Lucens
Encyclopedia
Lucens is a municipality
in the Broye-Vully district in the canton
of Vaud
in Switzerland
.
name Losingen.
In 1969 the Lucens reactor
, an underground nuclear reactor
, began operations. It was a pilot
project to test a heavy-water moderated, carbon dioxide
gas-cooled reactor. Soon after the initial start up, an undetected blockage in one of the cooling pipes led to a partial fuel meltdown
and massive radioactive contamination
of the underground site. Following the accident, the reactor was decommissioned and the cavern was then sealed.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 4.0% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 8.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 6.1%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.1% of the area Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 27.7% is used for growing crops and 11.3% is pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.2% is in lakes and 2.7% is in rivers and streams.
The municipality was part of the Moudon District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Lucens became part of the new district of Broye-Vully.
The municipality is located along the left bank of the Broye
.
The municipality of Oulens-sur-Lucens
will merge on 1 July 2011 into the municipality of Lucens.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Per bend Argent and Gules, overall a Sun in his splendour Or.
Most of the population speaks French
(1,822 or 82.0%), with Italian
being second most common (111 or 5.0%) and Albanian
being third (77 or 3.5%). There are 44 people who speak German and 4 people who speak Romansh.
Of the population in the municipality 575 or about 25.9% were born in Lucens and lived there in 2000. There were 565 or 25.4% who were born in the same canton, while 354 or 15.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 644 or 29.0% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 19 live births to Swiss citizens and 10 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 21 deaths of Swiss citizens and 1 non-Swiss citizen death. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 2 while the foreign population increased by 9. There were 3 Swiss men and 10 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 22 non-Swiss men and 25 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 69 and the non-Swiss population decreased by 8 people. This represents a population growth rate of 2.7%.
The age distribution, , in Lucens is; 256 children or 11.1% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 284 teenagers or 12.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 284 people or 12.3% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 334 people or 14.4% are between 30 and 39, 371 people or 16.0% are between 40 and 49, and 275 people or 11.9% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 252 people or 10.9% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 158 people or 6.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 83 people or 3.6% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 19 people or 0.8% who are 90 and older.
, there were 880 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,073 married individuals, 148 widows or widowers and 120 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.66 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.61 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 27.1% 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 913 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 312 households that consist of only one person and 69 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 939 households that answered this question, 33.2% were households made up of just one person and there were 7 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 244 married couples without children, 301 married couples with children There were 37 single parents with a child or children. There were 12 households that were made up of unrelated people and 26 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 217 single family homes (or 50.2% of the total) out of a total of 432 inhabited buildings. There were 109 multi-family buildings (25.2%), along with 58 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (13.4%) and 48 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (11.1%). Of the single family homes 46 were built before 1919, while 12 were built between 1990 and 2000. The most multi-family homes (42) were built before 1919 and the next most (18) were built between 1961 and 1970. There was 1 multi-family house built between 1996 and 2000.
there were 1,078 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 328. There were 94 single room apartments and 198 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 886 apartments (82.2% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 124 apartments (11.5%) were seasonally occupied and 68 apartments (6.3%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 1.3 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance
. The entire town of Lucens is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
.
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 29.38% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
(26.59%), the FDP
(20.05%) and the Green Party
(8.56%). In the federal election, a total of 494 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 41.2%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 791. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 7, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 530 of which 361 or (68.1%) were in manufacturing and 153 (28.9%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 254. In the tertiary sector; 70 or 27.6% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 24 or 9.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 32 or 12.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 5 or 2.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 16 or 6.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 35 or 13.8% were in education and 48 or 18.9% were in health care.
, there were 464 workers who commuted into the municipality and 609 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 7.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 64.8% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 8 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 0.36% of the population), there were 9 individuals (or about 0.41% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 61 individuals (or about 2.75% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was Jewish
, and 199 (or about 8.96% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There were 2 individuals who were Buddhist
and 2 individuals who belonged to another church. 126 (or about 5.67% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 152 individuals (or about 6.84% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 148 who completed tertiary schooling, 57.4% were Swiss men, 21.6% were Swiss women, 13.5% were non-Swiss men and 7.4% were non-Swiss women.
In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 278 students in the Lucens school district. In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts. During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 155 children of which 83 children (53.5%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 129 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 139 students in those schools. There were also 10 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school. Lucens is home to 1 museum, the Musée Sherlock Holmes. In 2009 it was visited by 1,359 visitors. In 2009 the Musée Sherlock Holmes was visited by 1,359 visitors (the average in previous years was 1,373).
, there were 134 students in Lucens who came from another municipality, while 61 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 Broye-Vully district 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 Vaud
Vaud
Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...
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
Lucens is first mentioned in 964 as in villa Losingus. It was formerly known by the GermanGerman 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....
name Losingen.
In 1969 the Lucens reactor
Lucens reactor
The Lucens reactor at Lucens, Vaud, Switzerland, was a small pilot nuclear reactor destroyed by an accident in 1969.In 1962 the construction of a Swiss-designed pilot nuclear power plant began. The heavy-water moderated, carbon dioxide gas-cooled, reactor was built in an underground cavern and...
, an underground nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
, began operations. It was a pilot
Pilot plant
A pilot plant is a small chemical processing system which is operated to generate information about the behavior of the system for use in design of larger facilities....
project to test a heavy-water moderated, carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
gas-cooled reactor. Soon after the initial start up, an undetected blockage in one of the cooling pipes led to a partial fuel meltdown
Nuclear meltdown
Nuclear meltdown is an informal term for a severe nuclear reactor accident that results in core damage from overheating. The term is not officially defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency or by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission...
and massive radioactive contamination
Radioactive contamination
Radioactive contamination, also called radiological contamination, is radioactive substances on surfaces, or within solids, liquids or gases , where their presence is unintended or undesirable, or the process giving rise to their presence in such places...
of the underground site. Following the accident, the reactor was decommissioned and the cavern was then sealed.
