Bellmund

Bellmund
Ipsach as seen from the lake; Bellmund is to the rear.
Country Switzerland
Canton Bern
District Biel/Bienne
Coordinates
Population 1,465 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density 386 /km2 (999 /sq mi)
Area  3.8 km2 (1.5 sq mi)[2]
Elevation 499 m (1,637 ft)
Postal code 2564
SFOS number 0732
Surrounded by Hermrigen, Ipsach, Jens, Merzligen, Port, Sutz-Lattrigen
Twin towns Dobronin (Czech Republic)
Website www.bellmund.ch
SFSO statistics
Bellmund

Bellmund (French: Belmont) is a municipality in the Biel/Bienne administrative districtin the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The Knebelburg, as the site of a High Medieval fortification and a prehistorical hill dwelling, is a heritage site of national significance.[3]

Contents

History

Bellmund is first mentioned in 1107 as Bellus mons. In 1228 it was mentioned as Belmunt.[4]

Geography

Bellmund has an area, as of 2009, of 3.8 km2 (1.5 sq mi). Of this area, 1.98 km2 (0.76 sq mi) or 52.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while1.26 km2 (0.49 sq mi) or 33.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.56 km2 (0.22 sq mi) or 14.7% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.01 km2 (2.5 acres) or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes.[5]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 9.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.9%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.3%. 32.4% of the total land area is heavily forested. Of the agricultural land, 38.9% is used for growing crops and 10.5% is pastures, while 2.6% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.[5]

Bellmund is located in the Berner Seeland south of Biel. It is slightly elevated above the neighboring plains and lies between Oberholz hill and Jensberg hill. The municipality also includes a section of the hamlet of St. Niklaus.

Demographics

Bellmund has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 1,465.[1] As of 2007, 6.3% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 18%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (89.9%), with French being second most common ( 6.2%) and Italian being third ( 1.6%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 32.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (27%), the SPS (16.9%) and the Green Party (8.4%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 26.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60.9% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 12.9%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Bellmund about 84.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).

Bellmund has an unemployment rate of 0.58%. As of 2005, there were 31 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 12 businesses involved in this sector. 185 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 11 businesses in this sector. 85 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 16 businesses in this sector.[6] The historical population is given in the following table:[4]

year population
1764 195
1850 334
1900 329
1950 416
2000 1,221

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. ^ Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance (1995), p. 102.
  4. ^ a b Bellmund in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  5. ^ a b Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data (German) accessed 25 March 2010
  6. ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 09-Jul-2009