Krauchthal 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 administrative district of
Emmental
The Emmental ( en, Emme Valley) is a valley in west-central Switzerland, forming part of the canton of Bern. It is a hilly landscape comprising the basins of the rivers Emme and Ilfis. The region is mostly devoted to farming, particularly dai ...
in the
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 ...
.
History
![Thorberg heute](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Thorberg_heute.JPG)
Krauchthal was first mentioned around 1108-22 as ''Crouchtal'' and around 1181-82 as ''Crochtal''.
[ Hettiswil village was first mentioned in 1107 as ''Otthonis villare'' and in 1281 it was ''Ettiswile''.]
The oldest traces of settlements near Krauchthal are neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
flints which were discovered in Mooshubel and Buech. The wooden posts of a Roman
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 letter ...
settlement were found on the Thornberg along the remains of a Roman manor on the north side of the valley. During the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
there were three castles or fortifications, Thorberg Castle
Thorberg Castle (german: Schloss Thorberg) is a former Carthusian monastery, or charterhouse, now a prison, located in Krauchthal in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland.
History
Of the castle of the von Thorberg family, first documented in 1175, ther ...
, Liebenfels-Sodfluh Castle and the high medieval
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 1500 ...
fortification of Tannstigli, within sight of each other in the modern borders of the municipality. Between 1175 and 1397 Thorberg Castle was home to the Lords of Thorberg. After the death of Peter von Thorberg, in 1397, he left his many estates to the Carthusian
The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...
s who converted the castle into a monastery or chapterhouse. The Carthusians became the largest land holders in Krauchthal. The Krauchthal village church of St. Mauritius was first mentioned in 1270.[
The ]Cluniac
The Cluniac Reforms (also called the Benedictine Reform) were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement began wit ...
Priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...
of Hettiswil was built during the High Middle Ages in the nearby village, but today only the foundation of the romanesque Priory church is visible. The Priory was responsible for a chapel on Sandhubel which was first mentioned in 1560, but no trace of the building exists. The village of Hettiswil and the right to hold the low court in the village were given to the Priory in 1107. In 1406 both the low and high courts in Hettiswil came under 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 ...
ese control, though the Priory remained a major landowner.[
Beginning in the Middle Ages, there were cliff dwellings in the Linden valley (german: Lindental). They have been permanently inhabited since the 16th century.
Both Krauchthal and Hettiswil remained under the power of the Carthusian Monastery and the Cluniac Priory until Bern accepted 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 ...
. In 1528, Bern secularized nearly all religious houses in the canton and acquired all their properties and rights. A Bernese vogt
During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...
was appointed and ruled the municipality from Thorberg Castle. Hettiswil was made part of 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 ...
of Krauchthal.[
Thorberg Castle remained the seat of the Bernese vogt until 1798, but it also housed other care organizations including an ]almshouse
An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...
. In 1805 the former almshouse became a reformatory, model school and "ancillary lunatic asylum". To these were added in 1807 a further institution for the accommodation of those who "had not really merited imprisonment". The care organisations were replaced on 1 November 1849 by a workhouse or forced labor unit. After the opening of the psychiatric clinic at Waldau near Bern, the "ancillary asylum" could be closed, in 1855. In 1893 a newly built cell block was opened as a prison; various other extensions were added during the 20th century, most recently in 1998.
Hettiswil, Krauchthal and Hub formed an agricultural cooperative that organized forest grazing and timber rights in 1470. By 1550, they had cleared the forest at Längenberg and divided it among their farmers. After the secularization of the monasteries, a representative of the Bernese vogt administered the former ecclesiastical land. However, in 1534 and in 1560 the land was sold to local farmers. By the early 19th century, many farmers switched from growing grain to raising dairy cattle and hay. In 1848 a dairy and cheese factory opened in the village. Between 1855 and 1863 the community drained the bogs on the valley floor, which opened up more farm land. In addition to agriculture, the institute and prison at Thorberg and a sandstone quarry provided jobs for the residents of the municipality.[
]
Geography
Krauchthal has an area of . Of this area, or 42.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 49.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 7.0% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.1% is unproductive land.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics]
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.0%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 19.5% is used for growing crops and 22.1% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.[
Krauchthal includes the village of Krauchthal, Hettiswil and Hub im Tal as well as Dieterswald and Thorberg on the hill.
On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Burgdorf, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Emmental.]
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 ''Argent a Bend Gules between two Roses of the same barbed and seeded proper.''
