Saint-Luc, Switzerland

Aerial view (1970)

Saint-Luc is first mentioned in 1267 as Lus. In 1304 it was mentioned as Luc, which was the official name until 1904. The name Saint-Luc first appears around 1850.[2]

The blazon of the village coat of arms is Azure, issuant from a Ribbon Or three Pine trees Vert trunked proper and an Ox passant Argent.[3]

Saint-Luc has a population (as of December 2008) of 312.[4]

Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks French (265 or 83.1%) as their first language, German is the second most common (22 or 6.9%) and Portuguese is the third (16 or 5.0%). There are 8 people who speak Italian.[5]

Of the population in the village, 110 or about 34.5% were born in Saint-Luc and lived there in 2000. There were 87 or 27.3% who were born in the same canton, while 53 or 16.6% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 66 or 20.7% were born outside of Switzerland.[5]

As of 2000, there were 135 people who were single and never married in the village. There were 154 married individuals, 16 widows or widowers and 14 individuals who are divorced.[5]

There were 32 households that consist of only one person and 11 households with five or more people. In 2000, a total of 120 apartments (11.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 845 apartments (82.8%) were seasonally occupied and 55 apartments (5.4%) were empty.[6]

The historical population is given in the following chart:[2][7]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 36.88% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (22.57%), the SVP (12.86%) and the Green Party (9.97%). In the federal election, a total of 176 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 63.8%.[8]

There were 165 residents of the village who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.4% of the workforce. In 2008 the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 167. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 14, of which 3 were in agriculture and 11 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 14 of which 13 or (92.9%) were in manufacturing and 1 was in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 139. In the tertiary sector; 14 or 10.1% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 17 or 12.2% were in the movement and storage of goods, 67 or 48.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 6 or 4.3% were in education.[9]

In 2000, there were 37 workers who commuted into the village and 72 workers who commuted away. The village is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.9 workers leaving the village for every one entering.[10]

From the 2000 census, 269 or 84.3% were Roman Catholic, while 25 or 7.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there was 1 individual who belongs to another Christian church. 21 (or about 6.58% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 3 individuals (or about 0.94% of the population) did not answer the question.[5]

In Saint-Luc about 120 or (37.6%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 47 or (14.7%) have completed additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule). Of the 47 who completed tertiary schooling, 48.9% were Swiss men, 31.9% were Swiss women, 14.9% were non-Swiss men.[5]

As of 2000, there were 67 students from Saint-Luc who attended schools outside the village.[10]

Saint-Luc has a ski resort above, where many ski lifts exist. The resort started in 1962, with the ski lift Combettaz. In 1973, the ski lift Pas de Boeuf became the longest ski lift in Switzerland.

In the 1970's, an action television series called Skiboy was filmed in Saint-Luc, where actors Stephen R. Hudis, Margot Alexis, Robert Coleby, and Frederick Jaeger starred in the show. The show is about a young skiier who solves crimes and mysteries in his village innocently.

• Official website (in French)
• Media related to Saint-Luc, Switzerland at Wikimedia Commons