From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: :
Government
 o 
Conseil municipal
with 15 members
 o 
Président
Marcel Maurer 
(as of February 2014)
 o 
Conseil général
with 60 members
 o Total
34.85 km2 (13.46 sq mi)
500 m (1,600 ft)
Population (Dec 2016)
 o Total
 o Density
980/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
Surrounded by
, , , , , , , , , , ,
Sion (French pronunciation: ; : Sitten pronounced ; : Seduno;
Sedunum) is the capital of the
and of the district of . As of December 2016 it had a population of 33,999 ("Sédunois"). On 17 January 1968 the former municipality of
merged into the municipality of Sion. On 1 January 2013 the former municipality of
merged into the municipality of Sion and on 1 January 2017
did the same. Sion is well known for its old town and people from Sitten (Sion) are historically jocularly known by British Alpinists as 'Sittenry' a pun on the word: citizenry.
Landmarks include the
and . Sion has an
for civilian and
use which serves as a base for countless air rescue missions.
Necropolis at Le Petit-Chasseur
at Le Petit-Chasseur
Sion is one of the most important pre-historic sites in Europe. The
of Sionne, the rocky slopes above the river and, to a lesser extent, Valeria and Tourbillon hills have been settled nearly continuously since antiquity. The oldest trace of human settlement comes from 6200 BC during the late . Around 5800 BC early
farmers from the Mediterranean settled in Sion. The settlements remained small until about 4500 BC, during the middle Neolithic, when the number of settlements increased sharply. To support the population increase, farming and grazing spread throughout the valley. They also began burying their dead in Chablandes-type stone burial
with engraved anthropomorphic . The individual graves changed at the beginning of the third Millennium BC in large, dry stone wall communal tombs (such as the
of Le Petit-Chasseur). During the
period in the second half of the third Millennium, dolmens were built once again, but they were smaller and had no podium. Stelae continued to be carved, though these were rich with geometric patterns and sometimes built out of old dolmen. At the beginning of the Early
(around 2300 BC) the last stelae were erected.
The early settlements have been well documented. There are huts from the middle Neolithic period found near Le Petit Chasseur and under Ritz Avenue. Late Neolithic sites have been found at Bramois and the early Early Bronze Age site is at Le Petit Chasseur. The Middle Bronze Age, however, is poorly documented. From the subsequent epochs, the great
of Don Bosco (the "aristocrat" tumulus of the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age) and the necropolis of Sous-le-Scex from the .
At the end of the first century BC, Sion was the capital of the , one of the four
tribes of the Valais[]
mentions them as Nantuates Sedunos Veragrosque. They were conquered by the
in the second decade BC. By 8-7 BC, Emperor
praised the tribe (civitas) of the Seduni with an inscription. The town-hall is said to contain several Roman inscriptions, one of which found at Sion commemorates the Roman presence: Civitas Sedunorum Patrono. Under the Romans it was known as Sedunum.
The Roman settlement stretched mainly from what is now St. Theodul, between the Sionne and to the west side of the hill, Valeria. Under the church, a large bath complex was discovered and partially excavated. Near La Sitterie, Sous-le-Scex and in the upper part of the Avenue du Petit Chasseur, portions of several
were found. In the first Century AD, the Claudii Vallensium Forum, in what is now , became the capital of the civitas Vallensium. Sedunum lost political importance, but still remained the home of many notable families. Grave stelae attest to the presence of duumviri (magistrates of the civitas), of flamines (priests of the imperial cult), a Roman knight and a former consuls in the town. In the 4th Century praesides (provincial governors) are mentioned living in Sedunum, including a man named Pontius Asclepiodotus, who rebuilt an imperial building and, according to an inscription, converted to
Valais between .
The Roman Catholic
is the oldest in Switzerland and one of the oldest north of the Alps. At first the see was sited at Octodurum, now called Martigny/Martinach. The first authentically historical bishop was Saint Theodore/Theodolus (died in 391), who was present at the
in 381. He founded the , with a small church in honor of , martyred there ca. 300, when he united the local hermits in a common life, thus beginning the Abbey of Saint-Maurice, the oldest north of the Alps. Theodore rebuilt the church at Sion, which had been destroyed by Emperor
at the beginning of the fourth century. At first the new diocese was later it became suffragan of Tarentaise.
