Avenches
Encyclopedia
Avenches is a Swiss
municipality
in the canton
of Vaud
, located in the district of Broye-Vully.
The roots of Avenches go back to the Celt
s. A tribe of Helvetians had built a settlement on the hills of Bois de Châtel, south of the later Roman
settlement.
The establishment of the Roman settlement of Aventicum
, which became the capital of the province, took place around 15-13 B.C. The name comes from the Helvetian spring goddess Aventia. Aventicum soon developed into a blooming commercial center with 20000 inhabitants. The area was plundered by the Alamanni
tribe after the fall of Rome in the third century. A new walled settlement was built in the fifth century. Throughout this period, the town remained the seat of a bishopric and had at least two churches (Saint-Martin and Saint-Symphorian). When the bishop moved his seat to Lausanne
in the sixth century, the decline of the city began.
In 1074, the Bishop of Lausanne, Burkhard von Oltigen founded a new city on the site and named it Adventica, which became Avenche in 1518. In the 11th century, it was surrounded by a wall, and it received city rights in 1259.
A German name for the town did not appear until the 13th century, and it is neither a translation of the Latin, nor a Germanized form of the French. In 1266 the form Wibilsburg appears, and then Wipelspurg (1302), Wibelspurg (1458), Wiblispurg (1476), Wiflispurg (1548), and Wiflisburg (1577). This is derived from the personal name Wibili.
Avenches is first mentioned in 1518 as Avenche.
The town made a treaty in 1239 with Fribourg
and one in 1353 with Murten
.
With the Bernese conquest of Vaud in 1536, Avenches came under Bernese domination. In 1798, it became part of the Helvetic canton of Fribourg. In 1801, the population pushed for incorporation into the canton of Léman
in the Helvetic Republic
. With the mediation of Napoleon in 1803, Avenches became part of the canton of Vaud and capital of its district.
In 1826 a colony of Jews from Alsace
settled in Avenches. They were primarily horse traders and built a synagogue in 1865. When economic circumstances worsened at the end of the 19th century the Jews left the city and the synagogue, which was no longer in use, was torn down in 1954.
An airfield was built on the flat land north of the municipality in 1910 where Ernest Failloubaz
did the first flight in Switzerland of an aircraft built and flown by Swiss citizen. During World War I
, it served as a military airfield. When the military airport in Payerne
was built in 1921, the field in Avenches was closed.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.8% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 4.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 6.0%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 6.8%. Out of the forested land, 13.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 51.7% is used for growing crops and 10.6% is pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.3% is in lakes and 0.5% is in rivers and streams.
It was the capital of the Avenches District until 1 September 2006 when it became part of the new district of Broye-Vully.
Avenches is located on a hill, isolated in the Broye
valley, 12 km (7.5 mi) north-west of Fribourg
. The village Donatyre (505 m (1,656.8 ft)),south of Avenches, belongs to the municipality of Avenches, partly until 2006, and entirely since the municipality of Donatyre merged with Avenches.
The municipality of Oleyres
merged on 1 January 2011 into the municipality of Avenches.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Gules, Moors head proper with a band Argent around, clothed in Azure and Or.
Most of the population speaks French
(1,866 or 73.3%), with German
being second most common (329 or 12.9%) and Portuguese
being third (152 or 6.0%). There are 78 people who speak Italian
and 1 person who speaks Romansh.
Of the population in the municipality 693 or about 27.2% were born in Avenches and lived there in 2000. There were 357 or 14.0% who were born in the same canton, while 710 or 27.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 663 or 26.1% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 20 live births to Swiss citizens and 11 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 17 deaths of Swiss citizens and 2 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 3 while the foreign population increased by 9. There were 2 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 41 non-Swiss men and 29 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 48 and the non-Swiss population increased by 62 people. This represents a population growth rate of 3.8%.
The age distribution, , in Avenches is; 349 children or 11.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 376 teenagers or 12.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 404 people or 13.2% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 426 people or 13.9% are between 30 and 39, 508 people or 16.6% are between 40 and 49, and 375 people or 12.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 301 people or 9.8% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 198 people or 6.5% are between 70 and 79,there are 101 people or 3.3% who are 80 and 89, and there are 22 people or 0.7% who are 90 and older.
