Mézières (; frp, Mèsiéres ) 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 district of
Glâne in the
canton of
Fribourg
, neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne
, twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France)
, website = www.ville-fribourg.ch
, Location of , Location of ()
() ...
in
Switzerland.
History
Mézières is first mentioned in 1179 as ''de Maseriis''.
[
On 1 January 2004 the former municipality of Berlens merged into the municipality of Mézières.][Nomenklaturen – Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz]
accessed 4 April 2011
Geography
Mézières has an area, , of . Of this area, or 79.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 13.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 6.8% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.1% is either rivers or lakes.
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010[
The municipality is located on the Romont-Bulle road.
]
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 ''Per pale, Argent three bars gemmel Gules and Gules a Grape slipped Or.''
Demographics
Mézières has a population () of . , 7.9% of the population are resident foreign nationals.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Superweb database - Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008]
accessed 19 June 2010 Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 7.8%. Migration accounted for 8.3%, while births and deaths accounted for 0.5%.
accessed 16-November-2011Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
is the second most common (16 or 2.4%) and 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 ...
is the third (11 or 1.6%). 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 ...
.[
, the population was 50.4% male and 49.6% female. The population was made up of 452 Swiss men (46.1% of the population) and 42 (4.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 449 Swiss women (45.8%) and 37 (3.8%) non-Swiss women.][Canton of Fribourg Statistics]
accessed 3 November 2011 Of the population in the municipality, 271 or about 40.2% were born in Mézières and lived there in 2000. There were 259 or 38.4% who were born in the same canton, while 85 or 12.6% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 46 or 6.8% were born outside of Switzerland.[
The age distribution, , in Mézières is; 153 children or 16.8% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 127 teenagers or 13.9% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 108 people or 11.9% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 138 people or 15.1% are between 30 and 39, 133 people or 14.6% are between 40 and 49, and 96 people or 10.5% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 78 people or 8.6% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 44 people or 4.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 32 people or 3.5% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 2 people or 0.2% who are 90 and older.][
, there were 294 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 337 married individuals, 26 widows or widowers and 17 individuals who are divorced.][STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000]
accessed 2 February 2011
, there were 309 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.9 persons per household.[ There were 44 households that consist of only one person and 30 households with five or more people. , a total of 231 apartments (96.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 2 apartments (0.8%) were seasonally occupied and 6 apartments (2.5%) 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 7 new units per 1000 residents.[ The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.11%.][
The historical population is given in the following chart:]
Heritage sites of national significance
The Castle and Saint-Pierre-au-Liens Church are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire village of Mézières is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
File:Château_de_Mézières_Oct_2010.jpg, Mézières Castle
File:Saint-Pierre-au-Liens_Mézières_Oct_2010.jpg, Saint-Pierre-au-Liens Church
Politics
In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 30.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (21.5%), the CVP (21.0%) and the FDP (11.3%).[Canton of Fribourg National Council Election of 23 October 2011 Statistics]
accessed 3 November 2011
The SVP received about the same percentage of the vote as they did in the 2007 Federal election
This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not ...
(27.9% in 2007 vs 30.7% in 2011). The SPS moved from third in 2007 (with 21.7%) to second in 2011, the CVP moved from second in 2007 (with 25.4%) to third and the FDP retained about the same popularity (15.6% in 2007). A total of 335 votes were cast in this election, of which 1 or 0.3% was invalid.
Economy
, Mézières had an unemployment rate of 2.5%. , there were 84 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 32 businesses involved in this sector. 41 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 8 businesses in this sector. 72 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 17 businesses in this sector.[ There were 309 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 43.0% of the workforce.
the total number of ]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 was 161. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 60, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 39 of which 11 or (28.2%) were in manufacturing and 28 (71.8%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 62. In the tertiary sector; 36 or 58.1% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 2 or 3.2% were in the movement and storage of goods, 8 or 12.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 3 or 4.8% were the insurance or financial industry, 3 or 4.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 6 or 9.7% were in education.
, there were 42 workers who commuted into the municipality and 219 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 5.2 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb]
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 7.1% used public transportation to get to work, and 68.5% used a private car.[
]
Religion
From the , 600 or 89.0% 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 ...
, while 28 or 4.2% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there was 1 member of an Orthodox church, and there were 14 individuals (or about 2.08% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 8 (or about 1.19% of the population) who were Islamic. 22 (or about 3.26% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 8 individuals (or about 1.19% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In Mézières about 202 or (30.0%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 40 or (5.9%) 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 40 who completed tertiary schooling, 67.5% were Swiss men, 25.0% were Swiss women.[
The Canton of Fribourg 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 a three or four year optional upper Secondary school. The upper Secondary school is divided into gymnasium (university preparatory) and vocational programs. After they finish the upper Secondary program, students may choose to attend a Tertiary school or continue their 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 ...
.Chart of the education system in Canton Fribourg
During the 2010-11 school year, there were a total of 98 students attending 5 classes in Mézières. A total of 229 students from the municipality attended any school, either in the municipality or outside of it. There was one kindergarten class with a total of 21 students in the municipality. The municipality had 4 primary classes and 77 students. During the same year, there were no lower secondary classes in the municipality, but 56 students attended lower secondary school in a neighboring municipality. There were no upper Secondary classes or vocational classes, but there were 22 upper Secondary students and 45 upper Secondary vocational students who attended classes in another municipality. The municipality had no non-university Tertiary classes, but there were 3 non-university Tertiary students and 5 specialized Tertiary students who attended classes in another municipality.[
, there was one student in Mézières who came from another municipality, while 52 residents attended schools outside the municipality.][
]
References
External links
*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mezieres, Fribourg
Municipalities of the canton of Fribourg
Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Fribourg