality attended any school, either in the municipality or outside of it. There was one kindergarten class with a total of 17 students in the municipality. The municipality had 7 primary classes and 149 students. During the same year, there were 3 lower secondary classes with a total of 31 students. There were 2 vocational upper Secondary classes and were 5 upper Secondary classes, with 40 upper Secondary students and 3 vocational upper Secondary students The municipality had no non-university Tertiary classes, but there were 3 specialized Tertiary students who attended classes in another municipality.