Riederalp Facts for Kids

Riederalp is a municipality in the district of Raron in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It was created in 2003 through the merger of Goppisberg, Greich and Ried-Mörel.

Geography
Demographics
Sights
Images for kids
See also

Geography

Riederalp has an area, as of 2011^[update], of 21 square kilometers (8.1 sq mi). Of this area, 27.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 42.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.0% is settled (buildings or roads) and 27.3% is unproductive land.

The mid-mountain resort sits on a south-facing terrace, south of the 23 km (14 mi) long Aletsch Glacier—Europe's largest, in the Bernese Alps. The altitude of the village (1,930 m [6,330 ft]) allows good view of the Pennine Alps with some of its highest summits such as the Fletschhorn, Dom and Matterhorn.

Demographics

Riederalp village

Villa Cassel. Situated near the great Aletsh glacier, it is one of the two national nature centers of Pro Natura.

Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (95.6%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian is the second most common (1.9%) and French is the third (0.8%).

As of 2008^[update], the population was made up of 479 Swiss citizens and 57 non-citizen residents (10.63% of the population). As of 2000^[update], children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.7%.

As of 2009^[update], the construction rate of new housing units was 9.3 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010^[update], was 1.33%.