Egerkingen
Encyclopedia
Egerkingen is a municipality
in the district of Gäu
in the canton
of Solothurn in Switzerland
.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 5.5% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 9.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 8.6%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.2% of the area Out of the forested land, 48.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 17.6% is used for growing crops and 5.3% is pastures, while 1.2% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Gäu district, at the southern foot of the Jura Mountains
between Olten
and Oensingen
.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Azure two Fir Trees issuant from as many Mounts all Vert between three Fleurs-de-lis or the middle one inverted.
Most of the population speaks German
(2,522 or 87.4%), with Serbo-Croatian
being second most common (81 or 2.8%) and Turkish
being third (56 or 1.9%). There are 14 people who speak French
and 2 people who speak Romansh.
, the gender distribution of the population was 50.5% male and 49.5% female. The population was made up of 1,114 Swiss men (35.2% of the population) and 486 (15.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,127 Swiss women (35.6%) and 439 (13.9%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 892 or about 30.9% were born in Egerkingen and lived there in 2000. There were 680 or 23.6% who were born in the same canton, while 662 or 23.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 535 or 18.6% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 29 live births to Swiss citizens and 16 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 15 deaths of Swiss citizens and 2 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 14 while the foreign population increased by 14. There were 4 Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland and 6 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 12 non-Swiss men and 17 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 71 and the non-Swiss population increased by 60 people. This represents a population growth rate of 4.6%.
The age distribution, , in Egerkingen is; 221 children or 7.7% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 463 teenagers or 16.1% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 168 people or 5.8% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 982 people or 34.0% are between 25 and 44, and 665 people or 23.1% are between 45 and 64. The senior population distribution is 280 people or 9.7% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 105 people or 3.6% who are over 80.
, there were 1,187 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,359 married individuals, 178 widows or widowers and 160 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.58 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.56 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 42.6% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 1,138 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. There were 338 households that consist of only one person and 84 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 1,152 households that answered this question, 29.3% were households made up of just one person and there were 6 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 352 married couples without children, 374 married couples with children There were 55 single parents with a child or children. There were 13 households that were made up of unrelated people and 14 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 378 single family homes (or 64.0% of the total) out of a total of 591 inhabited buildings. There were 123 multi-family buildings (20.8%), along with 55 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (9.3%) and 35 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (5.9%). Of the single family homes 45 were built before 1919, while 77 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (62) were built between 1971 and 1980.
there were 1,202 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 398. There were 45 single room apartments and 399 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 1,123 apartments (93.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 54 apartments (4.5%) were seasonally occupied and 25 apartments (2.1%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.3 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.35%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 34.29% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP
(27.47%), the FDP
(24.92%) and the SP
(8.23%). In the federal election, a total of 884 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 48.4%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 2,095. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 17, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 625 of which 550 or (88.0%) were in manufacturing, 4 or (0.6%) were in mining and 71 (11.4%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 1,453. In the tertiary sector; 672 or 46.2% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 115 or 7.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 258 or 17.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 11 or 0.8% were in the information industry, 38 or 2.6% were the insurance or financial industry, 96 or 6.6% were technical professionals or scientists, 42 or 2.9% were in education and 110 or 7.6% were in health care.
, there were 1,826 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,028 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.8 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 9.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 60.2% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 64 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 2.22% of the population), there were 4 individuals (or about 0.14% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 25 individuals (or about 0.87% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 221 (or about 7.66% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There were 24 individuals who were Buddhist
, 13 individuals who were Hindu
and 1 individual who belonged to another church. 321 (or about 11.13% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 51 individuals (or about 1.77% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 254 who completed tertiary schooling, 72.0% were Swiss men, 16.5% were Swiss women, 9.1% were non-Swiss men and 2.4% were non-Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 277 students in the Egerkingen school system. The education system
in the Canton of Solothurn allows young children to attend two years of non-obligatory Kindergarten
. During that school year, there were 73 children in kindergarten. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school, with some of the children attending smaller, specialized classes. In the municipality there were 204 students in primary school. The secondary school
program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling, followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. All the lower secondary students from Egerkingen attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
, there were 67 students in Egerkingen who came from another municipality, while 116 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Municipalities of Switzerland
Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...
in the district of Gäu
Gäu (district)
Gäu District is one of the ten districts of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, situated in the centre of the canton. It has a population of...
in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Solothurn in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
History
Egerkingen is first mentioned in 1201 as in Egrichen. In 1212 it was mentioned as in Egerchingen.Geography
Egerkingen has an area, , of 6.94 square kilometres (2.7 sq mi). Of this area, 1.72 km² (0.66409571277916 sq mi) or 24.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.44 km² (1.3 sq mi) or 49.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.74 km² (0.671817755951011 sq mi) or 25.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes.Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 5.5% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 9.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 8.6%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.2% of the area Out of the forested land, 48.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 17.6% is used for growing crops and 5.3% is pastures, while 1.2% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Gäu district, at the southern foot of the Jura Mountains
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...
between Olten
Olten
Olten is a town in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland and capital of the district of the same name.Olten's railway station is within 30 minutes of Zurich, Bern, Basel, and Lucerne by train, and is a rail hub of Switzerland.-History:...
and Oensingen
Oensingen
Oensingen is a municipality in the district of Gäu in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland.-Geography:Oensingen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 39.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 37.2% is forested...
