Golaten

Golaten
Country Switzerland
Canton Bern
District Bern-Mittelland
Coordinates
Population 284 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density 101 /km2 (263 /sq mi)
Area  2.8 km2 (1.1 sq mi)[2]
Elevation 519 m (1,703 ft)
Postal code 3207
SFOS number 0664
Mayor Beatrice Johner
Surrounded by Radelfingen, Mühleberg, Wileroltigen, Kerzers, Niederried bei Kallnach
Website Golaten.ch
SFSO statistics
Golaten

Golaten is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Contents

History

Golaten is first mentioned in 983-93 as Gulada. In 1277 it was mentioned as Golatun.[3]

Geography

Golaten has an area, as of 2009, of 2.8 km2 (1.1 sq mi). Of this area, 1.43 km2 (0.55 sq mi) or 51.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.57 km2 (0.22 sq mi) or 20.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.23 km2 (0.089 sq mi) or 8.2% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.29 km2 (0.11 sq mi) or 10.4% is either rivers or lakes and 0.26 km2 (0.10 sq mi) or 9.3% is unproductive land.[4]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 5.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.4%. 19.3% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 31.4% is used for growing crops and 13.2% is pastures, while 6.4% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the water in the municipality, 8.2% is in lakes and 2.1% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 9.3% is unproductive vegetation.[4]

There are two towns within the municipality, Golaten and Lachen and multiple small groups of farm houses (ex. Mannenwil, Wittenberg).

Golaten lies in the Swiss plateau on the reservoir Niederried, which makes it a good area for waterfowl. On the southeastern edge of the municipality the Aare and Saane rivers flow together.

Demographics

Golaten has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 284.[1] As of 2007, 6.2% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -8.1%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (94.3%), with Albanian being second most common ( 2.7%) and Portuguese being third ( 1.2%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 62.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (12.4%), the local small left-wing parties (5.6%) and the SPS (5.2%).

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 60.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.3%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Golaten about 71.2% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Golaten has an unemployment rate of 0.09%. As of 2005, there were 103 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 23 businesses involved in this sector. 12 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 29 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 6 businesses in this sector.[5] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]

year population
1764 139
1850 370
1900 330
1950 317
2000 331

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 Golaten 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 07-Jul-2009