Château-d'Œx
Encyclopedia
Château-d'Œx is a municipality
in the canton
of Vaud
in Switzerland
. It is in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut.
and Mesolithic
(9500 to at least 6000 BC) caves around Château-d'Oex served as a seasonal settlement. Bronze Age
knives indicate that there was a settlement during that era as well. Many of the local names (combe = valley, joeur = forest, man= rock)and the local dialect are the only traces of a celtic settlement in the area. The lack of iron ore and the sparseness of the soil probably prevented the romanization
of lowland valleys. During the Gallo-Roman
era, the region may have been only sparsely populated. By the 10th Century, the Alamanni
c settlements had only reached Le Vanel but then spread even higher and reached the pastures in L'Etivaz in the southern part of the municipality. The valley was known as the high Gau or Ogo. The name may have come from the word for Ox or be a form of Äesch, (or ash).
to form a district. The church of St. Donat was consecrated and first mentioned in 1175. The village church was under the authority of the Cluniac Priory
of Rougemont, which was founded in 1080.
At the beginning of the 14th Century, the castle at La Motte was rebuilt for the Counts of Gruyere. Another stronghold probably stood on the rocky spur which was known as Château Cottier. After clearing the woods, the region was intensively farmed and produced barley, hay, hemp and cheese. In 1388 the villagers threw off the obligation to serve the nobility. Then, in 1403, against the wishes of the Count of Gruyères, the villagers joined a limited alliance with Bern.
of Saanen. The rights and freedoms of the villagers were now based on Bernese law and not on the Land Law of Moudon
. However, the village church was still part of the parish
under the collegiate church
of Lausanne
. Following the Protestant Reformation
in 1555, the parish also included Etivaz until 1713.
Under Bernese rule, the economy experienced a strong upswing. The common land
was divided and sold before the end of the 16th Century. The alpine pastures were leased to private cheese makers, who there produced Gruyere cheese. In the 18th Century, the inhabitants of the municipality sold the cheese, from the approximately 2,000 cows, at the market in Vevey
. From there it went over the Col de Jaman to Marseille
where it was exported to Asia and America.
. In 1800, a fire destroyed the wooden houses on the central hill. The houses had been built in this style and on the hill to avoid property taxes. Thanks to the efforts of the Dean
Philippe-Sirice Bridel enough money was raised to rebuild the houses in stone. The municipality hired masons from Savoy
, carpenters from Simmental
and plasterers from the lower Gruyere lands lower uplands. In 1803, the Canton of Léman was dissolved with the Act of Mediation
and the municipality became part of the new canton of Vaud.
In 1849, the Institute Henchoz opened as a preparatory gymnasium
, which replaced the older Latin school
. The primary school received a new building in 1907. Starting in 1847 a parish of the Free Church of the Canton of Vaud was established with two priests. The Catholic parish was established in 1896 and the Anglican church parish was created in 1899. Other religious communities, such as the Plymouth Brethren
, established churches in the valley.
In the 19th Century, the municipality suffered several several outbreaks of livestock diseases. To protect the dairy industry, non-local herds were forbidden from passing through the municipality. Cheese was no longer allowed to be carried across the mountains but was now transported on local draft horses. Due to customs taxes with the neighboring Canton of Fribourg, cheese was carried on a route over the Col de Chaude to Villeneuve (VD)
and from there to the shores of Lake Geneva
, without crossing the Fribourg border. The abolition of the inter-canton customs and taxes in 1848 led to the demolition of the Fribourg customs station on the main road that had linked Château-d'Oex with the grain and livestock markets. Changes in markets and improvements in animal husbandry led to more Simmental cattle
being raised for meat rather than cheese production. The construction of the road over the Col des Mosses (1865–71) and the construction of a new road to Bulle (1895) eased transportation.
The hospital, which had replaced the old hospital in 1926, was remodeled in 1979 into a nursing home and district hospital. At the same time, solar heating was added to the building. The municipal administration building was built in 1912, and renovated in 1958. The Musée du Vieux Pays-d'Enhaut was built in 1922.
Until 1953 the Liberal party (PLS) and the Parti radical-démocratique suisse {PRD) were separate parties that each published their own newspaper. The PRD paper "Le Progrès", however merged in 1940 into the (PLS), "Journal de Château-d'Œx", which became in 1989 the "Journal du Pays d'Enhaut". The socialist and agrarian parties were not represented in the local parliament until 1957 when proportional representation was introduced.
