Flums

History

Flums is first mentioned in 765 as Flumini.

Geography

Flums has an area, as of 2006, of 75.1 km² (29.0 sq mi). Of this area, 51.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 32.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.9% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (12.1%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).

The municipality is located in the Sarganserland Wahlkreis. Until 2002 it was the capital of the Sargans district. In terms of area, it is the third largest municipality in the canton. Flums covers from the Schils valley to the border with the Canton of Glarus, part of the Flumserberge, part of the Seez valley and the western slope of the Alvier chain. It consists of the village sections of Flums-Dorf, Grossberg and Kleinberg.

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Trierced per fess Or, Sable and Argent.

Demographics

Flums has a population (as of 31 December 2015) of 4,869. As of 2007, about 23.0% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (as of 2000), 20 are from Germany, 126 are from Italy, 688 are from ex-Yugoslavia, 14 are from Austria, 46 are from Turkey, and 77 are from another country. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -0.3%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (86.9%), with Albanian being second most common ( 8.1%) and Italian being third ( 1.5%). Of the Swiss national languages (as of 2000), 4,242 speak German, 9 people speak French, 75 people speak Italian, and 4 people speak Romansh.

The age distribution, as of 2000, in Flums is; 691 children or 14.2% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 740 teenagers or 15.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 584 people or 12.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 752 people or 15.4% are between 30 and 39, 629 people or 12.9% are between 40 and 49, and 572 people or 11.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 395 people or 8.1% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 332 people or 6.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 163 people or 3.3% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 24 people or 0.5% who are between 90 and 99.

In 2000 there were 493 persons (or 10.1% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 822 (or 16.8%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 3,099 (or 63.5%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 220 (or 4.5%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 60 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 29 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 18 who lived household made up of unrelated persons, and 141 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing.

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 52% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (21.1%), the SP (10.9%) and the FDP (8.1%).

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Flums about 57.1% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Out of the total population in Flums, as of 2000, the highest education level completed by 1,372 people (28.1% of the population) was Primary, while 1,465 (30.0%) have completed Secondary, 298 (6.1%) have attended a Tertiary school, and 274 (5.6%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question.

The historical population is given in the following table:

Heritage sites of national significance

The Gräpplang (a prehistoric hilltop settlement and a ruined medieval castle), the Chapel of St. Jakob and the catholic church of St. Justus are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.

Transportation

The municipality is located on the A3 motorway.

Economy

As of 2007, Flums had an unemployment rate of 1.04%. As of 2005, there were 339 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 152 businesses involved in this sector. 996 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 65 businesses in this sector. 861 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 149 businesses in this sector. As of October 2009 the average unemployment rate was 3.9%. There were 354 businesses in the municipality of which 68 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 147 were involved in the third. As of 2000 there were 1,403 residents who worked in the municipality, while 945 residents worked outside Flums and 664 people commuted into the municipality for work.

Religion

From the 2000 census, 3,480 or 71.3% are Roman Catholic, while 380 or 7.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there are 5 individuals (or about 0.10% of the population) who belong to the Christian Catholic faith, there are 92 individuals (or about 1.88% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 30 individuals (or about 0.61% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 614 (or about 12.58% of the population) who are Islamic. There are 5 individuals (or about 0.10% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 139 (or about 2.85% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 137 individuals (or about 2.81% of the population) did not answer the question.