, there were 982 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,259 married individuals, 165 widows or widowers and 138 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.62 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 36.4% 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 1,094 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 337 households that consist of only one person and 69 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 1,074 households that answered this question, 31.4% 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 300 married couples without children, 339 married couples with children There were 58 single parents with a child or children. There were 9 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 320 single family homes (or 52.1% of the total) out of a total of 614 inhabited buildings. There were 138 multi-family buildings (22.5%), along with 91 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (14.8%) and 65 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (10.6%). Of the single family homes 69 were built before 1919, while 25 were built between 1990 and 2000. The most multi-family homes (49) were built before 1919 and the next most (22) were built between 1961 and 1970. There was 1 multi-family house built between 1996 and 2000.
there were 1,266 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 399. There were 76 single room apartments and 254 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 1,022 apartments (80.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 173 apartments (13.7%) were seasonally occupied and 71 apartments (5.6%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 35.9 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.67%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
ruins of Aventicum, Avenches Castle
, the Cure at Rue du Jura 2, the Swiss Reformed
Church, the Temple à Donatyre and the Tour de l’évêque (Bishops tower) with amphitheater and Roman Museum are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance
. The entire town of Avenches and the Haras fédéral area are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
.
the most popular party was the SP
which received 29.08% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(26.61%), the FDP
(18.92%) and the Green Party
(9.6%). In the federal election, a total of 597 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 37.9%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 1,368. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 99, of which 97 were in agriculture and 2 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 267 of which 193 or (72.3%) were in manufacturing and 70 (26.2%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 1,002. In the tertiary sector; 524 or 52.3% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 74 or 7.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 106 or 10.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 4 or 0.4% were in the information industry, 10 or 1.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 36 or 3.6% were technical professionals or scientists, 60 or 6.0% were in education and 95 or 9.5% were in health care.
, there were 761 workers who commuted into the municipality and 690 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.1 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 9% used public transportation to get to work, and 63.6% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 8 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 0.31% of the population), and there were 37 individuals (or about 1.45% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 157 (or about 6.17% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There were 4 individuals who were Buddhist
and 2 individuals who belonged to another church. 196 (or about 7.70% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 142 individuals (or about 5.58% of the population) did not answer the question.
. The wettest month is June during which time Avenches receives an average of 102 mm (4 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 11.1 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 12.5, but with only 99 mm (3.9 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 63 mm (2.5 in) of precipitation over 9.6 days.
). Of the 220 who completed tertiary schooling, 59.5% were Swiss men, 28.6% were Swiss women, 8.2% were non-Swiss men and 3.6% were non-Swiss women.
In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 396 students in the Avenches 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 212 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 174 students in those schools. There were also 10 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school. Avenches is home to 1 museum, the Musée romain d'Avenches. In 2009 it was visited by 17,280 visitors. In 2009 the Musée romain d'Avenches was visited by 17,280 visitors (the average in previous years was 18,742).
, there were 285 students in Avenches who came from another municipality, while 116 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
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....
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 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,...
, located in the district of Broye-Vully.
History
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
s. A tribe of Helvetians had built a settlement on the hills of Bois de Châtel, south of the later Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
settlement.
The establishment of the Roman settlement of Aventicum
Aventicum
Aventicum was the largest town and capital of Roman Switzerland . Its remains are beside the modern town of Avenches....
, which became the capital of the province, took place around 15-13 B.C. The name comes from the Helvetian spring goddess Aventia. Aventicum soon developed into a blooming commercial center with 20000 inhabitants. The area was plundered by the Alamanni
Alamanni
The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...
tribe after the fall of Rome in the third century. A new walled settlement was built in the fifth century. Throughout this period, the town remained the seat of a bishopric and had at least two churches (Saint-Martin and Saint-Symphorian). When the bishop moved his seat to Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
in the sixth century, the decline of the city began.
In 1074, the Bishop of Lausanne, Burkhard von Oltigen founded a new city on the site and named it Adventica, which became Avenche in 1518. In the 11th century, it was surrounded by a wall, and it received city rights in 1259.
A German name for the town did not appear until the 13th century, and it is neither a translation of the Latin, nor a Germanized form of the French. In 1266 the form Wibilsburg appears, and then Wipelspurg (1302), Wibelspurg (1458), Wiblispurg (1476), Wiflispurg (1548), and Wiflisburg (1577). This is derived from the personal name Wibili.
Avenches is first mentioned in 1518 as Avenche.
