Graben, Switzerland
Graben is a municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
Graben | |
|---|---|
Coat of arms | |
Graben Graben | |
| Coordinates: 47°13′N 7°43′E / 47.217°N 7.717°E | |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Canton | Bern |
| District | Oberaargau |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.2 km2 (1.2 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 455 m (1,493 ft) |
| Population (31 December 2018)[2] | |
| • Total | 331 |
| • Density | 100/km2 (270/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (Central European Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time) |
| Postal code(s) | 3376 |
| SFOS number | 0976 |
| Surrounded by | Aarwangen, Bannwil, Berken, Heimenhausen, Herzogenbuchsee, Thunstetten |
| Website | https://www.graben.ch SFSO statistics |
History edit
Graben is first mentioned in 1220 as Stadonce. In the 19th Century it was known as Graben durch den Wald.[3]
Geography edit
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.
Demographics edit
Graben has a population (as of 31 December 2020) of 336.[5] 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%. 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.[6] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1764 | 221 |
| 1850 | 325 |
| 1900 | 303 |
| 1950 | 342 |
| 2000 | 309 |
References edit
- ^ 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 Graben in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ a b Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data (in German) accessed 25 March 2010
- ^ "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.
- ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2016-01-05 at the Wayback Machine accessed 20-Jul-2009
External links edit
- Graben in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.