Köniz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Köniz | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| Population | 37,448 (December 2007[update]) | |||||||||
| - Density | 731 /km2 (1,894 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 51.2 km2 (19.8 sq mi) | |||||||||
| Elevation | 572 m (1,877 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 3098 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 0355 | |||||||||
| Mayor | Luc Mentha SPS/PSS | |||||||||
| Localities | Köniz, Gasel, Halen, Herzwil, Liebefeld, Liebewil, Mengestorf, Mittelhäusern, Moos, Niederscherli, Niederwangen, Oberried, Oberscherli, Oberwangen, Ried, Schlatt, Schliern, Schwanden, Spiegel, Thörishaus, Ulmiz, Wabern | |||||||||
| Surrounded by (view map) |
Bern, Kehrsatz, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Oberbalm, Ueberstorf (FR), Wahlern, Wald | |||||||||
| Twin towns | Prijepolje (Serbia), Blatten (Switzerland) | |||||||||
| Website | www.koeniz.ch SFSO statistics |
|||||||||
![Köniz [zoom] is located in Switzerland](/wiki/File:Switzerland_location_map.svg)
Köniz is a municipality in the district of Bern in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. With a population of 37,448 inhabitants, the municipality is one of the 15 most populous cities in Switzerland.
Contents |
[edit] History
The current municipality has long been inhabited; there have been a number of Bronze- and Iron Age finds, as well as Roman villas (villae rusticae) and Early Middle Ages graveyards. The oldest parts of the current reformed parish church (formerly. St. Peter and Paul) date back to around 1100. There may have other previous buildings on this sight, but archaeological digs have uncovered no evidence of them thus far.
According to legend the church is meant have been founded by Burgundian King Rudolph II and his wife Bertha. The parish did not only comprise the current municipality, but also the area around present day Bern, around 5 km away. In 1191 it became the parish church of the newly founded town, until it was given the status of its own parish in 1276.
Since time immemorial there had been an Augustinian monastery at the church, which was given to the Teutonic Knights by King Heinrich VII, the son and heir to the Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich II, in 1226. The order established a commendam at the church, which belonged to the Ballei of Schwaben-Elsass-Burgund, as well as a settlement in Bern. One of the friars was installed as parish priest. With the growth of the parish of Bern, the settlement there was raised to commendam status, whose principle was the parish priest in Bern.
The Köniz commendam was secularised in 1528 during the Bernese Reformation, but was given back to the Order in 1552 after pressure from the catholic Cantons. In 1729 the Order sold the commendam to Bern. A bailiwick was established, which existed until the collapse of the old Bern in 1798. The municipality of Köniz in its present form, came into being in 1846.
[edit] Geography
Köniz lies to the south of Bern, and has an area of 51.1 square kilometers (19.7 sq mi). Of this area, 51.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 17.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.4%) is non-productive (rivers or glaciers).[1]
[edit] Demographics
Köniz has a population (as of 2007[update]) of 37,448, of which 14.2% are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 4%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (87.3%), with French being second most common ( 2.7%) and Italian being third ( 2.2%). The municipality is the largest suburban municipality in Switzerland, is the fourth largest municipality in the Canton of Bern and is the twelfth largest overall in Switzerland. Although it has more than three times the required 10'000 inhabitants, Köniz refuses the title of City.
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 25.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (24.1%), the FDP (16.6%) and the Green Party (14.8%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 20.8% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 61.8% and the seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.4%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Köniz about 78.5% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).
Köniz has an unemployment rate of 2.49%. As of 2005[update], there were 596 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 176 businesses involved in this sector. 3613 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 250 businesses in this sector. 11642 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 962 businesses in this sector.[1]
[edit] Villages
In December 2003 the population of the villages that made up the municipality of Köniz had the following populations. Current populations will be similar.
| Village | Inhabitants |
|---|---|
| Köniz | 6,925 |
| Wabern | 6,422 |
| Liebefeld | 4,908 |
| Spiegel | 4,506 |
| Schliern | 4,102 |
| Niederscherli | 2,273 |
| Niederwangen | 1,616 |
| Oberwangen | 1,085 |
| Schwanden | 987 |
| Thörishaus | 920 |
| Mittelhäusern | 910 |
| Ried | 825 |
| Gasel | 778 |
| Oberscherli | 491 |
| Halen | 300 |
| Liebewil | 155 |
| Moos | 115 |
| Ulmiz | 98 |
| Mengestorf | 96 |
| Oberried | 95 |
| Schlatt | 85 |
| Herzwil | 63 |
| Total | 37,955 |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 29-May-2009
- A-M Dubler: Köniz in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. Version of 2005-12-20.
- This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.
|
|||||||
