Ardon (Valais)

Geschichte

Ardon is a municipality in the district of Conthey in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.HistoryArdon is first mentioned at the end of the 11th Century as Ardunum. In 1179 it was mentioned as Ardun.GeographyArdon has an area, of 20.4km2. Of this area, 4.15km2 or 20.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 6.41km2 or 31.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.33km2 or 6.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.17km2 or 0.8% is either rivers or lakes and 8.31km2 or 40.8% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.6%. Out of the forested land, 25.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 1.3% is used for growing crops, while 13.8% is used for orchards or vine crops and 4.6% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 8.6% is unproductive vegetation and 32.2% is too rocky for vegetation.The municipality is located on the alluvial fan of the Lizerne, to the right of the Rhone river. It is about 10km from Sion.Coat of armsThe blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules, a Key Or and a Key Argent in saltire.DemographicsArdon has a population of., 32.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 10.3%. It has changed at a rate of 11.7% due to migration and at a rate of 3.8% due to births and deaths.