Obergerlafingen
Encyclopedia
Obergerlafingen is a municipality
in the district of Wasseramt
in the canton
of Solothurn in Switzerland
.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3.3% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 21.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.9%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.0%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 35.5% is used for growing crops and 10.5% is pastures, while 2.0% is used for orchards or vine crops.
The municipality is located in the Wasseramt district, between the Emme and Oesch rivers. It consists of the linear village
of Obergerlafingen.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Gules three Mullets Argent in pale.
Most of the population speaks German
(1,017 or 97.1%), with Italian
being second most common (13 or 1.2%) and French
being third (8 or 0.8%).
, the gender distribution of the population was 50.1% male and 49.9% female. The population was made up of 495 Swiss men (45.4% of the population) and 51 (4.7%) non-Swiss men. There were 510 Swiss women (46.8%) and 34 (3.1%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 278 or about 26.6% were born in Obergerlafingen and lived there in 2000. There were 347 or 33.1% who were born in the same canton, while 311 or 29.7% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 71 or 6.8% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 5 live births to Swiss citizens and were 12 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 7 while the foreign population remained the same. There was 1 Swiss woman who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 3 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 a decrease of 23 and the non-Swiss population increased by 1 people. This represents a population growth rate of -2.0%.
The age distribution, , in Obergerlafingen is; 57 children or 5.4% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 159 teenagers or 15.2% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 55 people or 5.3% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 302 people or 28.8% are between 25 and 44, and 310 people or 29.6% are between 45 and 64. The senior population distribution is 117 people or 11.2% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 47 people or 4.5% who are over 80.
, there were 378 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 567 married individuals, 52 widows or widowers and 50 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 69.9% 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 441 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. There were 99 households that consist of only one person and 25 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 447 households that answered this question, 22.1% were households made up of just one person and there were 5 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 178 married couples without children, 130 married couples with children There were 20 single parents with a child or children. There were 9 households that were made up of unrelated people and 6 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 276 single family homes (or 76.0% of the total) out of a total of 363 inhabited buildings. There were 50 multi-family buildings (13.8%), along with 19 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (5.2%) and 18 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (5.0%). Of the single family homes 16 were built before 1919, while 41 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (64) were built between 1971 and 1980.
there were 474 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 149. There were 8 single room apartments and 216 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 435 apartments (91.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 27 apartments (5.7%) were seasonally occupied and 12 apartments (2.5%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0.9 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.41%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 33.36% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
(24.97%), the FDP
(20.03%) and the CVP
(11.23%). In the federal election, a total of 392 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 46.4%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 272. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 4, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 158 of which 130 or (82.3%) were in manufacturing and 28 (17.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 110. In the tertiary sector; 46 or 41.8% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 5 or 4.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 6 or 5.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 8 or 7.3% were in the information industry, 16 or 14.5% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 3.6% were in education and 1 was in health care.
, there were 158 workers who commuted into the municipality and 469 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.0 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 8.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 65.1% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 6 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 0.57% of the population), there were 5 individuals (or about 0.48% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 11 individuals (or about 1.05% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were There was 1 person who was Buddhist
and 1 individual who belonged to another church. 187 (or about 17.86% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 19 individuals (or about 1.81% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 98 who completed tertiary schooling, 80.6% were Swiss men, 14.3% were Swiss women.
, there were 2 students in Obergerlafingen who came from another municipality, while 66 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 Wasseramt
Wasseramt (district)
Wasseramt District is one of the ten districts of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, situated to the south of the canton. Together with the Bucheggberg District, it forms the Amtei of Wasseramt-Bucheggberg...
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....
.
Geography
Obergerlafingen has an area, , of 1.52 square kilometre (0.586875281060653 sq mi). Of this area, 0.73 km² (0.281854575772551 sq mi) or 48.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.3 km² (0.115830647577761 sq mi) or 19.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.49 km² (0.189190057710342 sq mi) or 32.2% is settled (buildings or roads).Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3.3% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 21.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.9%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.0%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 35.5% is used for growing crops and 10.5% is pastures, while 2.0% is used for orchards or vine crops.
The municipality is located in the Wasseramt district, between the Emme and Oesch rivers. It consists of the 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 Obergerlafingen.
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 Gules three Mullets Argent in pale.
Demographics
Obergerlafingen has a population of . , 7.3% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of -1.4%. It has changed at a rate of 2.7% due to migration and at a rate of -1.8% due to births and deaths.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....
(1,017 or 97.1%), 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 (13 or 1.2%) 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 (8 or 0.8%).
, the gender distribution of the population was 50.1% male and 49.9% female. The population was made up of 495 Swiss men (45.4% of the population) and 51 (4.7%) non-Swiss men. There were 510 Swiss women (46.8%) and 34 (3.1%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 278 or about 26.6% were born in Obergerlafingen and lived there in 2000. There were 347 or 33.1% who were born in the same canton, while 311 or 29.7% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 71 or 6.8% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 5 live births to Swiss citizens and were 12 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 7 while the foreign population remained the same. There was 1 Swiss woman who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 3 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 a decrease of 23 and the non-Swiss population increased by 1 people. This represents a population growth rate of -2.0%.
The age distribution, , in Obergerlafingen is; 57 children or 5.4% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 159 teenagers or 15.2% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 55 people or 5.3% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 302 people or 28.8% are between 25 and 44, and 310 people or 29.6% are between 45 and 64. The senior population distribution is 117 people or 11.2% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 47 people or 4.5% who are over 80.
, there were 378 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 567 married individuals, 52 widows or widowers and 50 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 69.9% 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 441 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. There were 99 households that consist of only one person and 25 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 447 households that answered this question, 22.1% were households made up of just one person and there were 5 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 178 married couples without children, 130 married couples with children There were 20 single parents with a child or children. There were 9 households that were made up of unrelated people and 6 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 276 single family homes (or 76.0% of the total) out of a total of 363 inhabited buildings. There were 50 multi-family buildings (13.8%), along with 19 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (5.2%) and 18 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (5.0%). Of the single family homes 16 were built before 1919, while 41 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (64) were built between 1971 and 1980.
there were 474 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 149. There were 8 single room apartments and 216 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 435 apartments (91.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 27 apartments (5.7%) were seasonally occupied and 12 apartments (2.5%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0.9 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.41%.
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 33.36% 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....
(24.97%), 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....
(20.03%) and 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...
(11.23%). In the federal election, a total of 392 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 46.4%.
Economy
, Obergerlafingen had an unemployment rate of 2.6%. , there were 5 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 3 businesses involved in this sector. 202 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 21 businesses in this sector. 134 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 36 businesses in this sector. There were 581 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 43.9% 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 272. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 4, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 158 of which 130 or (82.3%) were in manufacturing and 28 (17.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 110. In the tertiary sector; 46 or 41.8% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 5 or 4.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 6 or 5.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 8 or 7.3% were in the information industry, 16 or 14.5% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 3.6% were in education and 1 was in health care.
, there were 158 workers who commuted into the municipality and 469 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 3.0 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 8.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 65.1% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 297 or 28.4% were Roman Catholic, while 520 or 49.7% 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 6 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 0.57% of the population), there were 5 individuals (or about 0.48% 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 11 individuals (or about 1.05% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were There was 1 person who was 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 1 individual who belonged to another church. 187 (or about 17.86% 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 19 individuals (or about 1.81% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Obergerlafingen about 512 or (48.9%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 98 or (9.4%) 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 98 who completed tertiary schooling, 80.6% were Swiss men, 14.3% were Swiss women.
, there were 2 students in Obergerlafingen who came from another municipality, while 66 residents attended schools outside the municipality.