A power plant operated in La Chaudanne was from 1894 until about 1901. The opening of the Montreux-Oberland Bernois
Railway (MOB) in 1904 made Château-d'Oex an attractive summer resort. It was particularly appreciated by English tourists. Between 1916-18 it also housed English internees during the war
. Half a dozen grand hotels with tennis courts sprang up in the municipality. A tennis club was founded in 1894. Other infrastructure included the suspension bridge at Turrian (1883), a swimming pool and a campsite (1932), a cable car (1945) and the Pont du Berceau (1945). The agricultural sector has remained important, with the emphasis again shifting to cheese. In the 20th Century, winter tourism became an important additional source of income. Hot air balloons and river rafting became common in the summer, while local crafts, sawmills and gravel mining are the main branches of the industrial sector. Since 1945, the area around Pierreuse has been a protected heritage site.
Château-d'Oex has an area, , of 113.7 square kilometre. Of this area, 50.67 square kilometre or 44.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 40.8 square kilometre or 35.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.29 square kilometre or 2.9% is settled (buildings or roads), 1.11 square kilometre or 1.0% is either rivers or lakes and 17.74 square kilometre or 15.6% is unproductive land.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.2%. Out of the forested land, 30.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.1% is used for growing crops and 10.5% is pastures and 34.0% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.4% is in lakes and 0.6% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 9.3% is unproductive vegetation and 6.3% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality was part of the Pays-d'Enhaut District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Château-d'Oex became part of the new district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut.
The municipality is the largest in land area in the canton. It is located in the upper Saane valley. In the 14th to 18th Centuries, the seven établées of Sous le Scex, Mont, Village, Frasse, Entre deux Eaux, Monteiller and L'Etivaz merged into the municipality. It consists of the villages of Château-d'Oex, L' Etivaz, Les Moulins and Les Granges, 35 hamlets
and 22 alpine herding camps.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Gules, a tower embattled Or, a wall embattled of the same in the dexter, surmounted by a crane Argent
Most of the population speaks French
(2,611 or 88.5%), with German
being second most common (105 or 3.6%) and English
being third (71 or 2.4%). There are 19 people who speak Italian
.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 54.6% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 21.5%.
, there were 1,140 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,422 married individuals, 227 widows or widowers and 160 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.53 which is less people per room than 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 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 48.5% 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 1,350 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.1 persons per household. There were 550 households that consist of only one person and 92 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 1,381 households that answered this question, 39.8% were households made up of just one person and there were 11 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 363 married couples without children, 340 married couples with children There were 66 single parents with a child or children. There were 20 households that were made up of unrelated people and 31 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 608 single family homes (or 47.8% of the total) out of a total of 1,271 inhabited buildings. There were 342 multi-family buildings (26.9%), along with 217 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (17.1%) and 104 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (8.2%). {
, a total of 1,302 apartments (57.5% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 871 apartments (38.5%) were seasonally occupied and 90 apartments (4.0%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 6.6 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.54%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
. The entire hamlet of l’Etivaz is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
.
Commemorative insignia (pins) are created for each festival and are sold as pass-tickets to the museum and sportive manifestations for the whole duration of it.
A museum dedicated to Montgolfier type ballons is located in the center of the town.
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 32.23% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP
(18.37%), the SP
(16.21%) and the LPS Party
(14.68%). In the federal election, a total of 854 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 41.6%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 1,196. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 169, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 232 of which 60 or (25.9%) were in manufacturing and 156 (67.2%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 795. In the tertiary sector; 191 or 24.0% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 50 or 6.3% were in the movement and storage of goods, 116 or 14.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 15 or 1.9% were the insurance or financial industry, 46 or 5.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 42 or 5.3% were in education and 198 or 24.9% were in health care.
, there were 238 workers who commuted into the municipality and 266 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.1 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 5.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 53.3% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 12 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 0.41% of the population), there was 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 363 individuals (or about 12.31% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 9 individuals (or about 0.31% of the population) who were Jewish
, and 89 (or about 3.02% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There were 2 individuals who were Buddhist
and 9 individuals who were Hindu
. 258 (or about 8.75% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 110 individuals (or about 3.73% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 299 who completed tertiary schooling, 45.5% were Swiss men, 30.4% were Swiss women, 13.0% were non-Swiss men and 11.0% were non-Swiss women.
