Cortaillod
Encyclopedia
Cortaillod is a municipality
in the district of Boudry
in the canton
of Neuchâtel in Switzerland
.
The neolithic
Cortaillod culture
was named after Cortaillod, where four neolithic villages have been discovered.
, a neolithic
culture in Switzerland and surrounding areas. There are four neolithic sites along the lake shore at Cortaillod; La Fabrique or Le Vivier which is now eroding, Les Cotes which was almost completely washed out in 1880, Petit-Cortaillod and La Tuillières. At La Tuillières several large flint
and stone axes were found. Petit-Cortaillod is the largest and most productive. It is about 300 by 60 m (984.3 by 196.9 ft) and is between 0.6 to thick. These sites were originally underwater, but were discovered when the water level of Lake Neuchâtel dropped. Because they were no longer flooded, between 1876 and 1879 the sites were looted. Many items were bought by museums or private collectors with limited study and documentation. The first scientific study was done in 1878 by Albert Vouga and Fritz Borel at the Petit-Cortaillod site. Their first excavations went down to a chalk layer at a depth of 1.25 m (4.1 ft). The list of objects excavated on this occasion is impressive: thousands of flints and awls made of bone, 3,000 ax shafts, and about 2,000 smaller axes and hatchets.
(1250-800 BC) in 1858. Friedrich Schwab and Edouard Desor's archeological excavations found many bronze items. One of the most striking items, a wheel spoke made of bronze and oak wood with a diameter of 51 cm (20.1 in), was discovered in 1862. Other finds included axes, sickles and needles as well as bronze swords and hundreds of vases. There were also a number of crescent-shaped earthenware objects called d'argile croissants. The d'argile croissants are about 30 cm (11.8 in) long and may represent constellations. After the first Jura water correction
dropped the water levels by 2.7 m (8.9 ft), the sites began to erode. In 1925 Paul Vouga took soundings to study the stratigraphy
of the site. At his request, the Army made a series of aerial photographs in 1927, which provided a number of fundamental insights into these villages from the Bronze Age.
The settlement at Cortaillod-Est was explored by divers in 1981-84. They were able to use dendrochronology
to determine that the settlement was inhabited between 1010 and 955 BC. At its largest, it consisted of eight parallel rows of houses (total 22 houses), which were separated by straight-line paths. The houses were built on dry stone foundations. It was enclosed by a fence that was built in a semicircular arc and covered an area of about 5200 m² (1.3 acre). Cortaillod-Plage, the extension of the village to the north-east was inhabited between 968-954 BC. The settlement was built on an area of approximately 2500 square metre. The village of Cortaillod Les Esserts was surrounded by a 120 m (393.7 ft) long, three layer palisade
. Cortaillod Les Esserts was inhabited between 870-850 BC and had an area of between 15000–18000 m² (3.7–4.4 acre). It had a road running through the center of the village with houses on both sides.
La Fabrique or Le Vivier, the other Bronze Age site, is located above the Neolithic site. During the construction of the A1 motorway in 1993-98, the site was explored. In 1993 in Murgiers, two cremation graves from the Late Bronze Age (Hallstatt A 1
) were discovered. One of the graves contained both offerings and a ceramic jar containing the cremated bones of a person. The other grave had fine pottery including vases with a decorative edge. The excavations at Petit Ruz in 1995-97 discovered many traces of a Bronze Age settlement, including some 300 post holes, numerous pits and hearths, and a 2.5 by 84 m (8.2 by 275.6 ft) gravel road. An excavation at Champ Basset in 1996 discovered a circular pit 4 m (13.1 ft) in diameter. This pit contained 27 kg (59.5 lb) of very well-preserved pottery from the Hallstatt period. Other sites in Cortaillod include postholes, burials, hearths and pottery at Tolay, in Champ Barrett, Rochettes in Chanélaz and at Tilles as well as a number of tombs from the La Tène period
at Courbes Rayes.
the ownership of the village was quite complicated. Members of the parish
es of Pontareuse and Bevaix both lived there. The municipal community
consisted of citizens of Boudry
(who were under the Lord of Gorgier) and also subjects of the priory of Bevaix. Each feudal lord had a bailiff
or magistrate to represent him in the village. There was only a civil court in Cortaillod, criminal cases were heard by one of the feudal lords. Starting in 1379 the inhabitants of the municipal community, owned their own pastures. In 1499 Philip of Hochberg, Count of Neuchatel, allowed them the right to farm the sandy shoreline. Between 1541 and 1545, the Lord of Colombier bought Cortaillod from the two preceding feudal lords. However, Cortaillod was sold to the Count of Neuchâtel in 1564, and became part of the County of Neuchâtel. The inhabitants then called themselves citizens of Boudry, but they did not enjoy all the citizenship rights.
and a special tax (Eminem de la porte), which had to be paid by the residents of Cortaillod but only benefited Boudry. This tax was abolished in 1813.