In 589 the bishop, St. Heliodorus, transferred the see to Sion, leaving the low-lying, flood-prone site of Octodurum, where the
joins the . Though frequently the early bishops were also abbots of Saint-Maurice, the monastic community was jealously watchful that the bishops should not extend their jurisdiction over the abbey. Several of the bishops united both offices:
(764-780), previously archbishop of , whence he had St. Alteus, who received from the pope a bull of exemption in favor of the monastery (780); Aimo II, son of Count
of , who entertained
at Saint-Maurice in 1049.
The first cathedral is probably from the 6th Century. It was halfway up the hill, where later the church of St. Peter stood, until the 19th Century when that church was demolished.
The fortunes of the city grew when the bishop settled there. In 999, King
granted the entire
to the Bishop, and Sion became the capital of this County. The
had the rights of , the right to his own
and to appoint his own . The residents of Sion were ruled by three appointees of the Bishop, the maior, the vice dominus or Viztum and the salterus.
Coat of Arms of Hildebrand Riedmatten, Bishop of Sion in 1594
As a result of the decline of the
social order and thanks to privileges and concessions granted by the bishop, the citizens of Sion had a limited independence in the . A contract between Bishop Kuno and his maior William of Turn from 1179, is seen as the first step in the creation of an independent city government. An agreement between the bishop, the
of St. Viztums and William of Turn in 1217 is the first written charter of freedom for the city. It includes civil and criminal laws and punishments as well as trade and
regulations. In 1269, the
of the town had their own council with its own statutes. The council governed the use and management of
through twelve councilors led by the Viztum. These administrators later became
and were known by this title in 1323. In 1338, the
confirmed the existing rights and freedom of the citizens of Sion in a document. The document was renewed by the bishop in 1339 and was presented to each successive bishop to re-confirm after his election. In the same year,
raised Sion to a
and collected the surrounding lands into a . In 1346, the episcopal Viztum and the citizenry collectively wrote the police regulations. Sion was now a city with city walls, documented freedoms and the market right.
Sion in 1572, from Beschreibung vnd Contrafactur der vornembster St?t der Welt, K?ln 1582
Sion in 1640, from Topographia Helvetiae, Rhaetiae et Valesiae, 1642
From the middle of the 14th Century to 1475, the history of Sion was filled with wars and destruction. Bishop Witschard Tavel tried to reduce the privileges of the cathedral collegiate chapter and the citizenry with the support of the . In 1352, Sion was conquered, pillaged and plundered by an army from Savoy. In 1373, the Bishop bought back the majority of the fief of Sion from the de Greysier family.
became the Bishop's residence and the maior was now appointed by the Bishop every year. Sion was attacked and looted in 1384, again during the
in 1418 and finally in 1475 during the .
During this period, the citizenry strove to defend their acquired privileges and whenever possible to expand those rights. In 1414, the city council approved a new set of statutes for the citizens. In 1433, Bishop Andreas dei Benzi approved a strict set of regulations concerning the granting of citizenship rights to applicants. Two years later, in 1435, he allowed the city council to appoint the Bishop's representative to Sion. He retained only the right to approve or reject the council's choice. In 1560, the citizenry bought the office of Viztum from the feudal landholder, the de Chevron family. A year earlier the bishop assigned the office of salterus to the citizenry. So by the mid 16th Century, the city enjoyed a nearly total autonomy.
In the 16th Century, due to a strong immigration from the German-speaking Upper Valais, Sion became almost totally Germanized. The town council minutes were written in Latin until 1540, when they changed to German. Official invoices changed to German in 1600.
The 17th and 18th Centuries were a peaceful time in Sion. The new city hall was built on Grand-Pont between 1657-65. In 1788, a fire broke out in the city. It damaged Majoria and Tourbillon castles and destroyed 115 of the 284 inhabited houses.
