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 ...
canton
Canton may refer to:
Administrative division terminology
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and ent ...
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 ...
in
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 ...
.
The population is 7055 (2011), counting the villages in the Oberaargau. The traditional name was ''Buchsi''.
History
Herzogenbuchsee is built on a
moraine
A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...
of the Rhone Glacier. The area has been settled for at least 10,000 years, with ancient settlements around the
Inkwilersee
Inkwilersee is a small lake on the border of the municipalities of Inkwil, Canton of Berne, and Bolken, Canton of Solothurn, Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are inst ...
and
Burgäschisee
Burgäschisee is a lake near Aeschi in Switzerland, on the border of the cantons of Berne and Solothurn
Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland ...
. There is also evidence of Roman buildings from approximately 200 CE near the current Reformed Church.
The first documented use of the name ''puhsa'' (pronounced ''Buchsa'', in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''buxum'', meaning "
box
A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...
") is found in the writings of Saint Gallus in 886 CE. In 1220 it was mentioned as ''Buchse'' and to distinguish it from Münchenbuchsee, in 1301 it was first mentioned as ''Herzogenbuchze''.
It was ruled by
Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
, the Zähringer, the Kyburger, and finally, brought under the Altberni sovereignty.
On January 1, 2008, the municipality of
Oberönz
Oberönz was a municipality in the district of Wangen in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
On January 1, 2008, the municipality of Oberönz became part of the municipality of Herzogenbuchsee.BSG 152.01 / BAG 07-139 ''Die Justizkommission des Grossen Rats des Kantons Bern'' (Justice Commission of the High Council of Canton Bern) decision of 16 October 2007. accessed 16 July 2009
Geography
Before the merger, Herzogenbuchsee had an area of . Of this area, 35.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 35% is forested. The rest of the land, (29.9%) is settled.
Following the merger of Oberönz into Herzogenbuchsee, the new municipality has an area, , of . Of this area, or 37.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 34.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 27.1% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.6% is unproductive land. 2009 data accessed 25 March 2010
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3.1% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 14.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 7.5%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.5%. 34.0% of the total land area is heavily forested. Of the agricultural land, 30.9% is used for growing crops and 6.1% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. The elevation of the train station is .
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 on a Bend Argent six Box Leaves Vert and in chief a Crown Or''.
Demographics
Herzogenbuchsee has a population (as of ) of . , 1,036 are foreign nationals.Herzogenbuchsee Website-Numbers accessed 21 July 2009 Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 6.1%. Most of the population () speaks German (88.9%), with Italian being second most common ( 3.5%) and Albanian being third ( 2.6%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 32.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the
SPS
SPS may refer to:
Law and government
* Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the WTO
* NATO Science for Peace and Security
* Single Payment Scheme, an EU agricultural subsidy
* The Standard Procurement System, fo ...
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 ...
(9.5%).
The age distribution of the population () is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.6% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18.4%. In Herzogenbuchsee about 71.2% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university 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 ...
'').
Herzogenbuchsee has an unemployment rate of 1.88%. , there were 31 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 9 businesses involved in this sector. 1344 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 construction. ...
and there are 78 businesses in this sector. 1931 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 249 businesses in this sector.Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 21-Jul-2009
The historical population is given in the following table:
Pierre du Bois de Dunilac Pierre du Bois de Dunilac (May 5, 1943 at Herzogenbuchsee (canton of Bern) – June 23, 2007 in Pully), was a Swiss writer, political scientist, philanthropist and humanist.
Biography
After studying in Paris with masters like Fernand Braudel, L ...
(1943 at Herzogenbuchsee – 2007 in Pully), a Swiss writer, political scientist, philanthropist and humanist
* Simon Berger (born 1976), a Swiss contemporary visual artist.