Graben, Switzerland
| Graben | ||||||||||
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| Population | 313 (Dec 2010)[1] | |||||||||
| - Density | 98 /km2 (253 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 3.16 km2 (1.22 sq mi)[2] | |||||||||
| Elevation | 455 m (1,493 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 3376 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 0976 | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Aarwangen, Bannwil, Berken, Heimenhausen, Herzogenbuchsee, Thunstetten | |||||||||
| Website | Graben.ch SFSO statistics |
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 Graben
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Map of Graben
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Graben is a municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
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[edit] History
Graben is first mentioned in 1220 as Stadonce. In the 19th Century it was known as Graben durch den Wald.[3]
[edit] Geography
Graben has an area, as of 2009[update], of 3.16 km2 (1.22 sq mi). Of this area, 1.67 km2 (0.64 sq mi) or 52.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.16 km2 (0.45 sq mi) or 36.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.22 km2 (0.085 sq mi) or 7.0% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.11 km2 (27 acres) or 3.5% is either rivers or lakes and 0.01 km2 (2.5 acres) or 0.3% is unproductive land.[4]
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.9%. 33.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 36.4% is used for growing crops and 16.1% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.[4]
The municipality is located at the confluence of the Önz into the Aare river a nature reserve. It includes the hamlets of Baumgarten, Burach, Gsoll, Hubel, Kleinholz, Schörlishäusern, Schwendi and Stadönz.
[edit] Demographics
Graben has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 313.[1] As of 2007[update], 4.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 0.3%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (98.7%), with French being second most common ( 1.0%) and English being third ( 0.3%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 62% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (9.7%), the local small left-wing parties (8.3%) and the FDP (8%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 27.2% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 56% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.8%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Graben about 75.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).
Graben has an unemployment rate of 1.97%. As of 2005[update], there were 39 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 12 businesses involved in this sector. 6 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 2 businesses in this sector. 45 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 6 businesses in this sector.[5] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1764 | 221 |
| 1850 | 325 |
| 1900 | 303 |
| 1950 | 342 |
| 2000 | 309 |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB, online database – Datenwürfel für Thema 01.2 - Bevölkerungsstand und -bewegung (German) accessed 29 September
- ^ Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen
- ^ a b Graben in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ a b Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data (German) accessed 25 March 2010
- ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 20-Jul-2009
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Graben, Switzerland |
- Graben in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
