Reigoldswil
Encyclopedia
Reigoldswil is a municipality
in the district of Waldenburg
in the canton
of Basel-Country
in Switzerland
.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.8%. Out of the forested land, 41.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.8% is used for growing crops and 32.9% is pastures, while 5.0% is used for orchards or vine crops and 2.5% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in lakes.
The municipality is located in the Waldenburg district, in the far Frenken valley. The current village grew out of three separate medieval
villages, in the 18th Century. It consists of the villages of Hofstetten-Chilchli, Mittelbiel and Unterbiel.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Per fess, Or, an Eagle displaied Vair, langued beaked and membered Gules, and Azure, a Bend wavy Argent.
Most of the population speaks German
(1,419 or 93.4%), with Albanian
being second most common (23 or 1.5%) and French
being third (20 or 1.3%). There are 2 people who speak Romansh.
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.7% male and 51.3% female. The population was made up of 1,397 Swiss citizens (89.5% of the population), and 164 non-Swiss residents (10.5%) Of the population in the municipality 573 or about 37.7% were born in Reigoldswil and lived there in 2000. There were 393 or 25.9% who were born in the same canton, while 335 or 22.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 153 or 10.1% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 17 live births to Swiss citizens and 3 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 16 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 1 while the foreign population increased by 3. There were 4 Swiss men who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 4 non-Swiss men 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 2 and the non-Swiss population increased by 6 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.5%.
The age distribution, , in Reigoldswil is; 95 children or 6.1% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 258 teenagers or 16.5% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 167 people or 10.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 189 people or 12.1% are between 30 and 39, 263 people or 16.8% are between 40 and 49, and 299 people or 19.2% are between 50 and 64. The senior population distribution is 202 people or 12.9% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 88 people or 5.6% who are over 80.
, there were 584 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 769 married individuals, 113 widows or widowers and 54 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.55 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 60.1% 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 612 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. There were 193 households that consist of only one person and 54 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 624 households that answered this question, 30.9% were households made up of just one person and 6 were adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 197 married couples without children, 192 married couples with children There were 19 single parents with a child or children. There were 5 households that were made up unrelated people and 12 households that were made some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 263 single family homes (or 62.2% of the total) out of a total of 423 inhabited buildings. There were 66 multi-family buildings (15.6%), along with 73 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (17.3%) and 21 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (5.0%). Of the single family homes 53 were built before 1919, while 35 were built between 1990 and 2000.
there were 660 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 157. There were 20 single room apartments and 256 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 592 apartments (89.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 33 apartments (5.0%) were seasonally occupied and 35 apartments (5.3%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.2 new units per 1000 residents. the average price to rent a two room apartment was about 758.00 CHF (US$610, £340, €490), a three room apartment was about 1068.00 CHF (US$850, £480, €680) and a four room apartment cost an average of 1379.00 CHF (US$1100, £620, €880). The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.29%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
.
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 35.07% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
(24.19%), the FDP
(14.93%) and the Green Party
(14.46%). In the federal election, a total of 527 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 47.5%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 357. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 52, of which 47 were in agriculture and 5 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 68 of which 57 or (83.8%) were in manufacturing and 11 (16.2%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 237. In the tertiary sector; 25 or 10.5% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 16 or 6.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 17 or 7.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was the insurance or financial industry, 12 or 5.1% were technical professionals or scientists, 40 or 16.9% were in education and 90 or 38.0% were in health care.
, there were 223 workers who commuted into the municipality and 486 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.2 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 23.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 47.9% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 11 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 0.72% of the population), there were 3 individuals (or about 0.20% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 75 individuals (or about 4.93% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 42 (or about 2.76% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There were 4 individuals who were Buddhist
and 2 individuals who belonged to another church. 107 (or about 7.04% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 68 individuals (or about 4.47% of the population) did not answer the question.
. The wettest month is June during which time Reigoldswil receives an average of 129 mm (5.1 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.1 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 14.8, but with only 116 mm (4.6 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is October with an average of 80 mm (3.1 in) of precipitation over 9.1 days.
). Of the 144 who completed tertiary schooling, 68.1% were Swiss men, 25.0% were Swiss women, 4.9% were non-Swiss men.
, there were 174 students in Reigoldswil who came from another municipality, while 34 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 Waldenburg
Waldenburg (district)
Waldenburg District is one of the five districts of the largely German-speaking canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. The district lies to the south of Basel-Country, bordering the canton of Solothurn. Its capital is the town of Waldenburg. It has a population of . In average 150 persons live in...
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 Basel-Country
Basel-Country
Basel-Landschaft , is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. The capital is Liestal...
