Belpberg

Belpberg is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The municipality of Belpberg merged on 1 January 2012 into the municipality of Belp.[1]

Belpberg
Former municipality of Switzerland
Coat of arms
Location of Belpberg
Belpberg
Belpberg
Coordinates: 46°52′N 7°31′E
CountrySwitzerland
CantonBern
DistrictSeftigen
Area
 • Total5.7 km2 (2.2 sq mi)
Elevation
802 m (2,631 ft)
Population
 (December 2018)
 • Total423
 • Density74/km2 (190/sq mi)
Postal code
3124
SFOS number862
Surrounded byBelp, Gelterfingen, Gerzensee, Toffen
Website
SFSO statistics

The villages historic dependency on agriculture, dairy farming and cattle breeding have continued to the present day. There is otherwise little employment within the commune, and most of the working inhabitants commute to nearby towns, particularly Bern.

History

Roman and Celtic coinage points to an early settlement in the area. The first documented use of the name Belpberge is found in 1342, with the versions Belperg (1380) and Beltperg (1390) appearing later. The etymology of the word stem Belp is unclear.

Geography

Belpberg has an area, as of 2009, of 5.7 km2 (2.2 sq mi). Of this area, 3.74 km2 (1.44 sq mi) or 65.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while1.61 km2 (0.62 sq mi) or 28.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.31 km2 (0.12 sq mi) or 5.4% is settled (buildings or roads).[2]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.0%. 26.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 36.1% is used for growing crops and 27.9% is pastures, while 1.6% is used for orchards or vine crops.[2]

It is located on a hill that shares the town's name, between the Aare river and the Gürbetal. It includes a number of hamlets (including Linden, Oberhäusern, Hofstetten, z.T. Heitern) and scattered farmhouses. It belongs to the parish of Belp.

Demographics

Belpberg had a population (as of 31 December 2018) of 423.[3] As of 2007, 2.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -2.3%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (99.5%), with Italian being second most common (0.3%) and Portuguese being third (0.3%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 59.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (10.5%), the local small left-wing parties (7.7%) and the FDP (7%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 19.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62.5% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18.2%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Belpberg about 83.1% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).

Belpberg has an unemployment rate of 1.21%. As of 2005, there were 107 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 33 businesses involved in this sector. 6 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 14 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 5 businesses in this sector.[4] The historical population is given in the following table:[5]

year population
764 229
1850 501
1900 439
1950 433
2000 373
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References
  1. Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (in German) accessed 21 December 2011
  2. Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data (in German) accessed 25 March 2010
  3. Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB, online database – Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit (in German) accessed 23 September 2019
  4. Swiss Federal Statistical Office Archived 2011-11-16 at the Wayback Machine accessed 14-Jul-2009
  5. Belpberg in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
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