Grandvillard

Geschichte

Grandvillard is a municipality in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.HistoryGrandvillard is first mentioned in 1228 as Vilar. In 1309 it was mentioned as Vilar retro Grueriam and in 1457 as communitas Magni Villari retro Grueriam. The municipality was formerly known by its German names Grosswiler and Langwiler, however, that name is no longer used.GeographyGrandvillard has an area, of 24.2km2. Of this area, 11.45km2 or 47.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 6.89km2 or 28.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.95km2 or 3.9% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.17km2 or 0.7% is either rivers or lakes and 4.74km2 or 19.6% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.4%. Out of the forested land, 23.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 4.2% is used for growing crops and 7.5% is pastures and 35.6% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 11.1% is unproductive vegetation and 8.5% is too rocky for vegetation.The municipality is located in the Gruyère district, in the Intyamon valley.Coat of armsThe blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules, a Saltire Argent, overall a Crane rising of the last and in chief a Mullet of Five Or.DemographicsGrandvillard has a population of., 7.3% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 11.7%. Migration accounted for 10.7%, while births and deaths accounted for 0.8%.