Melchnau 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
Oberaargau 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 ...
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
![Grünenberg Scheibler194ps](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Gr%C3%BCnenberg_Scheibler194ps.jpg)
Melchnau celebrated its 900th anniversary in 2000. The earliest written evidence for the town dates from about 1100. Melchnau is first mentioned in 1194 as ''Melchinove''.
[
The Grünenberg-Schnabelburg-Langenstein complex of three ruined castles sit on a hill above the village. The Lords of Langenstein were first mentioned in 1194 when they helped found St. Urban's Abbey.] The castle was likely built around that same time. Shortly thereafter, the Barons of Grünenberg inherited the Langenstein lands which they ruled from Grünenberg Castle. Between the 12th and 15th centuries, Grünenberg Castle was a cultural and political center for the nobility that ruled over much of the Oberaargau
The Oberaargau is the region that encompasses the upper watershed of the Aar River in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On the north, lie the Jura Mountains, and on the south the hills leading to the Emmental.
Administratively, the Oberaargau fo ...
region. As the family split into separate branches, including the Schnabel von Grünenberg and Grimm von Grünenberg, a third castle was added to the complex.[
In 1383–84, during the ]Burgdorferkrieg
The Burgdorferkrieg (german: Burgdorf war) or Kyburgerkrieg (german: Kyburg war) was a war in 1383-84 between the counts of Neu-Kyburg and the city of Bern for supremacy in the County of Burgundy in what is now Switzerland.
History
The counts of ...
, the castles and village were attacked and captured by 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 troops. After the war, the lands and castles were returned to the Grünenbergs after they entered into a treaty with Bern. However, the family's power continued to weaken and in 1444 they sold the lands that belonged to Grünenberg castle to Bern. 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 ...
or bailiff
A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...
moved into the castle. In 1452 the last male Grünenberg heir, Wilhelm, died and in 1480 the family sold Langenstein castle to Bern. After the Grünenberg lands were absorbed by Bern, it became part of the Bailiwick
A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...
of Aarwangen
Aarwangen is a village and a municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
History
Aarwangen is first mentioned in 1255 as ''villa Arwangen''.
Aarwangen grew from a fortified toll crossing over th ...
. The castles were abandoned and began to slowly fall into ruin. After the 1798 French invasion, it was transferred to the District of Langenthal in the Helvetic Republic
The Helvetic Republic (, , ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...
. In 1803, after the collapse of the Republic, it went back to the Aarwangen District.[
Until 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 ...
, the village was 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 Grossdietwil
Grossdietwil is a municipality in the district of Willisau in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland.
History
Grossdietwil is first mentioned in 1194 as ''Toutwillare''. Since 1810 it has been known as Grossdietwil.
Geography
Grossdietwil has ...
in the Canton of Lucerne
The canton of Lucerne (german: Kanton Luzern rm, Chantun Lucerna french: Canton de Lucerne it, Canton Lucerna) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland. The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the populati ...
.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, traditional agriculture was partially replaced by linen weaving, straw plaiting and shoe manufacturing (until 1960) in the local economy.[ In the last century, Melchnau has developed from a farming town to a municipality with a diversified economy. As well as small businesses, light industry (for example Lanten Textiles) has emerged. In 1917 a ]narrow-gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
railway was opened between Langenthal
Langenthal is a town and a municipality in the district of Oberaargau in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the municipality of Untersteckholz merged into the Langenthal. On 1 January 2021 the former municipality of Obersteckhol ...
and Melchnau, which was superseded by buses in 1982. The railway and the station remain and are now used occasionally for special events.
Geography
Melchnau has an area of . Of this area, or 57.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 35.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 7.8% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.1% 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 5.0% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.8%. Out of the forested land, 33.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 27.5% is used for growing crops and 28.2% is pastures, while 1.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.[
The municipality is located on the border with the ]Canton of Lucerne
The canton of Lucerne (german: Kanton Luzern rm, Chantun Lucerna french: Canton de Lucerne it, Canton Lucerna) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland. The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the populati ...
. It consists of the village of Melchnau and scattered farm houses.
On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Aarwangen, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Oberaargau.[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 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 Mount of Six Coupeaux floatant Vert.''
Demographics
Melchnau has a population () of . , 11.1% 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 -2.8%. Migration accounted for -0.9%, while births and deaths accounted for -2%.
accessed 4 June 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 ...
