Rüti bei Büren 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 Seeland 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 ...

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 ...

. It is also a

reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

church parish.

History

Teufelsburg (Schweiz) Keller 1869 (genordet)

Rüti bei Büren is first mentioned in 1185 as ''in litore Ruthi''. In 1257 it was mentioned as ''Ruti prope Burron''. Scattered

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 ...

items indicate that there was a small settlement near Rüti bei Büren. Other evidence of prehistoric settlements include;

Hallstatt Hallstatt ( , , ) is a small town in the district of Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Salzkammergut ...

grave mounds A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...

at Rütiwald, a

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

manor at Buchsi and Roman masonry at the church. The

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

through the

Swiss Plateau The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau (german: Schweizer Mittelland; french: plateau suisse; it, altopiano svizzero) is one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland, lying between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of ...

passed through the modern municipal borders. During the

Early Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

and

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, 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 ...

the Teufelsburg (Devil's Castle) in the Rütiwald stood over the village. The impressive castle had a large

ring wall A curtain wall is a defensive wall between two fortified towers or bastions of a castle, fortress, or town. Ancient fortifications Evidence for curtain walls or a series of walls surrounding a town or fortress can be found in the historical ...

with four outer walls. The castle may have been the home of the Counts of Buchegg. Later, Rüti belonged to the Counts of Strassberg. In 1388,

acquired all their land, including Rüti. In 1393 it was assigned to the newly created Büren

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 ...

. The village church of St. Mauritius was first mentioned in 1251. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

is a Romanesque construction, while the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

is early-Gothic. The church was expanded in 1689. In 1911, the

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s from around 1450, were rediscovered and repaired. Even after the construction of a railroad station on the

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the Capital (political), capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the n ...

Lyss Lyss () is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2011, the former municipality of Busswil bei Büren was merged with Lyss.Büren,

Grenchen Grenchen (french: Granges) is a municipality in the district of Lebern in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located at the foot of the Jura mountains between Solothurn and Biel/Bienne, approximately north of Bern. With over 16,000 i ...

Biel , french: Biennois(e) , neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin , twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany) B ...

, Bern or Solothurn for work.

Geography

Rüti bei Büren has an area of . Of this area, or 49.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 37.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 9.5% is settled (buildings or roads), or 3.5% is either rivers or lakes.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010 Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.5%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.1% of the area Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 38.1% is used for growing crops and 10.0% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. The municipality is located on the right bank of the

Aare The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it descend ...

river on the north-western edge of the Bucheggberg plateau. On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Büren, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Seeland.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 ''Gules two Grubbing-axes Argent handled Or in saltire between two Mullets of five of the second.''

Demographics

Rüti bei Büren has a population () of . , 4.6% 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 -12.7%. Migration accounted for -1.2%, while births and deaths accounted for -4.2%.
accessed 23-August-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 ...

(849 or 94.5%) as their first language,

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 second most common (18 or 2.0%) and

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 third (11 or 1.2%). There are 6 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 49.2% male and 50.8% female. The population was made up of 387 Swiss men (46.5% of the population) and 23 (2.8%) non-Swiss men. There were 408 Swiss women (49.0%) and 15 (1.8%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 386 or about 43.0% were born in Rüti bei Büren and lived there in 2000. There were 254 or 28.3% who were born in the same canton, while 157 or 17.5% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 66 or 7.3% were born outside of Switzerland. , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 19.6% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 61.5% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 19%. , there were 354 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 439 married individuals, 60 widows or widowers and 45 individuals who are divorced.STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000
accessed 2 February 2011 , there were 84 households that consist of only one person and 26 households with five or more people. , a total of 346 apartments (92.5% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 16 apartments (4.3%) were seasonally occupied and 12 apartments (3.2%) 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 1.23%. 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:970 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:200 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:40 start:0 PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1764 from:start till:349 text:"349" bar:1850 from:start till:641 text:"641" bar:1860 from:start till:653 text:"653" bar:1870 from:start till:649 text:"649" bar:1880 from:start till:668 text:"668" bar:1888 from:start till:691 text:"691" bar:1900 from:start till:636 text:"636" bar:1910 from:start till:654 text:"654" bar:1920 from:start till:708 text:"708" bar:1930 from:start till:700 text:"700" bar:1941 from:start till:715 text:"715" bar:1950 from:start till:810 text:"810" bar:1960 from:start till:798 text:"798" bar:1970 from:start till:969 text:"969" bar:1980 from:start till:882 text:"882" bar:1990 from:start till:858 text:"858" bar:2000 from:start till:898 text:"898"

Heritage sites of national significance

The entire village of Rüti bei Büren is part of the

Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage. Sites of national importance Types The types are based on t ...

Politics

The municipal assembly forms the legislature of the municipality. the executive is a seven-member municipal council, chosen by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

. It was voted in the autumn to reduce the size of the council to five seats and elect by

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster2011 federal election, the most popular party was the BDP which received 47.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (23.7%), 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 ...

(10%) and the

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 ...

(5.8%). In the federal election, a total of 311 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 45.5%.Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2011 Election
accessed 8 May 2012

Economy

A business managing chemical waste is located in Rüti. The town gained fame across the country in the 1990s for the company's plans to build a facility for burning hazardous waste. It was eventually abandoned due to resistance from the population. , Rüti bei Büren had an unemployment rate of 2.02%. , there were a total of 455 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 47 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 18 businesses involved in this sector. 138 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 13 businesses in this sector. 270 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 20 businesses in this sector. there were a total of 381

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 33, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 116 of which 99 or (85.3%) were in manufacturing and 16 (13.8%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 232. In the tertiary sector; 170 or 73.3% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 9 or 3.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 5 or 2.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 6 or 2.6% were in education and 15 or 6.5% were in health care. , there were 156 workers who commuted into the municipality and 329 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.1 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 13% used public transportation to get to work, and 59% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 95 or 10.6% 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 706 or 78.6% 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 was 1 member of an Orthodox church, there was 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 20 individuals (or about 2.23% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 20 (or about 2.23% 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 was 1 person who was

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 ...

. 40 (or about 4.45% 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 ...

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 24 individuals (or about 2.67% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

In Rüti bei Büren about 362 or (40.3%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 72 or (8.0%) 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 72 who completed tertiary schooling, 72.2% were Swiss men, 18.1% were 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 58 students attending classes in Rüti bei Büren. There was one kindergarten class with a total of 13 students in the municipality. The municipality had 3 primary classes and 45 students. Of the primary students, and 4.4% have a different mother language than the classroom language.Schuljahr 2010/11 pdf document
accessed 4 January 2012 , there was one student in Rüti bei Büren who came from another municipality, while 58 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

Notable residents

Samuel Schmid Samuel Schmid (born 8 January 1947) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2000 to 2008. He was the head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports (notably acting as a defense minis ...

(SVP), member of the

Swiss Federal Council The Federal Council (german: Bundesrat; french: Conseil fédéral; it, Consiglio federale; rm, Cussegl federal) is the executive body of the federal government of the Swiss Confederation and serves as the collective head of state and governme ...

(2000–2008) and

President of the Swiss Confederation The president of the Swiss Confederation, also known as the president of the Confederation or colloquially as the president of Switzerland, is the head of Switzerland's seven-member Federal Council (Switzerland), Federal Council, the country's ...

in 2005.

References

External links

Official site for the church parish Rüti bei Büren

Vereinigung für Heimatpflege Büren
Distributor of numerous publications about Rüti bei Büren and the Büren district
Community webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruti bei Buren Municipalities of the canton of Bern Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Bern