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Merjen

Canton of Valais · District: Visp · No published figure for the locality; the municipality of Stalden (VS) has 1'140 inhabitants (31.12.2025, provisional FSO figure)
Part of the municipality of Stalden
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Must-see historical sites Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Merjen

The name Merjen is thought to come from the old forms «Morgia» and «Morgi», in use in the 13th and 14th centuries. «Morgi» is also the original name of Stalden. The meaning of these forms is unknown.[1][2]

Founding of Merjen

Merjen is a district of the municipality of Stalden (VS), above the gorge of the Mattervispa. According to one hypothesis, a Celtic-period village and the first church of Stalden stood here. The original name «Morgi» and eight armbands from the La Tène period suggest that the Seduni settled Stalden in the 1st millennium BC. Before the unions of 1807 and 1817, Merjen and Mühlebach made up the Kirchhof of Stalden, one of the three self-governing communities on the territory of the present municipality.[1][2][7][8]

History of Merjen

1213. Stalden appears in a document for the first time, under the name «Morgi».[2]

1215. First mention of the chapel of Merjen.[2]

1927. On 28 November the Grand Council approves the Saas valley road. The authorities decide to build a new bridge rather than use the Chibrücke.[4]

1928-1930. The engineer Alexandre Sarrasin builds the Merjen bridge (Merjubrücke), a 117 m stiffened arch over a gorge about 120 m deep (1931 according to another source).[1][3][4]

1932. Opening of the bridge, which takes through traffic off the narrow Chibrücke.[3]

Historic sites in Merjen

Merjen bridge. A pioneering work of modern engineering, the bridge is listed as cultural property of regional importance (category B). It is now open only to pedestrians.[3][5]

Sources

  1. Office fédéral des routes (OFROU), Inventaire des voies de communication historiques de la Suisse (IVS), « VS 25 (Visp -) Stalden - Törbel - Zermatt (- Theodulpass) » (état novembre 2001)
  2. Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (version allemande du Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse), « Stalden (VS) » (Bernard Truffer, version du 10.01.2013)
  3. Office fédéral de la culture, ISOS, « Stalden » (Gemeinde Stalden, 2e version, juillet 1997)
  4. Canton du Valais, Service de la mobilité (arrondissement 1, Haut-Valais), brochure « Umfahrung Stalden » (octobre 2023)
  5. Office fédéral de la protection de la population (PBC), « Révision Inventaire PBC 2021 : liste cantonale Canton du VS » (état au 1.1.2026)
  6. Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
  7. geo.admin.ch, service de recherche de swisstopo (Merjen)
  8. Commune de Stalden, « Geschichte »

Other villages near Merjen

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