Steinhof
Encyclopedia
Steinhof is a municipality
in the district of Wasseramt
in the canton
of Solothurn in Switzerland
. It is an enclave in the canton of Bern.
Steinhof has an area, , of 1.64 square kilometre (0.633207540091757 sq mi). Of this area, 1.04 km² (0.401546244936236 sq mi) or 63.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.48 km² (0.185329036124417 sq mi) or 29.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.1 km² (24.7 acre) or 6.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.01 km² (2.5 acre) or 0.6% is either rivers or lakes.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.7% 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, 37.2% is used for growing crops and 24.4% is pastures, while 1.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Wasseramt district. The village is an exclave of Solothurn and is surrounded by the Canton of Bern.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Or an Ibex rampant Sable on a Mount of 3 Coupeaux Vert.
Most of the population speaks German
(142 or 99.3%) with the rest speaking French
, the gender distribution of the population was 45.4% male and 54.6% female. The population was made up of 62 Swiss men (44.0% of the population) and 2 (1.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 74 Swiss women (52.5%) and 3 (2.1%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 64 or about 44.8% were born in Steinhof and lived there in 2000. There were 35 or 24.5% who were born in the same canton, while 38 or 26.6% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 3 or 2.1% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there was 1 live birth to Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 1 while the foreign population remained the same. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 3 and the non-Swiss population increased by 1 people. This represents a population growth rate of 2.7%.
The age distribution, , in Steinhof is; 11 children or 7.7% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 38 teenagers or 26.6% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 6 people or 4.2% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 36 people or 25.2% are between 25 and 44, and 27 people or 18.9% are between 45 and 64. The senior population distribution is 20 people or 14.0% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 5 people or 3.5% who are over 80.
, there were 60 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 79 married individuals, 3 widows or widowers and 1 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.64 which is more people per room than 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 74.4% 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 46 private households in the municipality, and an average of 3.1 persons per household. There were 7 households that consist of only one person and 8 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 46 households that answered this question, 15.2% were households made up of just one person. Of the rest of the households, there are 13 married couples without children, 24 married couples with children There were 2 single parents with a child or children.
there were 23 single family homes (or 59.0% of the total) out of a total of 39 inhabited buildings. There were 2 multi-family buildings (5.1%), along with 12 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (30.8%) and 2 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (5.1%). Of the single family homes 4 were built before 1919, while 2 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (8) were built between 1981 and 1990.
there were 49 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 17. There were 1 single room apartments and 24 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 43 apartments (87.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 4 apartments (8.2%) were seasonally occupied and 2 apartments (4.1%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 14.1 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 26.29% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP
(22.07%), the SP
(19.25%) and the FDP
(15.26%). In the federal election, a total of 63 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 56.8%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 20. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 15, of which 7 were in agriculture and 8 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 3, all of which were in manufacturing. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 2, both in a hotel or restaurant.
, there were 4 workers who commuted into the municipality and 49 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 12.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 16.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 51.5% used a private car.
. 10 (or about 6.99% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 4 individuals (or about 2.80% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 18 who completed tertiary schooling, 50.0% were Swiss men, 44.4% were Swiss women.
, there were 34 students from Steinhof who 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....
. It is an enclave in the canton of Bern.
History
Steinhof is first mentioned in 1201 as Heinricus de Steine. It was first mentioned as Steinhof in 1766.Geography
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.7% 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, 37.2% is used for growing crops and 24.4% is pastures, while 1.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Wasseramt district. The village is an exclave of Solothurn and is surrounded by the Canton of Bern.
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 Or an Ibex rampant Sable on a Mount of 3 Coupeaux Vert.
Demographics
Steinhof has a population of . , 4.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 9.2%. It has changed at a rate of 10.8% due to migration and at a rate of 2.3% 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....
(142 or 99.3%) with the rest speaking 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...
, the gender distribution of the population was 45.4% male and 54.6% female. The population was made up of 62 Swiss men (44.0% of the population) and 2 (1.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 74 Swiss women (52.5%) and 3 (2.1%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 64 or about 44.8% were born in Steinhof and lived there in 2000. There were 35 or 24.5% who were born in the same canton, while 38 or 26.6% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 3 or 2.1% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there was 1 live birth to Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 1 while the foreign population remained the same. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 3 and the non-Swiss population increased by 1 people. This represents a population growth rate of 2.7%.
The age distribution, , in Steinhof is; 11 children or 7.7% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 38 teenagers or 26.6% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 6 people or 4.2% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 36 people or 25.2% are between 25 and 44, and 27 people or 18.9% are between 45 and 64. The senior population distribution is 20 people or 14.0% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 5 people or 3.5% who are over 80.
, there were 60 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 79 married individuals, 3 widows or widowers and 1 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.64 which is more people per room than 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 74.4% 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 46 private households in the municipality, and an average of 3.1 persons per household. There were 7 households that consist of only one person and 8 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 46 households that answered this question, 15.2% were households made up of just one person. Of the rest of the households, there are 13 married couples without children, 24 married couples with children There were 2 single parents with a child or children.
there were 23 single family homes (or 59.0% of the total) out of a total of 39 inhabited buildings. There were 2 multi-family buildings (5.1%), along with 12 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (30.8%) and 2 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (5.1%). Of the single family homes 4 were built before 1919, while 2 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (8) were built between 1981 and 1990.
there were 49 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 17. There were 1 single room apartments and 24 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 43 apartments (87.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 4 apartments (8.2%) were seasonally occupied and 2 apartments (4.1%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 14.1 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0%.
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 26.29% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were 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...
(22.07%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(19.25%) and 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....
(15.26%). In the federal election, a total of 63 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 56.8%.
Economy
, Steinhof had an unemployment rate of 5.2%. , there were 19 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 4 businesses involved in this sector. 5 people were employed in the secondary sector and there was 1 business in this sector. 3 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 1 business in this sector. There were 66 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.4% 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 20. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 15, of which 7 were in agriculture and 8 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 3, all of which were in manufacturing. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 2, both in a hotel or restaurant.
, there were 4 workers who commuted into the municipality and 49 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 12.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 16.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 51.5% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 86 or 60.1% were Roman Catholic, while 43 or 30.1% 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...
. 10 (or about 6.99% 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 4 individuals (or about 2.80% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Steinhof about 52 or (36.4%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 18 or (12.6%) 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 18 who completed tertiary schooling, 50.0% were Swiss men, 44.4% were Swiss women.
, there were 34 students from Steinhof who attended schools outside the municipality.