In the , the residents of Sion were homines episcopi or people of the bishop. This was true both for the staff at the court as well as the serfs who tilled the land, and the craftsmen and traders. As the
gradually began to organize, they were no longer willing to automatically grant every new arrival the same rights as citizens. Those who were unwilling or unable to purchase citizenship, which cost about 60 shillings in 1326, but wished to live in Sion were classed as permanent residents and their descendants held the same status until they could buy their citizenship. The permanent residents were mainly workers, craftsmen (often originating from the Swiss Confederation and the Germanies) and traders (mostly from Savoy and northern Italy). An outbreak of the
in 1348 wiped out many citizens. In addition to the citizen's deaths, the restrictive attitude of the citizenry toward new members led to citizens becoming a minority in Sion. In the first population census in 1610 the town had 1,835 inhabitants, of whom 412 were citizens and 1,423 were permanent residents. In the 18th Century, a third category, the tollerati, was added. On the eve of the revolution the city's population was 19% citizen, 30% permanent resident and 51% tollerati and other marginalized groups. There were only 41 citizen families, of which twelve were nobility and nine belonged to the
Starting in 13th Century and in the first half of the 14th Century, long distance trade began to pick up from northern Italy via the
and through the Valais into the Champagne region. Sion became an important relay station on this route. The station at Sion included a Sust or warehouse that also provided additional animals to help haul wagons over the pass. Many local nobles and farmers were involved in animal husbandry to support the Sust and pastured their animals, during the summer, in pastures on the other side of the Rh?ne. The Sust's barns are stables were still in operation until the 19th Century. Along the Sionne river, there were mills, saw mills and other industries that needed water power. In addition there were many tanneries in the same area. In 1466, the smiths, bricklayers and stonemasons' guilds arose from an ecclesiastical fraternity. Those three guilds were followed by the butchers' guild in 1512, the bakers' guild in 1525, the tailors and drapers' guild in 1527 and in 1602 the guild of shoemakers and tanners. These guilds played a major economic role in Sion until the end of the . The Inn of the White Cross opened in 1550 for merchants and wealthy travelers, followed in 1688 by the inn of the Golden Lion, which was built beside the town hall.
Very little is known about the early churches in Sion since written sources are meager before the 12th Century. The predecessor of the present cathedral, the church of Notre-Dame-du Glarier in the Palacio district served both as the bishop's church and the
in the 12th Century. It was destroyed in the 14th Century during one of the wars between the Bishop of
and the . It was rebuilt in the second half of the 15th Century. In the meantime, St. Peter's church took over as the bishop's and parish church. It was demolished in 1806. The Valeria Church was built in the 11th Century and originally consecrated to St. Catherine. This church was probably the first church for the . St. Theoduls church was first mentioned in the 13th Century. It was probably built in 1100 on the ruins of Roman baths and a
era church. This church was probably built as a grave and pilgrimage church with a shrine in the Theodulskrypta. It was destroyed in the wars with the House of Savoy in the 14th Century. Construction began on a new church in 1510-16 under Bishop Matthew Schiner and continued until the 17th Century. St. Theoduls served the French-speaking urban population as a parish church until 1798. In the 17th Century, citizens claimed the right to choose their parish priest, over objections of the ecclesiastical authorities. The dispute eventually required mediation through the . The resolution allowed the citizens to choose the pastor from one of four proposed by the archbishop.
In the second half of the 16th Century a large
community grew in Sion under the leadership of renowned , who had learned of the new doctrine while students in Bern, Basel, Zürich, Lausanne or Geneva. After 1604, the Valais government had clearly decided to remain part of the old faith. Some individuals or families emigrated to reformed areas, while others went back to the old faith. The , led by the
of Savoy and the
destroyed the last hopes of the Protestants to establish a foothold in the cathedral town. The Capuchins founded a monastery in 1631 and started construction of the monastery church in 1636, and the Jesuits started missionary activity in the 17th century and established a school in 1734.
