Rüegsau
| Rüegsau | ||||||||||
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| Population | 3,087 (Dec 2012)[1] | |||||||||
| - Density | 204 /km2 (529 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 15.08 km2 (5.82 sq mi)[2] | |||||||||
| Elevation | 589 m (1,932 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 3417 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 0956 | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Affoltern im Emmental, Hasle bei Burgdorf, Heimiswil, Lützelflüh, Sumiswald | |||||||||
| Website | www.ruegsau.ch SFSO statistics | |||||||||
  Rüegsau | ||||||||||
| Location of Rüegsau
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Rüegsau is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the Swiss canton of Bern.
History
Rüegsau was first mentioned in 1139. The name comes from ruggere aue, in modern German ruhe Aue, meaning calm floodplain. From the late 13th century until 1528 it was the location of Rüegsau Priory, a Benedictine nunnery.
Geography
Rüegsau is located in the lower Emmental. It borders the Emme and then stretches north-east-ward. It contains the villages of Rüegsauschachen, Rüegsau, Rüegsbach and Rinderbach and several hamlets. The municipality has the approximate shape of a rectangle with a width of 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) and a length of 8 km (5.0 mi).
Rüegsau has an area, as of 2009, of 15.08 km2 (5.82 sq mi). Of this area, 10.15 km2 (3.92 sq mi) or 67.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.48 km2 (1.34 sq mi) or 23.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.29 km2 (0.50 sq mi) or 8.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.13 km2 (32 acres) or 0.9% is either rivers or lakes.[3]
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 5.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.3%. 20.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 19.9% is used for growing crops and 45.6% is pastures, while 1.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.[3]
Demographics
Rüegsau has a population (as of 31 December 2012) of 3,087.[1] As of 2007, 3.9% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 2.5%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (97.5%), with French being second most common ( 0.4%) and Italian being third ( 0.4%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 43.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (14.9%), the local small left-wing parties (12.2%) and the FDP (10.8%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 57.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.9%. In Rüegsau about 74.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).[4]
Economy
The headquarters of the company Blaser Swisslube AG, one of the leading manufacturers cooling agents and lubricants for industrial purposes, are located in the municipality of Rüegsau.
Rüegsau has an unemployment rate of 0.82%. As of 2005, there were 244 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 80 businesses involved in this sector. 393 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 30 businesses in this sector. 578 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 84 businesses in this sector.[4]
Tourism
Tourism plays a small, but not insignificant role for this municipality. Several inns, which are typical for the Emmental, provide accommodation; further, holidays on the farms are possible. A small museum of history lies right on the Emme.
The main attraction is the timber bridge over the Emme between the municipalities of Hasle bei Burgdorf and Rüegsau. With 58.5 meters (192 ft) length, it is probably the largest wooden arch bridge in Europe.
Transportation
Rüegsau shares a train station with its Hasle bei Burgdorf called Hasle-Rüegsau.
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 Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data (German) accessed 25 March 2010
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 17-Jul-2009
- This article incorporates information from the German Wikipedia.
External links
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