Linden () is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in the
Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the
canton of
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.
History
The municipality was formed in 1945 when the former municipalities of Ausserbirrmoos, Innerbirrmoos, and Otterbach merged.
Ausserbirrmoos
Ausserbirrmoos was the largest in land area of the three communities that formed Linden. It was first mentioned in 1298 as ''Birmos''. Throughout the Middle Ages, it was part 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 Diessbach. Originally, it formed a single community with Innerbirrmoos, but in 1633 the two communities separated to form independent municipalities. It absorbed the land and population of the communities of Schöntal (BE) and Barschwand when they dissolved in 1887. In 1941, before the merger, it had a population of 466.
Innerbirrmoos
It was mentioned, along with Ausserbirrmoos, in 1298. Around 1399 it became part of the
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
ese district of Röthenbach. Then, in 1529 it became part of the
Landvogtei of Signau. It separated from Ausserbirrmoos in 1633. For much of its history, the established farmers and the landless
sharecropper
Sharecropping is a legal arrangement in which a landowner allows a tenant (sharecropper) to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping is not to be conflated with tenant farming, providing the tenant a ...
s fought each other over usage of
the commons
The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...
. Finally, over a decade starting 1778, the city of Bern intervened and ended the conflict. In 1941, it had a population of 558. Today, the village is still mostly agricultural.
Otterbach
Otterbach is first mentioned in 1236 as ''Ottirbach''. Like Innerbirrmoos, around 1399 it became part of the Bernese district of Röthenbach and in 1529 the Landvogtei of Signau. It was the smallest and poorest of the three municipalities that joined to form Linden. In 1941 it had a population of 310.
Linden
The
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
of Linden was first mentioned in 1354. While it was geographically in the center of the three municipalities, it was never an independent municipality itself. All three municipalities, Ausserbirrmoos, Innerbirrmoos, and Otterbach, were part of the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of Oberdiessbach until 1860, when they broke away to form the parish of Kurzenberg. After the creation of the independent municipality of Linden in 1945, it became the parish of Linden. The
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...
was built in the hamlet of Linden in 1848. Since it was in the center of the communities, the local school was also built there. Beginning in the 1970s, a training base for the
Swiss Army
The Swiss Armed Forces (; ; ; ; ) are the military and security force of Switzerland, consisting of land and air service branches. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are ...
opened in the community. Today the municipality is still rural and agricultural in character, though about two-thirds of the working population commutes to jobs outside the municipality.
[
]
Geography
mini, Linden (BE), General view from the north
mini, Linden (BE) – Aerial view (1954)
Linden has an area of . Of this area, or 60.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 32.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 6.3% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.4% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.2% 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 3.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.3%. Out of the forested land, 31.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 11.4% is used for growing crops and 47.5% is pastures, while 1.1% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.[
Linden does not have a central village, rather it is composed of scattered houses and settlements on a low hill between the ]Aare River
The Aare () or Aar () is the main tributary of the High Rhine (its discharge even exceeds that of the latter at their confluence) and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland.
Its total length from its source to i ...
and the Emme River
The Emme () is a Rivers of Switzerland, 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 Aar ...
. It formed from the merger of the formerly independent municipalities of Ausserbirrmoos, Innerbirrmoos and Otterbach in 1945.
On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Konolfingen, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Bern-Mittelland.[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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
is ''Argent on a Linden Tree Vert trunked proper issuant from a Mount of 3 Coupeaux of the second three Mullets Or.'' The linden tree
''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Bri ...
, of course, makes this an example of canting arms
Canting arms are heraldry, heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus.
The expression derives from the latin ''cantare'' (to sing).
French heralds used the term (), ...
.
Demographics
Linden has a population () of . , 4.3% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2001-2011) the population has changed at a rate of 0%. Migration accounted for 0.7%, while births and deaths accounted for -1%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
accessed 1 May 2013
Most of the population () speaks German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
(1,262 or 96.6%) as their first language, French is the second most common (25 or 1.9%) and English is the third (3 or 0.2%). 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, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
and 2 people who speak Romansh.[
, the population was 50.4% male and 49.6% female. The population was made up of 631 Swiss men (48.0% of the population) and 31 (2.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 626 Swiss women (47.6%) and 26 (2.0%) non-Swiss women.][Statistical office of the Canton of Bern]
accessed 4 January 2012 Of the population in the municipality, 610 or about 46.7% were born in Linden and lived there in 2000. There were 449 or 34.4% who were born in the same canton, while 133 or 10.2% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 70 or 5.4% were born outside of Switzerland.[
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.7% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 57.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 19%.][
, 549 people were single and never married in the municipality. There were 634 married individuals, 98 widows or widowers and 26 individuals who were divorced.][STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 – 2000]
accessed 2 February 2011
, there were 108 households that consisted of only one person and 62 households with five or more people. , a total of 411 apartments (88.2% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 41 apartments (8.8%) were seasonally occupied and 14 apartments (3.0%) 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 0.57%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Politics
In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the Swiss People's Party (SVP) which received 60.4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP) (10.6%), the Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland (EDU) (7.6%) and the Social Democratic Party (SP) (6.1%). In the federal election, a total of 511 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 is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...