Sion as seen from the west, 1820,
illustrated by , printed by
During the anti-patrician unrest in the Lower Valais at the end of the 18th Century, Sion remained a bastion of the aristocracy. The leaders of the Les Crochets conspiracy were executed in 1791 in Sion to avoid riots. After the
on 5 March 1798, Sion was caught between the revolutionary spirit of a portion of its population (who established a
in town on 10 March) and conservative elements who wanted to prevent any change in the Valais. Following the creation of the
in May 1789, a counter-revolutionary rebellion erupted in the upper Valais. This short-lived rebellion was crushed on 17 May by French and
troops and Sion was plundered.
Under the Helvetic Republic, Sion was source of conflict between supporters and opponents of the new regime. In May 1799 counter revolutionary forces from Upper Valais looted the city again. In order to ensure peace in the Valais, the French General
de Garambouville occupied Sion in 1801 and in 1802
declared the independent . It then remained independent until 1810 when it was annexed into France as the . Between 1798 and 1801 the representative of the Helvetic government resided in Sion. Under the French occupation, Joseph du Fay de Lavallaz was appointed by the emperor to be the mayor of the district of Sion.
After Napoleons defeats during the
the Valais was occupied by
at the end of December 1813. Under the Austrians, the citizenry received many of their rights back. During the following year, the government was split between supporters of the Ancien Régime and the supporters of the independent republic, with each party forming a council. When the two councils combined, the number of Council members was set to 20. Between 1815 and 1839, the patrician class gradually took more and more of the rights and duties of the citizenry back on themselves, gaining more and more power. In response to this, Alexandre de Torrente founded a liberal party in 1830. In the cantonal government, Sion agreed most often with the German-speaking Upper Valais. Which gave the Upper Valais a majority of the Zenden in the council, to the detriment of the French-speaking Lower Valais. However, after the vote on the constitution of 1839, the Upper Valais broke away from the rest of the canton. Sion was chosen as the capital of the Valais, while the breakaway Upper Valais chose . In 1840, the Upper and Lower Valais were reunited. But four years later, Sion was occupied by Upper Valais troops during the beginning of the . Federal troops occupied Sion in November 1847.
Sion lost to ,
in its bid to host the . Sion also bid for the , which it lost to , and the , which it lost to
(the games were reassigned to
when Denver residents voted down additional funding).
Vineyards outside Sion and Sion town
After the 2017 merger Sion had an area of 34.85 km2 (13.46 sq mi).
Before the merger Sion had an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of 29.69 square kilometers (11.46 sq mi). Of this area, about 38.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 15.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 38.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and 7.2% is unproductive land. In the 2004/09 survey a total of 505 ha (1,250 acres) or about 17.0% of the total area was covered with buildings, an increase of 148 ha (370 acres) over the 1980 amount. Over the same time period, the amount of recreational space in the municipality increased by 66 ha (160 acres) and is now about 4.47% of the total area. Of the agricultural land, 859 ha (2,120 acres) is used for orchards and vineyards, 337 ha (830 acres) is fields and grasslands and 17 ha (42 acres) consists of alpine grazing areas. Since 1980 the amount of agricultural land has decreased by 330 ha (820 acres). Over the same time period the amount of forested land has increased by 8 ha (20 acres). Rivers and lakes cover 164 ha (410 acres) in the municipality.
Sion has an average of 82.6 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives 598 mm (23.5 in) of . The wettest month is December during which time Sion receives an average of 61 mm (2.4 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 7.4 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is August, with an average of 8.2, but with only 55 mm (2.2 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is April with an average of 36 mm (1.4 in) of precipitation over 5.9 days. According to the
system, Sion has an , abbreviated "Cfb" on climate maps.
Climate data for Sion ()
Average high °C (°F)
Daily mean °C (°F)
Average low °C (°F)
mm (inches)
Average snowfall cm (inches)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)
Average snowy days (≥ 1.0 cm)
Mean monthly
Source: MeteoSwiss
of the municipal
is Per fess Argent two Mullets of Five Gules and Gules.
Grand-Pont, street in the town center
Stadium and apartment buildings in Sion
Sion has a population (as of December 2016) of 33,999. As of % of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years ( ) the population has changed at a rate of 10%. It has changed at a rate of 10.1% due to migration and at a rate of 2.3% due to births and deaths.
Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks
(22,338 or 82.2%) as their first language,
is the second most common (1,523 or 5.6%) and
is the third (912 or 3.4%). There are 855 people who speak
and 19 people who speak .
As of 2008, the population was 47.8% male and 52.2% female. The population was made up of 10,128 Swiss men (34.1% of the population) and 4,089 (13.8%) non-Swiss men. There were 11,642 Swiss women (39.2%) and 3,859 (13.0%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 9,542 or about 35.1% were born in Sion and lived there in 2000. There were 7,481 or 27.5% who were born in the same canton, while 2,939 or 10.8% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 6,285 or 23.1% were born outside of Switzerland.
As of 2000, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.8% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 14.5%.
As of 2000, there were 11,846 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 12,335 married individuals, 1,509 widows or widowers and 1,481 individuals who are divorced.
As of 2000, there were 11,326 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 4,114 households that consist of only one person and 703 households with five or more people. In 2000, a total of 10,670 apartments (88.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 1,072 apartments (8.9%) were seasonally occupied and 345 apartments (2.9%) were empty. As of 2009, the construction rate of new housing units was 4.7 new units per 1000 residents.
As of 2003 the average price to rent an average apartment in Sion was 919.42
(CHF) per month (US$740, ?410, EUR590 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one-room apartment was 473.25 CHF (US$380, ?210, EUR300), a two-room apartment was about 679.12 CHF (US$540, ?310, EUR430), a three-room apartment was about 854.95 CHF (US$680, ?380, EUR550) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1075.25 CHF (US$860, ?480, EUR690). The average apartment price in Sion was 82.4% of the national average of 1116 CHF. The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010, was 0.53%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Historic Population Data
Total Population
French Speaking
German Speaking
Protestant
No religion given
The municipal council is the executive power in the commune. Its 15 members, non-permanent except the President, are elected every 4 years by the people.
The commune of Sion comprises also of a counsel of public rights of the medieval commune, the Bourgeoisie. Who protect the rights of the original inhabitants against new inhabitants. The counsel is made up of 7 people : a president, a vice-president and five counsellors.
In the 2015
the most popular party was the
with 31.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the
(19.9%), the
(18.7%) and the
(17.9%). In the federal election, a total of 11,541 votes were cast, and the
was 57.7%.
In the 2011
the most popular party was the
with 29.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the
(22.2%), the
(20.0%) and the
(16.9%). In the federal election, a total of 10,750 votes were cast, and the
was 58.3%.
In the 2009
election a total of 8,663 votes were cast, of which 907 or about 10.5% were invalid. The voter participation was 49.1%, which is much less than the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007
a total of 9,688 votes were cast, of which 835 or about 8.6% were invalid. The voter participation was 55.8%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 59.88%.
In the 2007
the most popular party was the
which received 34.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the
(19.08%), the
(15.52%) and the
(13.9%). In the federal election, a total of 9,828 votes were cast, and the
was 55.6%.
Sion and the Rh?ne
Vineyards near Sion castle
is the main economic sector in Sion, mainly due to the presence of the cantons administration, the Valaisan parliament and the cantons courthouse. Tourism is also an important sector due to its historic ch?teaux and museums.
Sion is the third largest wine making region in , however, the valuable agricultural land and vineyards are undergoing constant regression due to the process of .
Sion has also become an important medical site. The Sion-Region hospital is situated here next to the
and the Romande clinic for physical rehabilitation ().
Finally the commune hosts a waste incinerator which disposes of the waste from 44 surrounding communes. This incinerator is equipped with a
which lowers the levels of
emissions below acceptable levels. In addition, the heat created from the combustion is converted into electrical energy which is then provided to local communes.
Sion is a medium sized regional center. The municipality is the center of its own .
As of 2014, there were a total of 33,228 people employed in the municipality. Of these, a total of 494 people worked in 93 businesses in the . A majority (54.0%) of the primary sector employees worked in very small businesses (less than ten employees). The remainder worked in 7 small businesses with a total of 227 employees. The
employed 5,638 workers in 466 separate businesses. In 2014 a total of 3,405 employees worked in 447 small companies (less than 50 employees). There were 17 mid sized businesses with 1,614 employees and 2 large businesses which employed a total of 619 people. Finally, the
provided 27,096 jobs in 3,134 businesses. In 2014 a total of 16,599 employees worked in 3,068 small companies (less than 50 employees). There were 60 mid sized businesses with 7,289 employees and 6 large businesses which employed 3,208 people.
