Peseux () 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
Boudry in the
canton of
Neuchâtel 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 ...
. On 1 January 2021 the former municipalities of
Corcelles-Cormondrèche
Corcelles-Cormondrèche () is a former municipality in the district of Boudry in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. On 1 January 2021 the former municipalities of Corcelles-Cormondrèche, Peseux and Valangin merged into the municipality of ...
, Peseux and
Valangin
Valangin () is a former municipality in the district of Val-de-Ruz in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. On 1 January 2021 the former municipalities of Corcelles-Cormondrèche, Peseux and Valangin merged into the municipality of Neuchâ ...
merged into the municipality of
Neuchâtel.
History
Peseux is first mentioned in 1195 as ''apud Pusoz'' though this comes from a 15th-century copy of an earlier document. In 1278 it was mentioned as ''de Posoys''.
Geography
Peseux had an area, , of . Of this area, or 2.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 70.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 27.1% is settled (buildings or roads).
[Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics]
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 18.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.0%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.5%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 0.6% is used for growing crops and 1.2% is pastures, while 1.2% is used for orchards or vine crops.
[
The former municipality is located near Neuchâtel on the road into Val-de-Travers. The woods at the lower end of the Val-de-Ruz cover about two-thirds of the municipality.
]
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 ''Per fess Or and Azure, overall on a Bar Argent a Rifle Sable.''
Demographics
Peseux had a population (as of 2019) of 5,794. , 33.4% 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 3.4%. It has changed at a rate of 2.2% due to migration and at a rate of 0.8% due to births and deaths.
accessed 20-October-2011
Most of the population () speaks French (4,463 or 82.8%) as their first language, 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 ...
is the second most common (217 or 4.0%) 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 (211 or 3.9%). There are 5 people who speak Romansh.[
, the population was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. The population was made up of 1,775 Swiss men (31.0% of the population) and 986 (17.2%) non-Swiss men. There were 2,162 Swiss women (37.8%) and 798 (13.9%) non-Swiss women.][Canton of Neuchatel Statistics](_blank)
, ''République et canton de Neuchâtel - Recensement annuel de la population'' accessed 13 October 2011 Of the population in the municipality, 970 or about 18.0% were born in Peseux and lived there in 2000. There were 1,727 or 32.1% who were born in the same canton, while 1,073 or 19.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 1,414 or 26.2% were born outside of Switzerland.[
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 21.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18.1%.][
, there were 2,036 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 2,540 married individuals, 401 widows or widowers and 410 individuals who are divorced.][STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000]
accessed 2 February 2011
, there were 2,528 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.1 persons per household.[ There were 1,050 households that consist of only one person and 106 households with five or more people. , a total of 2,460 apartments (91.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 172 apartments (6.4%) were seasonally occupied and 49 apartments (1.8%) were empty.][Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB - Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 - Gebäude und Wohnungen]
accessed 28 January 2011 The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.51%.[
The historical population is given in the following chart:][
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id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8)
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Period = from:0 till:5600
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ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:220 start:0
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color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center
bar:1750 from:start till:429 text:"429"
bar:1850 from:start till:611 text:"611"
bar:1860 from:start till:670 text:"670"
bar:1870 from:start till:683 text:"683"
bar:1880 from:start till:824 text:"824"
bar:1888 from:start till:818 text:"818"
bar:1900 from:start till:1344 text:"1,344"
bar:1910 from:start till:2418 text:"2,418"
bar:1920 from:start till:2759 text:"2,759"
bar:1930 from:start till:2694 text:"2,694"
bar:1941 from:start till:3123 text:"3,123"
bar:1950 from:start till:3338 text:"3,338"
bar:1960 from:start till:4933 text:"4,933"
bar:1970 from:start till:5578 text:"5,578"
bar:1980 from:start till:5212 text:"5,212"
bar:1990 from:start till:5139 text:"5,139"
bar:2000 from:start till:5387 text:"5,387"
]
Politics
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 26.91% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (25.86%), the FDP (12.63%) and the LPS Party (12.33%). In the federal election, a total of 1,556 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 48.4%.
Economy
, Peseux had an unemployment rate of 8.1%. , there were 2 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 1 business involved in this sector. 435 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 45 businesses in this sector. 1,224 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 189 businesses in this sector.[ There were 2,527 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 44.0% 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 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 was 1,418. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 2, of which were in agriculture and 2 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 413 of which 178 or (43.1%) were in manufacturing and 233 (56.4%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 1,003. In the tertiary sector; 325 or 32.4% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 139 or 13.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 46 or 4.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 33 or 3.3% were in the information industry, 24 or 2.4% were the insurance or financial industry, 80 or 8.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 109 or 10.9% were in education and 98 or 9.8% were in health care.
, there were 1,181 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,943 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.6 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb]
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 23.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 56.7% used a private car.[
]
Religion
From the , 1,740 or 32.3% 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 1,751 or 32.5% 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 24 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.45% of the population), there were 13 individuals (or about 0.24% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 433 individuals (or about 8.04% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 7 individuals (or about 0.13% of the population) who were Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, and 225 (or about 4.18% 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 10 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 ...
, 7 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 ...
and 3 individuals who belonged to another church. 1,106 (or about 20.53% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 279 individuals (or about 5.18% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In Peseux about 1,932 or (35.9%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 659 or (12.2%) 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 659 who completed tertiary schooling, 55.2% were Swiss men, 25.0% were Swiss women, 11.5% were non-Swiss men and 8.2% were non-Swiss women.[
In the canton of Neuchâtel most municipalities provide two years of non-mandatory ]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 five years of mandatory primary education. The next four years of mandatory secondary education is provided at thirteen larger secondary schools, which many students travel out of their home municipality to attend. During the 2010-11 school year, there were 5 kindergarten classes with a total of 91 students in Peseux. In the same year, there were 15 primary classes with a total of 289 students.Statistical Department of the Canton of Neuchâtel
Mémento de l'année scolaire 2010/2011 accessed 17 October 2011
, there were 306 students in Peseux who came from another municipality, while 216 residents attended schools outside the municipality.[
]
Notable people
* Louis Zutter
Jules Alexis "Louis" Zutter (2 December 1865 – 10 November 1946) was a Swiss gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Zutter won one of the events, the pommel horse. He was also the runner-up in two more events, the vau ...
(1865–1946) a Swiss gymnast, competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...
in Athens; lived in Peseux.
* Monique Laederach
Monique Laederach (16 May 1938 – 17 March 2004) was a Swiss writer and translator.
The daughter of Jean-Rodolphe Laederach and Hilde Maeder, she was born in Les Brenets and studied music in Vienna, going on to pursue the study of literatur ...
(1938 – 2004 in Peseux) a Swiss writer and translator, member of the Gruppe Olten
The Gruppe Olten (Olten Group) was a club of left-wing Swiss writers who convened at Olten's "Bahnhofbuffet" (Swiss expression for a railway station restaurant) located in the canton of Solothurn in the Swiss plateau. It was founded in the aforeme ...
References
{{Authority control
Former municipalities of the canton of Neuchâtel