From the 1911 encyclopedia:
SION [Ger. Sitten], the capital of the Swiss canton of the
Valais. It is on the railway between St Maurice (251 m. distant)
and Brieg (33(33 m. distant). Sion is one of the most
picturesque little cities in Switzerland, being built around two
prominent hillocks that rise from the level valley of the Rhone.
The north hillock is crowned by the castle of Tourbillon (built
1294, burnt 1788), which was long the residence of the bishops.
The south hillock bears the castle of Valeria, long the
residence of the canons (it now contains an historical museum)
with the interesting 13th century church of St Catherine. In the
town below is the 15th century cathedral, and the Majoria castle
(burnt in 1788) the former residence of the "major" (or mayor of
the city). There are various other curious objects in the city,
which is built on the banks of the Sionne torrent, and is at a
height of 1680 ft. above the sea-level. In 1900 Sion contained
6048 inhabitants (mainly Romanists), of whom 1481 were
Germanspeaking and 4446 French-speaking.