Belfaux (; frp, Bélfox, locally ) 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 district of
Sarine Sarine may refer to:
*Sarine District, one of Switzerland's seven districts
*Saane/Sarine
The Sarine (; frp, Sarena ) or Saane () is a major river of Switzerland.6th longest, 7th largest basin, see List of rivers of Switzerland It is long and ...
in the
canton of
Fribourg
, Location of , Location of ()
() or , ; or , ; gsw, label=Swiss German, Frybùrg ; it, Friburgo or ; rm, Friburg. is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), ...
in
Switzerland. Its former
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 ...
name was ''Gumschen'', but this is no longer in use.
History
Belfaux is first mentioned in 12th century as ''Bellofago''. In 1229 it was mentioned as ''Bellfozen''. The municipality was formerly known by its German name ''Gumschen'', however, that name is no longer used.
[
On 1 January 2016, Belfaux annexed the neighboring municipality of Autafond.
]
Geography
Belfaux has an area, , of . Of this area, or 53.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 31.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 14.6% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.2% is unproductive land.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics]
2009 data . Retrieved 25 March 2010
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 9.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.6%. Out of the forested land, 28.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 35.6% is used for growing crops and 16.6% is pastures, while 1.2% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.2% is in lakes and 0.3% is in rivers and streams.[
The municipality is located in the Sarine district. It consists of the villages of Belfaux, Cutterwil and Autafond.
]
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 visua ...
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 it ...
is ''Or a Beech Tree Vert Trunked and branched Maroon issuant from a Mount of 3 Coupeaux of the second.''
Demographics
Belfaux has a population () of . , 20.9% of the population are resident foreign nationals.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Superweb database – Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008]
. Retrieved 19 June 2010 Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 18.1%. Migration accounted for 11.6%, while births and deaths accounted for 6.5%.
. Retrieved 1 December 2011Italian
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 1,007 Swiss men (38.9% of the population) and 304 (11.7%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,031 Swiss women (39.8%) and 248 (9.6%) non-Swiss women.][Canton of Fribourg Statistics]
. Retrieved 3 November 2011 Of the population in the municipality, 572 or about 25.8% were born in Belfaux and lived there in 2000. There were 909 or 41.1% who were born in the same canton, while 327 or 14.8% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 332 or 15.0% were born outside of Switzerland.[
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 27.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 61.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 10.9%.][
, there were 972 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,075 married individuals, 84 widows or widowers and 83 individuals who are divorced.][STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 – 2000]
. Retrieved 2 February 2011
, there were 836 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household.[ There were 212 households that consist of only one person and 85 households with five or more people. , a total of 793 apartments (91.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 51 apartments (5.9%) were seasonally occupied and 25 apartments (2.9%) were empty.][Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB – Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 – Gebäude und Wohnungen]
. Retrieved 28 January 2011 , the construction rate of new housing units was 35.2 new units per 1000 residents.[ The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.15%.][
The historical population is given in the following chart:]
Heritage sites of national significance
The Saint-Etienne Church and the mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
de Lanthen-Heid are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.
File:Saint-Etienne_Church_Mar_2011.jpg, Saint-Etienne Church
File:Lanthen-Heid_Belfaux_Jul_2011.jpg, Mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
de Lanthen-Heid
Politics
In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SPS which received 37.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (26.1%), the SVP (12.2%) and the FDP (6.3%).[Canton of Fribourg National Council Election of 23 October 2011 Statistics]
. Retrieved 3 November 2011
The SPS received about the same percentage of the vote as they did in the 2007 Federal election
This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...
(37.1% in 2007 vs 37.9% in 2011). The CVP retained about the same popularity (26.9% in 2007), the SVP retained about the same popularity (13.9% in 2007) and the FDP retained about the same popularity (7.0% in 2007). A total of 877 votes were cast in this election, of which 15 or 1.7% were invalid.
Economy
, Belfaux had an unemployment rate of 3.5%. , there were 47 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 16 businesses involved in this sector. 170 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 constructio ...
and there were 17 businesses in this sector. 281 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 secon ...
, with 52 businesses in this sector.[ There were 1,132 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 43.0% of the workforce.
the total number of ]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 was 396. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 36, of which 27 were in agriculture, 8 were in forestry or lumber production and 1 was in fishing or fisheries. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 161 of which 87 or (54.0%) were in manufacturing and 74 (46.0%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 199. In the tertiary sector; 67 or 33.7% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 5 or 2.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 20 or 10.1% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 1.0% were in the information industry, 10 or 5.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 15 or 7.5% were technical professionals or scientists, 17 or 8.5% were in education and 13 or 6.5% were in health care.
, there were 288 workers who commuted into the municipality and 889 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.1 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Statweb]
. Retrieved 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 17% used public transportation to get to work, and 66.4% used a private car.[
]
Religion
From the , 1,706 or 77.1% 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 letter ...
, while 162 or 7.3% 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 ...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 52 members of an Orthodox church (or about 2.35% of the population), and there were 48 individuals (or about 2.17% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 50 (or about 2.26% of the population) who were Islamic. There were 4 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 ...
and 4 individuals who belonged to another church. 114 (or about 5.15% 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 sufficie ...
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 98 individuals (or about 4.43% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In Belfaux about 745 or (33.6%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education
Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...
, and 328 or (14.8%) 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. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
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 ar ...
''). Of the 328 who completed tertiary schooling, 64.0% were Swiss men, 25.9% were Swiss women, 7.3% were non-Swiss men and 2.7% were non-Swiss women.[
The Canton of Fribourg 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 a three or four year optional upper Secondary school. The upper Secondary school is divided into gymnasium (university preparatory) and vocational programs. After they finish the upper Secondary program, students may choose to attend a Tertiary school or continue their 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 ...
.Chart of the education system in Canton Fribourg
During the 2010–11 school year, there were a total of 277 students attending 14 classes in Belfaux. A total of 547 students from the municipality attended any school, either in the municipality or outside of it. There were 2 kindergarten classes with a total of 45 students in the municipality. The municipality had 11 primary classes and 223 students. During the same year, there were no lower secondary classes in the municipality, but 118 students attended lower secondary school in a neighboring municipality. There were no upper Secondary classes or vocational classes, but there were 70 upper Secondary students and 81 upper Secondary vocational students who attended classes in another municipality. The municipality had one special Tertiary class, with 9 specialized Tertiary students.[
, there were 63 students in Belfaux who came from another municipality, while 205 residents attended schools outside the municipality.][
]
Transportation
The municipality has two railway stations, and . They are located on the Fribourg–Ins and Fribourg–Yverdon lines, respectively, and between them have regular service to , , , and .
References
External links
Official website
*
{{Authority control
Municipalities of the canton of Fribourg
Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Fribourg