Trachselwald

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Trachselwald
Country Switzerland
Canton Bern
District Emmental
47°1′N 7°43′E / 47.017°N 7.717°E / 47.017; 7.717Coordinates: 47°1′N 7°43′E / 47.017°N 7.717°E / 47.017; 7.717
Population 995 (Dec 2012)[1]
- Density 62 /km2 (161 /sq mi)
Area 15.97 km2 (6.17 sq mi)[2]
Elevation 685 m (2,247 ft)
• Highest 1200 m -
• Lowest 660 m -
Postal code 3456
SFOS number 0958
Mayor Christian Kopp (as of January 2009)
Surrounded by Langnau im Emmental, Lauperswil, Lützelflüh, Rüderswil, Sumiswald
Website www.trachselwald.ch
SFSO statistics
Trachselwald

Trachselwald is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the Swiss canton of Bern.

History

Trachselwald Castle

The name of this municipality means "Drechsler-Wald" ("Woodturner-Forest) and was first mentioned in 1131. The village around Trachselwald Castle first belonged to the barons of Trachselwald, then to the barons of Rüti bei Lyssach, and then finally to the barons of Sumiswald until the sovereignty over the village was sold to the city of Bern in 1408. The castle became the sheriffhood.

In 1574 the village was destroyed by a fire. During the Swiss Peasants' War, on April 3, 1653, there was a gathering in the inn Tanne, which became the first public appearance of the peasants' leader Niklaus Leuenberger, who was executed in Trachselwald Castle on August 27 of the same year.

Geography

Trachselwald has an area, as of 2009, of 15.97 km2 (6.17 sq mi). Of this area, 9.03 km2 (3.49 sq mi) or 56.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 6.12 km2 (2.36 sq mi) or 38.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.73 km2 (0.28 sq mi) or 4.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.06 km2 (15 acres) or 0.4% is either rivers or lakes and 0.03 km2 (7.4 acres) or 0.2% is unproductive land.[3]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.0% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.4%. 34.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 7.9% is used for growing crops and 46.8% is pastures, while 1.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.[3]

Demographics

Trachselwald has a population (as of 31 December 2012) of 995.[1] As of 2007, 2.6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -4.5%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (98.7%), with French being second most common ( 0.2%) and Italian being third ( 0.2%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 50.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Green Party (12.2%), the local small left-wing parties (10.4%) and the SPS (8.7%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 30.5% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 54.5% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15%. In Trachselwald about 71.6% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Trachselwald has an unemployment rate of 0.9%. As of 2005, there were 210 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 81 businesses involved in this sector. 47 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 16 businesses in this sector. 112 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 20 businesses in this sector.[4]

Attractions

The baroque church in the village was designed by Abraham Dünz in 1685. The oldest parts of the castle were built in the 12th century; nowadays it is the governor's seat of the district of Trachselwald. A Zither culture museum, which was founded in 1999 and first located in Konolfingen has been in Trachselwald since March 2003.

References

  1. ↑ 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
  2. ↑ Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data (German) accessed 25 March 2010
  4. ↑ Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 17-Jul-2009
This article incorporates information from the German Wikipedia.

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