Stalden (German pronunciation: [ˈʃtaldn̩]) is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.

[4] The municipality is located in the Visp district, at the branching of the Matter and Saas valleys.

It consists of three formerly independent villages Stalden Dorfmark, Chinegga (since 1805) and Niederrusen (since 1817, now called Neubrück).

Being well within the Alps, the region of Stalden is notably the driest location in Valais and Switzerland, with 545 mm of rainfall per year measured at the Ackersand meteorological station.

[5] In comparison, Locarno (south side of the Alps) receives 1897 mm of rain per year.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules, two Lions rampant regaurdant Or both holding a Sword Argent on Coupeaux Vert.

[4] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (1,118 or 97.3%) as their first language, Albanian is the second most common (9 or 0.8%) and Italian is the third (7 or 0.6%).

[4] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][12] The Kinbrücke (bridge) over the Mattervispa along with its wayside shrine is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

The village of Stalden and the Neubrück area are both part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

[15] In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election a total of 552 votes were cast, of which 16 or about 2.9% were invalid.

In the tertiary sector; 63 or 36.2% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 40 or 23.0% were in the movement and storage of goods, 23 or 13.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was in the information industry, 7 or 4.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 6 or 3.4% were technical professionals or scientists, 15 or 8.6% were in education and 9 or 5.2% were in health care.

[4] From the 2000 census[update], 1,076 or 93.6% were Roman Catholic, while 14 or 1.2% 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.