Präz

Präz (Romansh: Preaz) was a municipality in the district of Hinterrhein in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2010 the municipalities of Portein, Präz, Sarn and Tartar merged into the municipality of Cazis.[1]

Präz
Former municipality of Switzerland
Präz from the air
Coat of arms
Location of Präz
Präz Präz
Coordinates: 46°44′N 9°24′E
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Graubünden
District	Hinterrhein
Area
• Total	11.35 km^2 (4.38 sq mi)
Elevation	1,200 m (3,900 ft)
Population  (December 2007)
• Total	161
• Density	14/km^2 (37/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)	7424
SFOS number	3665
Surrounded by	Cazis, Rhäzüns, Safien, Sarn, Tartar, Versam
Twin towns	Neerach (Switzerland)
Website	www.praez.ch

History

Präz is first mentioned in 1290-98 as Pare(t)z.[2]

Geography

Präz village from downslope

Präz has an area, as of 2006, of 11.3 km² (4.4 sq mi). Of this area, 45.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 47.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (4%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[3]

The municipality is located in the Thusis sub-district, of the Hinterrhein district and is located on the Heinzenberg mountains. It consists of the haufendorf (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) village of Präz and the hamlets of Dalin and Raschlinas as well as scattered farm houses. The municipalities of Portein, Präz, Sarn, and Tartar merged on 1 January 2010 into Cazis.

Demographics

Castle Heinzenberg ruins

Präz has a population (as of 2007) of 161, of which 5.0% are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -20.3%.[3]

As of 2000, the gender distribution of the population was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.[4] The age distribution, as of 2000, in Präz is; 29 people or 16.3% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old. 13 people or 7.3% are 10 to 14, and 9 people or 5.1% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 17 people or 9.6% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 33 people or 18.5% are 30 to 39, 21 people or 11.8% are 40 to 49, and 22 people or 12.4% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 15 people or 8.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 12 people or 6.7% are 70 to 79, there are 5 people or 2.8% who are 80 to 89, and there are 2 people or 1.1% who are 90 to 99.[5]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 48% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (24.6%), the FDP (17.3%) and the CVP (9.7%).[3]

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Präz about 70.5% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).[3]

Präz has an unemployment rate of 0.82%. As of 2005, there were 45 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 18 businesses involved in this sector. 1 person is employed in the secondary sector and there is 1 business in this sector. 7 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 5 businesses in this sector.[3]

The historical population is given in the following table:[2]

year	population
1803	286
1850	303
1900	201
1950	231
1980	148
2000	178

Languages

Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (95.5%), with Romansh being second most common ( 2.8%) and Italian being third ( 0.6%).[3] The Romansh population speaks the Sutsilvan dialect.

Languages in Präz
Languages	Census 1980		Census 1990		Census 2000
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
German	105	69.08%	132	91.03%	170	95.51%
Romanish	46	30.26%	10	6.90%	5	2.81%
Population	152	100%	145	100%	178	100%

References

1. Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz, Mutationsmeldungen 2009 / Répertoire officiel des communes de Suisse, Mutations 2009 / Elenco ufficiale dei Comuni della Svizzera, Mutazione 2009 (PDF) (Report). Federal Statistical Office. 2009. nden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
2. Präz in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
3. Swiss Federal Statistical Office Archived 2011-09-04 at the Wayback Machine accessed 7 October 2009
4. Graubunden in Numbers Archived 2009-09-24 at the Wayback Machine (in German) accessed 21 September 2009
5. Graubunden Population Statistics Archived 2009-08-27 at the Wayback Machine (in German) accessed 21 September 2009

External links

• Official Web site