Ballmoos was 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 district of

Fraubrunnen Fraubrunnen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Bern-Mittelland (administrative district), Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 t ...

, in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

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 ...

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 ...

. On 1 January 2010, the municipality of Ballmoos merged with the municipality of

Jegenstorf Jegenstorf is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Bern-Mittelland (administrative district), Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 th ...

History

Ballmoos is first mentioned in 1270 as ''Banemos''. Several

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

artifacts have been found in the area, but there is no evidence of a settlement. A family of

Ministerialis The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a legally unfree but socially elite class of knights, administrators, and officials in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire, drawn from a mix of servile origins, free commoners, and ...

, unfree knights who served the House of Kyburg, originated from Ballmoos. The major land owner was the

Order of St. John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

Münchenbuchsee Münchenbuchsee is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Bern-Mittelland (administrative district), Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. It is famous a ...

. Following the

secularization In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

of the monasteries (1528), Ballmoos became part of the ''

Landvogtei An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

'' of Münchenbuchsee. Following the

Act of Mediation The Act of Mediation () was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte, French Consulate, First Consul of the French Republic on 19 February 1803 to abolish the Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion of Old Swiss Confederacy, Switzerland by F ...

in 1803, it became part of the District of Fraubrunnen.

Geography

Ballmoos has an area of . Of this area, 73.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 22.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.7%) is non-productive (rivers or glaciers). Ballmoos consists entirely of individual houses scattered throughout the borders of the municipality.

Demographics

Ballmoos has a population () of 55, all Swiss citizens. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -3.5%. Most of the population () speaks German (98.4%), with the rest speaking French. In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 58% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (20.7%), the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

(13.7%) and the CVP (1.6%). The age distribution of the population () is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 39.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 41% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 19.7%. In Ballmoos about 60% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory

upper secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

or additional higher education (either University 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 ...

''). Ballmoos has an unemployment rate of 12%. , there no one employed in the primary economic sector. 1 person is 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 is 1 business in this sector. 4 people are 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 no businesses in this sector.Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 08-Jun-2009 The historical population is given in the following table:

References

External links

* {{Authority control Former municipalities of the canton of Bern Populated places disestablished in 2010