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Coat of arms of Ergisch

Ergisch

Canton of Valais · District: Leuk · 184 inhabitants (31.12.2025, provisional FSO figure)
View of Ergisch
Photo: MHM55, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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 Ergisch

First recorded in 1203 as « Mons de Argessa ». The name « Argessa » is said to mean roughly « white or silver rock », referring to the pale rock on which the village stands.[1]

Founding of Ergisch

Ergisch lies at 1'090 metres on the slope of the left bank of the Rhone, at the entrance to the Turtmanntal. The community organised itself in the Middle Ages: attested as a municipality, it received its first statutes from its farmers' guild (Bauernzunft) and bought itself free of various tithes. First part of the parish of Leuk (Loèche), then of Turtmann, Ergisch later became a rectorate and a parish. Traditional mountain farming dominated until the 1960s, followed by factory work in the Rhone valley (Steg, Chippis, Visp), extensive sheep farming and tourism.[1]

History of Ergisch

1203. First recorded as « Mons de Argessa ».[1]

1355. First mention of the municipality.[1]

1497. The farmers' guild (Bauernzunft) issues the first municipal statutes.[1]

15th-16th centuries. The municipality buys itself free of various tithes.[1]

around 1600. The village is probably destroyed by fire.[1]

1663. Ergisch leaves the parish of Leuk for that of Turtmann.[1]

1798. A rectorate is established.[1]

1861. The rectorate is raised to a parish.[1]

1890. Construction of the Holy Spirit church in neo-Romanesque style.[1]

around 1900. Inhabitants emigrate to the United States and South America.[1]

1953. Construction of a cable car to the Rhone valley.[1]

1962. The road opens.[1]

1964. Interior renovation of the church.[1]

1981. The cable car is dismantled.[1]

2001. About 22'500 overnight stays, including the Obermatten pre-alpine pasture and the Turtmanntal.[1]

Population of Ergisch

Sources and references: [1][2]

Population of Ergisch
1802210 inhabitants
1850270 inhabitants
1900270 inhabitants
1950247 inhabitants
2000176 inhabitants
2025184 inhabitants

Historic sites in Ergisch

Holy Spirit church. Neo-Romanesque parish church built in 1890, renovated inside in 1964.[1]

Obermatten. Pre-alpine pasture (Voralpe) of Ergisch, counted with the Turtmanntal in the municipality's tourism.[1]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse (version allemande), « Ergisch » (Werner Bellwald, version du 24.10.2005)
  2. Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
  3. geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées)

Other villages near Ergisch

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