Schangnau

Schangnau
Country Switzerland Canton Bern District Emmental 46°49′N 7°51′E / 46.817°N 7.850°E / 46.817; 7.850Coordinates: 46°49′N 7°51′E / 46.817°N 7.850°E / 46.817; 7.850
Population	903 (Dec 2012)[1]
- Density	25 /km2 (64 /sq mi)
Area	36.48 km2 (14.09 sq mi)[2]
Elevation	630 m (2,067 ft)
Postal code	6197
SFOS number	0906
Surrounded by	Eggiwil, Eriz, Flühli (LU), Habkern, Marbach (LU), Röthenbach im Emmental
Website	www.schangnau.ch SFSO statistics
Schangnau
Location of Schangnau

Schangnau is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

History

Schangnau is first mentioned in 1306 as Schoengowe.^[3]

Geography

Schangnau has an area, as of 2009, of 36.48 km² (14.09 sq mi). Of this area, 19.43 km² (7.50 sq mi) or 53.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 13.05 km² (5.04 sq mi) or 35.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.75 km² (0.29 sq mi) or 2.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.39 km² (0.15 sq mi) or 1.1% is either rivers or lakes and 2.91 km² (1.12 sq mi) or 8.0% is unproductive land.^[4]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.7%. 31.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 26.3% is pastures and 26.1% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 3.7% is unproductive vegetation and 4.3% is too rocky for vegetation.^[4]

The municipality has the highest elevation of any in the Emmental. It is located around the source of the Emme River, which gives the valley (Emmental) its name. The municipality includes the village of Schangnau (at 933 m (3,061 ft)) and the hamlet of Wald as well as individual houses in the valley.

Demographics

Schangnau has a population (as of 31 December 2012) of 903.^[1] As of 2007, 2.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -7.9%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (98.6%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 1.1%) and French being third ( 0.1%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 84.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (4.4%), the Green Party (3.7%) and the SPS (3.1%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 27.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 54.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.9%. In Schangnau about 59.6% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Schangnau has an unemployment rate of 0.3%. As of 2005, there were 269 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 94 businesses involved in this sector. 71 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 18 businesses in this sector. 167 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 25 businesses in this sector.^[5] The historical population is given in the following table:^[3]

References

External links

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Schangnau.

v t e Municipalities in the Emmental administrative district, Switzerland Aefligen Affoltern im Emmental Alchenstorf Bätterkinden Burgdorf Dürrenroth Eggiwil Ersigen Hasle bei Burgdorf Heimiswil Hellsau Hindelbank Höchstetten Kernenried Kirchberg Koppigen Krauchthal Langnau im Emmental Lauperswil Lützelflüh Lyssach Mötschwil Niederösch Oberburg Oberösch Röthenbach im Emmental Rüderswil Rüdtligen-Alchenflüh Rüegsau Rumendingen Rüti bei Lyssach Schangnau Signau Sumiswald Trachselwald Trub Trubschachen Utzenstorf Wiler bei Utzenstorf Willadingen Wynigen Zielebach Canton of Bern Districts of Canton Bern Municipalities of the canton of Bern