Birgisch
Encyclopedia
Birgisch is a municipality
in the district of Brig in the canton
of Valais
in Switzerland
.
The municipality is located above the right bank of the Rhone
river. It consists of the village of Birgisch and numerous hamlets
.
The municipalities of Birgisch and Mund
are seeking approval from the Canton to merge on 1 January 2013 into the municipality of Naters
.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Azure, a bend lowered wavy Argent, in chief sinister a Tower of the same lined, doored and windowed Sable.
Most of the population speaks German
(207 or 95.4%) as their first language, Slovenian is the second most common (4 or 1.8%) and French
is the third (2 or 0.9%).
, the gender distribution of the population was 50.9% male and 49.1% female. The population was made up of 107 Swiss men (48.6% of the population) and 5 (2.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 105 Swiss women (47.7%) and 3 (1.4%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 110 or about 50.7% were born in Birgisch and lived there in 2000. There were 65 or 30.0% who were born in the same canton, while 27 or 12.4% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 13 or 6.0% were born outside of Switzerland. The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.1%.
, there were 88 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 113 married individuals, 14 widows or widowers and 2 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.67 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.63 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 82.5% 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 84 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 23 households that consist of only one person and 6 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 85 households that answered this question, 27.1% were households made up of just one person and there was 1 adult who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 22 married couples without children, 34 married couples with children There were 3 single parents with a child or children. There was 1 household that was made up of unrelated people and 1 household that was made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 91 single family homes (or 72.2% of the total) out of a total of 126 inhabited buildings. There were 26 multi-family buildings (20.6%), along with 7 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (5.6%) and 2 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (1.6%).
, a total of 80 apartments (51.9% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 58 apartments (37.7%) were seasonally occupied and 16 apartments (10.4%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 9.1 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 2.41%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
the most popular party was the CVP
which received 56.68% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(21.93%), the SP
(13.35%) and the Green Party
(2.72%). In the federal election, a total of 114 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 63.0%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat
election a total of 95 votes were cast, of which 9 or about 9.5% were invalid. The voter participation was 53.7%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election
election a total of 114 votes were cast, of which 12 or about 10.5% were invalid. The voter participation was 64.0%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 59.88%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 17. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 8, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 3 of which 1 was in manufacturing and 2 (66.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 6. In the tertiary sector; 1 was in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 2 or 33.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 33.3% were in education.
, there were 6 workers who commuted into the municipality and 84 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 14.0 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 19.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 74.5% used a private car.
. 2 (or about 0.92% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 3 individuals (or about 1.38% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 10 who completed tertiary schooling, 60.0% were Swiss men, 30.0% were Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 13 students in the Birgisch school system. The education system
in the Canton of Valais allows young children to attend one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten
. During that school year, there were no kindergarten classes (KG1 or KG2) and there were no kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school. In Birgisch there was one class and 13 students in the primary school. The secondary school
program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling (orientation classes), followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. All the lower secondary students from Birgisch attend their school in a neighboring municipality. All the upper secondary students attended school in another municipality.
, there were 10 students from Birgisch 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 Brig 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 Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
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
Birgisch has an area, , of 5.7 square kilometre. Of this area, 37.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 46.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.0% is settled (buildings or roads) and 12.6% is unproductive land.The municipality is located above the right bank of the Rhone
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
river. It consists of the village of Birgisch and numerous hamlets
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
.
The municipalities of Birgisch and Mund
Mund
Mund is a municipality in the district of Brig in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.-History:Mund is first mentioned in 1259 as Munt. Until about 1800 it was normally known as Wyler and the last mention of that name was in 1850.-Geography:...
are seeking approval from the Canton to merge on 1 January 2013 into the municipality of Naters
Naters
Naters is a municipality in the district of Brig in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.-Geography:Naters has an area, , of . Of this area, 16.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 9.0% is forested...
.
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 Azure, a bend lowered wavy Argent, in chief sinister a Tower of the same lined, doored and windowed Sable.
Demographics
Birgisch has a population of . , 4.1% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 0%. It has changed at a rate of -1.8% 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....
(207 or 95.4%) as their first language, Slovenian is the second most common (4 or 1.8%) 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...
is the third (2 or 0.9%).
, the gender distribution of the population was 50.9% male and 49.1% female. The population was made up of 107 Swiss men (48.6% of the population) and 5 (2.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 105 Swiss women (47.7%) and 3 (1.4%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 110 or about 50.7% were born in Birgisch and lived there in 2000. There were 65 or 30.0% who were born in the same canton, while 27 or 12.4% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 13 or 6.0% were born outside of Switzerland. The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.1%.
, there were 88 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 113 married individuals, 14 widows or widowers and 2 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.67 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.63 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 82.5% 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 84 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 23 households that consist of only one person and 6 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 85 households that answered this question, 27.1% were households made up of just one person and there was 1 adult who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 22 married couples without children, 34 married couples with children There were 3 single parents with a child or children. There was 1 household that was made up of unrelated people and 1 household that was made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 91 single family homes (or 72.2% of the total) out of a total of 126 inhabited buildings. There were 26 multi-family buildings (20.6%), along with 7 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (5.6%) and 2 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (1.6%).
, a total of 80 apartments (51.9% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 58 apartments (37.7%) were seasonally occupied and 16 apartments (10.4%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 9.1 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 2.41%.
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 CVP
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...
which received 56.68% 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...
(21.93%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(13.35%) 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:...
(2.72%). In the federal election, a total of 114 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 63.0%.
In the 2009 Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat
Conseil d'Etat (Switzerland)
In Switzerland, Conseil d'Etat is the name of the council constituting the cantonal government of French-speaking cantons. It is not to be confused with the Conseil des États which is a chamber of the Swiss parliament....
election a total of 95 votes were cast, of which 9 or about 9.5% were invalid. The voter participation was 53.7%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 54.67%. In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election
Swiss Council of States election, 2007
Elections were held to the Council of States of Switzerland in October and November 2007 as part of the 2007 federal election. All 46 members of the Council of States were elected from all cantons of Switzerland. The first round was held on 21 October...
election a total of 114 votes were cast, of which 12 or about 10.5% were invalid. The voter participation was 64.0%, which is similar to the cantonal average of 59.88%.
Economy
, Birgisch had an unemployment rate of 0.7%. , there were 23 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 12 businesses involved in this sector. 4 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 2 businesses in this sector. 8 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 3 businesses in this sector. There were 98 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 36.7% 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 17. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 8, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 3 of which 1 was in manufacturing and 2 (66.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 6. In the tertiary sector; 1 was in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 2 or 33.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 33.3% were in education.
, there were 6 workers who commuted into the municipality and 84 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 14.0 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 19.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 74.5% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 203 or 93.5% were Roman Catholic, while 9 or 4.1% 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...
. 2 (or about 0.92% 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 3 individuals (or about 1.38% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Birgisch about 83 or (38.2%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 10 or (4.6%) 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 10 who completed tertiary schooling, 60.0% were Swiss men, 30.0% were Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 13 students in the Birgisch school system. The education system
Education in Switzerland
The education system in Switzerland is very diverse, because the constitution of Switzerland delegates the authority for the school system mainly to the cantons...
in the Canton of Valais allows young children to attend one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
. During that school year, there were no kindergarten classes (KG1 or KG2) and there were no kindergarten students. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school. In Birgisch there was one class and 13 students in the primary school. The secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling (orientation classes), followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. All the lower secondary students from Birgisch attend their school in a neighboring municipality. All the upper secondary students attended school in another municipality.
, there were 10 students from Birgisch who attended schools outside the municipality.