| St. Stephan | ||||||||||
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| Population | 1,373 (Dec 2010)[1] | |||||||||
| - Density | 23 /km2 (58 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 60.9 km2 (23.5 sq mi)[2] | |||||||||
| Elevation | 1,008 m (3,307 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 3772 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 0793 | |||||||||
| Mayor | Hans Grünenwald | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Zweisimmen, Diemtigen, Adelboden, Lenk and Saanen | |||||||||
| Website | www.ststephan.ch SFSO statistics |
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St. Stephan
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Map of St. Stephan
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St. Stephan is a municipality in the Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
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St. Stephan is first mentioned in 1352 as Sant Stephan.[3]
St. Stephan has an area of 60.9 km2 (23.5 sq mi). Of this area, 51.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (15%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[4]
St. Stephan lies in the Bernese Oberland in the Simmental between Zweisimmen and Lenk. The municipality includes Albristhorn (2,762 m (9,062 ft)).
The municipality consists of the cooperative farming villages (Bäuerten) of Ried, Häusern, Grodey, Matten, Fermel, Obersteg and Zu Hähligen. There is not a place known as St. Stephan.
At the bottom of the valley is a 2,050 m (6,730 ft) paved airfield. A private firm controls the service. The field was built for the military, but it is used for both civilian and military purposes.
St. Stephan has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 1,373.[1] As of 2007[update], 6.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -5.6%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (95.7%), with Albanian being second most common ( 1.2%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 0.9%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 42.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the local small left-wing parties (33.1%), the FDP (11%) and the SPS (4.3%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 28.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 55.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.9%. In St. Stephan about 60.1% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).
St. Stephan has an unemployment rate of 1.66%. As of 2005[update], there were 281 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 90 businesses involved in this sector. 120 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 18 businesses in this sector. 110 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 30 businesses in this sector.[4] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1764 | 840 |
| 1850 | 1,454 |
| 1900 | 1,403 |
| 1950 | 1,293 |
| 2000 | 1,381 |
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