.
Coat of arms
The blazonBlazon
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...
of the municipal coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
is Azure two Fir Trees issuant from as many Mounts all Vert between three Fleurs-de-lis or the middle one inverted.
Demographics
Egerkingen has a population of . , 26.5% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 14.1%.Most of the population speaks German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(2,522 or 87.4%), with Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
being second most common (81 or 2.8%) and Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
being third (56 or 1.9%). There are 14 people who speak French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and 2 people who speak Romansh.
, the gender distribution of the population was 50.5% male and 49.5% female. The population was made up of 1,114 Swiss men (35.2% of the population) and 486 (15.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,127 Swiss women (35.6%) and 439 (13.9%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 892 or about 30.9% were born in Egerkingen and lived there in 2000. There were 680 or 23.6% who were born in the same canton, while 662 or 23.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 535 or 18.6% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 29 live births to Swiss citizens and 16 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 15 deaths of Swiss citizens and 2 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 14 while the foreign population increased by 14. There were 4 Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland and 6 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 12 non-Swiss men and 17 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 71 and the non-Swiss population increased by 60 people. This represents a population growth rate of 4.6%.
The age distribution, , in Egerkingen is; 221 children or 7.7% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 463 teenagers or 16.1% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 168 people or 5.8% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 982 people or 34.0% are between 25 and 44, and 665 people or 23.1% are between 45 and 64. The senior population distribution is 280 people or 9.7% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 105 people or 3.6% who are over 80.
, there were 1,187 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,359 married individuals, 178 widows or widowers and 160 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.58 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.56 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 42.6% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 1,138 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. There were 338 households that consist of only one person and 84 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 1,152 households that answered this question, 29.3% were households made up of just one person and there were 6 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 352 married couples without children, 374 married couples with children There were 55 single parents with a child or children. There were 13 households that were made up of unrelated people and 14 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 378 single family homes (or 64.0% of the total) out of a total of 591 inhabited buildings. There were 123 multi-family buildings (20.8%), along with 55 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (9.3%) and 35 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (5.9%). Of the single family homes 45 were built before 1919, while 77 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (62) were built between 1971 and 1980.
there were 1,202 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 398. There were 45 single room apartments and 399 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 1,123 apartments (93.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 54 apartments (4.5%) were seasonally occupied and 25 apartments (2.1%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.3 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.35%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Politics
In the 2007 federal electionSwiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...
the most popular party was the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
which received 34.29% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...
(27.47%), the FDP
FDP.The Liberals
FDP.The Liberals is a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It is the joint-largest party in the Federal Council, third-largest party in the National Council, and second-largest in the Council of States....
(24.92%) and the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(8.23%). In the federal election, a total of 884 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was 48.4%.
Economy
, Egerkingen had an unemployment rate of 4.2%. , there were 30 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 10 businesses involved in this sector. 675 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 29 businesses in this sector. 1,815 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 177 businesses in this sector. There were 1,599 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.5% of the workforce.the total number of full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
jobs was 2,095. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 17, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 625 of which 550 or (88.0%) were in manufacturing, 4 or (0.6%) were in mining and 71 (11.4%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 1,453. In the tertiary sector; 672 or 46.2% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 115 or 7.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 258 or 17.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 11 or 0.8% were in the information industry, 38 or 2.6% were the insurance or financial industry, 96 or 6.6% were technical professionals or scientists, 42 or 2.9% were in education and 110 or 7.6% were in health care.
, there were 1,826 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,028 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.8 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 9.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 60.2% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 1,540 or 53.4% were Roman Catholic, while 620 or 21.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed ChurchSwiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 64 members of an Orthodox church
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
(or about 2.22% of the population), there were 4 individuals (or about 0.14% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is the Swiss member church of the Union of Utrecht, also known as Old Catholic Church, originally founded by the jansenists, with a later influx of discontented Catholics following their disappointment with the First Vatican Council. It has 14,000...
, and there were 25 individuals (or about 0.87% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 221 (or about 7.66% of the population) who were Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic. There were 24 individuals who were Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, 13 individuals who were Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and 1 individual who belonged to another church. 321 (or about 11.13% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
or atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, and 51 individuals (or about 1.77% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Egerkingen about 1,105 or (38.3%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 254 or (8.8%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a FachhochschuleFachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
). Of the 254 who completed tertiary schooling, 72.0% were Swiss men, 16.5% were Swiss women, 9.1% were non-Swiss men and 2.4% were non-Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 277 students in the Egerkingen school system. The education system
Education in Switzerland
The education system in Switzerland is very diverse, because the constitution of Switzerland delegates the authority for the school system mainly to the cantons...
in the Canton of Solothurn allows young children to attend two years of non-obligatory Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
. During that school year, there were 73 children in kindergarten. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school, with some of the children attending smaller, specialized classes. In the municipality there were 204 students in primary school. The secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling, followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. All the lower secondary students from Egerkingen attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
, there were 67 students in Egerkingen who came from another municipality, while 116 residents attended schools outside the municipality.