The Val d'Anniviers is a Swiss Alpine valley, situated in the district of Sierre in Valais, which extends south of the Rhône Valley, on the northern slopes of the Pennine Alps. The valley was home to six municipalities: Ayer, Chandolin, Grimentz, Saint-Jean, Saint-Luc and Vissoie. The citizens of those municipalities agreed on November 26, 2006, to merge into one, which was named Anniviers. The merger took place in January 2009.
Val d'Anniviers seen from the Roc de la Vache.
The Val d'Anniviers seen from the air in 1994
Valais, more formally the Canton of Valais, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion.
Valère Basilica dominating the Rhône Valley. By the 12th century, the bishops of Sion began building churches and castles in Sion to represent their power and administer their estates.
Valais joins the Confederation by Ernest Biéler (1944)
The Rhône Valley near Pfynwald. Note the vineyards, pines, and steppic vegetation that are typical of dry Central Valais
The Aletsch Glacier, largest in the Alps