Gelfingen 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 district of Hochdorf in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. On 1 January 2009 it became part of the municipality of

Hitzkirch Hitzkirch is a municipality in the district of Hochdorf in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. On 1 January 2009, Gelfingen, Hämikon, Mosen, Müswangen, Retschwil and Sulz joined Hitzkirch. On 1 January 2021, Altwis merged into Hitzkirch. ...

History

Gelfingen is first mentioned in 1045 as ''Gelvingun''.

Geography

Gelfingen has an area of . Of this area, 64.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 25.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 9.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.3%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). The municipality is located below Schloss Heidegg on

Lake Baldegg __NOTOC__ Lake Baldegg (german: Baldeggersee) is a lake in the Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. Its area is about 5.2 km2 and its maximum depth is 69 m. See also *List of lakes of Switzerland This article contains a sortable table listin ...

. On 21 May 2006 an attempt to merge the Hitzkirch and the surrounding 10 municipalities failed, when five of the eleven voted against the merger. A less ambitious merger was then proposed and accepted, with the municipalities of Gelfingen,

Hämikon Hämikon is a municipality in the district of Hochdorf in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. On 1 January 2009 it became part of the municipality of Hitzkirch. History Hämikon is first mentioned in 924 as ''Hamminchova''. Geography Hämiko ...

, Mosen,

Müswangen Müswangen is a municipality in the district of Hochdorf in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. Since 1 January 2009, it has been part of the municipality of Hitzkirch. History Müswangen is first mentioned in 924 as ''Milizwaga''. Geography ...

, Retschwil and Sulz joining

.Canton of Lucerne, Office of Municipalities
accessed 18 August 2009

Demographics

Gelfingen has a population () of 764, of which 5.4% are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 20.3%. Most of the population () speaks German (94.1%), with English being second most common ( 1.4%) and Portuguese being third ( 1.0%). In the 2007 election the most popular party was the CVP which received 35.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (23.3%), the FDP (22.7%) and 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 f ...

(10.1%). The age distribution of the population () is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 35.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 56.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 8.3%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Gelfingen about 77.8% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a '' Fachhochschule''). Gelfingen has an unemployment rate of 1.21%. , there were 62 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 17 businesses involved in this sector. 18 people are 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 are 6 businesses in this sector. 65 people are 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 19 businesses in this sector.Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 18-Aug-2009 The historical population is given in the following table:

References

External links

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