History of the villages of the canton of Valais
All documented localities of the canton of Valais, grouped by district. 353 localities.
The districts of the canton
- Brig 16 towns and villages · 3 sites Brig-Glis, Naters, Belalp, Birgisch…
- Conthey 21 towns and villages · 2 sites Conthey, Aproz, Ardon, Aven…
- Entremont 24 towns and villages · 4 sites Sembrancher, Val de Bagnes, Bagnes, Bourg-Saint-Pierre…
- Goms 31 towns and villages · 4 sites Ammere, Ausserbinn, Bellwald, Biel (VS)…
- Hérens 21 towns and villages · 3 sites Anzère, Argnou, Arolla, Ayent…
- Leuk 19 towns and villages · 7 sites Agarn, Albinen, Bratsch, Ergisch…
- Martigny 26 towns and villages · 4 sites Martigny, Saillon, Bovernier, Branson…
- Monthey 21 towns and villages · 1 sites Collombey-Muraz, Monthey, Bouveret, Champéry…
- Östlich Raron 13 towns and villages · 2 sites Betten, Bettmeralp, Bister, Bitsch…
- Saint-Maurice 22 towns and villages · 5 sites Saint-Maurice, Alesse, Collonges, Daviaz…
- Sierre 37 towns and villages · 4 sites Crans-Montana, Sierre, Aminona, Anchettes…
- Sion 10 towns and villages · 3 sites Sion, Arbaz, Bramois, Drône…
- Visp 18 towns and villages · 5 sites Baltschieder, Grächen, Lalden, Merjen…
- Westlich Raron 20 towns and villages · 1 sites Ausserberg, Blatten (Lötschen), Bürchen, Eischoll…
Other localities
Eisten
Formed around 1455 from small economic units, Eisten, at the entrance to the Saas valley, saw its mule track become a road in 1932-1934.
VSEmbd
A village on the very steep slope of the lower St. Niklaus valley, linked to the valley floor by a goods cableway in the early 1930s and by a road only in 1983.
VSStalden (VS)
Where the St. Niklaus and Saas valleys meet, a village of bridges, including the stone Chibrücke built by Ulrich Ruffiner in 1544-1545. Three governors of the Valais came from here.
VSStaldenried
In 1548 the hamlets of Ried, Gspon, Kleeboden and Finilen adopted a common statute governing inheritance, burghership, grazing, timber and water.
VSTörbel
Above Stalden, Törbel regulated its water use in 1392 and 1400 and founded its Bauernzunft in 1463. Robert McC. Netting devoted the study « Balancing on an Alp » (1981) to it.
VSZeneggen
Settled since the Bronze Age, the high terrace of Zeneggen saw its farming life change with the road to Visp, completed in 1905, and jobs at the Lonza works from 1907.
History of the canton of Valais
From prehistory to the Roman province
The oldest human traces in Valais, about 35'000 years old, were found in the Tanay area above Vouvry, at 1'800 metres. In Sion, the Petit-Chasseur necropolis, with its dolmens from the early 3rd millennium BC and its human-shaped stelae, is one of the high points of European prehistory.
Four Celtic peoples lived in the valley: the Nantuates, Veragri, Seduni and Uberi. After the campaign of Drusus and Tiberius in 16-15 BC, the upper Rhône came under Roman control. Under the emperor Claudius (41-54) Valais became a province of its own, and Forum Claudii Vallensium (Martigny) was founded next to the Celtic settlement of Octodurus.
Saint-Maurice and the prince-bishops of Sion
Around 380 Theodore (Saint Theodulus) established the cult of Saint Maurice at Agaunum, where the Burgundian king Sigismund founded the abbey of Saint-Maurice in 515. The bishop's seat moved to Sion between 565 and 585. In 999 King Rudolph III of Burgundy gave the county of Valais to the bishop of Sion.
The dizains (districts) appeared in the 14th century. In 1475, under Bishop Walter Supersaxo, the Valaisans defeated the Savoyard army at the Planta in Sion and took the Lower Valais. Monthey and Saint-Maurice remained subject lands until 1798.
From the Revolution to the twentieth canton
In February 1798 the Diet granted freedom and independence to the Lower Valais, and Valais was then incorporated into the Helvetic Republic. It was an independent republic from 1802 to 1810, then the French département of Simplon until December 1813.
After the constitution of 12 May 1815, the Act of Union of 4 August 1815 made Valais the twentieth canton of the Confederation. The canton has two official languages, French and German, and the language border runs through the Finges forest.
Valais today
On 14 July 1865 a rope team led by Edward Whymper reached the summit of the Matterhorn; four men died on the descent. The mountain made Zermatt one of the most famous tourist places in Switzerland.
The population grew from 81'559 in 1850 to 206'563 in 1970 and 272'399 in 2000. At the end of 2025 Valais had 376'113 inhabitants. Its capital is Sion.