, there were 92 students in Château-d'Oex who came from another municipality, while 95 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
and his wife, Jetta Umiker, spent several years in the town.
David Niven
, the British actor who played Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days (1956 film), lived much of his life in Château-d'Œx. He died at his chalet on July 29, 1983 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), at age 73.
Billy Kearns, the American actor, also lived much of his life in Château-d'Œx. He died on November 28, 1992 of lung cancer at age 69.
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,...
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 in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut.
Prehistoric settlements
During the late PaleolithicPaleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
and Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
(9500 to at least 6000 BC) caves around Château-d'Oex served as a seasonal settlement. Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
knives indicate that there was a settlement during that era as well. Many of the local names (combe = valley, joeur = forest, man= rock)and the local dialect are the only traces of a celtic settlement in the area. The lack of iron ore and the sparseness of the soil probably prevented the romanization
Switzerland 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...
of lowland valleys. During the Gallo-Roman
Gallo-Roman culture
The term Gallo-Roman describes the Romanized culture of Gaul under the rule of the Roman Empire. This was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman mores and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context...
era, the region may have been only sparsely populated. By the 10th Century, 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...
c settlements had only reached Le Vanel but then spread even higher and reached the pastures in L'Etivaz in the southern part of the municipality. The valley was known as the high Gau or Ogo. The name may have come from the word for Ox or be a form of Äesch, (or ash).
Medieval history
In the 10th Century, the Count of Gruyere conquered La Tine and the Creux de l'Enfer. Subsequently it was merged with RossinièreRossinière
Rossinière is a municipality in the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut district of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.-Geography:Rossinière has an area, , of . Of this area, or 38.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 49.6% is forested...
to form a district. The church of St. Donat was consecrated and first mentioned in 1175. The village church was under the authority of the Cluniac Priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
of Rougemont, which was founded in 1080.
At the beginning of the 14th Century, the castle at La Motte was rebuilt for the Counts of Gruyere. Another stronghold probably stood on the rocky spur which was known as Château Cottier. After clearing the woods, the region was intensively farmed and produced barley, hay, hemp and cheese. In 1388 the villagers threw off the obligation to serve the nobility. Then, in 1403, against the wishes of the Count of Gruyères, the villagers joined a limited alliance with Bern.
Growth during the Early Modern era
In 1555 Bern received the upper part of the county of Gruyere including Château-d'Oex. It became part of the German-speaking bailiwickBailiwick
A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and may also apply to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of...
of Saanen. The rights and freedoms of the villagers were now based on Bernese law and not on the Land Law of Moudon
Moudon
Moudon is a municipality in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It was the seat of the district of Moudon and is now in the Broye-Vully district.-History:...
. However, the village church was still part of the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
under the collegiate church
Collegiate church
In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
of 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...
. Following the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
in 1555, the parish also included Etivaz until 1713.
Under Bernese rule, the economy experienced a strong upswing. The common land
The commons
The commons is terminology referring to resources that are owned in common or shared between or among communities populations. These resources are said to be "held in common" and can include everything from natural resources and common land to software. The commons contains public property and...
was divided and sold before the end of the 16th Century. The alpine pastures were leased to private cheese makers, who there produced Gruyere cheese. In the 18th Century, the inhabitants of the municipality sold the cheese, from the approximately 2,000 cows, at the market in Vevey
Vevey
Vevey is a town in Switzerland in the canton Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne.It was the seat of the district of the same name until 2006, and is now part of the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District...
. From there it went over the Col de Jaman to Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
where it was exported to Asia and America.
End of the Ancien Regime and Modern Château-d'Oex
In 1798, Château-d'Oex came to the newly formed Canton of LémanCanton 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 1800, a fire destroyed the wooden houses on the central hill. The houses had been built in this style and on the hill to avoid property taxes. Thanks to the efforts of the Dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
Philippe-Sirice Bridel enough money was raised to rebuild the houses in stone. The municipality hired masons from Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
, carpenters from Simmental
Simmental
Simmental is an alpine valley in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. It expands from Lenk to Boltigen, in a more or less South-North direction , and from there to the valley exit at Wimmis near Spiez it takes a West-East orientation . It comprises the municipalities of Lenk, St...
and plasterers from the lower Gruyere lands lower uplands. In 1803, the Canton of Léman was dissolved with the Act of Mediation
Act of Mediation
The Act of Mediation was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte on 19 February 1803 establishing the Swiss Confederation. The act also abolished the previous Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion of Switzerland by French troops in 1798. After the withdrawal of French troops in July 1802,...
and the municipality became part of the new canton of Vaud.
