Kaufdorf
| Kaufdorf | |
|---|---|
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| Country | Switzerland |
| Canton | Bern |
| District | Bern-Mittelland |
| Coordinates | 46°50′N 7°29′E / 46.833°N 7.483°ECoordinates: 46°50′N 7°29′E / 46.833°N 7.483°E |
| Population | 1,048 (Dec 2012)[1] |
| - Density | 499 /km2 (1,293 /sq mi) |
| Area | 2.06 km2 (0.80 sq mi)[2] |
| Elevation | 560 m (1,837 ft) |
| Postal code | 3126 |
| SFOS number | 0869 |
| Surrounded by | Gelterfingen, Rüeggisberg, Rümligen, Toffen |
| Website | www.kaufdorf.ch SFSO statistics |
  Kaufdorf | |
| Location of Kaufdorf
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Kaufdorf is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
History
Kaufdorf is first mentioned in 1148 as Cuffedorf.[3]
Geography
Kaufdorf has an area, as of 2009, of 2.06 km2 (0.80 sq mi). Of this area, 1.35 km2 (0.52 sq mi) or 65.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.3 km2 (0.12 sq mi) or 14.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.42 km2 (0.16 sq mi) or 20.4% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.03 km2 (7.4 acres) or 1.5% is either rivers or lakes.[4]
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 2.4% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 8.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 8.3%. 13.6% of the total land area is heavily forested. Of the agricultural land, 34.0% is used for growing crops and 27.2% is pastures, while 4.4% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.[4]
Demographics
Kaufdorf has a population (as of 31 December 2012) of 1,048.[1] As of 2007, 7.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 27%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (95.3%), with Albanian being second most common ( 1.6%) and French being third ( 0.8%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 33% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (24.3%), the Green Party (16.5%) and the FDP (11.4%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.7% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 12.7%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Kaufdorf about 86.1% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).
Kaufdorf has an unemployment rate of 0.86%. As of 2005, there were 37 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 15 businesses involved in this sector. 60 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 10 businesses in this sector. 87 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 25 businesses in this sector.[5] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1764 | 98 |
| 1850 | 362 |
| 1900 | 318 |
| 1950 | 426 |
| 2000 | 790 |
Kaufdorf vehicle graveyard
Around 1933, a Kaufdorf resident, Walter Messerli, began collecting cars for parts. Once usable parts were stripped from vehicles, he stored the empty shells on his land and allowed the forest to grow around them. By the 1970s, when he retired, there were several hundred rusting automobile bodies on his lot. His son took over the yard and continued adding vehicles.[6] Eventually, about 1000 automobiles and 400 motorcycles occupied the yard. In 2008 a Swiss court ordered the vehicles removed and by 2009 most had been auctioned off, sold or removed and scrapped.[7]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB, online database – Datenwürfel für Thema 01.2 - Bevölkerungsstand und -bewegung (German) accessed 29 August 2013
- ↑ Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kaufdorf in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data (German) accessed 25 March 2010
- ↑ Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 14-Jul-2009
- ↑ "Switzerland’s Kaufdorf Vehicle Graveyard (PHOTOS)". Urban Ghosts.com. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ↑ "The Guerbetal Historical Junkyard – The Kaufdorf Car Junkyard – A Lifetime of Abandoned Cars". Abandoned Playgrounds.com. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
External links
- Kaufdorf in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
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