Metzerlen-Mariastein
Encyclopedia
Metzerlen-Mariastein is a municipality
in the district of Dorneck
in the canton
of Solothurn in Switzerland
. The present name of the municipality dates from 2003, it being previously known as Metzerlen.
The nearby Benedictine
Mariastein Abbey
is an important place of pilgrimage.
Metzerlen-Mariastein has an area, , of 8.49 square kilometres (3.3 sq mi). Of this area, 3.99 km² (1.5 sq mi) or 47.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.89 km² (1.5 sq mi) or 45.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.65 km² (0.250966403085148 sq mi) or 7.7% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.01 km² (2.5 acre) or 0.1% is either rivers or lakes.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.4%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 27.3% is used for growing crops and 14.7% is pastures, while 4.9% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Dorneck district, at the north foot of the Blauen mountain in the upper Birsig and Leimen valleys. It consists of the S-shaped linear village
of Metzerlen and the hamlets
of Mariastein around the monastery.
Most of the population speaks German
(789 or 96.6%), with English
being second most common (6 or 0.7%) and French
being third (5 or 0.6%).
Of the population in the municipality 319 or about 39.0% were born in Metzerlen-Mariastein and lived there in 2000. There were 79 or 9.7% who were born in the same canton, while 309 or 37.8% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 89 or 10.9% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 8 live births to Swiss citizens and were 8 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens remained the same while the foreign population remained the same. There were 3 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 4 non-Swiss men and 1 non-Swiss woman 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 21 and the non-Swiss population increased by 5 people. This represents a population growth rate of 2.9%.
, there were 340 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 409 married individuals, 31 widows or widowers and 37 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.52 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 71% 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 317 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. There were 81 households that consist of only one person and 25 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 328 households that answered this question, 24.7% were households made up of just one person and there were 1 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 113 married couples without children, 100 married couples with children There were 19 single parents with a child or children. There were 3 households that were made up of unrelated people and 11 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 194 single family homes (or 71.9% of the total) out of a total of 270 inhabited buildings. There were 27 multi-family buildings (10.0%), along with 32 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (11.9%) and 17 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.3%). Of the single family homes 33 were built before 1919, while 45 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (42) were built between 1971 and 1980.
there were 325 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 98. There were 8 single room apartments and 155 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 303 apartments (93.2% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 13 apartments (4.0%) were seasonally occupied and 9 apartments (2.8%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.26%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Mariastein Abbey with its library is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance
. The entire village of Metzerlen and the Mariastein Abbey site are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
the most popular party was the CVP
which received 28.12% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(26.68%), the FDP
(17.35%) and the SP
(17.18%). In the federal election, a total of 344 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 49.7%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 203. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 42, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 18 of which 4 or (22.2%) were in manufacturing and 14 (77.8%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 143. In the tertiary sector; 32 or 22.4% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 4 or 2.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 45 or 31.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 4 or 2.8% were in the information industry, 7 or 4.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 2.8% were in education and 3 or 2.1% were in health care.
, there were 111 workers who commuted into the municipality and 314 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.8 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 19.8% of the workforce coming into Metzerlen-Mariastein are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 19.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 54.5% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 5 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 0.61% of the population), and there were 7 individuals (or about 0.86% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 2 (or about 0.24% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There FALSE4 individuals who were Hindu
and 8 individuals who belonged to another church. 127 (or about 15.54% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 20 individuals (or about 2.45% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 122 who completed tertiary schooling, 64.8% were Swiss men, 31.1% were Swiss women, 4.1% were non-Swiss men.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 78 students in the Metzerlen-Mariastein 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 23 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 55 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 Metzerlen-Mariastein attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
, there were 2 students in Metzerlen-Mariastein who came from another municipality, while 67 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 Dorneck
Dorneck (district)
Dorneck District is one of the ten districts of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, situated to the north of the canton. Together with Thierstein District, it forms the Amtei of Dorneck-Thierstein. Ithas 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....
. The present name of the municipality dates from 2003, it being previously known as Metzerlen.
