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Signau 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 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

Signau is first mentioned between 1130 and 1146 as ''Sigenowo''. Scattered
mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...
,
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
and
medieval 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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
artifacts indicate a long history of settlements in the area. By the
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 Lords of Schweinsberg-Attinghausen had built their ancestral castle above the village. The remains of possibly four other earthen fortifications have been discovered around the area. Though the Schweinsberg-Attinghausen castle fell into ruins in 13th or 14th century, the village with Alt- and
Neu-Signau Castle Neu-Signau Castle (german: Burg Neu-Signau) is a ruined castle in the municipality of Bowil in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History The castle was built to replace Alt-Signau Castle as the residence of the Barons of Signau. It was in ...
s (today in
Bowil Bowil is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Bowil is first mentioned in 1299 as ''Bonwile''. The village was once part of the ''Herrschaft'' of Signau and the Freiherre ...
municipality) formed the center of the ''
Herrschaft The German term ''Herrschaft'' (plural: ''Herrschaften'') covers a broad semantic field and only the context will tell whether it means, "rule", "power", "dominion", "authority", "territory" or "lordship". In its most abstract sense, it refers ...
'' of Signau. The Barons of Signau built St. Mary's Church in Signau as the
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
for 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 ...
. In 1529 the city 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 ...
acquired the village and ''Herrschaft'' of Signau. In 1648, the village of
Eggiwil Eggiwil is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Eggiwil is first mentioned in 1323 as ''Eggenwile''. The village was probably settled in the 14th century. The Kyburg Minis ...
left the Signau parish to form its own parish and eventually it politically split to become an independent municipality. The village church was renovated and rebuilt in 1850. By 1622 Signau had a yearly market in the fall. Two other yearly markets were added in the 18th century. By 1800 the town was home to a number of industries and businesses in addition to the farmers and livestock herders who lived there. In 1856 the Schüpbach canal drained the swampy valley floor and opened up additional farm land. In 1864 the Bern- Langnau railroad connected Signau to the growing Swiss rail network. The first line was followed in 1875 by the Langnau-
Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
line. The good rail and road connections encouraged industry to settle in the town. By 2005, agriculture provided about one-third of all jobs in the community. There are several primary schools scattered around the municipality in Höhe, Häleschwand, Mutten and Schüpbach. The secondary school in Signau pulls in students from Röthenbach, Eggiwil and Bowil as well as Signau.


Geography

Signau has an area of . As of 2012, a total of or 55.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 35.8% is forested. The rest of the municipality is or 8.0% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.1% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.0% is unproductive land.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010
During the same year, housing and buildings made up 3.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.9%. A total of 34.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 23.2% is used for growing crops and 30.8% is pasturage, while 1.2% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. The municipality is located in the upper
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 ...
near the head waters of the
Emme river The Emme is a river in Switzerland. It rises in the Alps between the peaks of Hohgant and Augstmatthorn in the canton of Bern. The Emme is long and flows through the Emmental and between Zuchwil and Luterbach into the Aare. The drainage area i ...
. It consists of the
linear village Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship (''function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear r ...
of Signau, part of the
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
of Steinen, the Schüpbach settlement and scattered farmhouses in the surrounding mountains at elevations of . On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Signau, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Emmental.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 ''Pally of six Argent and Azure and overall two Bars Gules.''


Demographics

Signau has a population () of . , 4.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Between the last 2 years (2010-2012) the population changed at a rate of -0.1%. Migration accounted for -2.8%, while births and deaths accounted for -0.1%.Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 5 August 2014
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 ...
(2,741 or 95.2%) 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 (53 or 1.8%) and French is the third (16 or 0.6%). There are 3 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 50.6% male and 49.4% female. The population was made up of 1,320 Swiss men (48.0% of the population) and 70 (2.5%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,314 Swiss women (47.8%) and 45 (1.6%) non-Swiss women.Statistical office of the Canton of Bern
accessed 4 January 2012
Of the population in the municipality, 1,213 or about 42.1% were born in Signau and lived there in 2000. There were 1,151 or 40.0% who were born in the same canton, while 207 or 7.2% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 161 or 5.6% were born outside of Switzerland. , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22.0% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.2% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18.9%. , there were 1,272 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,347 married individuals, 196 widows or widowers and 63 individuals who are divorced.STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000
accessed 2 February 2011
, there were 333 households that consist of only one person and 102 households with five or more people. , a total of 1,041 apartments (91.5% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 47 apartments (4.1%) were seasonally occupied and 50 apartments (4.4%) 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 1.1 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 2.8%. In 2012, single family homes made up 29.0% of the total housing in the municipality. The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width: auto height:200 barincrement:45 PlotArea = top:20 left:40 bottom:20 right:35 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:3000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:600 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:120 start:0 PlotData= color:yellowgreen width: 35 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1764 from:start till:1325 text:"1,325" bar:1850 from:start till:2750 text:"2,750" bar:1860 from:start till:2851 text:"2,851" bar:1870 from:start till:2979 text:"2,979" bar:1880 from:start till:2892 text:"2,892" bar:1888 from:start till:2844 text:"2,844" bar:1900 from:start till:2862 text:"2,862" bar:1910 from:start till:2749 text:"2,749" bar:1920 from:start till:2752 text:"2,752" bar:1930 from:start till:2650 text:"2,650" bar:1941 from:start till:2644 text:"2,644" bar:1950 from:start till:2708 text:"2,708" bar:1960 from:start till:2555 text:"2,555" bar:1970 from:start till:2642 text:"2,642" bar:1980 from:start till:2606 text:"2,606" bar:1990 from:start till:2676 text:"2,676" bar:2000 from:start till:2878 text:"2,878" bar:2010 from:start till:2699 text:"2,699"


