Boltigen
Encyclopedia
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 Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district
Obersimmental-Saanen (administrative district)
Obersimmental-Saanen District in the Canton of Bern was created on 1 January 2010. It is part of the Oberland administrative region. It contains 7 municipalities with an area of and a population of 16,784....
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 Bern 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....
.
Boltigen is a mixed community, with traits both of a burgese community and a village community. Beside it, there is also a reformed evangelical Church community. The history of the community goes back to 1386 and the so-called Freiheitsbrief von 1386.
The community president is Hermann Maurer, since January 1, 2005.
Geography
Boltigen has an area, , of 77.02 km² (29.7 sq mi). Of this area, 40.82 km² (15.8 sq mi) or 53.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 27.22 km² (10.5 sq mi) or 35.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.85 km² (0.71428899339619 sq mi) or 2.4% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.42 km² (0.162162906608865 sq mi) or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes and 6.65 km² (2.6 sq mi) or 8.6% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.0% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.2%. 29.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.0% is used for growing crops and 12.6% is pastures and 40.3% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 5.8% is unproductive vegatation, 2.8% is too rocky for vegatation.
Boltigen lies in the Bernese Oberland
Bernese Oberland
The Bernese Oberland is the higher part of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, in the southern end of the canton: The area around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and the valleys of the Bernese Alps .The flag of the Bernese Oberland consists of a black eagle in a gold field The Bernese Oberland (Bernese...
in Obersimmental beneath Zweisimmen
Zweisimmen
Zweisimmen is a municipality in the Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Zweisimmen has an area of . Of this area, 56.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 32.9% is forested...
. The Jaunpass lies in the community's area. The neighbour communities to the North are, clockwise, Oberwil im Simmental
Oberwil im Simmental
Oberwil im Simmental is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:...
, Diemtigen
Diemtigen
Diemtigen is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.In 1986, the community was awarded the Wakker Prize for preservation of its architectural heritage.-Geography:...
, Zweisimmen
Zweisimmen
Zweisimmen is a municipality in the Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Zweisimmen has an area of . Of this area, 56.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 32.9% is forested...
, Saanen
Saanen
Saanen is a municipality in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is the capital of the Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district.-Geography:Saanen has an area of . Of this area, 52.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 33.6% is forested...
, Jaun
Jaun
Jaun is a municipality in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It is the only German-speaking municipality in Gruyère.-Geography:...
and Plaffeien
Plaffeien
-References:...
.
The municipality includes the cooperative farms (Bäuerten) of Boltigen, Adlemsried, Eschi, Oberbäuert (which includes Littisbach and Unterbächen), Reidenbach, Schwarzenmatt, Simmenegg and Weissenbach. The area includes the valley floor around the Simme
Simme
The river Simme is a tributary of the river Kander in the Bernese Oberland in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It's approximately 60 km long and has a catchment area of 594 km²....
River, both sides of the valley and the surrounding mountains up to an altitude of 2235 m (7,332.7 ft).
Demographics
Boltigen has a population (as of ) of . , 3.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -5.7%. Most of the population speaks German (96.9%), with Albanian being second most common ( 1.3%) and French being third ( 0.5%).In the 2007 election 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 58.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....
(14.5%), the local small left-wing parties (8.2%) 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:...
(6.9%).
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 27.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 52.1% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 20.1%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Boltigen about 56% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
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...
).
Boltigen has an unemployment rate of 0.96%. , there were 293 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 107 businesses involved in this sector. 70 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 20 businesses in this sector. 136 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 39 businesses in this sector.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1488 | 147 Households |
| 1764 | 1,300 |
| 1850 | 2,149 |
| 1900 | 1,933 |
| 1950 | 1,779 |
| 1980 | 1,339 |
| 2000 | 1,436 |