Burgistein

Burgistein
Country Switzerland Canton Bern District Thun 46°47′N 7°30′E / 46.783°N 7.500°E / 46.783; 7.500Coordinates: 46°47′N 7°30′E / 46.783°N 7.500°E / 46.783; 7.500
Population	1,031 (Dec 2012)[1]
- Density	137 /km2 (356 /sq mi)
Area	7.53 km2 (2.91 sq mi)[2]
Elevation	763 m (2,503 ft)
Postal code	3664
SFOS number	0863
Surrounded by	Gurzelen, Kirchdorf, Lohnstorf, Noflen, Riggisberg, Rüti bei Riggisberg, Seftigen, Wattenwil
Website	www.burgistein.ch SFSO statistics
Burgistein
Location of Burgistein

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

History

Burgistein is first mentioned in 1266 as Burgstein and in 1271 as Burgenstein.^[3]

Geography

Burgistein has an area, as of 2009, of 7.53 km² (2.91 sq mi). Of this area, 5.73 km² (2.21 sq mi) or 76.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.98 km² (0.38 sq mi) or 13.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.73 km² (0.28 sq mi) or 9.7% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.06 km² (15 acres) or 0.8% is either rivers or lakes.^[4]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 5.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.5%. 10.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 31.7% is used for growing crops and 41.0% is pastures, while 3.3% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.^[4]

Burgistein is a scattered settlement without a central village. The closest thing it has to a center is the old village that grew up around the former castle, Burgistein-Dorf on Längenberg-Gurnigel. The municipality includes the hamlets of Weier, Niederschönegg, Äbnit and Plötsch, as well as the new developments of Burgistein-Station (which include Grossmatt, Burgiwil, Pfandersmatt), all in the Gürbetal.

Demographics

Burgistein has a population (as of 31 December 2012) of 1,031.^[1] As of 2007, 3.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 3.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (97.9%), with English being second most common ( 0.5%) and French being third ( 0.3%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 43.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (17.9%), the Green Party (12.1%) and the FDP (9.5%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 27% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 58.2% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 14.8%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Burgistein about 72.3% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Burgistein has an unemployment rate of 0.83%. As of 2005, there were 111 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 40 businesses involved in this sector. 85 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 18 businesses in this sector. 117 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 24 businesses in this sector.^[5] The historical population is given in the following table:^[3]

References

External links

• Burgistein in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Burgistein.

v t e Municipalities in the Thun administrative district, Switzerland Amsoldingen Blumenstein Buchholterberg Burgistein Eriz Fahrni Forst-Längenbühl Gurzelen Heiligenschwendi Heimberg Hilterfingen Homberg Horrenbach-Buchen Oberhofen am Thunersee Oberlangenegg Pohlern Reutigen Schwendibach Seftigen Sigriswil Steffisburg Stocken-Höfen Teuffenthal Thierachern Thun Uebeschi Uetendorf Unterlangenegg Uttigen Wachseldorn Wattenwil Zwieselberg Canton of Bern Districts of Canton Bern Municipalities of the canton of Bern