Schelten (La Scheulte in French) 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
Jura bernois 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 ...
. This is one of two German speaking municipalities located in the majority French-speaking
Bernese Jura
Bernese Jura (, , German: Berner Jura) is the name for the French-speaking area of the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Bern, and from 2010 one of ten Administrative divisions of Switzerland, administrative divisions of the Cantons of Switzerland, cant ...
(''Jura Bernois''). The other is
Seehof.
History
Schelten is first mentioned in 1563 as ''la Schilt''. In 1914 it was mentioned as ''Schelten''.
[
For most of its history it was owned by the ]provost
Provost may refer to:
Officials
Ecclesiastic
* Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official
* Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official
Government
* Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...
of Moutier-Grandval
Moutier-Grandval Abbey was a Benedictine abbey near the villages of Moutier and Grandval in today's Bernese Jura, Canton of Bern in Switzerland. It was founded around 640, when Grandval already existed; Moutier grew up around the abbey.
Histor ...
under the Prince-Bishop
A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...
of Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
. When many of the nearby cities and towns converted to the new faith of the Protestant Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
, Schelten remained Catholic along with the ''sous les Roches'' region. After the 1797 French victory and the Treaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...
, Schelten became part of the French Département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...
of Mont-Terrible
Mont-Terrible () was a department of the First French Republic, with its seat at Porrentruy.
The Mont Terrible for which the department was named is now known as , a peak of near Courgenay (now in the canton of Jura, Switzerland). The toponym ...
. Three years later, in 1800 it became part of the Département of Haut-Rhin
Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...
. After Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's defeat and the Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
, Schelten was assigned to the Canton of Bern in 1815.[
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 Mervelier
Mervelier is a municipality in the district of Delémont in the canton of Jura in Switzerland.
History
Mervelier is first mentioned about 1184 as ''Morswilre''. The municipality was formerly known by its German name ''Morschwil'', however, tha ...
. In 1861 the Chapel of St. Anthony was built in the village. The chapel was restored in 1985–87.[
Traditionally the village was French speaking, but after it became a part of the Canton of Bern in 1815 the number of German speakers increased. In 1914 its name changed from La Scheulte to Schelten to reflect the growing German speaking population. The village became a stronghold of German culture and generally opposed ]Jurassic separatism
Jura separatism () is a regionalism (politics), regionalist Autonomism (political doctrine), autonomist movement in the Bernese Jura of Switzerland.
The "Jura question" (; ) is the question of secession of the Jura region from canton of Bern, ...
. In the referendums of 1974-75 the population of Schelten voted remain with Bern in contrast to the rest of the neighboring municipalities in the Val Terbi who chose to join the Canton of Jura
The Republic and Canton of Jura (officially in ), less formally the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura ( ; ), is the newest (founded in 1979) of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital is Delémont. It shar ...
.[
]
Geography
Schelten has an area of . As of 2012, a total of or 38.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 59.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 2.0% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.2% 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 0.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.1%. Out of the forested land, 55.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 11.5% is pastures and 26.6% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.[
The municipality is located at the foot of the ]Schelten Pass
Schelten Pass () (el. 1151 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Jura Mountains between the cantons of Jura and Solothurn in Switzerland.
It connects Mervelier and Ramiswil and is the most direct route from Delémont and Balsthal. The pass road ...
along the Delémont
Delémont (; ; , ) is the capital of the Swiss canton of Jura. The city has approximately 12,000 inhabitants .
History
The area of the municipality was already settled in the middle Bronze Age. Fifteen urn burials have been discovered in the ...
-Balsthal
Balsthal is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Thal (district), Thal in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Solothurn (canton), Solothurn in Switzerland.
History
Balsthal is first mentioned in 968 as ''Palcivallis ...
road. It is the northernmost municipality in the Canton of Bern.
On 31 December 2009 District de Moutier, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Arrondissement administratif Jura bernois.[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 an Oak Tree Vert fructed Gules issuant from a Mount of 3 Coupeaux of the second and overall a Bend wavy Azure.''
Demographics
Schelten has a population () of , all Swiss citizens. Over the last 10 years (2001-2011) the population has changed at a rate of -4.9%. Migration accounted for -7.3%, while births and deaths accounted for 0%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
accessed 18 July 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 ...
(43 or 82.7%) 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 (8 or 15.4%) and Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
is the third (1 or 1.9%).[
, the population was 46.3% male and 53.7% female. The population was made up of 19 Swiss men (46.3% of the population) and (0.0%) non-Swiss men. There were 22 Swiss women (53.7%) and (0.0%) non-Swiss women.][Statistical office of the Canton of Bern]
accessed 4 January 2012 Of the population in the municipality, 16 or about 30.8% were born in Schelten and lived there in 2000. There were 12 or 23.1% who were born in the same canton, while 21 or 40.4% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 2 or 3.8% were born outside of Switzerland.[
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 35.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 46.2% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.9%.][ , there were 27 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 22 married individuals, 2 widows or widowers and 1 individuals who are divorced.][STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000]
accessed 2 February 2011
, there were 3 households that consist of only one person and 3 households with five or more people. , a total of 16 apartments (88.9% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 2 apartments (11.1%) were seasonally occupied.[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 5.88%. In 2011, single family homes made up 0.0% 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 43.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Social Democratic Party (SP) (34.8%), 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 ...
(9.8%) 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 ...
(5.1%). In the federal election, a total of 21 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 42.9%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2011 Election]
accessed 8 May 2012
Economy
, Schelten had an unemployment rate of 0%. , there were a total of 25 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 25 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 8 businesses involved in this sector. No one was 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 ...
or 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 ...
.[ There were 26 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.3% of the workforce.
there were a total of 19 ]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, all of which were in agriculture.
, there were 3 workers who commuted into the municipality and 2 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.5 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. A total of 24 workers (88.9% of the 27 total workers in the municipality) both lived and worked in Schelten.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb]
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 15.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 7.7% used a private car.[
In 2011 the average local and cantonal tax rate on a married resident, with two children, of Schelten making 150,000 CHF was 13.6%, while an unmarried resident's rate was 20%. 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 11 tax payers in the municipality. Of that total, 2 made over 75,000 CHF per year. The greatest number of workers, 6, made between 20,000 and 30,000 CHF per year. The average income of the over 75,000 CHF group in Schelten was 121,700 CHF, while the average across all of Switzerland was 130,478 CHF.
]
Religion
From the , 26 or 50.0% 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 16 or 30.8% 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 ...
. 5 (or about 9.62% 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 5 individuals (or about 9.62% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In Schelten about 41.4% 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 6.9% 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 ...
'').[ A total of 2 Swiss men in the municipality had completed some form of tertiary schooling.][
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 9 students attending any school in the municipality. Of those, 2 both lived and attended school in the municipality, while 7 students came from another municipality. During the same year, 5 residents attended schools outside the municipality.[
]
References
{{Authority control
Municipalities of the canton of Bern