In 2014 a total of 8.1% of the population received social assistance.
In 2015 local hotels had a total of 61,402 overnight stays, of which 22.6% were international visitors.
In 2008 the total number of
jobs was 21,338. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 245, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 4,830 of which 1,976 or (40.9%) were in manufacturing, 51 or (1.1%) were in mining and 2,323 (48.1%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 16,263. In 3,356 or 20.6% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 858 or 5.3% were in the movement and storage of goods, 968 or 6.0% were in a hotel or restaurant, 685 or 4.2% were in the information industry, 1,566 or 9.6% were the insurance or financial industry, 1,357 or 8.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 1,249 or 7.7% were in education and 2,989 or 18.4% were in health care.
In 2000, there were 13,194 workers who commuted into the municipality and 2,857 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 4.6 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 10.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 57.1% used a private car.
There are 14 buildings or sites in Sion that are listed as Swiss . The secular buildings include the Archives de l’Etat du Valais, the Archives and Museum of the Bishop of Sion and the cathedral, the town hall, Majorie Castle, La Majorie on Rue des ch?teaux 19, Le Vidomnat on Place de la Majorie 15, the Maison Supersaxo, the Médiathèque Valais Sion, the Cantonal Fine Arts and History Museums and the ruins of . The religious buildings on the list are the Cathédrale Notre-Dame, the
monastery and library, the church of the
and the church of St-Théodule. The remains of a
settlement and the modern city of Sion are also on the list. The entire town of Sion and the village of Bramois are both part of the .
H?tel de Ville
Maison Supersaxo
Fine Arts Museum
Skeleton from the History Museum
Notre-Dame Cathedral
Church of St-Théodule
Chapelle de Tous les Saints Sion
Public Airshows have been held at the airfield of Sion. Participated Aerobatic teams have been for example the
as well as the .
plays in the . Their stadium is the .
The HC Sion is the city's main
team. They play in the , the third tier of Swiss hockey. Their arena is the Ancien Stand which has a seating capacity of 1,200.
Haut de Cry mountain at the west side of Sion
Sion is host to a number of newspapers, television and radio stations. Such as :
, a daily Valaisan paper printed in S
, regional V
, private V
, retransmission of public Swiss television.
In Sion about 8,560 or (31.5%) of the population have completed non-mandatory , and 3,670 or (13.5%) have completed additional higher education (either
or a ). Of the 3,670 who completed tertiary schooling, 54.9% were Swiss men, 32.0% were Swiss women, 7.5% were non-Swiss men and 5.6% were non-Swiss women.
As of 2000, there were 3,122 students in Sion who came from another municipality, while 261 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Sion is home to 4 libraries. The the Médiathèque Valais Sion, the Bibliothèque municipale de Sion, the HES-SO Valais Médiathèque santé-social and the HES-SO Valais, Domaine Sciences de l'ingénieur. There was a combined total (as of 2008) of 690,513 books or other media in the libraries, and in the same year a total of 294,320 items were loaned out.
Sion has two high schools (colleges)
the Lycée-Collège des Creusets (LCC);
the Lycée-Collège de la Planta (LCP).
Sion is also host to the :
, situated in Ch?teauneuf, S
HEM Valais (Conservatoire Supérieur et Académie de Musique ).
offers education in Sciences, Engineering, Economics, Information Technology and Health Sciences.
There is a Business and Tourism university situated near Sion .
Sion is situated on the main railway line and the motorway, and also has an airport ().
Reformed church in Sion
From the 2000 census, 21,220 or 78.1% were , while 1,198 or 4.4% belonged to the . Of the rest of the population, there were 212
(or about 0.78% of the population), there were 18 individuals (or about 0.07% of the population) who belonged to the , and there were 453 individuals (or about 1.67% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 16 individuals (or about 0.06% of the population) who were , and 1,360 (or about 5.01% of the population) who were . There were 86 individuals who were , 52 individuals who were
and 22 individuals who belonged to another church. 1,371 (or about 5.05% of the population) belonged to no church, are
or , and 1,385 individuals (or about 5.10% of the population) did not answer the question.
