| Kirchberg | ||||||||||
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| Population | 5,579 (Dec 2010)[1] | |||||||||
| - Density | 620 /km2 (1,606 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 9.04 km2 (3.49 sq mi)[2] | |||||||||
| Elevation | 505 m (1,657 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 3422 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 0412 | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Aefligen, Burgdorf, Ersigen, Lyssach, Rüdtligen-Alchenflüh, Utzenstorf, Wynigen | |||||||||
| Website | www.kirchberg-be.ch SFSO statistics |
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Kirchberg
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Map of Kirchberg
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Kirchberg is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
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Kirchberg is first mentioned in 1182 as Chilcberc. In 1704 the village of Guetisberg (now part of Heimiswil) separated from Kirchberg. In 1911 Bickigen separated from Kirchberg and became part of Wynigen. In 1953 Rumendingen separated from Kirchberg.
Kirchberg has an area, as of 2009[update], of 9.04 km2 (3.49 sq mi). Of this area, 4.04 km2 (1.56 sq mi) or 44.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.94 km2 (1.14 sq mi) or 32.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.92 km2 (0.74 sq mi) or 21.2% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.13 km2 (32 acres) or 1.4% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km2 (4.9 acres) or 0.2% is unproductive land.[3]
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.9% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 11.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 6.1%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.4%. 31.7% of the total land area is heavily forested. Of the agricultural land, 29.5% is used for growing crops and 13.4% is pastures, while 1.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.[3]
Kirchberg includes the village of Kirchberg, the bridgehead on the right bank of the Emme River and the hamlet Bütikofen. It is the center of the parish of Kirchberg.[4]
Kirchberg has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 5,579.[1] As of 2007[update], 12.2% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 8%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (90.9%), with Italian being second most common ( 3.0%) and Albanian being third ( 1.2%).
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 SPS (21%), the FDP (20.4%) and the Green Party (8.1%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.6% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62% and the seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.4%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Kirchberg about 77% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).
Kirchberg has an unemployment rate of 1.58%. As of 2005[update], there were 79 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 26 businesses involved in this sector. 886 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 62 businesses in this sector. 1204 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 182 businesses in this sector.[5]
The historical population is given in the following table:[4]
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1764 | 499 |
| 1850 | 1,092 |
| 1900 | 1,733 |
| 1950 | 2,776 |
| 2000 | 5,244 |