Guarda
Municipality
Guarda Village
Coat of arms
Location of Guarda
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Graubünden
District	Inn
Area
• Total	31.42 km2 (12.13 sq mi)
Elevation	1,653 m (5,423 ft)
Population  (December 2008)
• Total	170
• Density	5.4/km2 (14/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)	7545
SFOS number	3742
ISO 3166 code	CH-GR
Surrounded by	Ardez, Galtür (AT-7), Gaschurn (AT-8), Lavin
Website	www.guarda.ch SFSO statistics

Guarda is a municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.

Guarda was awarded the Wakker Prize for the preservation of its architectural heritage in 1975.

Guarda is first mentioned in 1160 as Warda.^[1]

Guarda has an area, as of 2006^[update], of Template:Km2 to mi2. Of this area, 35.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 12.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (51.4%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).^[2]

The municipality is located in the Sur Tasna sub-district of the Inn district on a terrace above the left bank of the Inn river. It consists of the linear village of Guarda above the valley and the settlement of Giarsun along the valley floor.

Guarda has a population (as of 2008^[update]) of 170, of which 13.5% are foreign nationals.^[3] Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -13.4%.^[2]

As of 2000^[update], the gender distribution of the population was 49.7% male and 50.3% female.^[4] The age distribution, as of 2000^[update], in Guarda is; 8 children or 5.6% of the population are between 0 to 9 years old. 9 teenagers or 6.3% are 10 to 14, and 7 teenagers or 4.9% are 15 to 19. Of the adult population, 16 people or 11.1% of the population are between 20 to 29 years old. 13 people or 9.0% are 30 to 39, 28 people or 19.4% are 40 to 49, and 17 people or 11.8% are 50 to 59. The senior population distribution is 13 people or 9.0% of the population are between 60 to 69 years old, 21 people or 14.6% are 70 to 79, there are 12 people or 8.3% who are 80 to 89.^[3]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 46.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (35%), the CVP (8.7%) and the FDP (7.4%).^[2]

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Guarda about 77.3% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).^[2]

Guarda has an unemployment rate of 1.83%. As of 2005^[update], there were 27 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 12 businesses involved in this sector. 19 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 8 businesses in this sector. 56 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 14 businesses in this sector.^[2]

The historical population is given in the following table:^[1]

In 1975 the Swiss Heritage Society awarded Guarda the Wakker Prize for the the preservation of its architectural heritage. The award notes that it is one of the best preserved and characteristic villages of the Unterengadin. It notes that the municipality struggled with a harsh landscape and the demands of tourism as well as the migration of young people from the village into the cities of Switzerland.^[5]

Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks Rhaeto-Romance (62.5%), with German being second most common (30.6%) and French being third ( 2.8%).^[2] The majority of the population speaks the Vallader dialect of Romansh. Until the 1980's, the village was almost totally Romansh speaking (1880 96%, 1900 99%, 1941 91% and 1980 90%). While the village school still supports the Romansh language, the German-speaking population is growing in Guarda.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guarda, Switzerland.

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• Paul Eugen Grimm: Guarda in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.