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Villages / Valais / Sierre district / Crans-Montana

Crans-Montana

Town Merger 2017 Canton of Valais · District: Sierre · 10'781 inhabitants (31.12.2025, provisional FSO figure)
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Crans-Montana

The municipality bears the name of the Crans-Montana tourist destination, whose Haut-Plateau it shares with Lens and Icogne.[1]

Founding of Crans-Montana

The municipality of Crans-Montana was created by the merger of Chermignon, Montana, Randogne and Mollens. It stretches from the Rhône plain to the Plaine-Morte glacier, at almost 3'000 metres. It has more than 10'000 inhabitants and more than 800 businesses. On the right bank of the Rhône, the territory brings together two old units. To the west, Montana belonged to the Contrée of Lens. To the east, Randogne and Mollens formed, with Cordona, the upper third of the Noble Contrée of Sierre and belonged to the parish of Saint-Maurice-de-Laques. The resort of Montana-Vermala lies mostly on the former commune of Randogne, which rose from 540 m to the Mont Bonvin at 2'995 m.[1][3][7]

History of Crans-Montana

1224. Randogne appears as « Randonni ».[7]

1238. The large parish of Saint-Maurice-de-Laques, to which Randogne and Mollens belong, is mentioned. Its church stands on the territory of Mollens.[7]

1243. Montana is recorded under the name it still bears.[3]

14th century. Montana forms, with Diogne and Chermignon-d'en Bas, a quarter of the Contrée of Lens, in the dizain of Sierre.[3]

1759. The whole territory of Montana is attached to the parish of Lens. Its eastern part had until then belonged to Laques.[3]

1839. The Noble Contrée of Sierre is dissolved. Randogne and Mollens become two burghers' communities, then two communes in 1851.[7]

1851. To the west, the quarters of the Contrée of Lens are united into a single commune of Lens, but keep their property.[3]

1892. Louis Antille and Michel Zufferey open the Hôtel du Parc, around which Montana-Vermala develops.[3]

1901. Théodore Stephani builds a sanatorium, which makes Montana's name.[3]

1905. Montana, which had been demanding autonomy since 1855, becomes a commune.[3]

1911. A funicular links Montana-Vermala with Sierre.[3][7]

1928. The resort of Montana-Vermala becomes a parish.[3][7]

1987. The resort, converted to winter sports, hosts the World Ski Championships.[3]

1997. Crans-Montana Tourisme now provides joint tourist promotion.[3]

2015. In May the executives of Chermignon, Montana, Randogne and Mollens accept the draft merger contract. It provides for a municipal council of eleven members with a presidency.[2]

2017. On 1 January the municipality of Crans-Montana comes into being.[1][3]

2026. On New Year's Eve, at the turn of 2026, the fire at the bar « Le Constellation » leaves 40 victims, 20 of them minors, and 116 injured.[4]

Population of Crans-Montana

Sources and references: [5]

Population of Crans-Montana
19806'203 (present-day territory)
19908'122 (present-day territory)
20008'749 (present-day territory)
201010'530 (present-day territory)
202010'218
202510'781

Historic sites in Crans-Montana

Municipal administration. The municipal administration is located at Avenue de la Gare 20, in Crans-Montana.[1]

Church of Saint-Maurice-de-Laques, at Mollens. Church of the former large parish of Laques, listed as a monument of cantonal importance. Its stained-glass windows were designed in 1928-1929 by Alexandre Cingria.[7][11]

Church of Saint-Grat at Montana. Recorded as a chapel in 1516, rebuilt in 1704 and in 1851-1852, it became the parish church in 1863. It was rebuilt again in 1935-1939 and renovated in 2007.[3]

Sacred Heart church at Montana-Vermala. Built in 1924-1925 for the resort, it was enlarged in 1953.[3]

Hotel Bella Lui. Built in 1928-1930 as a luxury sanatorium by Flora Steiger-Crawford, Rudolf Steiger and Arnold Itten, the building on the Route du Zotset belongs to modern architecture in the spirit of the Bauhaus. It has kept much of its original fittings and furniture.[9][10]

Remains in Crans-Montana

Grotte aux fées at Mollens. On the territory of Mollens, the Roches des Fées hold the ruins of a medieval fortification, listed in the inventory of cultural property of national importance. These « grottes aux fées » of Valais are rock shelters turned into fortifications, built of stone and wood, with curved walls set against the rock face. Their name reportedly comes from « faye », Franco-Provençal for ewe, which became « fée » (fairy).[8][9]

Sources

  1. Commune de Crans-Montana, « La commune de Crans-Montana »
  2. swissinfo.ch (ATS), « Crans-Montana: les quatre communes acceptent le contrat de fusion » (14.5.2015)
  3. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Montana » (Hugues Rey, version du 12.01.2017)
  4. swissinfo.ch, « La tragédie de Crans-Montana pousse la Suisse aux limites de son système » (8.1.2026)
  5. Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
  6. geo.admin.ch, recherche d'adresse (coordonnées de l'administration communale)
  7. Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz, « Randogne » (Bernard Truffer, version du 13.01.2017, version allemande)
  8. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Grotte aux Fées » (Lukas Högl, version du 04.05.2017)
  9. Inventaire fédéral des biens culturels (PBC), objets de la commune de Crans-Montana (geo.admin.ch)
  10. Inventaire PBC, fiche 10361, hôtel et ancien sanatorium Bella Lui, texte de la Société d'histoire de l'art en Suisse
  11. État du Valais, Journées européennes du patrimoine, fiche « Crans-Montana (Mollens), la lumière transcendée »

Localities of the municipality with a page

Other villages near Crans-Montana

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