Hemishofen
Encyclopedia
Hemishofen is a 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 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 Schaffhausen 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

The Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

 grave sites at Sankert indicate that this area has been settled since 800-600 BC. However, Hemishofen is first mentioned after about 1100 as Hammingeshoven.

Coat of arms

The blazon
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...

 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 Per pale Or and Gules overall a branch with five leaves Vert issuant from base.

Geography

Hemishofen has an area, , of 7.9 km² (3.1 sq mi). Of this area, 35.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 54.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 5.9% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (3.7%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).

The municipality is located in the Stein district. Hemishofen is located along the Rhine River. The village sits at the foot of the Wolkensteinerberg, while the municipality stretches north to Herrentisch. The municipalities of Hemishofen, and Stein am Rhein
Stein am Rhein
Stein am Rhein is a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland.The town has a well-preserved medieval centre, retaining the ancient street plan. The site of the city wall, and the city gates are preserved, though the former city wall now consists of houses...

 are considered a merger for some time in the future into a new municipality with an as yet undetermined name.

Demographics

Hemishofen has a population of 415, of which 11.8% are foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, , 56.3% are from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, 8.3% are from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, 2.1% are from Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

, and 33.3% are from another country. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 19.6%. Most of the population speaks German (97.9%), with French being second most common ( 0.8%) and English being third ( 0.5%). The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.6% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 56.1% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 20.2%.

In the 2007 federal election
Swiss 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 54.8% of the vote. The next two most popular parties were the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

 (26.8%), and the FDP
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....

 (18.4%) .

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Hemishofen about 85.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
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...

). In Hemishofen, , 2.68% of the population attend 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...

 or another pre-school, 8.76% attend a Primary School, 4.62% attend a lower level Secondary School, and 3.65% attend a higher level Secondary School.

, 15.6% of the population belonged to the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 and 71.1% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
Swiss 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...

.

The historical population is given in the following table:
year population
1850 327
1900 376
1950 307
1970 271
2000 377

Economy

Hemishofen has an unemployment rate of 1.98%. , there were 43 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 12 businesses involved in this sector. 11 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 5 businesses in this sector. 8 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 4 businesses in this sector.

the mid year average unemployment rate was 0.4%. There were 12 non-agrarian businesses in the municipality and 18.4% of the (non-agrarian) population was involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 81.6% were involved in the third. At the same time, 60.5% of the working population was employed full-time, and 39.5% was employed part-time. There were 38 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 39.5% of the workforce. there were 63 residents who worked in the municipality, while 122 residents worked outside Hemishofen and 18 people commuted into the municipality for work.

, there is 1 restaurant in Hemishofen and the hospitality industry employs 4 people.

Heritage sites of national significance

The Iron Age grave sites at Sankert are listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance
Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...

.

The graves are located in a group of tumuli
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...

 on the eastern edge of the lower Biber valley at the foot of the Schienerberg. The first discovery of the graves was in 1836 by Ferdinand Keller. In 1846 and 1856 there were further excavations by Johann Conrad Fehrlin. Additional excavations happened in 1874-75 by the preacher Julius Müller, 1894 by Ferdinand Schalch. In 1912-13 there was an unauthorized dig by Joseph von Sury and Bertram Böschenstein, then in 1943 Walter Ulrich Guyan explored the entire site and further digs occurred in 1967 and 1978.

The group contains at least 35 tumuli. Some of the graves contain items from the 8th through 6th Centuries BC Hallstatt culture
Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Central European culture from the 8th to 6th centuries BC , developing out of the Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC and followed in much of Central Europe by the La Tène culture.By the 6th century BC, the Hallstatt culture extended for some...

, while others are from the 5th and 4th Century BC La Tène culture
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....

. Each of the bodies was buried with personal items including jewelry, eating utensils and weapons. Many were also buried with food and drink in ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...

 vessels. Due to the numerous excavations and limited records, many of the items can not linked to a specific grave. The location of the village that was associated with these graves is unknown.
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