| Erlenbach im Simmental | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||||||
| Population | 1,704 (Dec 2010)[1] | |||||||||
| - Density | 46 /km2 (120 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 36.72 km2 (14.18 sq mi)[2] | |||||||||
| Elevation | 700 m (2,297 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 3762 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 0763 | |||||||||
| Mayor | Martin Jutzeler | |||||||||
| Localities | Allmenden, Kleindorf, Latterbach, Ringoldingen, Stalden | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Oberstocken, Niederstocken, Reutigen, Wimmis, Diemtigen, Därstetten | |||||||||
| Twin towns | Erlenbach, Zurich (Switzerland), Erlenbach am Main (Germany) | |||||||||
| Website | www.erlenbach-be.ch SFSO statistics |
|||||||||
|
Erlenbach im Simmental
|
||||||||||
|
Map of Erlenbach im Simmental
|
||||||||||
Erlenbach im Simmental is a municipality in the district of Niedersimmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
Contents |
Erlenbach is first mentioned in 1180 as Arlunbach.[3]
Erlenbach im Simmental has an area, as of 2009[update], of 36.72 km2 (14.18 sq mi). Of this area, 18.56 km2 (7.17 sq mi) or 50.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 13.93 km2 (5.38 sq mi) or 37.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.27 km2 (0.49 sq mi) or 3.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.32 km2 (0.12 sq mi) or 0.9% is either rivers or lakes and 2.6 km2 (1.0 sq mi) or 7.1% is unproductive land.[4]
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.4%. 32.3% of the total land area is heavily forested and 5.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.8% is used for growing crops and 16.2% is pastures and 33.3% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 3.3% is unproductive vegetation and 3.7% is too rocky for vegetation.[4]
The municipality includes the farming settlements (Bäuerten) of Erlenbach, Latterbach and Ringoldingen in the valley. On a terrace above the valley are the farming settlements (Bäuerten) of Balzenberg, Eschlen, Thal and Allmenden. Above these settlements there are woods and mountains.
Erlenbach has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 1,704.[1] As of 2007[update], 3.6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -4%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (97.4%), with French being second most common ( 0.8%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 0.5%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 54.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (10.1%), the Green Party (9.5%) and the SPS (9.1%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 27% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 54.9% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18.1%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Erlenbach about 70.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).
Erlenbach has an unemployment rate of 2.35%. As of 2005[update], there were 172 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 55 businesses involved in this sector. 137 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 26 businesses in this sector. 474 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 60 businesses in this sector.[5] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1764 | 682 |
| 1850 | 1,370 |
| 1900 | 1,518 |
| 1910 | 1,298 |
| 1950 | 1,475 |
| 2000 | 1,802 |
Erlenbach was the birthplace of Jacob Ammann, the leader of the Amish movement.
|
|
|||||||