Demographics
Krauchthal has a population () of . , 3.8% of the population are resident foreign nationals.[Statistical office of the Canton of Bern]
accessed 4 January 2012 Over the last 10 years (2000-2010) the population has changed at a rate of 0%. Migration accounted for -2.7%, while births and deaths accounted for 2.4%.
accessed 11-September-2012
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
**Ger ...
(2,265 or 91.3%) as their first language, Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
is the second most common (78 or 3.1%) and French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
is the third (21 or 0.8%). There are 11 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 ...
.[
, the population was 51.2% male and 48.8% female. The population was made up of 1,128 Swiss men (49.0% of the population) and 50 (2.2%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,085 Swiss women (47.2%) and 38 (1.7%) non-Swiss women.] Of the population in the municipality, 726 or about 29.3% were born in Krauchthal and lived there in 2000. There were 1,107 or 44.6% who were born in the same canton, while 299 or 12.1% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 267 or 10.8% were born outside of Switzerland.[
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22.6% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62.6% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 14.7%.][
, there were 1,085 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,205 married individuals, 108 widows or widowers and 82 individuals who are divorced.][STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000]
accessed 2 February 2011
, there were 219 households that consist of only one person and 83 households with five or more people. , a total of 853 apartments (93.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 32 apartments (3.5%) were seasonally occupied and 24 apartments (2.6%) 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 1.3 new units per 1000 residents.[ The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.3%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:]
Colors=
id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9)
id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8)
ImageSize = width:1020 height:210
PlotArea = top:10 left:100 bottom:50 right:100
AlignBars = justify
DateFormat = x.y
Period = from:0 till:2600
TimeAxis = orientation:vertical
AlignBars = justify
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:500 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:100 start:0
PlotData=
color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center
bar:1764 from:start till:877 text:"877"
bar:1850 from:start till:2285 text:"2,285"
bar:1860 from:start till:2377 text:"2,377"
bar:1870 from:start till:2510 text:"2,510"
bar:1880 from:start till:2505 text:"2,505"
bar:1888 from:start till:2264 text:"2,264"
bar:1900 from:start till:2122 text:"2,122"
bar:1910 from:start till:1901 text:"1,901"
bar:1920 from:start till:2017 text:"2,017"
bar:1930 from:start till:1845 text:"1,845"
bar:1941 from:start till:1753 text:"1,753"
bar:1950 from:start till:1814 text:"1,814"
bar:1960 from:start till:1825 text:"1,825"
bar:1970 from:start till:1909 text:"1,909"
bar:1980 from:start till:1826 text:"1,826"
bar:1990 from:start till:2083 text:"2,083"
bar:2000 from:start till:2480 text:"2,480"
Politics
In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the Swiss People's Party (SVP) which received 37% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP) (19%), the Social Democratic Party (SP) (16.1%) 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
...
(7.6%). In the federal election, a total of 913 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 50.0%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2011 Election]
accessed 8 May 2012
Economy
, Krauchthal had an unemployment rate of 1.46%. , there were a total of 569 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 169 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 55 businesses involved in this sector. 166 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 construction. ...
and there were 27 businesses in this sector. 234 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 36 businesses in this sector.[
there were a total of 465 ]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 112, of which 94 were in agriculture and 19 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 151 of which 88 or (58.3%) were in manufacturing and 52 (34.4%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 202. In the tertiary sector; 34 or 16.8% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 14 or 6.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 17 or 8.4% were in a hotel or restaurant, 6 or 3.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 18 or 8.9% were in education and 1 was in health care.
, there were 201 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,071 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 5.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb]
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 11.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 62.1% used a private car.[
]
Religion
From the , 210 or 8.5% 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 ...
, while 1,825 or 73.6% 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 ...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 19 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.77% of the population), and there were 120 individuals (or about 4.84% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 114 (or about 4.60% of the population) who were Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic. There were 4 individuals who were 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 12 individuals who were Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
. 146 (or about 5.89% 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 ...
or 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 89 individuals (or about 3.59% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In Krauchthal about 1,057 or (42.6%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 283 or (11.4%) 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 283 who completed tertiary schooling, 71.0% were Swiss men, 20.8% were Swiss women, 6.0% were non-Swiss men and 2.1% were non-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 2010-11 school year, there were a total of 181 students attending classes in Krauchthal. There were 2 kindergarten classes with a total of 40 students in the municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 15.0% have a different mother language than the classroom language. The municipality had 8 primary classes and 141 students. Of the primary students, 2.8% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 7.1% have a different mother language than the classroom language.[Schuljahr 2010/11 pdf document]
accessed 4 January 2012
, there were 6 students in Krauchthal who came from another municipality, while 132 residents attended schools outside the municipality.[
]
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Municipalities of the canton of Bern