Leysin
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Vaud
District	Aigle
Coordinates	46°20′N 7°00′E / 46.333°N 7°E / 46.333; 7Coordinates: 46°20′N 7°00′E / 46.333°N 7°E / 46.333; 7
Population	3,839 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density	207 /km2 (535 /sq mi)
Area	18.57 km2 (7.17 sq mi)[2]
Elevation	1,260 m (4,134 ft)
Postal code	1854
SFOS number	5407
Demonym	Leysenouds
Localities	Crettaz, Veyges
Surrounded by	Ormont-Dessous, Aigle, Yvorne, Corbeyrier
Website	www.leysin.ch Profile, SFSO statistics
Leysin
Location of Leysin

Leysin is a municipality of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Aigle.

History [link]

Leysin is first mentioned around 1231-32 as Leissins. In 1352 it was mentioned as Leisins.^[3]

Geography [link]

Tour d'Aï and Tour de Mayen

Old postcard showing some of the resorts in Leysin

Leysin has an area, as of 2009^[update], of 18.57 square kilometers (7.17 sq mi). Of this area, 6.48 km² (2.50 sq mi) or 34.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 6.91 km² (2.67 sq mi) or 37.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.43 km² (0.55 sq mi) or 7.7% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.04 km² (9.9 acres) or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and 3.67 km² (1.42 sq mi) or 19.8% is unproductive land.^[4]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.0%. Out of the forested land, 33.3% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.0% is used for growing crops and 10.0% is pastures and 24.7% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 12.9% is unproductive vegetation and 6.9% is too rocky for vegetation.^[4]

The municipality is located in the Aigle district, on the right side of the Grande-Eau at the foot of the Tour d'Aï and the Tour de Mayen. The main village is located at an elevation of 1,260 m (4,130 ft). It consists of the village of Leysin and the hamlets of Veyges, Feydey, Aï and Mayen.

It is a sunny alpine resort village at the eastern end of Lake Geneva in proximity to Montreux, Lausanne and Geneva. In prior years, Leysin was known for its sanatoriums for tuberculosis: now, however, it is a destination for year-round mountain sports and recreation.

Located in the Bernese Alps, Leysin enjoys spectacular views across the Rhône Valley towards the (Dents du Midi). The municipality can be accessed by road or the Aigle - Leysin train (c. 30 minutes). Trains depart hourly. Leysin offers four stops (stations).

Coat of arms [link]

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per fess Sable and Or, overall issuant from Hills in base a Pinetree all Vert.^[5]

Demographics [link]

Building on Leysin

View of Leysin and surrounding mountains

Restaurant Tournant Kuklos on the mountain

Leysin has a population (as of December 2010^[update]) of 3,839.^[1] As of 2008^[update], 59.3% of the population are resident foreign nationals.^[6] Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 37.5%. It has changed at a rate of 39.4% due to migration and at a rate of 2.6% due to births and deaths.^[7]

Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks French (1,683 or 56.1%), with English being second most common (356 or 11.9%) and German being third (104 or 3.5%). There are 43 people who speak Italian and 1 person who speaks Romansh.^[8]

Of the population in the municipality 539 or about 18.0% were born in Leysin and lived there in 2000. There were 424 or 14.1% who were born in the same canton, while 361 or 12.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 1,525 or 50.9% were born outside of Switzerland.^[8]

In 2008^[update] there were 14 live births to Swiss citizens and 11 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 17 deaths of Swiss citizens and 1 non-Swiss citizen death. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 3 while the foreign population increased by 10. There were 10 Swiss men and 5 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 95 non-Swiss men and 140 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 17 and the non-Swiss population increased by 240 people. This represents a population growth rate of 7.4%.^[6]

The age distribution, as of 2009^[update], in Leysin is; 271 children or 7.2% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 961 teenagers or 25.6% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 843 people or 22.4% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 391 people or 10.4% are between 30 and 39, 426 people or 11.3% are between 40 and 49, and 341 people or 9.1% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 305 people or 8.1% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 148 people or 3.9% are between 70 and 79,there are 61 people or 1.6% who are 80 and 89, and there are 12 people or 0.3% who are 90 and older.^[9]

As of 2000^[update], there were 1,699 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 989 married individuals, 126 widows or widowers and 184 individuals who are divorced.^[8]

As of 2000^[update] the average number of residents per living room was 0.58 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.61 per room.^[7] In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics.^[10] About 37.7% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage or a rent-to-own agreement).^[11]

As of 2000^[update], there were 937 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.1 persons per household.^[7] There were 409 households that consist of only one person and 30 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 1,004 households that answered this question, 40.7% were households made up of just one person and there were 3 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 223 married couples without children, 235 married couples with children There were 56 single parents with a child or children. There were 11 households that were made up of unrelated people and 67 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.^[8]

In 2000^[update] there were 312 single family homes (or 43.3% of the total) out of a total of 720 inhabited buildings. There were 235 multi-family buildings (32.6%), along with 68 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (9.4%) and 105 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (14.6%). Of the single family homes 103 were built before 1919, while 19 were built between 1990 and 2000. The most multi-family homes (76) were built before 1919 and the next most (43) were built between 1961 and 1970. There was 1 multi-family house built between 1996 and 2000.^[12]