In 1849, the Institute Henchoz opened as a preparatory gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
, which replaced the older Latin school
Latin School
Latin School may refer to:* Latin schools of Medieval Europe* These schools in the United States:** Boston Latin School, Boston, MA** Brooklyn Latin School, New York, NY** Brother Joseph C. Fox Latin School, Long Island, NY...
. The primary school received a new building in 1907. Starting in 1847 a parish of the Free Church of the Canton of Vaud was established with two priests. The Catholic parish was established in 1896 and the Anglican church parish was created in 1899. Other religious communities, such as the Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
, established churches in the valley.
In the 19th Century, the municipality suffered several several outbreaks of livestock diseases. To protect the dairy industry, non-local herds were forbidden from passing through the municipality. Cheese was no longer allowed to be carried across the mountains but was now transported on local draft horses. Due to customs taxes with the neighboring Canton of Fribourg, cheese was carried on a route over the Col de Chaude to Villeneuve (VD)
Villeneuve, Vaud
Villeneuve is a municipality of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Aigle.-Geography:Villeneuve has an area, , of . Of this area, or 26.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 55.2% is forested...
and from there to the shores of Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...
, without crossing the Fribourg border. The abolition of the inter-canton customs and taxes in 1848 led to the demolition of the Fribourg customs station on the main road that had linked Château-d'Oex with the grain and livestock markets. Changes in markets and improvements in animal husbandry led to more Simmental cattle
Simmental Cattle
Simmental cattle are a versatile breed of cattle originating in the valley of the Simme river, in the Bernese Oberland of western Switzerland.-European origin:...
being raised for meat rather than cheese production. The construction of the road over the Col des Mosses (1865–71) and the construction of a new road to Bulle (1895) eased transportation.
The hospital, which had replaced the old hospital in 1926, was remodeled in 1979 into a nursing home and district hospital. At the same time, solar heating was added to the building. The municipal administration building was built in 1912, and renovated in 1958. The Musée du Vieux Pays-d'Enhaut was built in 1922.
Until 1953 the Liberal party (PLS) and the Parti radical-démocratique suisse {PRD) were separate parties that each published their own newspaper. The PRD paper "Le Progrès", however merged in 1940 into the (PLS), "Journal de Château-d'Œx", which became in 1989 the "Journal du Pays d'Enhaut". The socialist and agrarian parties were not represented in the local parliament until 1957 when proportional representation was introduced.
A power plant operated in La Chaudanne was from 1894 until about 1901. The opening of the Montreux-Oberland Bernois
Montreux-Oberland Bernois
The Montreux-Oberland Bernois railway , is a railway operating in southwest Switzerland, one of the oldest electric railways in the country; its main line, in length, built to gauge, connects Montreux, Gstaad and Zweisimmen where passengers can transfer to a branch of the standard gauge...
Railway (MOB) in 1904 made Château-d'Oex an attractive summer resort. It was particularly appreciated by English tourists. Between 1916-18 it also housed English internees during the war
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...
. Half a dozen grand hotels with tennis courts sprang up in the municipality. A tennis club was founded in 1894. Other infrastructure included the suspension bridge at Turrian (1883), a swimming pool and a campsite (1932), a cable car (1945) and the Pont du Berceau (1945). The agricultural sector has remained important, with the emphasis again shifting to cheese. In the 20th Century, winter tourism became an important additional source of income. Hot air balloons and river rafting became common in the summer, while local crafts, sawmills and gravel mining are the main branches of the industrial sector. Since 1945, the area around Pierreuse has been a protected heritage site.
Geography
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.2%. Out of the forested land, 30.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.1% is used for growing crops and 10.5% is pastures and 34.0% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.4% is in lakes and 0.6% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 9.3% is unproductive vegetation and 6.3% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality was part of the Pays-d'Enhaut District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Château-d'Oex became part of the new district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut.
The municipality is the largest in land area in the canton. It is located in the upper Saane valley. In the 14th to 18th Centuries, the seven établées of Sous le Scex, Mont, Village, Frasse, Entre deux Eaux, Monteiller and L'Etivaz merged into the municipality. It consists of the villages of Château-d'Oex, L' Etivaz, Les Moulins and Les Granges, 35 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...
and 22 alpine herding camps.
