| Brienz | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||||||
| Population | 2,981 (Dec 2010)[1] | |||||||||
| - Density | 62 /km2 (161 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 47.99 km2 (18.53 sq mi)[2] | |||||||||
| Elevation | 566 m (1,857 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 3855 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 0573 | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Brienzwiler, Flühli (LU), Grindelwald, Hofstetten bei Brienz, Iseltwald, Meiringen, Oberried am Brienzersee, Schwanden bei Brienz | |||||||||
| Twin towns | Brienz/Brinzauls (Switzerland), Tryavna (Bulgaria), Shimada (Japan) | |||||||||
| Website | www.brienz.ch SFSO statistics |
|||||||||
|
Brienz
|
||||||||||
|
Map of Brienz
|
||||||||||
Brienz is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
The village lies on the north bank of Lake Brienz in the Bernese Oberland at the foot of the Brienzer Rothorn mountain.
Contents |
The first settlements date from 1500 BC. In the 5th century BC, the Celts settled in the alpine valleys among the sources of the Rhone, the Rhine and the Danube, eventually stretching from the headwaters down to Vienna and Belgrade. At the end of 1st century BC the Romans conquered this area. The Roman settlements were destroyed by the Alamanni in 259/60. They eventually settled in the area around 450. In any case, evidence has been found for a settlement by the Alamanni in the 7th century. Brienz is first mentioned in 1146 as Briens.[3] In 1528, after an eventful history, Brienz became part of the Canton of Bern.
Brienz has an area, as of 2009[update], of 47.99 km2 (18.53 sq mi). Of this area, 18.53 km2 (7.15 sq mi) or 38.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 16.15 km2 (6.24 sq mi) or 33.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.18 km2 (0.84 sq mi) or 4.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.52 km2 (0.20 sq mi) or 1.1% is either rivers or lakes and 10.64 km2 (4.11 sq mi) or 22.2% is unproductive land.[4]
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.6%. 29.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.8% is used for growing crops and 7.2% is pastures and 30.5% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 8.6% is unproductive vegatation, and 13.3% is too rocky for vegatation.[4]
The municipality of Brienz includes a number of communities along the upper end of Lake Brienz, and stretches into the neighboring mountains. It includes the on the right shore the village of Brienz. To the north it includes the mouth of the Aare River and the village of Kienholz. On the left bank it includes the settlements of Engi and Schwendi. Heading away from the right shore the land rises to the Rotschalp, Planalp and Giebelegg before reaching the Brienzer Rothorn (2,351 m (7,713 ft)). Heading away from the left shore it rises over the Brienzerberg and Giessbach Falls, Tschingelfeld, Hinterburg and Axalp until it reaches the Schwarzhorn (2,928 m (9,606 ft)).
The parish church of Brienz includes Oberried am Brienzersee, Schwanden bei Brienz, Hofstetten bei Brienz and Brienzwiler.
Brienz has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 2,981.[1] As of 2007[update], 9.4% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 0.1%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (92.9%), with French being second most common ( 1.3%) and Albanian being third ( 1.3%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 34% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (25.9%), the SPS (15.1%) and the Green Party (9.8%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25.5% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 56.6% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.9%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Brienz about 73.5% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).[5]
The historical population is given in the following table:[3]
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1764 | 799 |
| 1850 | 1,789 |
| 1880 | 2,757 |
| 1900 | 2,580 |
| 1920 | 2,474 |
| 1950 | 2,861 |
| 1990 | 2,849 |
| 2000 | 2,956 |
Tourism and woodcarving are the main activities. The Cantonal Woodcarving School established in 1862 is well-known and respected in the trade.
In this town is where the firm Lötscher makes the only genuine Swiss cuckoo clocks in existence today. All of the initial steps involved in building these clocks are done in its woodworking facility in Brienz, the rest of the manufacturing process continues in Zurich where the timepieces are assembled, checked and adjusted.
Brienz has an unemployment rate of 2.43%. As of 2005[update], there were 149 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 42 businesses involved in this sector. 458 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 54 businesses in this sector. 877 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 146 businesses in this sector.[5]
Brienz is twinned with: