| Leuzigen | ||||||||||
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| Population | 1,193 (Dec 2010)[1] | |||||||||
| - Density | 116 /km2 (300 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 10.31 km2 (3.98 sq mi)[2] | |||||||||
| Elevation | 456 m (1,496 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 3297 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 0388 | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Arch, Bettlach (SO), Bibern (SO), Lüterkofen-Ichertswil (SO), Nennigkofen (SO), Selzach (SO), Tscheppach (SO) | |||||||||
| Website | www.leuzigen.ch SFSO statistics |
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Leuzigen
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Map of Leuzigen
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Leuzigen is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The village is situated between the cities Biel/Bienne and Solothurn and borders on the river Aare. Population is steadily at 1100 and has been remarkably stable in the past. The coat of arms of Leuzigen shows two opposing yellow lions on blue background and dates back to at least 1833. Opposed to popular belief, the name "Leuzigen" was not derived from the word "Löwen" (German for 'lion'), but is thought to have been derived from a Germanic last name. The name underwent a chain of change until it assumed its modern spelling. In old documents, the village was referred to as Loichfingen (1224), Loenzingen (1522) und Leutzigen (1661) and Leuzingen.
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Archaeological excavations in the late 19th and early 20th century suggested that the area in and around Leuzigen was already populated by Celts and Romans more than 2000 years ago. In Roman times, the strategically important road connecting Avanches and Solothurn crossed present-day Leuzigen close to the old railway line. In the Middle Ages, monks founded a priory on the site where the village church is now. In 1662, a school building made of stone was constructed in the middle of the village. Although the building has long since ceased to function as a school, it is still preserved today as one of the oldest buildings in Leuzigen.
Before its integration with the canton of Bern, Leuzigen's fate was repeatedly troubled by struggles for territory amongst dukedoms and principalities, and it changed rulers a number of times.
In 1876, the railway line between Lyss and Solothurn opened and provided Leuzigen with its own train station. In the late 1990s, the service between Büren a. A. and Solothurn was shut down due to insufficient profitability and replaced by a bus line.
Before 1900, Leuzigen was one of the largest villages in the area. Although many surrounding villages have grown considerably since the 1960s, Leuzigen's population size has largely been stable for more than a century now. In the period of economic growth in the 1960s and 1970s, expanding industries in the region, such as watchmaking in Grenchen, attracted many workers. However, it had little impact on Leuzigen, which remained predominantly rural.
Leuzigen has an area, as of 2009[update], of 10.31 km2 (3.98 sq mi). Of this area, 4.69 km2 (1.81 sq mi) or 45.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 4.1 km2 (1.6 sq mi) or 39.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.16 km2 (0.45 sq mi) or 11.3% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.34 km2 (0.13 sq mi) or 3.3% is either rivers or lakes.[3]
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.8%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.3% of the area 39.5% of the total land area is heavily forested. Of the agricultural land, 34.0% is used for growing crops and 9.6% is pastures, while 1.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.[3]
Leuzigen has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 1,193.[1] As of 2007[update], 3.5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 2.9%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (96.8%), with French being second most common ( 0.9%) and Italian being third ( 0.6%).
The historical population is given in the following table:[4]
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1764 | 518 |
| 1850 | 1107 |
| 1900 | 947 |
| 1950 | 1145 |
| 2000 | 1157 |
| 2005 | 1172 |
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 46.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (20.7%), the FDP (14.8%) and the Green Party (5.1%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 58.7% and the seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.2%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Leuzigen 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).
Leuzigen has an unemployment rate of 0.77%. As of 2005[update], there were 115 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 34 businesses involved in this sector. 82 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 21 businesses in this sector. 102 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 25 businesses in this sector.[5]
In the Middle Ages, the population of Leuzigen mainly lived on agricultural produce and the sale of tuff stone and chalk. The excavation of tuff stone lost importance when it was gradually supplanted by brick stone. On the other hand, agriculture has remained important for Leuzigen until today. There are still a sizeable number of farms in the village. Apart from small local businesses, such as workpeace suppliers for appliances, there are no large industries located in Leuzigen. About 75 percent of the people work outside of the village, as it is relatively close to cities such as Grenchen, Solothurn and Biel/Bienne. In addition, a junction of the motorway A5 is in close proximity and allows one to reach the capital Bern in half an hour by car.