The nearby Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Mariastein Abbey
Mariastein Abbey
Mariastein Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Metzerlen-Mariastein in the Canton of Solothurn, Switzerland.Mariastein, after Einsiedeln, is the second most important place of pilgrimage in Switzerland. Over the Chapel of Grace now stands a late Gothic three-aisled basilica...
is an important place of pilgrimage.
History
Metzerlen is first mentioned in 1194 as Mezherlon. Until 2002 the official name was Metzerlen.Geography
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.4%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 27.3% is used for growing crops and 14.7% is pastures, while 4.9% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Dorneck district, at the north foot of the Blauen mountain in the upper Birsig and Leimen valleys. It consists of the S-shaped linear village
Linear village
In geography, a linear village, or linear settlement, is a small to medium-sized settlement that is formed around a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Wraysbury, a village in Berkshire, is one of the longest villages in England....
of Metzerlen and the hamlets
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Mariastein around the monastery.
Demographics
Metzerlen-Mariastein has a population of . , 7.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 11%.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....
(789 or 96.6%), with English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
being second most common (6 or 0.7%) and 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...
being third (5 or 0.6%).
Of the population in the municipality 319 or about 39.0% were born in Metzerlen-Mariastein and lived there in 2000. There were 79 or 9.7% who were born in the same canton, while 309 or 37.8% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 89 or 10.9% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 8 live births to Swiss citizens and were 8 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens remained the same while the foreign population remained the same. There were 3 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 4 non-Swiss men and 1 non-Swiss woman 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 21 and the non-Swiss population increased by 5 people. This represents a population growth rate of 2.9%.
, there were 340 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 409 married individuals, 31 widows or widowers and 37 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.52 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 71% 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 317 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. There were 81 households that consist of only one person and 25 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 328 households that answered this question, 24.7% were households made up of just one person and there were 1 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 113 married couples without children, 100 married couples with children There were 19 single parents with a child or children. There were 3 households that were made up of unrelated people and 11 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 194 single family homes (or 71.9% of the total) out of a total of 270 inhabited buildings. There were 27 multi-family buildings (10.0%), along with 32 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (11.9%) and 17 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.3%). Of the single family homes 33 were built before 1919, while 45 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (42) were built between 1971 and 1980.
there were 325 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 98. There were 8 single room apartments and 155 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 303 apartments (93.2% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 13 apartments (4.0%) were seasonally occupied and 9 apartments (2.8%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.26%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
The BenedictineOrder of Saint Benedict
The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
Mariastein Abbey with its library 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 village of Metzerlen and the Mariastein Abbey site are 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 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...
which received 28.12% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were 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...
(26.68%), 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....
(17.35%) and the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(17.18%). In the federal election, a total of 344 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 49.7%.
Economy
, Metzerlen-Mariastein had an unemployment rate of 1.8%. , there were 63 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 16 businesses involved in this sector. 21 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 7 businesses in this sector. 176 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 31 businesses in this sector. There were 448 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.9% 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 203. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 42, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 18 of which 4 or (22.2%) were in manufacturing and 14 (77.8%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 143. In the tertiary sector; 32 or 22.4% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 4 or 2.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 45 or 31.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 4 or 2.8% were in the information industry, 7 or 4.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 2.8% were in education and 3 or 2.1% were in health care.
, there were 111 workers who commuted into the municipality and 314 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.8 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 19.8% of the workforce coming into Metzerlen-Mariastein are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 19.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 54.5% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 541 or 66.2% were Roman Catholic, while 103 or 12.6% 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 5 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 0.61% of the population), and there were 7 individuals (or about 0.86% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 2 (or about 0.24% 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 FALSE4 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 8 individuals who belonged to another church. 127 (or about 15.54% 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 20 individuals (or about 2.45% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Metzerlen-Mariastein about 342 or (41.9%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 122 or (14.9%) 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 122 who completed tertiary schooling, 64.8% were Swiss men, 31.1% were Swiss women, 4.1% were non-Swiss men.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 78 students in the Metzerlen-Mariastein 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 23 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 55 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 Metzerlen-Mariastein attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
, there were 2 students in Metzerlen-Mariastein who came from another municipality, while 67 residents attended schools outside the municipality.