(1,514 or 90.7%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and ...
is the second most common (59 or 3.5%) and Turkish is the third (30 or 1.8%). There are 5 people who speak French and 16 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 50.1% male and 49.9% female. The population was made up of 679 Swiss men (44.1% of the population) and 93 (6.0%) non-Swiss men. There were 690 Swiss women (44.8%) and 78 (5.1%) non-Swiss women.] Of the population in the municipality, 581 or about 34.8% were born in Melchnau and lived there in 2000. There were 510 or 30.6% who were born in the same canton, while 259 or 15.5% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 209 or 12.5% were born outside of Switzerland.[ , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 20.8% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 58.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 20.4%.][
, there were 654 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 784 married individuals, 158 widows or widowers and 73 individuals who are divorced.][STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 – 2000]
accessed 2 February 2011
, there were 161 households that consist of only one person and 61 households with five or more people. , a total of 576 apartments (87.5% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 45 apartments (6.8%) were seasonally occupied and 37 apartments (5.6%) 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 2.6 new units per 1000 residents.[ The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 4.51%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:]
Colors=
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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:1700
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color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center
bar:1764 from:start till:628 text:"628"
bar:1850 from:start till:1478 text:"1,478"
bar:1860 from:start till:1480 text:"1,480"
bar:1870 from:start till:1547 text:"1,547"
bar:1880 from:start till:1579 text:"1,579"
bar:1888 from:start till:1491 text:"1,491"
bar:1900 from:start till:1347 text:"1,347"
bar:1910 from:start till:1344 text:"1,344"
bar:1920 from:start till:1371 text:"1,371"
bar:1930 from:start till:1323 text:"1,323"
bar:1941 from:start till:1444 text:"1,444"
bar:1950 from:start till:1529 text:"1,529"
bar:1960 from:start till:1511 text:"1,511"
bar:1970 from:start till:1495 text:"1,495"
bar:1980 from:start till:1443 text:"1,443"
bar:1990 from:start till:1504 text:"1,504"
bar:2000 from:start till:1669 text:"1,669"
Heritage sites of national significance
The Käserstock and the Stock des Birlihofs are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.
Politics
In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 40.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the BDP Party (17.2%), 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 ...
(15.5%) and the EVP Party (8.3%). In the federal election, a total of 563 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 49.8%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2011 Election]
accessed 8 May 2012
Economy
, Melchnau had an unemployment rate of 1.67%. , there were a total of 744 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 111 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 38 businesses involved in this sector. 286 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 17 businesses in this sector. 347 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 43 businesses in this sector.[
there were a total of 581 ]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 65, of which 63 were in agriculture and 2 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 266 of which 226 or (85.0%) were in manufacturing and 39 (14.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 250. In the tertiary sector; 70 or 28.0% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 11 or 4.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 12 or 4.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 3 or 1.2% were the insurance or financial industry, 8 or 3.2% were technical professionals or scientists, 20 or 8.0% were in education and 111 or 44.4% were in health care.
, there were 254 workers who commuted into the municipality and 460 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.8 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Statweb]
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 13.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 51.4% used a private car.[
]
Religion
From the , 219 or 13.1% 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 1,144 or 68.5% 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 32 members of an Orthodox church (or about 1.92% of the population), and there were 52 individuals (or about 3.12% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 113 (or about 6.77% 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 5 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 6 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 ...
. 86 (or about 5.15% 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 38 individuals (or about 2.28% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In Melchnau about 600 or (35.9%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 127 or (7.6%) 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 127 who completed tertiary schooling, 66.9% were Swiss men, 19.7% were Swiss women, 7.1% were non-Swiss men and 6.3% 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 2009–10 school year, there were a total of 195 students attending classes in Melchnau. There were 2 kindergarten classes with a total of 31 students in the municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 9.7% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 12.9% have a different mother language than the classroom language. The municipality had 6 primary classes and 107 students. Of the primary students, 11.2% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 10.3% have a different mother language than the classroom language. During the same year, there were 3 lower secondary classes with a total of 57 students. There were 19.3% who were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 31.6% have a different mother language than the classroom language.[Schuljahr 2010/11 pdf document]
accessed 4 January 2012
, there were 26 students in Melchnau who came from another municipality, while 80 residents attended schools outside the municipality.[
]
References
{{Authority control
Municipalities of the canton of Bern
Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Bern