The town made a treaty in 1239 with Fribourg
Fribourg
Fribourg is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and the district of Sarine. It is located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss plateau, and is an important economic, administrative and educational center on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland...
and one in 1353 with Murten
Murten
Murten is a municipality in the See district of the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.It is located on the southern shores of Lake Morat. Morat is situated between Bern and Lausanne and is the capital of the Lake District of the canton of Fribourg....
.
With the Bernese conquest of Vaud in 1536, Avenches came under Bernese domination. In 1798, it became part of the Helvetic canton of Fribourg. In 1801, the population pushed for incorporation into the canton of Léman
Canton of Léman
Léman was the name of a canton of the Helvetic Republic from 1798 to 1803, corresponding to the territory of modern Vaud. As a former subject territory of Bern, Vaud had been independent for only four months in 1798 as the Lemanic Republic before it was incorporated in the centralist Helvetic...
in the Helvetic Republic
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...
. With the mediation of Napoleon in 1803, Avenches became part of the canton of Vaud and capital of its district.
In 1826 a colony of Jews from Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
settled in Avenches. They were primarily horse traders and built a synagogue in 1865. When economic circumstances worsened at the end of the 19th century the Jews left the city and the synagogue, which was no longer in use, was torn down in 1954.
An airfield was built on the flat land north of the municipality in 1910 where Ernest Failloubaz
Ernest Failloubaz
Ernest Failloubaz was a Swiss aviation pioneer. He received the pilot's brevet number 1 issued in Switzerland on October 11, 1910, and did the first flight in Switzerland of an aircraft built and flown by Swiss citizen.- Life :Ernest Failloubaz' father Jules, a rich wine merchant, died when Ernest...
did the first flight in Switzerland of an aircraft built and flown by Swiss citizen. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, it served as a military airfield. When the military airport in Payerne
Payerne
Payerne is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud. It was the seat of the district of Payerne, and is now part of the district of Broye-Vully....
was built in 1921, the field in Avenches was closed.
Geography
Avenches has an area, , of 17.56 square kilometres (6.8 sq mi). Of this area, 11.13 km² (4.3 sq mi) or 63.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.78 km² (1.1 sq mi) or 15.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.44 km² (1.3 sq mi) or 19.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.15 km² (37.1 acre) or 0.9% is either rivers or lakes and 0.03 km² (7.4 acre) or 0.2% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.8% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 4.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 6.0%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 6.8%. Out of the forested land, 13.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 51.7% is used for growing crops and 10.6% is pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.3% is in lakes and 0.5% is in rivers and streams.
It was the capital of the Avenches District until 1 September 2006 when it became part of the new district of Broye-Vully.
Avenches is located on a hill, isolated in 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:...
valley, 12 km (7.5 mi) north-west of Fribourg
Fribourg
Fribourg is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and the district of Sarine. It is located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss plateau, and is an important economic, administrative and educational center on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland...
. The village Donatyre (505 m (1,656.8 ft)),south of Avenches, belongs to the municipality of Avenches, partly until 2006, and entirely since the municipality of Donatyre merged with Avenches.
The municipality of Oleyres
Oleyres
Oleyres is a former municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud in the district of Broye-Vully.On 1 July 2011 it was merged into the municipality of Avenches.-History:...
merged on 1 January 2011 into the municipality of Avenches.
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, Moors head proper with a band Argent around, clothed in Azure and Or.
Demographics
Avenches has a population of . , 32.9% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 16.2%. It has changed at a rate of 14% due to migration and at a rate of 3% 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...
(1,866 or 73.3%), with 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....
being second most common (329 or 12.9%) and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
being third (152 or 6.0%). There are 78 people who speak 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...
and 1 person who speaks Romansh.
Of the population in the municipality 693 or about 27.2% were born in Avenches and lived there in 2000. There were 357 or 14.0% who were born in the same canton, while 710 or 27.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 663 or 26.1% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 20 live births to Swiss citizens and 11 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 17 deaths of Swiss citizens and 2 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 3 while the foreign population increased by 9. There were 2 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 41 non-Swiss men and 29 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 48 and the non-Swiss population increased by 62 people. This represents a population growth rate of 3.8%.