In 2014 the crime rate, of the over 200 crimes listed in the
(running from murder, robbery and assault to accepting bribes and election fraud), in Sion was 72.2 per thousand residents, which is slightly higher than the national average. During the same period, the rate of drug crimes was 20.6 per thousand residents, over twice the national rate. In contrast, the rate of violations of immigration, visa and work permit laws was 0.9 per thousand residents, which is only 18.4% of the rate for the entire country.
People associated with Sion include:
, mapmaker of the first map of the Rhone Valley and the Wallis Alps in 1535
, (4th century) Patron Saint of Wallis/Valais and the Walser
(), Swiss civil engineer, botanist and glaciologist
, (born 1934) Swiss composer, grew up in Sion
(), theoretical physicist
, () Priesterseminar of Sitten
(c. ), notary, politician and captain
(), writer
(), rescue pilot
(born 1936), FIFA-president
, (1780 - 1859 in Sion) was a Swiss Catholic clergyman and geodesist
(born 1948), lawyer, vice-president United Nations Human Rights Council
(born 1945), politician
, () Swiss chronicler of the canton of Wallis (Valais) and canon.
(born 1986), footballer
, (), Swiss politician, poet and editor of the "Walliser Wochenblatt"
, extreme metal band, formed in 1987 in Sion
, () was a Swiss civil engineer, foreman for the Gotthard tunnel
(born 1988), cyclist
, Bishop of Sion in 1594 and whencefrom the Coat of Arms of Sitten/Sion are gotten
, (born 1962), is a Swiss politician
(born 1990), actress
(born 1993), footballer
, (25 May 1945 – 22 October 2009), Swiss film director and feminist who grew up in Sion
(), world champion snowboarder
, (born 1996), footballer
, (1800 -?), onetime mountain guide to British Alpinist Edward Whymper
, (1811 - 1897) was a Swiss politician
, (), corrupt Swiss politician
, (born in 1984) Swiss film director, screenwriter and film producer
, (born 12 June 1960) Swiss politician, studied at a German-speaking school in Sion
, (), composer
This section needs additional citations for . Please help
by . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2015) ()
, online database – St?ndige und nichtst?ndige Wohnbev?lkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangeh?rigkeit (in German) accessed 30 August 2017
(in German) accessed 9 February 2013
in the online .
 , ed. (1857). . . 2. London: John Murray. p. 947.
Lins, Joseph (1912). . New York: Robert Appleton Company.
. . Swiss Federal Statistical Office. 24 November .
accessed 27 October 2016
(in German, French, and Italian). Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology - MeteoSwiss. Archived from
on 27 June ., the Sion weather station elevation is 482 meters .
(PDF). Climate diagrams and normals from Swiss measuring stations. Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) 2013.
accessed 26-September-2011
(in German) accessed 19 June 2010
accessed 26-September-2011
at the . (in German) accessed 2 February 2011
(in German) (in French) accessed 24 August 2011
at the . (in German) accessed 28 January 2011
2003 data (in German) accessed 26 May 2010
at the . (in German) accessed 18 July 2016
at the . (in German) accessed 2 May 2016
(in German) accessed 24 August 2011
(in German) accessed 24 August 2011
(in German) accessed 28 May 2010
(in German, French, Italian, and English). Neuch?tel, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Statistical Office. 17 February .
accessed 31 October 2016
accessed 31 October 2016
at the . (in German) accessed 28 January 2011
(in German) accessed 24 June 2010
. KGS Inventar (in German). Federal Office of Civil Protection. 2009. Archived from
on 28 June .
(in German) accessed 14 May 2010
. Ecole d’agriculture du Valais 2016.
accessed 5 April 2016
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for .
Media related to
at Wikimedia Commons
(in German) (in French)
Les Agettes in ,
in the online .
Capitals of
: Hidden categories:}