Economy

, Signau had an unemployment rate of 1.47%. , there were a total of 1,042 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 325 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 116 businesses involved in this sector. 336 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 48 businesses in this sector. 381 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 95 businesses in this sector. There were 1,482 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 41.2% of the workforce. there were a total of 739
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 208, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 306 of which 209 or (68.3%) were in manufacturing, 6 or (2.0%) were in mining and 89 (29.1%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 225. In the tertiary sector; 62 or 27.6% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 18 or 8.0% were in the movement and storage of goods, 30 or 13.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 6 or 2.7% were in the information industry, 12 or 5.3% were the insurance or financial industry, 17 or 7.6% were technical professionals or scientists, 38 or 16.9% were in education and 13 or 5.8% were in health care. , there were 340 workers who commuted into the municipality and 907 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.7 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. A total of 575 workers (62.8% of the 915 total workers in the municipality) both lived and worked in Signau.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb
accessed 24 June 2010
Of the working population, 14.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 50.5% used a private car. The local and cantonal tax rate in Signau is one of the lowest in the canton. In 2012 the average local and cantonal tax rate on a married resident, with two children, of Signau making 150,000 CHF was 12.3%, while an unmarried resident's rate was 18.5%. For comparison, the average rate for the entire canton in 2011, was 14.2% and 22.0%, while the nationwide average was 12.3% and 21.1% respectively. In 2010 there were a total of 1,161 taxpayers in the municipality. Of that total, 268 made over 75,000 CHF per year. There were 12 people who made between 15,000 and 20,000 per year. The greatest number of workers, 332, made between 50,000 and 75,000 CHF per year. The average income of the over 75,000 CHF group in Signau was 103,562 CHF, while the average across all of Switzerland was 131,244 CHF. In 2011 a total of 1.5% of the population received direct financial assistance from the government.


Sights

The entire village of Signau is designated as 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

In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the Swiss People's Party (SVP) which received 44.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP) (18.2%), the Social Democratic Party (SP) (11.2%) and the Evangelical People's Party (EVP) (6.1%). In the federal election, a total of 1,048 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 48.3%.Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2011 Election
accessed 8 May 2012


Religion

From the , 2,226 or 77.3% 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 ...
, while 110 or 3.8% 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 ...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 21 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.73% of the population), and there were 206 individuals (or about 7.16% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 85 (or about 2.95% of the population) who were
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
. 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 ...
, 11 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 7 individuals who belonged to another church. 90 (or about 3.13% 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 121 individuals (or about 4.20% of the population) did not answer the question.


Education

In Signau about 56.7% of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 13.8% 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 231 who had completed some form of tertiary schooling listed in the census, 72.7% were Swiss men, 22.1% were Swiss women, 3.9% were non-Swiss men. 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 2012-13 school year, there were a total of 393 students attending classes in Signau. There were a total of 59 students in the German language kindergarten classes in the municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 6.8% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 8.5% have a different mother language than the classroom language. The municipality's primary school had 160 students in German language classes. Of the primary students, 6.3% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 10.6% have a different mother language than the classroom language. During the same year, the lower secondary school had a total of 174 students. There were 0.6% who were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 4.0% have a different mother language than the classroom language.Datei der Gemeinde- und Schultabellen
accessed 23 July 2014
, there were a total of 398 students attending any school in the municipality. Of those, 300 both lived and attended school in the municipality, while 98 students came from another municipality. During the same year, 103 residents attended schools outside the municipality. Signau is home to the ''Bibliothek Signau'' library. The library has () 10,068 books or other media, and loaned out 26,221 items in the same year. It was open a total of 165 days with average of 9 hours per week during that year.
accessed 14 May 2010


References

{{Authority control Municipalities of the canton of Bern