Gsteig bei Gstaad is a
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
Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district in the
canton of
Bern in
Switzerland. Gsteig was formerly known by the
French name of ''Châtelet''.
History
Gsteig is first mentioned in 1312 as ''Chastelet''. In 1453, it was mentioned as ''Steig''.
[
The villages of Gsteig and Feutersoey grew up along the roads over the ]Col du Pillon
Col du Pillon (el. 1546 m) is a mountain pass in the western Swiss Alps, linking Aigle, Le Sépey and Les Diablerets in the canton of Vaud with Gstaad in the canton of Berne. The pass itself is located within the canton of Vaud, approximately on ...
and the Sanetsch Pass
Sanetsch Pass (French: ''Col du Sanetsch'' or ''Col de Sénin'') (el. 2242 m) is a high mountain pass in Switzerland across the western Bernese Alps, connecting Gsteig in the canton of Berne and Sion in the canton of Valais. Although a road le ...
. During the Middle Ages, a castle was built in the valley to protect and control the passes. The castle is first mentioned in 1458 and today is in ruins. At one time there was a settlement at Ussers Gründ which was destroyed by a landslide. Originally Gsteig was part of the district and 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 o ...
of Saanen
Saanen (french: Gessenay; Highest Alemannic: ''Saanä'') is a municipality in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is the capital of the Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district.
History
The village was first mentioned in 1228 as ''Gi ...
. The village church of St. Theodul was consecrated in 1453. It became a filial church of Saanen in 1500. In the early 16th century, Bern adopted the new faith of 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 ...
, however Gsteig did not convert until 1556.[
Traditionally the villagers practiced seasonal alpine herding and farming and made a little money off trade over the passes. Beginning around 1900, tourism became a major part of the local economy. Today there are several hotels and a number of vacation homes in the municipality. Tourist sites include the ]Diablerets Glacier
The Diablerets Glacier (french: Glacier des Diablerets) is a glacier situated on the summit of Les Diablerets in the Bernese Alps
, topo_map= Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo
, photo=BerneseAlps.jpg
, photo_caption=The Eiger, Mön ...
, the castle ruins, the Arnensee and the nature preserve at Oldenhorn.[
]
Geography
Gsteig bei Gstaad has an area of . As of 2012, a total of or 37.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 36.2% is forested. The rest of the municipality is or 1.4% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.2% is either rivers or lakes and or 24.0% 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 0.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.6%. A total of 28.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 5.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 8.7% is pasturage and 28.4% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.8% is in lakes and 0.5% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 9.2% is unproductive vegetation and 14.6% is too rocky for vegetation.[
The municipality lies in an upper valley of the river ]Saane
The Sarine (; frp, Sarena ) or Saane () is a major river of Switzerland.6th longest, 7th largest basin, see List of rivers of Switzerland It is long and has a drainage area of .
It is a tributary of the Aare.
The Sarine rises in the Bernese Al ...
in the Bernese Oberland
The Bernese Oberland ( en, Bernese Highlands, german: Berner Oberland; gsw, Bärner Oberland; french: Oberland bernois), the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern, is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context ...
and consists of the villages of Gsteig and Feutersoey, plus a number of outlying farms. The route to the Col du Pillon
Col du Pillon (el. 1546 m) is a mountain pass in the western Swiss Alps, linking Aigle, Le Sépey and Les Diablerets in the canton of Vaud with Gstaad in the canton of Berne. The pass itself is located within the canton of Vaud, approximately on ...
, an alpine pass, runs through both villages. Near the pass is the locality of Reusch, where an aerial tramway to the Scex Rouge
The Scex Rouge (also spelled ''Sex Rouge''; lit. "red rock"; ) is a mountain of the Alps, overlooking Les Diablerets in the canton of Vaud. Along with the Oldenhorn to the east, it is one of the main peaks of the Diablerets, a huge ice-covered ...
is operated.
The reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
Arnensee
Arnensee (French: ''Lac d'Arnon'') is a lake in Canton of Berne, Switzerland. The lake in the municipality of Gsteig is used as a reservoir by Romande Energie. The dam was built in 1942. Its volume is 10.5 mio m³ and surface area 0.456 km² ...
is located in the municipality.
On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Saanen, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Obersimmental-Saanen.[Nomenklaturen – Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz]
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 vi ...
of the municipal coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
is ''Gules a Crane rising Argent beaked and membered Or on a Mount of 3 Coupeaux of the second all dimidiated impaled with Azure a Tower embatteled Or.''
Demographics
Gsteig bei Gstaad has a population () of . , 13.0% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last year (2010-2011) the population has changed at a rate of -1.3%. Migration accounted for -1.7%, while births and deaths accounted for 0.3%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
accessed 11 March 2014
Most of the population () speaks 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 ...
