Zernez is a village and a municipality in the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region in the Swiss canton of the Grisons. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Lavin and Susch merged into the municipality of Zernez.
Zernez is a major node in the regional road network, with roads leading into the Upper Engadine and towards Italy, the Lower Engadine and towards Austria, over the Fuorn Pass into the Val Mustair and over the Flüela Pass. Zernez is the center for visitors of the Swiss National Park (Romansh: Parc Naziunal).
History
Zernez is first mentioned in 1131 as Gumpo de Ernece. In 1161-64 it was mentioned as Zarnetz though both references are found in a copy of the document from 1365.
Until 2017 the municipality was located in the Sur Tasna sub-district of the Inn district, after 2017 it was part of the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region. It is located along the Ofen Pass road into the Engadine. It consists of the village of Zernez and the section of Brail.
Lai da Ova Spin is a compensation reservoir on the river Spöl. It is located in the upper areas of the Lower Engadine valley (Romansh: Engiadina Bassa). It is located at an elevation of and is connected to the railway network of the Rhätische Bahn. In Zernez, the stream Spöl empties into the Inn (Romansh: En).
Climate
Zernez has an average of 102.7 days of rain per year and on average receives of precipitation. The wettest month is August during which time Zernez receives an average of of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 11.4 days. The driest month of the year is February with an average of of precipitation over 11.4 days.
Demographics
Population
Zernez has a population () of . , 18.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 3 years (2010-2013) the population has changed at a rate of 1.14%. The birth rate in the municipality, in 2013, was 8.7 while the death rate was 6.9 per thousand residents. In 2012 the rate of construction of new housing units per 1000 residents was 5.22. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 4.03%.
Historic Population
The historical population is given in the following chart:
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bar:1860 from: 0 till:603 text:"603" color:ZE
bar:1870 from: 0 till:565 text:"565" color:ZE
bar:1880 from: 0 till:528 text:"528" color:ZE
bar:1888 from: 0 till:555 text:"555" color:ZE
bar:1900 from: 0 till:596 text:"596" color:ZE
bar:1910 from: 0 till:1075 text:"1075" color:ZE
bar:1920 from: 0 till:760 text:"760" color:ZE
bar:1930 from: 0 till:728 text:"728" color:ZE
bar:1941 from: 0 till:738 text:"738" color:ZE
bar:1950 from: 0 till:739 text:"739" color:ZE
bar:1960 from: 0 till:712 text:"712" color:ZE
bar:1970 from: 0 till:906 text:"906" color:ZE
bar:1980 from: 0 till:920 text:"920" color:ZE
bar:1990 from: 0 till:869 text:"869" color:ZE
bar:2000 from: 0 till:959 text:"959" color:ZE
bar:1850 from: 603 till:970 text:"367" color:LA
bar:1860 from: 603 till:990 text:"387" color:LA
bar:1870 from: 565 till:791 text:"226" color:LA
bar:1880 from: 528 till:793 text:"265" color:LA
bar:1888 from: 555 till:800 text:"245" color:LA
bar:1900 from: 596 till:845 text:"249" color:LA
bar:1910 from: 1075 till:1369 text:"294" color:LA
bar:1920 from: 760 till:1012 text:"252" color:LA
bar:1930 from: 728 till:944 text:"216" color:LA
bar:1941 from: 738 till:998 text:"260" color:LA
bar:1950 from: 739 till:981 text:"242" color:LA
bar:1960 from: 712 till:908 text:"196" color:LA
bar:1970 from: 906 till:1061 text:"155" color:LA
bar:1980 from: 920 till:1102 text:"182" color:LA
bar:1990 from: 869 till:1053 text:"184" color:LA
bar:2000 from: 959 till:1133 text:"174" color:LA
bar:1850 from: 970 till:1371 text:"401" color:SU
bar:1860 from: 990 till:1329 text:"339" color:SU
bar:1870 from: 791 till:1159 text:"368" color:SU
bar:1880 from: 793 till:1179 text:"386" color:SU
bar:1888 from: 800 till:1164 text:"364" color:SU
bar:1900 from: 845 till:1194 text:"349" color:SU
bar:1910 from: 1369 till:1778 text:"409" color:SU
bar:1920 from: 1012 till:1304 text:"292" color:SU
bar:1930 from: 944 till:1201 text:"257" color:SU
bar:1941 from: 998 till:1279 text:"281" color:SU
bar:1950 from: 981 till:1264 text:"283" color:SU
bar:1960 from: 908 till:1124 text:"216" color:SU
bar:1970 from: 1061 till:1282 text:"221" color:SU
bar:1980 from: 1102 till:1319 text:"217" color:SU
bar:1990 from: 1053 till:1256 text:"203" color:SU
bar:2000 from: 1133 till:1332 text:"199" color:SU
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note: Population increase in 1910 due to railway construction
Languages
Most of the population () speaks (Rhaeto-)Romansh (61.1%), with German being second most common (31.3%) and Italian being third ( 4.4%).
Politics
In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SVP with 45.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the BDP (25.6%), the SP (9.6%) and the FDP (8.0%). In the federal election, a total of 443 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 58.2%.
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 45.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (23.4%), the FDP (20.6%) and the CVP (7.2%).
Sights
Heritage sites of national significance
The abandoned village of Gonda, the Reformed Church in Zernez, the Schloss Wildenberg (Wildenberg Castle), the Palazzo Bezzola and the Richtstätte/Galgen Fuorcha are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.
The church was first built in 1367. When the Protestant Reformation entered Zernez in 1553, the church was stripped of all the statues and paintings. Then, in 1609 the old church was replaced with a new baroque building, though the romanesque bell tower of the old church was retained.
The castle was built in the 12th Century but was rebuilt into a baroque castle later. Since 1956 it has served as the town hall.
Other sights
In addition to the four Swiss Heritage Sites of National Significance, Zernez has several other notable sites. These include the gothic catholic chapel of St. Sebastian, the Morenturm, the Swiss National Park and park house, the abandoned tower of La Serra and in Brail, a medieval Reformed church.
The chapel of St. Sebastian stopped being used as a catholic chapel following the Reformation. In 1952 it was put back into service as a chapel. The Morenturm is a medieval tower house in the village. The Swiss National Park, , is the only National Park in Switzerland. It has an area of and is the largest protected area of the country. It was one of the earliest national parks in Europe, being founded on 1 August 1914. The Nationalparkhaus in Zernez is a museum for the National Park. The tower of La Serra was built either in the 13th or 14th Century, though it could have been built as late as just before the Swabian War in 1495. During the Bündner Wirren (or Confusion of the Leagues) it was reinforced and a regiment from Schauenstein was stationed there. After the Confusion, it was abandoned and fell into disrepair. In 1996–98 it was repaired and reinforced.
<gallery class="center">
File:Gonda Kirche Aufsicht.JPG|Abandoned village of Gonda
File:Zernez-Kirche.jpg|Reformed Church in Zernez
File:Zernez_Schloss_Wildenberg.jpg|Schloss Planta-Wildenberg (Planta-Wildenberg Castle), medieval tower-house with Baroque annexe
File:LaSerra.JPG|La Serra tower outside Zernez
File:Zernez-Turm.jpg|Morenturm, a medieval tower house
</gallery>
Transportation
The municipality has four railway stations: , , , and . All four are located on the Bever–Scuol-Tarasp line and between them have with regular service to , , , , and .