Diesse is a former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, located in the French-speaking

Bernese Jura Bernese Jura (french: Jura bernois, ) is the name for the French-speaking area of the Swiss canton of Bern, and from 2010 one of ten administrative divisions of the canton. Comprising the three French-speaking districts in the northern part of the ...

(''Jura Bernois''). The proposed merger of the municipalities of Diesse,

Lamboing Lamboing () is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland, located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (''Jura Bernois''). The proposed merger of the municipalities of Diesse, Lamboing, No ...

, Nods, and

Prêles Prêles (; German name: Prägelz) is a former municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland, located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (''Jura Bernois''). The proposed merger of the municipali ...

into the new municipality of Le Plateau de Diesse was rejected by voters. However, on 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Diesse, Lamboing, and Prêles merged into the new municipality of

Plateau de Diesse Plateau de Diesse () is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland, located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (''Jura Bernois''). On 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Diesse, L ...

History

Diesse is first mentioned in 1178 as ''Diesse''. In German it was known as ''Tess'' though this name is no longer commonly used. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of Diesse was first mentioned in 1185. Beginning in 1530 the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

gradually gained power until the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

switched to the new faith in 1554. Until 1798, Diesse was the capital of the district of Tessenberg. Following the 1798 French invasion, Diesse became part of France and remained so until the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

returned it to

. The village school was built in 1850-56. The village's population slowly declined until the 1980s, when commuters to the surrounding towns began to move into Diesse.

Geography

Before the merger, Diesse had a total area of . As of 2012, a total of or 47.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 47.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 4.5% is settled (buildings or roads), and or 0.1% is unproductive land.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010 During the same year, housing and buildings made up 1.5%, and transportation infrastructure made up 2.3%. Out of the forested land, 43.0% of the total land area is heavily forested, and 4.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 21.9% is used for growing crops, 10.5% is pastureland, and 15.2% is used for alpine pasture. The former municipality is located on the plateau de Diesse. On 31 December 2009 District de la Neuveville, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Arrondissement administratif Jura bernois.
accessed 4 April 2011

Coat of arms

The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

of the municipal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

is ''Gules five Linden leaves of the same on a Saltire Argent.''

Demographics

As of 2011 Diesse had a population of 436.Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 16 January 2014 , 9.0% of the population were resident foreign nationals. Over the past ten years (2001-2011) the population has changed at a rate of -1.8%. Migration accounted for -2.9%, while births and deaths accounted for 0.9%. Most of the population () speaks French (370 or 88.3%) as their first language,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

is the second most common (40 or 9.5%), and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

is the third (5 or 1.2%). , the population was 48.6% male and 51.4% female. The population was made up of 196 Swiss men (44.1% of the population) and 20 (4.5%) non-Swiss men. There were 208 Swiss women (46.8%) and 20 (4.5%) non-Swiss women.Statistical office of the Canton of Bern
accessed 4 January 2012 Of the population in the municipality 136, or about 32.5%, were born in Diesse and lived there in 2000. There were 153, or 36.5%, who were born in the same canton, while 78, or 18.6%, were born elsewhere in Switzerland and 30, or 7.2%, were born outside of Switzerland. , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 63.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 14.2%. , there were 169 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 207 married individuals, 24 widows or widowers and 19 individuals who are divorced.STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000
accessed 2 February 2011 , there were 53 households that consisted of only one person and 11 households with five or more people. , a total of 157 apartments (87.2% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 14 apartments (7.8%) were seasonally occupied and nine apartments (5.0%) were empty.Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB - Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 - Gebäude und Wohnungen
accessed 28 January 2011 , the construction rate of new housing units was 6.8 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.94%. The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width: auto height:200 barincrement:45 PlotArea = top:20 left:35 bottom:20 right:35 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:470 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:90 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:18 start:0 PlotData= color:yellowgreen width: 35 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1800 from:start till:258 text:"258" bar:1850 from:start till:408 text:"408" bar:1860 from:start till:405 text:"405" bar:1870 from:start till:464 text:"464" bar:1880 from:start till:403 text:"403" bar:1888 from:start till:369 text:"369" bar:1900 from:start till:387 text:"387" bar:1910 from:start till:371 text:"371" bar:1920 from:start till:372 text:"372" bar:1930 from:start till:328 text:"328" bar:1941 from:start till:337 text:"337" bar:1950 from:start till:325 text:"325" bar:1960 from:start till:310 text:"310" bar:1970 from:start till:277 text:"277" bar:1980 from:start till:280 text:"280" bar:1990 from:start till:363 text:"363" bar:2000 from:start till:419 text:"419"

