Arbaz

Geschichte

Arbaz is a municipality in the district of Sion in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.HistoryArbaz is first mentioned about 1185 as Alba. In 1338 it was mentioned as Arba.GeographyArbaz has an area, of 19.3km2. Of this area, 4.25km2 or 22.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 4.83km2 or 25.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.99km2 or 5.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.06km2 or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes and 9.15km2 or 47.4% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.3%. Out of the forested land, 19.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.9% is used for growing crops and 5.3% is pastures and 15.5% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 17.2% is unproductive vegetation and 30.3% is too rocky for vegetation.The municipality is located in the Sion district, at an elevation of between 830to. Until 1877 it was part of the municipality of Ayent. The village of Arbaz was partially destroyed by fire in 1924, but has been rebuilt. Almost half of the houses in the village are vacation homes. It is situated on the north bank of the Rhône River.Coat of armsThe blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure a Cross Gules, overall standing on issuant from base a triple mount Or a Lion rampant reguardant Or langued Gules.