Crans-Montana

History

Chermignon

Chermignon is first mentioned in 1228 as Chermenon and Chirminon. It became an independent municipality in 1905 when it separated from Lens.

Mollens

Mollens is first mentioned about 1250 as Molaen. In 1286 it was mentioned as Moleing. The municipality was formerly known by its German name Molei; however, that name is no longer used.

Montana

Montana is first mentioned in 1243 as Montana. In 1905 it separated from Lens to form an independent municipality.

Randogne

Randogne is first mentioned in 1224 as Randonni.

Ski resort

The resort is located in the heart of the Swiss Alps in the French-speaking part of the canton of Valais. It is located on a plateau above Sierre at an elevation of about 1500 m above sea level, allowing a panoramic view over the Valais Alps and Weisshorn in particular. The resort is a fusion of the two centres of Crans and Montana and belongs to six municipalities (Chermignon, Icogne, Lens, Mollens, Montana and Randogne).

The skiing area of Crans-Montana is composed of 140 km of pistes, and includes the Plaine Morte Glacier. It is topped by the Pointe de la Plaine Morte at 2927 m.

Crans-Montana is famous in alpine ski racing for the 1987 World Championships and is often on the World Cup schedule, usually for women's speed events.

On 1 January 2026, at around 1:30 am local time, a fire broke out at the Constellation Bar during a New Year's Eve celebration, killing at least 40 people and injuring more than 116 others.

Other activities

The area hosts the winter mountain pop rock festival, the , and a professional golf tournament, the European Tour's Omega European Masters, which takes place each September. The area has also been frequently used for bicycle racing, hosting stage finishes of the Tour de Suisse seven times and of the Tour de Romandie eight times as of 2013. In addition, Crans-Montana also hosted the finish of the 20th stage of the 1984 Tour de France, won by Laurent Fignon, who also took the overall race win that year.

In 2017, Crans-Montana was the site of United Nations–mediated diplomatic talks between Greek and Turkish ministers in an attempt to resolve disputes over their claims in Cyprus. The talks, which also included representatives of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot groups, ended stormily and without reaching a solution, with U.N. Secretary General António Guterres participating in heated discussions towards the close of the diplomatic summit.

The has four courses, one designed by Seve Ballesteros and another named after Jack Nicklaus.

The internationally renowned Les Roches International School of Hotel Management is located in Crans-Montana.

Geography

Crans-Montana has an area, , of .

Human geography

Hamlets (frazioni):

• Chermignon: Champzabé, Chermignon d'en Bas, Chermignon d'en Haut, Crans-sur-Sierre, Ollon
• Mollens: Aminona, Conzor, Cordona, Laques, Saint-Maurice-de-Laques
• Montana: Champzabé, Corin, Diogne, Montana-Vermala
• Randogne: Bluche, Darnona, Loc, Montana-Station, Montana-Vermala

Population

The municipality has a population () of .

Historic population

The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width:1100 height:600 PlotArea = height:450 left:100 bottom:90 right:100 Legend = columns:3 left:220 top:70 columnwidth:160 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:8800 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1500 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:300 start:0 Colors= id:CH value:yellowgreen legend:Chermignon id:MO value:green legend:Mollens id:MON value:blue legend:Montana id:RA value:red legend:Randogne PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:30 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1850 from: 0 till:522 text:"522" color:CH bar:1910 from: 0 till:848 text:"848" color:CH bar:1920 from: 0 till:950 text:"950" color:CH bar:1930 from: 0 till:1055 text:"1,055" color:CH bar:1941 from: 0 till:1214 text:"1,214" color:CH bar:1950 from: 0 till:1330 text:"1,330" color:CH bar:1960 from: 0 till:1520 text:"1,520" color:CH bar:1970 from: 0 till:1925 text:"1,925" color:CH bar:1980 from: 0 till:2170 text:"2,170" color:CH bar:1990 from: 0 till:2553 text:"2,553" color:CH bar:2000 from: 0 till:2711 text:"2,711" color:CH bar:1850 from: 522 till:739 text:"217" color:MO bar:1910 from: 848 till:1160 text:"312" color:MO bar:1920 from: 950 till:1261 text:"311" color:MO bar:1930 from: 1055 till:1340 text:"285" color:MO bar:1941 from: 1214 till:1536 text:"322" color:MO bar:1950 from: 1330 till:1633 text:"303" color:MO bar:1960 from: 1520 till:1806 text:"286" color:MO bar:1970 from: 1925 till:2195 text:"270" color:MO bar:1980 from: 2170 till:2504 text:"334" color:MO bar:1990 from: 2553 till:3095 text:"542" color:MO bar:2000 from: 2711 till:3481 text:"770" color:MO bar:1850 from: 739 till:1042 text:"303" color:MON bar:1910 from: 1160 till:1707 text:"547" color:MON bar:1920 from: 1261 till:2052 text:"791" color:MON bar:1930 from: 1340 till:2825 text:"1,485" color:MON bar:1941 from: 1536 till:2815 text:"1,279" color:MON bar:1950 from: 1633 till:3348 text:"1,715" color:MON bar:1960 from: 1806 till:3349 text:"1,543" color:MON bar:1970 from: 2195 till:3920 text:"1,725" color:MON bar:1980 from: 2504 till:4412 text:"1,908" color:MON bar:1990 from: 3095 till:5284 text:"2,189" color:MON bar:2000 from: 3481 till:5786 text:"2,305" color:MON bar:1850 from: 1042 till:1295 text:"253" color:RA bar:1910 from: 1707 till:2402 text:"695" color:RA bar:1920 from: 2052 till:2948 text:"896" color:RA bar:1930 from: 2825 till:4185 text:"1,360" color:RA bar:1941 from: 2815 till:3951 text:"1,136" color:RA bar:1950 from: 3348 till:4964 text:"1,616" color:RA bar:1960 from: 3349 till:4857 text:"1,508" color:RA bar:1970 from: 3920 till:5857 text:"1,937" color:RA bar:1980 from: 4412 till:6203 text:"1,791" color:RA bar:1990 from: 5284 till:8122 text:"2,838" color:RA bar:2000 from: 5786 till:8749 text:"2,963" color:RA