was 48.7%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2011 Election]
accessed 8 May 2012
Economy
, Linden had an unemployment rate of 0.48%. , there were a total of 541 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 193 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 72 businesses involved in this sector. 143 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 20 businesses in this sector. 205 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 ...
, with 31 businesses in this sector.[ There were 653 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 43.6% of the workforce.
there were a total of 389 ]full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit of measurement 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 use ...
jobs. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 101, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 126 of which 66 or (52.4%) were in manufacturing, 16 or (12.7%) were in mining and 44 (34.9%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 162. In the tertiary sector; 38 or 23.5% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 2 or 1.2% were in the movement and storage of goods, 12 or 7.4% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 1.2% were the insurance or financial industry, 14 or 8.6% were in education and 8 or 4.9% were in health care.
, there were 91 workers who commuted into the municipality and 327 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.6 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Statweb]
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 4.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 51.3% used a private car.[
]
Religion
From the , 1,009 or 77.2% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...
, while 40 or 3.1% were Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 5 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.38% of the population), and there were 110 individuals (or about 8.42% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and 4 (or about 0.31% of the population) who were Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic. There were 3 individuals who were Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
. 156 (or about 11.94% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...
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 34 individuals (or about 2.60% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In Linden about 487 or (37.3%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 79 or (6.0%) have completed additional higher education (either university
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
or a ''Fachhochschule
A (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...
''). Of the 79 who completed tertiary schooling, 73.4% were Swiss men, 12.7% were Swiss women, 8.9% 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 cen ...
, 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 potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...
.
During the 2010–11 school year, there were a total of 128 students attending classes in Linden. There was one kindergarten class with a total of 14 students in the municipality. The municipality had 5 primary classes and 88 students. Of the primary students, 1.1% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 1.1% have a different mother language than the classroom language. During the same year, there were 2 lower secondary classes with a total of 26 students. There were 3.8% who were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 3.8% have a different mother language than the classroom language.[Schuljahr 2010/11 pdf document]
accessed 4 January 2012
, there were 10 students in Linden who came from another municipality, while 39 residents attended schools outside the municipality.[
Linden is home to the ''Bibliothek Linden'' library. The library has () 3,225 books or other media, and loaned out 2,994 items in the same year. It was open a total of 195 days with average of 3 hours per week during that year.]
accessed 14 May 2010
Pictures
Linden 02.jpg Linden (BE) – Ortskern.jpg, Linden (BE) – Village centre from the north (view from Aebersold)
Linden 03.jpg Linden (BE) – Ortskern mit Kirche.jpg, Linden (BE) – Village centre with the church from the north (view from Aebersold)
Linden 04.jpg Linden (BE) – Generalansicht mit Umgebung.jpg, Linden (BE) – General view of the village and its surroundings from the southeast
Linden 05.jpg Linden (BE) – Ortskern.jpg, Linden (BE) – Village centre from the southeast
Linden 06.jpg Linden (BE) – Ortskern mit Kirche.jpg, Linden (BE) – Village centre with the church from the southeast
Linden 07.jpg Linden (BE) – Kirche.jpg, Linden (BE) – The Church from the southeast
Linden 08.jpg Linden (BE) – Ortskern mit Kirche.jpg, Linden (BE) – Village centre with the church from the south
Linden 09.jpg Linden (BE) – Ortskern mit Kirche, Stauffen und Hohgant.jpg, Linden (BE) – Village centre with the church, the Stauffen and Hohgant mountains from the north-northwest
Linden 10.jpg Linden (BE) – Riegbau im Grafenbühl.jpg, Linden (BE) – Grafenbuehl, a rural half-timbered dwelling house from the south
Maps
* Landeskarte der Schweiz 1:25’000. Blatt 1187, Münsingen
* Landeskarte der Schweiz 1:25’000. Blatt 1188, Eggiwil
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Municipalities of the canton of Bern