(849 or 93.2%) as their first language, French is the second most common (20 or 2.2%) and English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
is the third (10 or 1.1%). There are 2 people who speak Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
and 4 people who speak Romansh.[
Of the population in the municipality, 457 or about 50.2% were born in Gsteig bei Gstaad and lived there in 2000. There were 275 or 30.2% who were born in the same canton, while 85 or 9.3% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 74 or 8.1% were born outside of Switzerland.][
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 19.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 63.9% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17%.][
, there were 381 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 440 married individuals, 64 widows or widowers and 26 individuals who are divorced.][STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000]
accessed 2 February 2011
, there were 171 households that consist of only one person and 23 households with five or more people. , a total of 382 apartments (67.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 155 apartments (27.3%) were seasonally occupied and 31 apartments (5.5%) 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 4.1 new units per 1000 residents.[ The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.28%. In 2011, single family homes made up 33.4% of the total housing in the municipality.
The historical population is given in the following chart:]
Colors=
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Period = from:0 till:980
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bar:1764 from:start till:627 text:"627"
bar:1850 from:start till:706 text:"706"
bar:1860 from:start till:697 text:"697"
bar:1870 from:start till:805 text:"805"
bar:1880 from:start till:713 text:"713"
bar:1888 from:start till:768 text:"768"
bar:1900 from:start till:802 text:"802"
bar:1910 from:start till:820 text:"820"
bar:1920 from:start till:854 text:"854"
bar:1930 from:start till:760 text:"760"
bar:1941 from:start till:714 text:"714"
bar:1950 from:start till:739 text:"739"
bar:1960 from:start till:937 text:"937"
bar:1970 from:start till:865 text:"865"
bar:1980 from:start till:824 text:"824"
bar:1990 from:start till:867 text:"867"
bar:2000 from:start till:911 text:"911"
bar:2010 from:start till:979 text:"979"
Heritage sites of national significance
The farm house at Saali 594 and the farm house in Feutersoey at Zelg 408 are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire village of Gsteig is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
Politics
In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the Swiss People's Party (SVP) which received 61.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP) (14.5%), the Green Liberal Party (GLP) (7.1%) and the Social Democratic Party (SP) (4.9%). In the federal election, a total of 363 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 Univ ...
was 49.5%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2011 Election]
accessed 8 May 2012
Economy
, Gsteig bei Gstaad had an unemployment rate of 1.05%. , there were a total of 350 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 133 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 53 businesses involved in this sector. 73 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 15 businesses in this sector. 144 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 28 businesses in this sector.[ There were 494 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 40.5% of the workforce.
there were a total of 269 ]full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit that indicates the workload of an employed person (or student) in a way that makes workloads or class loads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often used to measure a ...
jobs. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 79, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 67 of which 21 or (31.3%) were in manufacturing and 43 (64.2%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 123. In the tertiary sector; 49 or 39.8% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 6 or 4.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 38 or 30.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 3 or 2.4% were technical professionals or scientists, 9 or 7.3% were in education.
, there were 55 workers who commuted into the municipality and 264 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 4.8 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. A total of 230 workers (80.7% of the 285 total workers in the municipality) both lived and worked in Gsteig bei Gstaad.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb]
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 8.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 62.3% used a private car.[
In 2011 the average local and cantonal tax rate on a married resident, with two children, of Gsteig bei Gstaad making 150,000 CHF was 12.3%, while an unmarried resident's rate was 18.1%. For comparison, the average rate for the entire canton in the same year, was 14.2% and 22.0%, while the nationwide average was 12.3% and 21.1% respectively.
In 2009 there were a total of 410 tax payers in the municipality. Of that total, 99 made over 75,000 CHF per year. There were 5 people who made between 15,000 and 20,000 per year. The greatest number of workers, 118, made between 50,000 and 75,000 CHF per year. The average income of the over 75,000 CHF group in Gsteig bei Gstaad was 112,324 CHF, while the average across all of Switzerland was 130,478 CHF.
In 2011 a total of 2.1% of the population received direct financial assistance from the government.
]
Religion
From the , 737 or 80.9% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 81 or 8.9% 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 let ...
. Of the rest of the population, there was 1 member of an Orthodox church, and there were 21 individuals (or about 2.31% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 14 (or about 1.54% of the population) who were Muslim. There was 1 person who was Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and 1 individual who belonged to another church. 41 (or about 4.50% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 14 individuals (or about 1.54% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In Gsteig bei Gstaad about 54.2% of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 8.2% 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 ...
or a '' Fachhochschule'').[ Of the 46 who had completed some form of tertiary schooling listed in the census, 65.2% were Swiss men, 10.9% were Swiss women, 19.6% were non-Swiss men.][
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 ce ...
, 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 trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
.
During the 2011–12 school year, there were a total of 71 students attending classes in Gsteig bei Gstaad. There was one kindergarten class with a total of 7 students in the municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 14.3% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens). The municipality had 2 primary classes and 54 students. Of the primary students, 11.1% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 9.3% have a different mother language than the classroom language. During the same year, there was one lower secondary class with a total of 10 students. There were 20.0% who were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 20.0% have a different mother language than the classroom language.[Schuljahr 2011/12 pdf document]
accessed 9 May 2013
, there were a total of 96 students attending any school in the municipality. Of those, 95 both lived and attended school in the municipality, while one student came from another municipality. During the same year, 27 residents attended schools outside the municipality.[
]
References
External links
Official website
*
{{Authority control
Municipalities of the canton of Bern
Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Bern