Beatenberg

Beatenberg
Country Switzerland
Canton Bern
District Interlaken
Coordinates
Population 1,145 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density 39 /km2 (102 /sq mi)
Area  29.23 km2 (11.29 sq mi)[2]
Elevation 1,129 m (3,704 ft)
  - Highest 2063 m -
  - Lowest 559 m -
Postal code 3803
SFOS number 0571
Mayor Verena Moser
Surrounded by Sigriswil, Unterseen
Website www.beatenberg.ch
SFSO statistics
Beatenberg

Beatenberg is a municipality in the Interlaken district of the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Contents

History

Beatenberg is first mentioned in 1275 as super rupes. In 1281 it was mentioned as ob den fluen and in 1357 as Sant Beaten berge.[3]

Geography

Beatenberg is located in the Bernese Oberland on a steppe beneath the Niederhorn and high above Lake Thun. Beatenberg affords good views of the Jungfrau Group (Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau). Beatenberg is linked to Beatenbucht on Lake Thun by the Thunersee–Beatenberg Bahn funicular, which connects with shipping services on the lake. The Seilbahnen Beatenberg-Niederhorn, a gondola lift, runs to the summit of the Niederhorn.

Beatenberg has an area, as of 2009, of 29.23 km2 (11.29 sq mi). Of this area, 9.62 km2 (3.71 sq mi) or 32.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while15.68 km2 (6.05 sq mi) or 53.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.23 km2 (0.47 sq mi) or 4.2% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.1 km2 (25 acres) or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes and 2.59 km2 (1.00 sq mi) or 8.9% is unproductive land.[4]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.5%. 46.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 6.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 9.5% is pastures and 23.2% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 5.6% is unproductive vegatation, 3.3% is too rocky for vegatation, .[4]

It includes the farming coops of Schmocken, Spirenwald, Waldegg and several scattered independent farms as well as the village of Sundlauenen am See.[3]

Demographics

Beatenberg has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 1,145.[1] As of 2007, 10.8% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -12.3%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (92.7%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 1.6%) and Dutch being third ( 1.2%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 50.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the local small left-wing parties (11.6%), the Green Party (10.4%) and the SPS (9.7%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22.6% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 56.5% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 21%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Beatenberg about 76.6% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).

Beatenberg has an unemployment rate of 1.36%. As of 2005, there were 102 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 38 businesses involved in this sector. 84 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 22 businesses in this sector. 423 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 63 businesses in this sector.[5] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]

year population
1764 547
1850 1,075
1900 1,082
1950 1,323
1990 1,373
2000 1,279

Points of interest

The local saint is Saint Beatus. According to legend, Beatus was a missionary who came from Ireland to Lake Thun and who there expelled a dragon from the caves above Sundlauenen. His domicile in the dragon's cave has become a place of pilgrimage. Even today, the kilometre-long limestone cave with its subterranean lakes is a main tourist attraction of the locality.

Famous Inhabitants

External links

References

  1. ^ a b Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB, online database – Datenwürfel für Thema 01.2 - Bevölkerungsstand und -bewegung (German) accessed 29 September
  2. ^ Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen
  3. ^ a b c Beatenberg in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  4. ^ a b Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data (German) accessed 25 March 2010
  5. ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 11-Jun-2009