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, a tower embattled Or, a wall embattled of the same in the dexter, surmounted by a crane Argent
Demographics
Château-d'Oex has a population of . , 19.1% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 5%. It has changed at a rate of 8.8% due to migration and at a rate of -3.6% 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...
(2,611 or 88.5%), 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 (105 or 3.6%) and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
being third (71 or 2.4%). There are 19 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...
.
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 54.6% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 21.5%.
, there were 1,140 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,422 married individuals, 227 widows or widowers and 160 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.53 which is less people per room than 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 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 48.5% 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 1,350 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.1 persons per household. There were 550 households that consist of only one person and 92 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 1,381 households that answered this question, 39.8% were households made up of just one person and there were 11 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 363 married couples without children, 340 married couples with children There were 66 single parents with a child or children. There were 20 households that were made up of unrelated people and 31 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 608 single family homes (or 47.8% of the total) out of a total of 1,271 inhabited buildings. There were 342 multi-family buildings (26.9%), along with 217 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (17.1%) and 104 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (8.2%). {
, a total of 1,302 apartments (57.5% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 871 apartments (38.5%) were seasonally occupied and 90 apartments (4.0%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 6.6 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.54%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
The Les Ciernes-Picat, a mesolithic shelter, 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...
. The entire hamlet of l’Etivaz is 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:...
.
Sights
The world famous "Balloon Week" has been held each year since 1979 in the last week of January. Up to 100 balloonists gather for the festival each year. The Breitling Orbiter 3, the first hot air balloon to circumnavigate the earth, took-off from Château-d'Œx on March 1, 1999.Commemorative insignia (pins) are created for each festival and are sold as pass-tickets to the museum and sportive manifestations for the whole duration of it.
A museum dedicated to Montgolfier type ballons is located in the center of the town.
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 32.23% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were 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....
(18.37%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(16.21%) and the LPS Party
Liberal Party of Switzerland
The Liberal Party of Switzerland was a party with economically liberal policies. It was known as a party of the upper class. On 1 January 2009 it merged with the larger Free Democratic Party to establish FDP.The Liberals....
(14.68%). In the federal election, a total of 854 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 41.6%.
Economy
, Château-d'Oex had an unemployment rate of 2.3%. , there were 234 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 97 businesses involved in this sector. 252 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 54 businesses in this sector. 1,012 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 173 businesses in this sector. There were 1,372 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 43.5% 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 1,196. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 169, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 232 of which 60 or (25.9%) were in manufacturing and 156 (67.2%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 795. In the tertiary sector; 191 or 24.0% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 50 or 6.3% were in the movement and storage of goods, 116 or 14.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 15 or 1.9% were the insurance or financial industry, 46 or 5.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 42 or 5.3% were in education and 198 or 24.9% were in health care.
, there were 238 workers who commuted into the municipality and 266 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.1 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 5.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 53.3% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 527 or 17.9% were Roman Catholic, while 1,746 or 59.2% 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 12 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 0.41% of the population), there was 1 individual who belongs 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 363 individuals (or about 12.31% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 9 individuals (or about 0.31% of the population) who were Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and 89 (or about 3.02% 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 2 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 9 individuals who were Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
. 258 (or about 8.75% 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 110 individuals (or about 3.73% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Château-d'Oex about 986 or (33.4%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 299 or (10.1%) 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 299 who completed tertiary schooling, 45.5% were Swiss men, 30.4% were Swiss women, 13.0% were non-Swiss men and 11.0% were non-Swiss women.
, there were 92 students in Château-d'Oex who came from another municipality, while 95 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Sport
Skiing is a key activity in the area with the ski station of La Braye accessible via cable car (also open in Summer) from the heart of Château-d'Œx village. The International Hot-Air Balloon Festival in Château-d'Oex is held every year in January, since 1979.Notable residents
The Dutch graphic artist M. C. EscherM. C. Escher
Maurits Cornelis Escher , usually referred to as M. C. Escher , was a Dutch graphic artist. He is known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints...
and his wife, Jetta Umiker, spent several years in the town.
David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
, the British actor who played Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days (1956 film), lived much of his life in Château-d'Œx. He died at his chalet on July 29, 1983 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), at age 73.
Billy Kearns, the American actor, also lived much of his life in Château-d'Œx. He died on November 28, 1992 of lung cancer at age 69.