Niedergesteln is a municipality in the district of Raron in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
[3] Niedergesteln has an area, as of 2011[update], of 17.5 square kilometers (6.8 sq mi).
[4] The municipality is located in the Westlich Raron district, on the northern edge of the Rhone valley.
The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Impalled Azure issuant from Coupeaux Vert a house Argent, and Gules two Cavalry Sabres Argent hilted Or in saltire between three Mullets [of Six] Or one and two.
[4] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (556 or 97.0%) as their first language, French is the second most common (8 or 1.4%) and Bulgarian is the third (3 or 0.5%).
[4] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][11][6] The Gestelnburg is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
The entire village of Niedergesteln is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
[14] In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election a total of 332 votes were cast, of which 11 or about 3.3% were invalid.
[4] There were 302 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 38.7% of the workforce.
In the tertiary sector; 11 or 24.4% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 17 or 37.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 9 or 20.0% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 4.4% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 8.9% were in education.
[4] From the 2000 census[update], 535 or 93.4% were Roman Catholic, while 11 or 1.9% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.
The education system in the Canton of Valais allows young children to attend two years of non-obligatory Kindergarten.
All the lower secondary students from Niedergesteln attend their school in a neighboring municipality Raron.