Geography
Lucens has an area, , of 6.28 square kilometres (2.4 sq mi). Of this area, 2.47 km² (0.953672331723561 sq mi) or 39.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.33 km² (0.899618029520607 sq mi) or 37.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.29 km² (0.49807178458437 sq mi) or 20.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.18 km² (0.0694983885466563 sq mi) or 2.9% is either rivers or lakes.Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 4.0% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 8.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 6.1%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.1% of the area Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 27.7% is used for growing crops and 11.3% is pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.2% is in lakes and 2.7% is in rivers and streams.
The municipality was part of the Moudon District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Lucens became part of the new district of Broye-Vully.
The municipality is located along the left bank of the Broye
Broye
The Broye is a 68 km long river, in the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud, in Switzerland. It has a watershed area of 850 km².-Presentation:...
.
The municipality of Oulens-sur-Lucens
Oulens-sur-Lucens
Oulens-sur-Lucens is a former municipality in the district of Broye-Vully in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.On July 1, 2011 it was merged into Lucens.-Geography:...
will merge on 1 July 2011 into the municipality of Lucens.
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 Per bend Argent and Gules, overall a Sun in his splendour Or.
Demographics
Lucens has a population of . , 31.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 12.2%. It has changed at a rate of 10.8% due to migration and at a rate of 1.5% due to births and deaths.Most of the population speaks 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...
(1,822 or 82.0%), with Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
being second most common (111 or 5.0%) and Albanian
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
being third (77 or 3.5%). There are 44 people who speak German and 4 people who speak Romansh.
Of the population in the municipality 575 or about 25.9% were born in Lucens and lived there in 2000. There were 565 or 25.4% who were born in the same canton, while 354 or 15.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 644 or 29.0% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 19 live births to Swiss citizens and 10 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 21 deaths of Swiss citizens and 1 non-Swiss citizen death. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 2 while the foreign population increased by 9. There were 3 Swiss men and 10 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 22 non-Swiss men and 25 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 69 and the non-Swiss population decreased by 8 people. This represents a population growth rate of 2.7%.
The age distribution, , in Lucens is; 256 children or 11.1% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 284 teenagers or 12.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 284 people or 12.3% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 334 people or 14.4% are between 30 and 39, 371 people or 16.0% are between 40 and 49, and 275 people or 11.9% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 252 people or 10.9% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 158 people or 6.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 83 people or 3.6% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 19 people or 0.8% who are 90 and older.
, there were 880 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,073 married individuals, 148 widows or widowers and 120 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.66 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.61 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 27.1% 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 913 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 312 households that consist of only one person and 69 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 939 households that answered this question, 33.2% were households made up of just one person and there were 7 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 244 married couples without children, 301 married couples with children There were 37 single parents with a child or children. There were 12 households that were made up of unrelated people and 26 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 217 single family homes (or 50.2% of the total) out of a total of 432 inhabited buildings. There were 109 multi-family buildings (25.2%), along with 58 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (13.4%) and 48 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (11.1%). Of the single family homes 46 were built before 1919, while 12 were built between 1990 and 2000. The most multi-family homes (42) were built before 1919 and the next most (18) were built between 1961 and 1970. There was 1 multi-family house built between 1996 and 2000.
there were 1,078 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 328. There were 94 single room apartments and 198 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 886 apartments (82.2% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 124 apartments (11.5%) were seasonally occupied and 68 apartments (6.3%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 1.3 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
Lucens CastleLucens Castle
Lucens Castle is a castle in the municipality of Lucens in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.-History:...
is 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 entire town of Lucens is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
The Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage.-Sites of national importance:-Types:...
.
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 29.38% of the vote. The next three 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....
(26.59%), 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....
(20.05%) and the Green Party
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
(8.56%). In the federal election, a total of 494 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 41.2%.
Economy
, Lucens had an unemployment rate of 6.1%. , there were 11 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 5 businesses involved in this sector. 553 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 32 businesses in this sector. 326 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 53 businesses in this sector. There were 1,055 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 41.8% 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 791. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 7, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 530 of which 361 or (68.1%) were in manufacturing and 153 (28.9%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 254. In the tertiary sector; 70 or 27.6% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 24 or 9.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 32 or 12.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 5 or 2.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 16 or 6.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 35 or 13.8% were in education and 48 or 18.9% were in health care.
, there were 464 workers who commuted into the municipality and 609 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 7.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 64.8% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 859 or 38.7% were Roman Catholic, while 802 or 36.1% 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 8 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 0.36% of the population), there were 9 individuals (or about 0.41% 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 61 individuals (or about 2.75% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and 199 (or about 8.96% 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 2 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...
and 2 individuals who belonged to another church. 126 (or about 5.67% 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 152 individuals (or about 6.84% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Lucens about 705 or (31.7%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 148 or (6.7%) 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 148 who completed tertiary schooling, 57.4% were Swiss men, 21.6% were Swiss women, 13.5% were non-Swiss men and 7.4% were non-Swiss women.
In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 278 students in the Lucens school district. In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts. During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 155 children of which 83 children (53.5%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 129 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 139 students in those schools. There were also 10 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school. Lucens is home to 1 museum, the Musée Sherlock Holmes. In 2009 it was visited by 1,359 visitors. In 2009 the Musée Sherlock Holmes was visited by 1,359 visitors (the average in previous years was 1,373).
, there were 134 students in Lucens who came from another municipality, while 61 residents attended schools outside the municipality.