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Villages / Valais / Östlich Raron district / Betten
Coat of arms of Betten

Betten

Canton of Valais · District: Östlich Raron · 449 inhabitants (2000, former municipality of Betten, last figure before the merger)
Part of the municipality of Bettmeralp
View of Betten
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Berger~commonswiki assumed (based on..., CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons · Coat of arms: Public domain
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Betten

First mentioned in 1243 as « Bettan ». The etymology is unexplained.[1]

Founding of Betten

The territory of Betten comprised the quarters of Betten and Egga, on a sunny terrace at 1200 m, and Bettmeralp, at 1900 m, formerly called Terpetsch. A village community is mentioned in 1343. Betten formed, together with Goppisberg, a quarter of the tithing of Östlich Raron and belonged spiritually to Mörel. The agricultural village was rapidly transformed by tourism from around 1930. In 1990 economic life and population were increasingly concentrated at Bettmeralp. Betten has been part of the municipality of Bettmeralp since its merger with Martisberg on 1 January 2014.[1][2]

History of Betten

1243. First mention as « Bettan ».[1]

1343. A village community is mentioned.[1]

1571. Mention of the chapel of St Anne.[1]

17th century. A lead mine is worked at Bader.[1]

1676. Fire.[1]

1696-1697. The St James chapel at Bettmeralp is dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows.[1]

1748. Foundation of a rectorate, which has an incumbent only from 1765.[1]

1853. Another fire.[1]

1910. Foundation of the parish.[1]

around 1930. Tourism begins to rapidly transform the village, which had been agricultural.[1]

1951. The cable car comes into service.[1]

1985. Opening of a road for vehicles.[1]

1990. The service sector provides 79 % of jobs.[1]

2014. On 1 January, merger with Martisberg into the new municipality of Bettmeralp.[1][2]

Population of Betten

Sources and references: [1]

Population of Betten
1850294 inhabitants
1880350 inhabitants
1900311 inhabitants
1930287 inhabitants
1950373 inhabitants
1980494 inhabitants
2000449 inhabitants

Historic sites in Betten

Church of the Sacred Heart. Church of the parish founded in 1910, built on the site of the old chapel of St Anne, mentioned in 1571 and later demolished.[1]

Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows at Bettmeralp. Former chapel of St James, dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows from 1696-1697.[1]

Bettmeralp. Alpine pasture at 1900 m, formerly called Terpetsch, where economic life and population are increasingly concentrated. It gave its name to the municipality formed by the 2014 merger.[1][2]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Betten » (Philipp Kalbermatter, trad. Pierre-G. Martin, version du 04.01.2017)
  2. Office fédéral de la statistique, Répertoire officiel des communes, mutation n° 3425 (01.01.2014)
  3. geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées)

Other villages near Betten

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