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Villages / Valais / Goms district / Grafschaft

Grafschaft

Canton of Valais · District: Goms · 192 inhabitants (2000, former municipality of Grafschaft, last figure before the merger)
Part of the municipality of Biel
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Grafschaft

Grafschaft means «county». The term appears in 1344, but it is probably older.[1][2]

Founding of Grafschaft

The Grafschaft was the territory of Biel, Ritzingen, Selkingen and Gluringen in the Goms valley, from the Walibach near Selkingen to the Reckingerbach. Biel was its centre. The territory passed in 1237 to the possessions of the bishop of Sion. The county then formed a separate jurisdiction, independent of the episcopal vidomne and later of the major of Goms, with high jurisdiction and an ammann elected by its inhabitants. Biel, Ritzingen and Selkingen took up the name in 2000 for their merged municipality, now part of the municipality of Goms (merger of 2017).[1][2]

History of Grafschaft

1237. Boso, bishop of Sion and last descendant of the counts of Granges, hands the territory over to the episcopal mensa.[1]

1344. The name Grafschaft appears in the records.[1][2]

1367. Mention of an ammann, head of the county elected by the people and confirmed by the bishop.[2]

1799. End of the county's own jurisdiction.[1][2]

2000. Biel, Ritzingen and Selkingen merge into the municipality of Grafschaft, with 192 inhabitants.[1][2]

2017. Grafschaft joins neighbouring municipalities in the new municipality of Goms.[1][2]

Population of Grafschaft

Sources and references: [1]

Population of Grafschaft
2000192

Historic sites in Grafschaft

Biel. Former centre of the county. The parish church of St John the Evangelist is listed as a cultural property of regional importance.[2][3]

Ritzingerfeld Chapel. Baroque pilgrimage chapel of 1687 dedicated to the Mother of God, on the alluvial fan above Ritzingen. It is regarded as the emblem of the Obergoms.[3][4]

Selkingen. The village keeps a mill and the Walther-Chastonay house, both listed as cultural properties of regional importance.[3]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Grafschaft » (Bernard Truffer, version du 13.01.2017, traduit de l'allemand)
  2. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Biel (VS) » (Alma Treyer, version du 13.01.2017, traduit de l'allemand)
  3. Office fédéral de la protection de la population (PBC), « Révision Inventaire PBC 2021 : liste cantonale Canton du VS » (état au 1.1.2026)
  4. Office fédéral de la culture, Inventaire fédéral des sites construits à protéger en Suisse (ISOS), « Ritzingen (Grafschaft) », relevé n° 5095 (2e version)

Other villages near Grafschaft

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