Oppligen 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 ...
in the
Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the
canton
Canton may refer to:
Administrative division terminology
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and ente ...
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
Oppligen is first mentioned in 1234 as ''Oppelingen''.
[
The oldest trace of a settlement is a ]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 ...
earthwork on the Oppligerbergli. In addition, Roman
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 lett ...
coins and several early medieval graves indicate that the area remained inhabited. By the 13th century, Interlaken Abbey
, order = Augustinians
, established = by 1133
, disestablished = 1528
, mother =
, dedication =
, diocese = Lausanne
, churches =
, founder = B ...
owned the village and its court. In 1336 the residents of Oppligen were listed as citizens of the Abbey. In 1528, 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 ...
adopted the Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
and secularized the Abbey and all its lands. Oppligen became part of the newly created Bernese district of Interlaken.[
The chapel at Oppligerbergli was first mentioned in 1250, but was demolished during the secularization of 1528. The village was part of 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 ...
of Oberwichtrach (now Wichtrach
Wichtrach is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
History
Wichtrach was created on 1 January 2004 by uniting the independent municipalities of Niederwichtrach and Oberwichtrach. The ...
municipality).[
The village was generally rural until the 1970s when the expanding ]agglomeration
Agglomeration may refer to:
* Urban agglomeration, in standard English
* Megalopolis, in Chinese English, as defined in China's ''Standard for basic terminology of urban planning'' (GB/T 50280—98). Also known as " city cluster".
* Economies of ag ...
of Bern reached it. As of 2000 about three-quarters of the population commutes to jobs in the Bern region.[
]
Geography
Oppligen has an area of . As of 2012, a total of or 54.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 32.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 12.0% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.2% is either rivers or lakes.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics]
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010
During the same year, housing and buildings made up 5.0% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.4%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.8% of the area Out of the forested land, 29.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 39.0% is used for growing crops and 14.1% is pastures, while 1.5% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.[
The municipality is located in the lower ''Kiesental'' and ''Rotachental'' (Kiesen and Rotachen Valleys) and includes the village of Oppligen and 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 Rotachen.
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 the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The ...
of the municipal coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
is ''Argent a Cross Gules couped issuant from the base pattee.''
Demographics
Oppligen has a population () of . , 5.1% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2001-2011) the population has changed at a rate of 0.5%. Migration accounted for -0.2%, while births and deaths accounted for 0.2%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
accessed 8 May 2013
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
**Ge ...
(573 or 97.1%) 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 (3 or 0.5%) and Portuguese is the third (3 or 0.5%). There is 1 person who speaks Italian.[
, the population was 49.0% male and 51.0% female. The population was made up of 307 Swiss men (46.2% of the population) and 19 (2.9%) non-Swiss men. There were 324 Swiss women (48.7%) and 15 (2.3%) non-Swiss women.][Statistical office of the Canton of Bern]
accessed 4 January 2012 Of the population in the municipality, 182 or about 30.8% were born in Oppligen and lived there in 2000. There were 300 or 50.8% who were born in the same canton, while 57 or 9.7% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 35 or 5.9% were born outside of Switzerland.[
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 58.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.9%.][
, there were 259 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 275 married individuals, 29 widows or widowers and 27 individuals who are divorced.][STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 – 2000]
accessed 2 February 2011
, there were 70 households that consist of only one person and 26 households with five or more people. , a total of 218 apartments (92.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 15 apartments (6.4%) were seasonally occupied and 3 apartments (1.3%) 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 4.5 new units per 1000 residents.[
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 36.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP) (16.7%), the Social Democratic Party (SP) (13.4%) 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 f ...
(10.4%). In the federal election, a total of 236 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 Univ ...
was 49.5%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2011 Election]
accessed 8 May 2012
Economy
, Oppligen had an unemployment rate of 0.98%. , there were a total of 162 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 58 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 11 businesses involved in this sector. 61 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 construc ...
and there were 4 businesses in this sector. 43 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 14 businesses in this sector.[ There were 300 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 41.7% of the workforce.
there were a total of 118 ]full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit 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 used to measure a ...
jobs. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 30, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 56 of which 7 or (12.5%) were in manufacturing, 48 or (85.7%) were in mining and 1 was in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 32. In the tertiary sector; 11 or 34.4% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 8 or 25.0% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 6.3% were technical professionals or scientists and 5 or 15.6% were in education.
, there were 69 workers who commuted into the municipality and 228 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Statweb]
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 18.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 56.3% used a private car.[
]
Religion
From the , 494 or 83.7% 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 33 or 5.6% 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 let ...
. Of the rest of the population, there was 1 member of an Orthodox church, and there were 40 individuals (or about 6.78% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
ic. There were 2 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 ...
, 2 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 1 individual who belonged to another church. 27 (or about 4.58% 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 sufficien ...
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 9 individuals (or about 1.53% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In Oppligen about 249 or (42.2%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 71 or (12.0%) 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 Stat ...
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 art ...
''). Of the 71 who completed tertiary schooling, 74.6% were Swiss men, 19.7% 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 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 new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
.[Schuljahr 2010/11 pdf document]
accessed 4 January 2012
, there were 34 students from Oppligen who attended schools outside the municipality.[
]
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Municipalities of the canton of Bern