Sion, Switzerland

Sion is a Swiss town in the Rhône valley and the capital of the canton of Valais and of the district of Sion. It had 34,978 inhabitants at the end of 2020, and its people are called Sédunois. The municipality grew by merger: Bramois joined it in 1968, Salins in 2013 and Les Agettes in 2017. Two hilltop landmarks dominate the town, the Basilique de Valère and the Château de Tourbillon, and an airfield serves civilian and military use, including air rescue. The site is one of the most important prehistoric sites in Europe, settled almost continuously since the late Mesolithic around 6200 BC. In Roman times it was Sedunum, capital of the Celtic Seduni, and the Roman Catholic diocese of Sion is the oldest in Switzerland. In 999 King Rodolphe III of Burgundy granted the whole county of Valais to the bishop, and Sion became its capital.