Hilterfingen

Hilterfingen
Hodler - Charlet in Hilterfingen - 1871
Country Switzerland
Canton Bern
District Thun
Population 3,977 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density 1,420 /km2 (3,679 /sq mi)
Area  2.82 km2 (1.09 sq mi)[2]
Elevation 562 m (1,844 ft)
Postal code 3652
SFOS number 0929
Mayor Ueli Egger (as of 2008)
Surrounded by Heiligenschwendi, Oberhofen am Thunersee, Spiez, Thun
Website www.hilterfingen.ch
SFSO statistics
Hilterfingen

Hilterfingen is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Contents

History

Hilterfingen is first mentioned in 1175 as Hiltolfingen.[3]

Geography

Hilterfingen has an area, as of 2009, of 2.82 km2 (1.09 sq mi). Of this area, 0.24 km2 (0.093 sq mi) or 8.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.36 km2 (0.53 sq mi) or 48.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.15 km2 (0.44 sq mi) or 40.8% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.03 km2 (7.4 acres) or 1.1% is either rivers or lakes and 0.01 km2 (2.5 acres) or 0.4% is unproductive land.[4]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 33.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.3%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.8%. 47.5% of the total land area is heavily forested. Of the agricultural land, 7.1% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.[4]

The village is located on the northeastern shore of Lake Thun (Thunersee). To its north are the municipalities of Thun and Heiligenschwendi, to its south and east is the municipality of Oberhofen am Thunersee.

Demographics

Hilterfingen has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 3,977.[1] As of 2007, 7.3% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 5.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (94.0%), with French being second most common ( 0.9%) and English being third ( 0.8%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 27.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (22.3%), the SPS (18.1%) and the Green Party (13.3%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 17.8% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 56% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 26.1%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Hilterfingen about 83.5% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Hilterfingen has an unemployment rate of 2.37%. As of 2005, there were 57 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 6 businesses involved in this sector. 162 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 27 businesses in this sector. 595 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 115 businesses in this sector.[5] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]

year population
1764 319
1850 509
1900 854
1920 953
1930 1,097
1950 2,864[A]
1960 3,382
2000 3,821
A Hünibach had a population of 369 before it joined Hilterfingen in 1956

Sights

Among its attractions are the castle of Huenegg with its Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) museum and its Sailing School.

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 Hilterfingen 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 16-Jul-2009

External links