Heiligenschwendi | |
---|---|
Country | Switzerland |
Canton | Bern |
District | Thun |
Area | |
• Total | 6.57 km2 (2.54 sq mi) |
Elevation | 1,123 m (3,684 ft) |
Population (31 December 2018)[2] | |
• Total | 703 |
• Density | 110/km2 (280/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (Central European Time) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time) |
Postal code(s) | 3625 |
SFOS number | 0927 |
ISO 3166 code | CH-BE |
Surrounded by | Hilterfingen, Homberg, Oberhofen am Thunersee, Sigriswil, Teuffenthal, Thun |
Website | www SFSO statistics |
Heiligenschwendi is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
Heiligenschwendi is first mentioned in 1285 as Helgeswendi.[3]
Heiligenschwendi has an area, as of 2009[update], of Template:Km2 to mi2. Of this area, Template:Km2 to mi2 or 48.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while Template:Km2 to mi2 or 43.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, Template:Km2 to mi2 or 7.4% is settled (buildings or roads), Template:Km2 to mi2 or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and Template:Km2 to mi2 or 0.4% is unproductive land.[4]
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 5.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.4%. 42.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 3.4% is used for growing crops and 43.8% is pastures, while 1.6% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.[4]
The municipality is located on a terrace, about 900–1,125 metres (2,953–3,691 ft) above the right shore of Lake Thun. It includes the Dörfli Heiligneschwendi, Schwendi with its Hospital, Halten, and scattered farm houses.
Heiligenschwendi has a population (as of 31 December 2020) of 725.[5] As of 2007[update], 11.3% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -8.7%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (90.5%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 2.1%) and Italian being third ( 1.4%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 48.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the local small left-wing parties (14.3%), the SPS (10.9%) and the CSP (8.9%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 19.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 58.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 22.3%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Heiligenschwendi about 72.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).
Heiligenschwendi has an unemployment rate of 0.96%. As of 2005[update], there were 59 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 22 businesses involved in this sector. 11 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 383 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 17 businesses in this sector.[6] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]
year | population |
---|---|
1764 | 315 |
1850 | 532 |
1900 | 506 |
1920 | 962 |
1950 | 1,159 |
1970 | 646 |
2000 | 707 |