Spiez

Spiez
Spiez
Municipality
	Coat of arms
	Location of Spiez
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Frutigen-Niedersimmental
Government
• Mayor	Franz Arnold
Area
• Total	16.8 km2 (6.5 sq mi)
Elevation	607 m (1,991 ft)
Population (31 December 2018)
• Total	12,810
• Density	760/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)	3700
SFOS number	0768
ISO 3166 code	CH-BE
Surrounded by	Aeschi bei Spiez, Hilterfingen, Krattigen, Oberhofen am Thunersee, Reutigen, Sigriswil, Thun, Wimmis, Zwieselberg
Twin towns	Prachatice (Czech Republic)
Website	www.spiez.ch ; SFSO statistics

Disambiguation: for the animated television series, see The Amazing Spiez!.

Spiez is a city in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Geography

Spiez has an area of 16.8 km² (6.5 sq mi). Of this area, 38.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 29.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 29.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (3.3%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).^[3]

It is located at the south bank of Lake Thun. It comprises five villages (Bäuerte): Spiez, Einigen, Hondrich, Faulensee and Spiezwiler (formerly Wyler).

Demographics

Spiez has a population (as of 31 December 2020) of 12,926.^[4] As of 2007^[update], 7.4% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 6.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (94.0%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 1.1%) and French being third ( 0.8%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 32.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (21%), the Green Party (12.9%) and the FDP (11.8%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 58.6% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 19.3%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Spiez about 77.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).

Spiez has an unemployment rate of 2.43%. As of 2005^[update], there were 251 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 62 businesses involved in this sector. 856 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 98 businesses in this sector. 3572 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 412 businesses in this sector.^[3]

Sights

The medieval castle in the town dates from the 15th and 16th Centuries. Visitors can visit the grand halls within the castle, including the Baroque Banquet Hall built in 1614.

The Hotel Belvédère in Spiez accommodated the German national football team during the 1954 World Cup (soccer) held in Switzerland. "The Spirit of Spiez", developed there among the players, is regarded as important factor that helped the German team to win the world championship.

External links

References

^ ^a ^b "Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeinden nach 4 Hauptbereichen". Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
^ "Ständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeitskategorie Geschlecht und Gemeinde; Provisorische Jahresergebnisse; 2018". Federal Statistical Office. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
^ ^a ^b Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 10-Jul-2009
^ "Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit". bfs.admin.ch (in German). Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.

[wikidata-34465df301612b4c187d3751abe3e95527f60501-v18-1] "Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeinden nach 4 Hauptbereichen". Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 13 January 2019.

[wikidata-08bd17aa84cda5e3983f082e36c9004a86cf08fc-v18-2] "Ständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeitskategorie Geschlecht und Gemeinde; Provisorische Jahresergebnisse; 2018". Federal Statistical Office. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.

[SFSO-3] Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 10-Jul-2009

[Stat2020_BE-4] "Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit". bfs.admin.ch (in German). Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2021.

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