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| Canton of Valais | |
|---|---|
| Flag of the canton | |
| Capital: | Sion (Sitten) |
| Abbr.: | VS |
| Joined: | 1815 |
| Population: | 278,200 |
| Area: | 5224 km² |
| Languages: | French, German |
The Valais (also known in German as Wallis) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the south-western part of the country, in the Pennine Alps around the valley of the Rhone River from its springs to Lake Geneva.
The canton of Valais is located in the south of Switzerland. To its south lies Italy, to the southwest France. To the north the canton is bounded by the Swiss cantons of Vaud and Bern; the cantons of Uri and TicinoTicino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland, and almost entirely Italian-speaking (except the German-speaking municipality of Bosco/Gurin). It contains the Italian enclave of Campione d'Italia. Together with areas of the canton of Graubunden it makes lie to its east.
The wide, glacial RhôneThe River Rhone ( Latin Rhodanus French Rhone Occitan Rose German Rotten is one of the major rivers (ca. 800 km [500 miles] long) of Europe, running through Switzerland and France. Course It rises near the Rhone glacier in Valais, Switzerland, in the Sain valley dominates the area. There are many side valleys which branch off the main valley. These vary from narrow and remote to reasonably populous and popular. At the head of the MattertalMattertal is the valley starting from the Matterhorn, villages in the Mattertal include Zermatt (1620m), Taesch, Randa (1445m), Grachen (1620m) and St. Niklaus (1127m). valley lies ZermattZermatt is a village located (46°1'N, 7°45'E) at the base of the Matterhorn in the German-speaking section of the Valais canton in southern Switzerland. It is 62 km southwest of Gstaad, and only about 10 km from the border with Italy. It has a population, a pretty tourist village dominated by views of the MatterhornThe Matterhorn (Fr. Mont Cervin It. Cervino , is perhaps the most familiar mountain in the Alps. Located on the border between Switzerland and Italy, its graceful pyramid towers over the Swiss town of Zermatt and the Italian town Breuil-Cervinia in the Va (4,477 m). Fifty of the mountains exceed 4,000m and there are numerous glaciers.
The Rhone drains the main valley from east to west up to MartignyThere are a number of communes that have the name Martigny In France Martigny, in the Aisne departement Martigny, in the Manche departement Martigny, in the Seine-Maritime departement Related Martigny-Courpierre, in the Aisne departement Martigny-le-Comte, then in a right angle north to its mouth in the Lake Geneva. After the small town of Saint-Maurice , the northern banks of the river belong to the canton of Vaud. The main valley is bound by the Bernese Alps in the north and the Pennine Alps in the south. Only about half of the total area is considered productive.
The Romans called the area Vallis Poenina ("Upper Rhône Valley"). From 888 onwards the lands were part of the kingdom of Jurane Burgundy. King Rudolph III of Burgundy gave the lands to the Bishop of Sion in 999, making him Count of the Valais. The count-bishops then struggled to defend the area against the dukes of Savoy.
The Valais resisted Protestantization during Reformation. On March 12, 1529, Valais became an associate member (Zugewandter Ort) of the Swiss Confederation. In 1628 the Valais became technically a republic, the République des Sept Dizains/Republik der Sieben Zehenden under the guidance of the prince-bishop of Sion and the bailli. The bishop remained in power until 1798 when Napoleon’s troops invaded the Valais and declared a Revolutionary République du Valais (March 16) which was swiftly incorporated (May 1) into the Helvetic Republic until 1802 when it became the independent Rhodanic Republic. In 1810 the Rhodanic Republic was annexed by Napoleonic France as the département of Simplon. Independence was restored in 1813 and on August 4, 1815 the Valais finally entered the Swiss confederation as a canton. In 1845 the Valais joined the Catholic separatist league (Sonderbund), but chose not to fight the troops of the confederation in 1847 and submitted to the federal forces.
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