Grächen is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.

The village is situated at an altitude of 1,620 meters (5,310 ft) on a terrace above St. Niklaus in the Mattertal, north of the Mischabel range (and Dom).

Around 750 (CE), the Alamanni started to settle in the upper (German-speaking) part of what is now the canton of Valais.

Thomas Platter, a famous citizen of 16th century Grächen, published his autobiography describing a life from humble beginnings as a goatherd to a fulfilled existence as lord of a manor, master of herbal lore, publisher and school director.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure, issuant from base three Cliffs Or from which are rising as many Pine trees Vert trunked and rooted proper.

[4] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (1,229 or 98.0%) as their first language, Dutch is the second most common (11 or 0.9%) and French is the third (4 or 0.3%).

[4] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][13] In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 75.92% of the vote.

[15] In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election a total of 523 votes were cast, of which 32 or about 6.1% were invalid.

In the tertiary sector; 69 or 22.5% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 51 or 16.6% were in the movement and storage of goods, 124 or 40.4% were in a hotel or restaurant, 8 or 2.6% were the insurance or financial industry, 3 or 1.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 8 or 2.6% were in education and 8 or 2.6% were in health care.

[4] In the 20th century, Grächen changed from a farming community to a popular tourist destination.

[citation needed] Grächen is situated on the Monte Rosa tour hiking trail and provides for a natural stop between Saas-Fee and Europahütte.

[citation needed] Grächen also attracts many people due to its proximity to Zermatt and to Saas-Fee, two major ski resorts.

Grächen hosts the 2019 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships on 22 September 2019.

From the 2000 census[update], 1,166 or 93.0% were Roman Catholic, while 46 or 3.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

The education system in the Canton of Valais allows young children to attend one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten.

All the lower and upper secondary students from Grächen attend their school in a neighboring municipality.