Bürchen

Coat of arms

Bürchen

Location of Bürchen

Coordinates: 46°16′N 7°49′E / 46.267°N 7.817°ECoordinates: 46°16′N 7°49′E / 46.267°N 7.817°E

Country

Government

• Mayor

Philipp Zenhäusern

Area

• Total

13.45 km² (5.19 sq mi)

Elevation

1,360 m (4,460 ft)

Population (Dec 2015)

• Total

738

• Density

55/km² (140/sq mi)

Postal code

3935

SFOS number

6193

Surrounded by

Raron, Törbel, Unterbäch, Visp, Zeneggen

Website

www.buerchen.ch
SFSO statistics

Bürchen (Walliser German: Birchu) is a municipality in the district of Raron in the German-speaking part of the canton of Valais in Switzerland.

Bürchen is first mentioned in 1307 as ze Birke. In 1363 it was mentioned as Birkonberg, in 1441 as Birchen and in 1755 as Betula.

Bürchen has an area, as of 2011^[update], of 13.4 square kilometers (5.2 sq mi). Of this area, 25.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 55.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 5.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and 13.6% is unproductive land.

The municipality is located in the Westlich Raron district. It consists several hamlets on a high terrace above the southern side of the Rhone valley.

The proposed merger of the municipalities of Eggerberg, Ausserberg, Bürchen, Baltschieder, Visp and Visperterminen was rejected by the residents.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure, three Mullets [of Six] Or.

Bürchen has a population (as of December 2015^[update]) of 738. As of 2008^[update], 3.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010 ) the population has changed at a rate of 0.8%. It has changed at a rate of 1.5% due to migration and at a rate of 1.3% due to births and deaths.

Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (658 or 97.9%) as their first language, French is the second most common (5 or 0.7%) and Albanian is the third (3 or 0.4%). There is 1 person who speaks Italian.

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Wikipedia