Hermrigen 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
Seeland administrative district 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 ...
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
Hermrigen is first mentioned in 1249 as ''Hermeringen''.
[
The oldest trace of a settlement in the area are scattered ]Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
(probably Mesolithic
The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, 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 i ...
) items which were found at Schönbrünnefeld. A Hallstatt
Hallstatt () is a small town in the district of Gmunden District, Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Sa ...
era grave mound
A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. ...
has been found in the Hermrigenmoos-Holehölzli. A few Roman era
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
artifacts were also found around the municipality. During the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
a number 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 in the service of a feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
overlord) or knightly families owned land or rights in the village along with Frienisberg Abbey
Frienisberg Abbey is a former Cistercian religious house in the Switzerland, Swiss municipalities of Switzerland, municipality of Seedorf, Bern, Seedorf in the Canton of Bern.
History
In 1131 Count Udelhard of Saugern granted his land at Frienisb ...
. In 1335 the Knight Ulrich von Sutz sold his land in Hermrigen to the Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
of Neuchâtel
Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...
-Nidau
Nidau is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Biel/Bienne (administrative district), Biel/Bienne administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland.
History
Nidau is first mentio ...
. In 1398, the city 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 ...
acquired the lands of the Counts, including Hermeigen. Under Bernese rule it was combined with the village of Merzligen-Niklaus to form the court of Hermrigen. That organization remained until the reorganization following the 1798 French invasion.[
The village is 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 Täuffelen.[
The ]Jura water correction
The correction of the waters of the Swiss Jura consisted of a wide series of hydrological undertakings carried out in Switzerland in the region of the three lakes: Lake Murten connected to Lake Neuchatel by the Broye Canal, the latter connec ...
projects of 1868 to 1891 helped drain many of the marshes outside the village. Drainage projects in 1925-33 and 1977-89 helped open up additional farmland. A primary school was built in 1971 and is shared with the municipality of Merzligen
Merzligen is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
History
Merzligen is first mentioned in 1278 as ''Merzelingen''.
The oldest trace of settlement in the area is the remains of a Roman road ...
. Today about two-thirds of the working population commutes to jobs in nearby towns and cities.[
]
Geography
Hermrigen has an area of . As of 2012, a total of or 50.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 42.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 7.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and or 0.3% 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 4.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.3%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 39.5% is used for growing crops and 9.1% is pastures, while 2.0% is used for orchards or vine crops.[
The village of Hermrigen is located on the main road between Bern, ]Aarberg
Aarberg is a List of towns in Switzerland, historic town and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Seeland (administrative district), Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
Aarberg lies from Bern abov ...
and Biel. It is on the southern edge of the Oberholz woods, between Lake Biel
__NOTOC__
Lake Biel or Lake Bienne (; ) is a lake in western Switzerland. Together with Lake Morat and Lake Neuchâtel, it is one of the three large lakes in the Jura region of Switzerland. It lies on the language boundary between German and F ...
and the Bernese Seeland.
On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Nidau, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Seeland.[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 ''Gules a Sword in pale Argent hilted and pommed Or between two Oak Leaves of the last.''
Demographics
Hermrigen has a population () of . , 3.3% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2001-2011) the population has changed at a rate of 4.1%. Migration accounted for 2.8%, while births and deaths accounted for 0.4%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
accessed 8 August 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 ...
(253 or 97.3%) as their first language, French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
is the second most common (3 or 1.2%) and 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 ...
is the third (1 or 0.4%).[
, the population was 50.4% male and 49.6% female. The population was made up of 119 Swiss men (48.4% of the population) and 5 (2.0%) non-Swiss men. There were 119 Swiss women (48.4%) and 3 (1.2%) non-Swiss women.][Statistical office of the Canton of Bern]
accessed 4 January 2012 Of the population in the municipality, 91 or about 35.0% were born in Hermrigen and lived there in 2000. There were 104 or 40.0% who were born in the same canton, while 37 or 14.2% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 10 or 3.8% were born outside of Switzerland.[
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 15.2% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 61.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 23.4%.][
, there were 97 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 141 married individuals, 10 widows or widowers and 12 individuals who are divorced.][STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000]
accessed 2 February 2011
, there were 31 households that consist of only one person and 6 households with five or more people. , a total of 108 apartments (93.1% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 2 apartments (1.7%) were seasonally occupied and 6 apartments (5.2%) 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 8.1 new units per 1000 residents.[ In 2011, single family homes made up 57.1% of the total housing in the municipality.
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 57.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP) (18.7%), the Social Democratic Party (SP) (10.2%) and the FDP.The Liberals
FDP.The Liberals (, , , ) is a liberal political party in Switzerland.
The party was formed on 1 January 2009, after two parties, the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD) and the smaller Liberal Party (LPS/PLS), united. In Vaud and Valais, the parti ...
(4.9%). In the federal election, a total of 105 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 50.7%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2011 Election]
accessed 8 May 2012
Economy
, Hermrigen had an unemployment rate of 0.68%. , there were a total of 72 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 32 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 14 businesses involved in this sector. 11 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 4 businesses in this sector. 29 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 9 businesses in this sector.[ There were 144 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.4% of the workforce.
there were a total of 54 ]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 22, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 10 of which 2 were in manufacturing and 8 were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 22. In the tertiary sector; 2 or 9.1% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 3 or 13.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 6 or 27.3% were in education.
, there were 28 workers who commuted into the municipality and 102 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.6 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. A total of 42 workers (60.0% of the 70 total workers in the municipality) both lived and worked in Hermrigen.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb]
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 13.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 56.3% used a private car.[
In 2011 the average local and cantonal tax rate on a married resident, with two children, of Hermrigen making 150,000 CHF was 12.8%, while an unmarried resident's rate was 18.9%. For comparison, the rate for the entire canton in the same year, was 14.2% and 22.0%, while the nationwide rate was 12.3% and 21.1% respectively. In 2009 there were a total of 122 tax payers in the municipality. Of that total, 32 made over 75,000 CHF per year. There was one person who made between 15,000 and 20,000 per year. The greatest number of workers, 40, made between 50,000 and 75,000 CHF per year. The average income of the over 75,000 CHF group in Hermrigen was 113,153 CHF, while the average across all of Switzerland was 130,478 CHF.
In 2011 a total of 1.6% of the population received direct financial assistance from the government.
]
Religion
From the , 208 or 80.0% 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 17 or 6.5% 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 2 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.77% of the population). 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 20 (or about 7.69% 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 12 individuals (or about 4.62% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In Hermrigen about 61.5% of the population have completed 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 ...
, and 12.2% 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 22 who had completed some form of tertiary schooling listed in the census, 68.2% were Swiss men, 31.8% 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 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 ...
.[Schuljahr 2011/12 pdf document]
accessed 9 May 2013
, there were a total of 72 students attending any school in the municipality. Of those, 18 both lived and attended school in the municipality, while 54 students came from another municipality. During the same year, 12 residents attended schools outside the municipality.[
]
References
External links
Official website: http://www.hermrigen.ch
*
{{Authority control
Municipalities of the canton of Bern