Stierva
Former municipality
Coat of arms
Location of Stierva
Stierva Show map of Switzerland Stierva Show map of Canton of Graubünden
Coordinates: 46°39′N 9°32′E / 46.650°N 9.533°E / 46.650; 9.533
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Graubünden
District	Albula
Area
• Total	10.56 km2 (4.08 sq mi)
Elevation	1,375 m (4,511 ft)
Population  (2006)
• Total	137
• Density	13/km2 (34/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)	7459
SFOS number	3504
Surrounded by	Alvaschein, Mon, Mutten, Salouf, Tiefencastel, Vaz/Obervaz, Zillis-Reischen
Website	www.albula-alvra.ch SFSO statistics

Stierva is a former municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Alvaschein, Mon, Stierva, Tiefencastel, Alvaneu, Brienz/Brinzauls and Surava merged to form the new municipality of Albula/Alvra.^[1]

In the 2000 census, some two-thirds of the population declared Romansh as a first language, with most of the rest speaking German.

History

Stierva is first mentioned in 841 Seturiuo.^[2] Until 1943 Stierva was known as Stürvis.^[1]

Geography

Before the merger, Stierva had a total area of 10.5 km² (4.1 sq mi).^[3] Of this area, 49.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 42.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (6.7%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).^[3]

The municipality is located in the Alvaschein sub-district of the Albula district. It is a haufendorf (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) above the lower Albula valley.

Demographics

Stierva had a population (as of 2013) of 134.^[3] As of 2008^[update], 1.5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -5.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks Rhaeto-Romance (66.4%), with German being second most common (32.8%) and Italian being third ( 0.8%).^[3]

As of 2000^[update], the gender distribution of the population was 46.6% male and 53.4% female.^[4] The age distribution, as of 2000^[update], in Stierva is; 20 people or 15.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old. 6 people or 4.7% are 10 to 14, and people or 0.0% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 17 people or 13.3% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 21 people or 16.4% are 30 to 39, 15 people or 11.7% are 40 to 49, and 12 people or 9.4% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 13 people or 10.2% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 16 people or 12.5% are 70 to 79, there are 7 people or 5.5% who are 80 to 89, and there is 1 person or 0.8% who are 90 to 99.^[5]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 45.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (40.6%), the SPS (7.8%) and the FDP (5.9%).^[3]

In Stierva about 66.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).^[3]

Stierva has an unemployment rate of 0%. As of 2005^[update], there were 21 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 11 businesses involved in this sector. 6 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 2 businesses in this sector. 7 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 4 businesses in this sector.^[3]

The historical population is given in the following table:^[2][4]