The age distribution, , in Avenches is; 349 children or 11.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 376 teenagers or 12.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 404 people or 13.2% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 426 people or 13.9% are between 30 and 39, 508 people or 16.6% are between 40 and 49, and 375 people or 12.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 301 people or 9.8% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 198 people or 6.5% are between 70 and 79,there are 101 people or 3.3% who are 80 and 89, and there are 22 people or 0.7% who are 90 and older.
, there were 982 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,259 married individuals, 165 widows or widowers and 138 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.62 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 36.4% 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 1,094 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 337 households that consist of only one person and 69 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 1,074 households that answered this question, 31.4% 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 300 married couples without children, 339 married couples with children There were 58 single parents with a child or children. There were 9 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 320 single family homes (or 52.1% of the total) out of a total of 614 inhabited buildings. There were 138 multi-family buildings (22.5%), along with 91 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (14.8%) and 65 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (10.6%). Of the single family homes 69 were built before 1919, while 25 were built between 1990 and 2000. The most multi-family homes (49) were built before 1919 and the next most (22) were built between 1961 and 1970. There was 1 multi-family house built between 1996 and 2000.
there were 1,266 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 399. There were 76 single room apartments and 254 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 1,022 apartments (80.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 173 apartments (13.7%) were seasonally occupied and 71 apartments (5.6%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 35.9 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.67%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
The RomanSwitzerland in the Roman era
The history of Switzerland in the Roman era encompasses the roughly six centuries during which the territory of modern Switzerland was a part of the Roman Republic and Empire...
ruins of Aventicum, Avenches Castle
Avenches Castle
Avenches Castle is a castle in the municipality of Avenches of the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.-References:...
, the Cure at Rue du Jura 2, the Swiss Reformed
Swiss 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...
Church, the Temple à Donatyre and the Tour de l’évêque (Bishops tower) with amphitheater and Roman Museum are listed as 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 Avenches and the Haras fédéral area 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 SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
which received 29.08% 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...
(26.61%), 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....
(18.92%) 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:...
(9.6%). In the federal election, a total of 597 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 37.9%.
Economy
, Avenches had an unemployment rate of 4.6%. , there were 117 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 27 businesses involved in this sector. 283 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 41 businesses in this sector. 1,200 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 138 businesses in this sector. There were 1,285 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.6% 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 1,368. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 99, of which 97 were in agriculture and 2 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 267 of which 193 or (72.3%) were in manufacturing and 70 (26.2%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 1,002. In the tertiary sector; 524 or 52.3% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 74 or 7.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 106 or 10.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 4 or 0.4% were in the information industry, 10 or 1.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 36 or 3.6% were technical professionals or scientists, 60 or 6.0% were in education and 95 or 9.5% were in health care.
, there were 761 workers who commuted into the municipality and 690 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.1 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 9% used public transportation to get to work, and 63.6% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 966 or 38.0% were Roman Catholic, while 1,032 or 40.6% 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 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 0.31% of the population), and there were 37 individuals (or about 1.45% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 157 (or about 6.17% 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. 196 (or about 7.70% 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 142 individuals (or about 5.58% of the population) did not answer the question.
Weather
Avenches has an average of 121.8 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives 981 mm (38.6 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 Avenches receives an average of 102 mm (4 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 11.1 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 12.5, but with only 99 mm (3.9 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 63 mm (2.5 in) of precipitation over 9.6 days.
Education
In Avenches about 804 or (31.6%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 220 or (8.6%) 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 220 who completed tertiary schooling, 59.5% were Swiss men, 28.6% were Swiss women, 8.2% were non-Swiss men and 3.6% were non-Swiss women.
In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 396 students in the Avenches 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 212 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 174 students in those schools. There were also 10 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school. Avenches is home to 1 museum, the Musée romain d'Avenches. In 2009 it was visited by 17,280 visitors. In 2009 the Musée romain d'Avenches was visited by 17,280 visitors (the average in previous years was 18,742).
, there were 285 students in Avenches who came from another municipality, while 116 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Notable people
- Marius of Avenches, Sixth century chronicler
- Fredegar, Seventh century Frankish historian
- Ernest FailloubazErnest FailloubazErnest Failloubaz was a Swiss aviation pioneer. He received the pilot's brevet number 1 issued in Switzerland on October 11, 1910, and did the first flight in Switzerland of an aircraft built and flown by Swiss citizen.- Life :Ernest Failloubaz' father Jules, a rich wine merchant, died when Ernest...
, Swiss aviation pioneer