Guggisberg
| Guggisberg | ||||||||||
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| Population | 1,563 (Dec 2010)[1] | |||||||||
| - Density | 28 /km2 (74 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 54.91 km2 (21.20 sq mi)[2] | |||||||||
| Elevation | 1,115 m (3,658 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 3158 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 0852 | |||||||||
| Mayor | Jakob Schmied | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Alterswil (FR), Oberwil im Simmental, Plaffeien (FR), Rüschegg, Wahlern, Zumholz (FR) | |||||||||
| Website | www.gemeinde-guggisberg.ch SFSO statistics |
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 Guggisberg
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Map of Guggisberg
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Guggisberg is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Swiss canton of Bern.
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[edit] History
Guggisberg is first mentioned in 1076 as Mons Guchani.[3] The next earliest reference to the community dates from 1148, when Guggisberg (spelled Cucansperc) was mentioned in a document of Pope Eugene III. In 1423 the territory was divided in two and sold by Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy to Bern and Fribourg. It would remain as two separate entitites until reunified by Napoleon's Act of Mediation in 1803.
In the early 19th century the village of Guggisberg was known as destination for tourists due to the view of the Guggershorn and other surrounding mountains. However, in 1819 the canton began moving many landless poor (Allmendsiedler literally: Common land settler) into the municipality. The large, poor population and famines in 1816-1818 and the 1840s overwhelmed the community. Many farmers had to sell their grazing rights (Alprechte) while others moved to America to escape the poverty. By 1850 Guggisberg was the poorest municipality in Canton Bern. To try to stabilize the economy, in 1860 the municipality was split into two, Guggisberg and Rüschegg.[3]
[edit] Geography
Guggisberg has an area, as of 2009[update], of 54.91 km2 (21.20 sq mi). Of this area, 28.83 km2 (11.13 sq mi) or 52.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 21.68 km2 (8.37 sq mi) or 39.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.64 km2 (0.63 sq mi) or 3.0% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.9 km2 (0.35 sq mi) or 1.6% is either rivers or lakes and 1.82 km2 (0.70 sq mi) or 3.3% is unproductive land.[4]
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.3%. 35.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 2.0% is used for growing crops and 31.0% is pastures and 19.1% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 1.9% is unproductive vegetation, 1.5% is too rocky for vegetation.[4]
It lies approximately midway between Fribourg and Thun.
The municipality is located in the alpine foothills. It stretchs from the Sense River (the border with the Canton of Fribourg) to the hill country around the Stockhorn mountain chain. In the south the municipality rises into the mountains and includes an alpine and forestry zone as well as the hamlet of Sangernboden. The northern part of the municipality is flatter and features fields, villages, hamlets and individual farm houses (including Riffenmatt, Kalchstätten, Riedstätt, Kriesbaumen, Laubbach) at an elevation of 860–1,120 meters (2,820–3,670 ft).
[edit] Demographics
Guggisberg has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 1,563.[1] As of 2007[update], 2.2% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -3.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (98.1%), with English being second most common ( 0.4%) and French being third ( 0.3%)
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 67.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Green Party (7.9%), the local small left-wing parties (6.7%) and the SPS (6.5%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 27.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 54% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18.1%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Guggisberg about 58.8% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).
Guggisberg has an unemployment rate of 0.76%. As of 2005[update], there were 375 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 148 businesses involved in this sector. 63 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 20 businesses in this sector. 187 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 37 businesses in this sector.[5] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1764 | 3,400 |
| 1850 | 5,693 |
| 1860 | 5,086[A] |
| 1900 | 2,809 |
| 1950 | 2,339 |
| 1980 | 1,560 |
:A Without Rüschegg, population was 2,823
[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 c Guggisberg 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 13-Jul-2009
[edit] External links
- Official website (German)
- Dubler, A-M: Guggisberg in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. Version of 2005-06-14.
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