In 2000^[update] there were 2,345 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 711. There were 344 single room apartments and 289 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 885 apartments (37.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 1,095 apartments (46.7%) were seasonally occupied and 365 apartments (15.6%) were empty.^[12] As of 2009^[update], the construction rate of new housing units was 3.5 new units per 1000 residents.^[7] The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010^[update], was 2.51%.^[7]

The historical population is given in the following chart:^[3][13] <timeline> Colors=

 id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9)
 id:darkgrey  value:gray(0.8)

ImageSize = width:1020 height:210 PlotArea = height:150 left:100 bottom:50 right:100 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:4300 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:900 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:180 start:0 PlotData=

 color:yellowgreen width:40   mark:(line,white) align:center
 bar:1313 from:start till:244
 bar:1313 at:254 fontsize:S text: "61 Hearths"  shift:(8,5)
 bar:1850 from:start till:415 text:"415"
 bar:1860 from:start till:433 text:"433"
 bar:1870 from:start till:411 text:"411"
 bar:1880 from:start till:398 text:"398"
 bar:1888 from:start till:397 text:"397"
 bar:1900 from:start till:1065 text:"1,065"
 bar:1910 from:start till:2243 text:"2,243"
 bar:1920 from:start till:3186 text:"3,186"
 bar:1930 from:start till:4135 text:"4,135"
 bar:1941 from:start till:3240 text:"3,240"
 bar:1950 from:start till:4242 text:"4,242"
 bar:1960 from:start till:2241 text:"2,241"
 bar:1970 from:start till:2752 text:"2,752"
 bar:1980 from:start till:2057 text:"2,057"
 bar:1990 from:start till:2842 text:"2,842"
 bar:2000 from:start till:2998 text:"2,998"

</timeline>

Sights [link]

The entire village of Leysin and hamlet of Veyges are designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites^[14]

Politics [link]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the FDP which received 21.19% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (20.41%), the SP (19.92%) and the Green Party (15.84%). In the federal election, a total of 477 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 40.7%.^[15]

Economy [link]

Ski lift, restaurant and skiing in Leysin

As of 2010^[update], Leysin had an unemployment rate of 4.8%. As of 2008^[update], there were 39 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 13 businesses involved in this sector. 137 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 26 businesses in this sector. 1,074 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 116 businesses in this sector.^[7] There were 1,160 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 45.7% of the workforce.

In 2008^[update] the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 1,080. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 30, of which 21 were in agriculture and 8 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 128 of which 36 or (28.1%) were in manufacturing and 85 (66.4%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 922. In the tertiary sector; 76 or 8.2% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 54 or 5.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 167 or 18.1% were in a hotel or restaurant, 13 or 1.4% were the insurance or financial industry, 7 or 0.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 351 or 38.1% were in education and 174 or 18.9% were in health care.^[16]

In 2000^[update], there were 206 workers who commuted into the municipality and 234 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.1 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.^[17] Of the working population, 10.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 45.3% used a private car.^[7]

Religion [link]

Church tower in Leysin village

From the 2000 census^[update], 769 or 25.7% were Roman Catholic, while 803 or 26.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 110 members of an Orthodox church (or about 3.67% of the population), there was 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 50 individuals (or about 1.67% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 3 individuals (or about 0.10% of the population) who were Jewish, and 63 (or about 2.10% of the population) who were Islamic. There were 84 individuals who were Buddhist, 23 individuals who were Hindu and 6 individuals who belonged to another church. 612 (or about 20.41% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 474 individuals (or about 15.81% of the population) did not answer the question.^[8]

Education [link]

In Leysin about 658 or (21.9%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 365 or (12.2%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Of the 365 who completed tertiary schooling, 27.9% were Swiss men, 18.4% were Swiss women, 28.2% were non-Swiss men and 25.5% were non-Swiss women.^[8]

In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 317 students in the Leysin school district. In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts.^[18] During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 205 children of which 96 children (46.8%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 175 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 139 students in those schools. There were also 3 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.^[19]

As of 2000^[update], there were 39 students in Leysin who came from another municipality, while 98 residents attended schools outside the municipality.^[17]

Leysin is also the home to a number of international schools: Leysin American School, Kumon Leysin Academy of Switzerland, Schiller International University American College of Switzerland, Swiss Hotel Management School, CP Language Institute, Voxlingua Language School. ^[20]

Sport [link]

Snow boarding in Leysin

Leysin hosted the FIS Snowboard World Cup 2008.^[21]

Leysin has hosted 3 world cup events in recent years: Boardercross, Speedskiing and downhill mountain-biking.

References [link]

External links [link]

• Media related to Leysin at Wikimedia Commons
• Leysin travel guide from Wikitravel
• Leysin in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

v t e Municipalities in the district of Aigle, Switzerland Aigle | Bex | Chessel | Corbeyrier | Gryon | Lavey-Morcles | Leysin | Noville | Ollon | Ormont-Dessous | Ormont-Dessus | Rennaz | Roche (VD) | Villeneuve (VD) | Yvorne Canton of Vaud | Districts of the canton of Vaud | Municipalities of the canton of Vaud