Sights

The entire village of Diesse is designated as part of the

Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage. Sites of national importance Types The types are based on t ...

Politics

In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

, which received 24.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Swiss People's Party (SVP) (21.7%), the Social Democratic Party (SP) (17.7%), and the

FDP.The Liberals french: PLR.Les Libéraux-Radicaux it, PLR.I Liberali Radicali rm, PLD.Ils Liberals , logo = , caption = Logo of the party in French, German, and Italian , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = Thierry Burkart ...

(11.4%). In the federal election, a total of 132 votes were cast, and the

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...

was 40.5%.Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2011 Election
accessed 8 May 2012

Economy

, Diesse had an unemployment rate of 2.32%. , there were a total of 117 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 25 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 11 businesses involved in this sector. Twenty-eight people were employed in the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...

and there were nine businesses in this sector. Sixty-four people were employed in the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

, with 11 businesses in this sector. There were 207 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 44.9% of the workforce. there were a total of 100

full-time equivalent Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit that indicates the workload of an employee, employed person (or student) in a way that makes workloads or class loads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often used to me ...

jobs. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 23, of which 19 were in agriculture and three were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 24, of which 12 were in manufacturing and 12 were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 53. In the tertiary sector 25, or 47.2%, were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, two, or 3.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, one was in the information industry, one was a technical professional or scientist, 19, or 35.8%, were in education. , there were 57 workers who commuted into the municipality and 143 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.5 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. A total of 64 workers (52.9% of the 121 total workers in the municipality) both lived and worked in Diesse.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 4.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 69.6% used a private car. In 2011 the average local and cantonal tax rate on a married resident of Diesse making 150,000 CHF was 13.3%, while an unmarried resident's rate was 19.5%. For comparison, the average rate for the entire canton in 2006 was 13.9%, and the nationwide rate was 11.6%.Regionale Disparitäten in der Schweiz - Schlüsselindikatoren
accessed 15 May 2013 In 2009 there was a total of 186 taxpayers in the municipality. Of that total, 57 made over 75,000 CHF per year. There was one person who made between 15,000 and 20,000 per year. The average income of the over-75,000 CHF group in Diesse was 110,275 CHF, while the average across all of Switzerland was 130,478 CHF.
accessed 15 May 2013

Religion

From the 276, or 65.9%, belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...

while 58, or 13.8%, were

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. Of the rest of the population, there was one member of an Orthodox church, and there were 30 individuals (or about 7.16% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. Forty-five (or about 10.74% of the population) belonged to no church, are

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 24 individuals (or about 5.73% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

In Diesse about 56.6% of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 17.5% have completed additional higher education (either

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

or a ''

Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts ...

''). Of the 42 who had completed some form of tertiary schooling listed in the census, 61.9% were Swiss men, and 28.6% were Swiss women. The Canton of Bern school system provides one year of non-obligatory

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

, followed by six years of Primary school. This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude. Following the lower Secondary, students may attend additional schooling or they may enter an

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

. During the 2011-12 school year, there was a total of 86 students attending classes in Diesse. There were two kindergarten classes with a total of 32 students in the municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 6.3% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens), and 3.1% had a different mother tongue than the classroom language. The municipality had three primary classes and 54 students. Of the primary students, 1.9% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 7.4% had a different mother tongue than the classroom language.Schuljahr 2011/12 pdf document
accessed 9 May 2013 , there was a total of 111 students attending any school in the municipality. Of those, 34 both lived and attended school in the municipality, while 77 students came from another municipality. During the same year, 51 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Former municipalities of the canton of Bern