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Villages / Valais / Sierre district / Zinal

Zinal

Canton of Valais · District: Sierre · No published figure for the locality; the municipality of Anniviers has 2'784 inhabitants (31.12.2025, provisional FSO figure)
Part of the municipality of Anniviers
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Must-see historical sites Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Zinal

Zinal is also the name of the valley, the glacier and the pass that close the Val d'Anniviers to the south. The origin of the name is unknown.[6]

Founding of Zinal

Zinal, at the head of the Val d'Anniviers, belonged to the former municipality of Ayer, together with Ayer, Mission, La Comba, Cuimey and Mottec. Before tourism it was a mayen, a seasonal pasture settlement: in the mid-19th century people from the villages lower down gathered there twice a year. The Val de Zinal then had nickel and cobalt mines, near Ayer. The resort later grew around its hotels. Ayer has been part of the municipality of Anniviers since the 2009 merger.[1][2][4]

History of Zinal

1768. Construction of a farmhouse, preserved to this day in its original layout.[3]

1855. Zinal is only a mayen, where people from the villages below come up twice a year. There is not a single inn in the whole valley, and wine is left to age for a few years near the Zinal glacier.[2]

1856. An inn opens at Zinal.[1]

before 1914. The resort already has three hotels.[1]

1950-1960. The growth of the resort, together with the Mottec power station and the Moiry dam, stabilises the exodus from Ayer.[1]

1951. The road from Ayer to Zinal opens.[1]

1966-2000. A Club Méditerranée operates at Zinal.[1]

1967. The 1768 farmhouse becomes the museum of the Amis du vieux Zinal.[3]

1974. The Sierre-Zinal mountain race is run for the first time.[1]

Historic sites in Zinal

Old house of the Amis du vieux Zinal. Visitors see the kitchen, a bedroom and the cellar, which displays photographs from the late 19th century. The furniture and objects show everyday life of the past.[3]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Ayer » (Danielle Allet-Zwissig, version du 04.01.2017)
  2. Edouard Desor, « Le Val d'Anniviers », extrait de la Revue suisse, t. XVIII, 1855 (rééd. 2002, RERO DOC)
  3. Association des musées suisses (museums.ch), « Ancienne maison Amis du vieux Zinal »
  4. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Anniviers, val d' » (Danielle Allet-Zwissig, version du 13.03.2017)
  5. Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, chiffres provisoires au 31.12.2025, via citypopulation.de
  6. geo.admin.ch, recherche de lieux (coordonnées)

Other villages near Zinal

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