Gadmen

Gadmen
Valley of Gadmen
Country Switzerland Canton Bern District Interlaken-Oberhasli 46°44′N 8°20′E
Population	232 (Dec 2010)
- Density	2 /km2 (5 /sq mi)
Area	116.49 km2 (44.98 sq mi)
Elevation	1,205 m (3,953 ft)
Postal code	3863
SFOS number	0781
Mayor	Barbara Kehrli
Surrounded by	Engelberg (OW), Göschenen (UR), Guttannen, Innertkirchen, Oberwald (VS), Wassen (UR)
Twin towns	Volketswil (Switzerland)
Website	www.gadmen.ch SFSO statistics
Gadmen
Map of Gadmen

Gadmen is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

The name Gadmen comes from the Old High German "gadum," meaning barn or small house, and was first mentioned in 1382.

The municipality is in a municipal partnership with Volketswil in the Canton of Zürich.

History

Gadmen is first mentioned in 1382 as im Gadmen.

Demographics

View of Steinsee and Gadmen from the Susten Pass

Gadmen has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 232. As of 2007, 2.8% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -15.5%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (98.5%), with French being second most common ( 0.4%) and Spanish being third ( 0.4%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 52.4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (22.1%), the FDP (13.6%) and the local small left-wing parties (4.6%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 21.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 53.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 25%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Gadmen about 51.1% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Gadmen has an unemployment rate of 1.12%. As of 2005, there were 52 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 21 businesses involved in this sector. 13 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 43 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 13 businesses in this sector. The historical population is given in the following table:

year	population
1764	354
1850	739
1900	672
1950	485
1960	510
2000	272

Geography

Gadmen has an area, as of 2009, of 116.49 km² (44.98 sq mi). Of this area, 9.62 km² (3.71 sq mi) or 8.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 19.48 km² (7.52 sq mi) or 16.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.75 km² (0.29 sq mi) or 0.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 1.52 km² (0.59 sq mi) or 1.3% is either rivers or lakes and 85.19 km² (32.89 sq mi) or 73.1% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.4%. 10.9% of the total land area is heavily forested. Of the agricultural land, 1.7% is pastures and 6.5% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 13.3% is unproductive vegetation, 33.0% is too rocky for vegetation and 26.8% of the land is covered by glaciers.

Gadmen lies in the Bernese Oberland, and the Susten Pass lies on the eastern border of the municipality. It lies in the Gadmer watershed. The neighboring municipalities are Engelberg, Wassen, Göschenen, Guttannen, Innertkirchen and Kerns.

There are three glaciers in Gadmen, the Stein Glacier, the Trift Glacier and the Wenden Glacier. Beneath the Stein Glacier is Lake Stein. The most famous mountain in Gadmen is the Titlis.

Economy

The largest industries are tourism and agriculture.

External links

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