Stans

Stans
Coat of arms
Stans
Location of Stans
Coordinates: 46°57′N 8°21′E / 46.950°N 8.350°E / 46.950; 8.350Coordinates: 46°57′N 8°21′E / 46.950°N 8.350°E / 46.950; 8.350
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Nidwalden
District	n.a.
Government
• Mayor	Gemeindepräsidentin Beatrice Richard-Ruf FDP/PRD
Area
• Total	11.09 km2 (4.28 sq mi)
Elevation	452 m (1,483 ft)
Population (Dec 2015)
• Total	8,277
• Density	750/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Postal code	6370
SFOS number	1509
Surrounded by	Buochs, Dallenwil, Ennetbürgen, Ennetmoos, Oberdorf, Stansstad
Website	www.stans.ch SFSO statistics

Stans (German pronunciation: [ʃtans]) is the capital of the canton of Nidwalden (Nidwald) in Switzerland.

The official language of Stans is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.

Stans is one of the oldest settlements in the entire Nidwalden valley. The first traces of human settlement date to the 2nd Century BC. During the Roman era there is little evidence of a settlement except for some Gallo-Roman Ustrinum or funeral pyres and the Latin root (stagnum meaning a pool or sump) of the name Stans.

During the 7th or 8th Century the Alamanni settled in the region. The christian Alamanni built the first church in Stans around 750 AD. This pre-Carolingian church served as the parish church for the entire Engelberg Valley. The church was expanded numerous times until it was finally replaced in 1647 by the new church of St. Peter and Paul.

Stans was first mentioned in 1124. By 1291, when Unterwalden joined Uri and Schwyz in what became the Swiss Confederation, Stans was already the capital of the section known as Unterwalden nid dem Kernwald which would become the half canton of Nidwalden.