Goms
Origin of the name Goms
Goms is also the name of the district, whose main town is Münster. The new municipality adopted the coat of arms of the former municipality of Münster, which is also that of the district.[1]
Founding of Goms
The municipality of Goms was created by the five-way merger of Niederwald, Blitzingen, Grafschaft, Reckingen-Gluringen and Münster-Geschinen. It then had 1'276 inhabitants. Its first legislative term covered the years 2017 to 2020. The merger contribution of CHF 3'748'200 covered the additional costs of the administration. The territory stretches along the Goms valley, from Niederwald, above the Fiesch step, to Münster and Geschinen, by way of Blitzingen, Selkingen, Biel, Ritzingen, Gluringen and Reckingen. Münster, the former chief town of the district, was called Conches until the 15th century, before the name passed to the whole valley. In church matters most of the villages gradually broke away from the mother church of Münster. Niederwald and Blitzingen, by contrast, depended on Ernen.[1][2][4][6][7][8][9]
History of Goms
around 500 BC. Stone graves of the Hallstatt period, found at Reckingen in 1838, make this village the highest point in the valley where protohistory is attested.[8]
8th century. An Alemannic population begins partly to replace the Romanised Celts.[8]
1203. Blitzingen, as « Blicingen », and Gluringen appear in the records.[1][10]
1221. Münster is recorded as « Musterium ». Its parish, mentioned in 1247, probably dates back to the 11th or 12th century.[6]
1227. Marquard, knight of Mörel, makes the people of Biel free.[9]
1250. The hamlet of Rottenbrigge, where the old road from Ernen crossed the Rhône, is mentioned.[7]
1344-1799. The Grafschaft, recorded from 1344, unites Gluringen, Selkingen, Biel and Ritzingen, from the Walibach to the Reckingerbach. It forms a jurisdiction of its own, with an Ammann elected by the people from 1367, and lasts until 1799.[9]
1663-1666. In 1663 Blitzingen moves from the parish of Ernen to that of Niederwald, established in 1666.[7][10]
1678. Biel leaves the mother church of Münster and becomes a parish that also takes in Selkingen, Ritzingen and Gluringen.[9]
1696. Reckingen, a quarter of the old mother parish of Münster, becomes a parish in its turn.[8]
1882. The opening of the Gotthard railway deals a fatal blow to the traffic that passed through the Goms valley.[6]
1915. Münster is connected to the Brig-Oberwald line.[6]
1970. Two avalanches strike Reckingen: 48 people are buried, 30 of whom die. The chapel of St Anthony, from 1690, is destroyed.[8]
2000-2004. First mergers: Biel, Ritzingen and Selkingen form the commune of Grafschaft in 2000. In 2004 Münster joins with Geschinen, and Reckingen with Gluringen.[6][8][9]
2015. In February Obergoms withdraws from the merger project that was to unite the six municipalities from Niederwald to Obergoms. Its authorities consider that the time is not ripe.[2][3]
2015. In June the five remaining municipalities approve the merger: Niederwald by 95.55 %, Blitzingen by 75.6 %, Grafschaft by 76.86 %, Reckingen-Gluringen by 75.98 % and Münster-Geschinen by 57.48 %. The new municipality is to be called « Goms ».[2]
2017. On 1 January the municipality of Goms comes into being. At the end of July all services are offered in the new administrative building in Gluringen.[1][4]
2020. On 25 September a parish assembly meets on the abolition of the territory's six parishes. A single parish of « Goms » is to replace them on 1 January 2021.[4]
2020. On 15 November Gerhard Kiechler is elected president of the municipality, at the end of the first legislative term.[4]
Population of Goms
Sources and references: [5]
| 1980 | 1'320 (present-day territory) |
| 1990 | 1'358 (present-day territory) |
| 2000 | 1'398 (present-day territory) |
| 2010 | 1'324 (present-day territory) |
| 2020 | 1'160 |
| 2025 | 1'163 |
Historic sites in Goms
Municipal administration in Gluringen. The municipal administration is housed in the former military training building in Gluringen, Furkastrasse 399.[1][4]
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, Reckingen. Built in 1743-1745, it is the main Baroque church of Upper Valais and a cultural property of national importance. While it was being built, Reckingen became the artistic centre of the valley, with organ builders, woodcarvers and bell founders.[8][11]
Churches of Münster. The parish church of Our Lady keeps a 12th-century bell tower. In the village centre, the church of St Peter was rebuilt in the 17th century.[6]
Church of St Theodule, Niederwald. The village's parish church was consecrated in 1678, twelve years after the parish was created.[7]
Chaschtebiel, at Blitzingen. The dizain of Goms met on this knoll near the village. A chapel is recorded there in 1743. By 1837 it was in ruins.[10]
Ammere. This hamlet of Blitzingen, mentioned from the 14th century, has become a private open-air museum.[10]
Remains in Goms
Rottenbrigge. Now abandoned, this hamlet of Niederwald, where the old road crossed the Rhône, keeps a chapel dedicated to St Sebastian and a few haylofts. Its statutes, shared with Niederwald, date from 1565.[7]
Sources
- Gemeinde Goms, « Porträt »
- SRF, « Abstimmungen Goms: Fünf Gemeinden fusionieren, «Goms» entsteht » (12.6.2015)
- SRF, Regionaljournal Bern Freiburg Wallis, « Gemeinde Obergoms will doch nicht fusionieren » (4.2.2015)
- Gemeinde Goms, « Infoblatt der Gemeinde Goms », Sonderausgabe November 2020
- Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Münster (VS) » (version du 08.02.2017)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Niederwald » (Robert Walpen, version du 13.01.2017)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Reckingen (VS) » (Robert Walpen, version du 13.01.2017)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Biel (VS) » (Alma Treyer, version du 13.01.2017)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Blitzingen » (Alma Treyer Lehner, version du 13.01.2017)
- Inventaire fédéral des biens culturels (PBC), objets des communes de Goms et d'Obergoms (geo.admin.ch)
Localities of the municipality with a page
Other villages near Goms
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