Heritage sites of national significance

The Roches des Fées and the Hotel Bella Lui are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.

Climate

Crans-Montana has a warm summer humid continental climate, (Dfb) according to the Köppen climate classification. Between 1981 and 2010, Montana had on average 101 days of rain or snow per year and received on average 692 mm of precipitation. Crans Montana has fairly evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year, as is common in this type of climate. As with other locations in the canton of Valais, annual precipitation rates are quite low due to its location in the rain shadow of some of the tallest mountains in the Alps.

Transport

The Funiculaire Sierre–Montana–Crans leads from Montana to Sierre, next to the Sierre/Siders railway station, allowing for rail access to Geneva Airport and Brig via the InterRegio.

Sports

Winter sports

Crans-Montana is a prominent ski resort that developed from the early 20th century (in the Crans-sur-Sierre area) and specializes in alpine skiing. It has hosted the 1987 World Championships, the 2011 Junior World Championships, and numerous stages of the Alpine Skiing World Cup and the European Cup. The resort offers approximately 140 km of slopes.

Notable people

• Elizabeth von Arnim (1866–1941), Australian-born British novelist, lived in Randogne 1910–1930
• Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923), New Zealand-born author, lived in Montana from May 1921–January 1922
• Roger Moore (1927–2017), British actor, owned a chalet at the ski resort for many years after moving from Gstaad. He lived there until his death in 2017.
• Michel Roux (1941–2020), French-born chef and restaurateur who worked in Britain, lived in Crans-Montana from 2008.
• Vicky Safra (born 1952), Greek-born billionaire and philanthropist, wealthiest Brazilian and member of the Safra family.

Sport

• Several professional golfers including Adam Scott, Ángel Gallardo and Sergio García are residents.

References

References

1. [http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/infothek/nomenklaturen/blank/blank/gem_liste/03.html Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz] {{Webarchive. link. (6 March 2005 published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office {{in lang). de accessed 27 April 2016
2. {{HDS. 2781. Chermignon
3. [http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/infothek/nomenklaturen/blank/blank/gem_liste/03.html Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz] {{Webarchive. link. (6 March 2005 published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office {{in lang). de accessed 19 July 2011
4. {{HDS. 2788. Mollens
5. {{HDS. 2789. Montana
6. {{HDS. 2790. Randogne
7. (1 January 2026). "Switzerland latest: Several dozen people presumed dead at New Year's party at ski resort". [[Sky News]].
8. . ["Crans-Montana"](http://www.tourdesuisse.ch/en/history/route/stages/2nd_stage/crans_montana/).
9. (7 July 2017). "Cyprus reunification talks collapse, U.N. chief 'very sorry'".
10. Robbins, Tom (11 October 2019) [https://www.ft.com/content/aa9d9dca-ea2e-11e9-85f4-d00e5018f061 Lone ranger: solo ski touring in Crans Montana] {{Webarchive. link. (19 May 2020 in ''[[Financial Times]]''. Retrieved 30 July 2020)
11. (6 November 2025). "Hospitality & Leisure Management 2020".
12. de {{Webarchive. link. (10 October 2017 accessed 27 April 2016)
13. (2009). "Kantonsliste A-Objekte". Federal Office of Civil Protection.
14. "Klimanormwerte Crans Montana 1981 - 2010".
15. "Climate Norm Value Tables 1981 - 2010". Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss).
16. "History".
17. "Ski races in Crans-Montana".