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
Reigoldswil has an area, , of 9.25 square kilometres (3.6 sq mi). Of this area, 4.27 km² (1.6 sq mi) or 46.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 4.17 km² (1.6 sq mi) or 45.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.75 km² (0.289576618944401 sq mi) or 8.1% 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 4.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.8%. Out of the forested land, 41.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.8% is used for growing crops and 32.9% is pastures, while 5.0% is used for orchards or vine crops and 2.5% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in lakes.
The municipality is located in the Waldenburg district, in the far Frenken valley. The current village grew out of three separate medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
villages, in the 18th Century. It consists of the villages of Hofstetten-Chilchli, Mittelbiel and Unterbiel.
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 fess, Or, an Eagle displaied Vair, langued beaked and membered Gules, and Azure, a Bend wavy Argent.
Demographics
Reigoldswil has a population of . , 8.1% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 4%.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....
(1,419 or 93.4%), with 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 second most common (23 or 1.5%) 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 (20 or 1.3%). There are 2 people who speak Romansh.
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.7% male and 51.3% female. The population was made up of 1,397 Swiss citizens (89.5% of the population), and 164 non-Swiss residents (10.5%) Of the population in the municipality 573 or about 37.7% were born in Reigoldswil and lived there in 2000. There were 393 or 25.9% who were born in the same canton, while 335 or 22.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 153 or 10.1% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 17 live births to Swiss citizens and 3 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 16 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 1 while the foreign population increased by 3. There were 4 Swiss men who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 4 non-Swiss men 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 2 and the non-Swiss population increased by 6 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.5%.
The age distribution, , in Reigoldswil is; 95 children or 6.1% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 258 teenagers or 16.5% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 167 people or 10.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 189 people or 12.1% are between 30 and 39, 263 people or 16.8% are between 40 and 49, and 299 people or 19.2% are between 50 and 64. The senior population distribution is 202 people or 12.9% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 88 people or 5.6% who are over 80.
, there were 584 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 769 married individuals, 113 widows or widowers and 54 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.55 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 60.1% 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 612 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. There were 193 households that consist of only one person and 54 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 624 households that answered this question, 30.9% were households made up of just one person and 6 were adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 197 married couples without children, 192 married couples with children There were 19 single parents with a child or children. There were 5 households that were made up unrelated people and 12 households that were made some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 263 single family homes (or 62.2% of the total) out of a total of 423 inhabited buildings. There were 66 multi-family buildings (15.6%), along with 73 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (17.3%) and 21 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (5.0%). Of the single family homes 53 were built before 1919, while 35 were built between 1990 and 2000.
there were 660 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 157. There were 20 single room apartments and 256 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 592 apartments (89.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 33 apartments (5.0%) were seasonally occupied and 35 apartments (5.3%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.2 new units per 1000 residents. the average price to rent a two room apartment was about 758.00 CHF (US$610, £340, €490), a three room apartment was about 1068.00 CHF (US$850, £480, €680) and a four room apartment cost an average of 1379.00 CHF (US$1100, £620, €880). The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.29%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
The House Preiswerk is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significanceSwiss 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...
.
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 35.07% 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....
(24.19%), 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....
(14.93%) 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:...
(14.46%). In the federal election, a total of 527 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 47.5%.
Economy
, Reigoldswil had an unemployment rate of 2.8%. , there were 76 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 26 businesses involved in this sector. 85 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 16 businesses in this sector. 339 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 53 businesses in this sector. There were 730 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 41.6% 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 357. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 52, of which 47 were in agriculture and 5 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 68 of which 57 or (83.8%) were in manufacturing and 11 (16.2%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 237. In the tertiary sector; 25 or 10.5% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 16 or 6.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 17 or 7.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was the insurance or financial industry, 12 or 5.1% were technical professionals or scientists, 40 or 16.9% were in education and 90 or 38.0% were in health care.
, there were 223 workers who commuted into the municipality and 486 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.2 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 23.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 47.9% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 173 or 11.4% were Roman Catholic, while 1,035 or 68.1% 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 11 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 0.72% of the population), there were 3 individuals (or about 0.20% 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 75 individuals (or about 4.93% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 42 (or about 2.76% 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 4 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. 107 (or about 7.04% 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 68 individuals (or about 4.47% of the population) did not answer the question.
Weather
Reigoldswil has an average of 145.6 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives 1175 mm (46.3 in) of precipitationPrecipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
. The wettest month is June during which time Reigoldswil receives an average of 129 mm (5.1 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.1 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 14.8, but with only 116 mm (4.6 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is October with an average of 80 mm (3.1 in) of precipitation over 9.1 days.
Education
In Reigoldswil about 621 or (40.9%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 144 or (9.5%) 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 144 who completed tertiary schooling, 68.1% were Swiss men, 25.0% were Swiss women, 4.9% were non-Swiss men.
, there were 174 students in Reigoldswil who came from another municipality, while 34 residents attended schools outside the municipality.