Saas-Balen

Saas-Balen is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.

[3] Saas-Balen has an area, as of 2011[update], of 30.2 square kilometers (11.7 sq mi).

It consists of the village of Saas-Balen and the hamlets of Niedergut (Ausser-Balen), Bidermatten and a part of Tamatten (Inner-Balen) as well as 25 small, alpine settlements.

[4] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (390 or 98.2%) as their first language, French is the second most common (2 or 0.5%) and Serbo-Croatian is the third (2 or 0.5%).

[4] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][10] The Church of Mariä Himmelfahrt is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

The entire hamlet of Bidermatten is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

[13] In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election a total of 225 votes were cast, of which 6 or about 2.7% were invalid.

In the tertiary sector; 11 or 30.6% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 22 or 61.1% were in a hotel or restaurant.

[4] From the 2000 census[update], 378 or 95.2% were Roman Catholic, while 8 or 2.0% 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 Saas-Balen attend their school in a neighboring municipality.

Saas-Balen and surrounding valley
Church of Mariä Himmelfahrt