Niedergesteln

Geschichte

Niedergesteln is a municipality in the district of Raron in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.HistoryNiedergesteln is first mentioned around 1179-84 as Chastellon. In 1224 it was mentioned as Castellion. The municipality was formerly known by its French name Châtillon-le-Bas, however, that name is no longer used.GeographyNiedergesteln has an area, of 17.5km2. Of this area, 12.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 28.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.0% is settled (buildings or roads) and 55.9% is unproductive land.The municipality is located in the Westlich Raron district, on the northern edge of the Rhone valley.Coat of armsThe blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Impalled Azure issuant from Coupeaux Vert a house Argent, and Gules two Cavalry Sabres Argent hilted Or in saltire between three Mullets Or one and two.DemographicsNiedergesteln has a population of., 4.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010 ) the population has changed at a rate of 13.5%. It has changed at a rate of 6.5% due to migration and at a rate of 6.8% due to births and deaths.Most of the population speaks German (556 or 97.0%) as their first language, French is the second most common (8 or 1.4%) and Bulgarian is the third (3 or 0.5%). There are 2 people who speak Italian.