| Gampelen | ||||||||||
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| Population | 778 (Dec 2010)[1] | |||||||||
| - Density | 72 /km2 (187 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 10.83 km2 (4.18 sq mi)[2] | |||||||||
| Elevation | 436 m (1,430 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 3236 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 0495 | |||||||||
| Mayor | Peter Dietrich | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Ins, Tschugg, Gals, Thielle-Wavre, Marin-Epagnier | |||||||||
| Website | www.gampelen.ch SFSO statistics |
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Gampelen
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Map of Gampelen
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Gampelen (French: Champion) is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Gampelen should not be confused with the municipality Gampel in the canton of Valais.
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Gampelen is first mentioned in 1179 as Champion and again in 1228 as Champlun.[3]
Gampelen has an area, as of 2009[update], of 10.83 km2 (4.18 sq mi). Of this area, 6.14 km2 (2.37 sq mi) or 56.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.71 km2 (1.05 sq mi) or 25.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.16 km2 (0.45 sq mi) or 10.7% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.23 km2 (0.089 sq mi) or 2.1% is either rivers or lakes and 0.56 km2 (0.22 sq mi) or 5.2% is unproductive land.[4]
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.6%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.9%. 24.1% of the total land area is heavily forested. Of the agricultural land, 47.1% is used for growing crops and 8.1% is pastures, while 1.5% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 5.2% is unproductive vegetation.[4]
Gampelen is the only municipality in the canton of Bern bordering Lake Neuchâtel, and as such is the only German-speaking municipality along the lake.
The town of Gampelen has a long, thin shape, and has a railway station on the Bern-Neuenburg line of the BLS. The stop Zihlbrücke also lies within the area of the municipality.
Gampelen is part of an evangelical-reformed parish with neighboring Gals.
Gampelen has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 778.[1] As of 2007[update], 9.3% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 7.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (84.9%), with French being second most common (11.5%) and Portuguese being third ( 0.9%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 49.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (12.3%), the Green Party (11.8%) and the FDP (10.5%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62.6% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.1%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Gampelen about 67.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).
Gampelen has an unemployment rate of 1.5%. As of 2005[update], there were 81 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 18 businesses involved in this sector. 41 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 10 businesses in this sector. 302 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 31 businesses in this sector.[5] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]
The main seat of the penitentiary of Witzwil lies on the municipality's territory. Witzwil is a men's prison, holding up to 200 inmates. It is also the largest farm in Switzerland with a total agricultural land area of 612 hectares.
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1764 | 170 |
| 1850 | 283 |
| 1870 | 264 |
| 1900 | 527 |
| 1950 | 902 |
| 1980 | 789 |
| 2000 | 812 |