In 1503, the Bishop of Lausanne
allowed the villagers to establish a chapel. The Chapel of St. Nicholas was consecrated two years later. Until 1524 the pastor of Pontareuse and Bevaix protested against the permanent presence of a priest in Cortaillod. The village finally became an important parish when it accepted the Protestant Reformation
. In 1537 it became an independent parish.
The first weaving mill in Cortaillod opened in 1731 and was open for about 30 years. In 1752 the famous Fabrique-Neuve de Cortaillod mill opened near the other mills. It remained in operation until 1854. The building was then acquired in 1879 by Câbles Cortaillod. The company remained one of the most important companies in the municipality, even after it was acquired in 2001 by Nexans Schweiz AG. Between 1855 and 1885 there was a watch factory in Cortaillod. The European manufacturing and technology center of Silicon Graphics
settled in Cortaillod in 1992. However, this plant, which employed about 300 people, closed in 2001. Viticulture
remains a significant part of the local economy, and the wines of Cortaillod enjoy a good reputation.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 4.9% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 20.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 6.8%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 6.0% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.4%. Out of the forested land, 9.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 23.0% is used for growing crops and 4.6% is pastures, while 19.2% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Boudry district, above a steep drop into Lake Neuchatel
. It consists of the village of Cortaillod above the lake, a residential development on the lake shore at Petit Cortaillod harbor and the largest forest on the Boudry hills.
The proposed merger of the municipalities of Bevaix
, Boudry
and Cortaillod was rejected by the residents.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Vert, a Cross patte Argent ensigned with a Crescent increscent Or.
Most of the population speaks French
(3,800 or 86.9%) as their first language, German
is the second most common (171 or 3.9%) and Italian
is the third (122 or 2.8%). There is 1 person who speaks Romansh.
, the population was 48.7% male and 51.3% female. The population was made up of 1,734 Swiss men (38.4% of the population) and 466 (10.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,956 Swiss women (43.3%) and 362 (8.0%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 935 or about 21.4% were born in Cortaillod and lived there in 2000. There were 1,461 or 33.4% who were born in the same canton, while 917 or 21.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 997 or 22.8% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 23.4% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 62.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.9%.
, there were 1,666 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 2,212 married individuals, 236 widows or widowers and 259 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 1,851 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 599 households that consist of only one person and 93 households with five or more people. , a total of 1,794 apartments (90.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 147 apartments (7.4%) were seasonally occupied and 45 apartments (2.3%) were empty. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.19%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
. The village of Cortaillod is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
.
the most popular party was the SP
which received 26.02% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(23.46%), the LPS Party
(16.01%) and the FDP
(14.87%). In the federal election, a total of 1,408 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 48.8%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 1,407. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 26, of which 23 were in agriculture and 3 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 818 of which 747 or (91.3%) were in manufacturing and 71 (8.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 563. In the tertiary sector; 231 or 41.0% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 33 or 5.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 70 or 12.4% were in a hotel or restaurant, 37 or 6.6% were in the information industry, 4 or 0.7% were the insurance or financial industry, 60 or 10.7% were technical professionals or scientists, 22 or 3.9% were in education and 53 or 9.4% were in health care.
, there were 1,319 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,552 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.2 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 1.7% of the workforce coming into Cortaillod are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 15.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 63.6% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 56 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 1.28% of the population), there were 5 individuals (or about 0.11% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 295 individuals (or about 6.75% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 2 individuals (or about 0.05% of the population) who were Jewish
, and 66 (or about 1.51% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There were 2 individuals who were Buddhist
, 1 person who was Hindu
and 8 individuals who belonged to another church. 993 (or about 22.71% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 144 individuals (or about 3.29% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 610 who completed tertiary schooling, 57.5% were Swiss men, 24.6% were Swiss women, 11.1% were non-Swiss men and 6.7% were non-Swiss women.
In the canton of Neuchâtel most municipalities provide two years of non-mandatory kindergarten
, followed by five years of mandatory primary education. The next four years of mandatory secondary education is provided at thirteen larger secondary schools, which many students travel out of their home municipality to attend. During the 2010-11 school year, there were 5 kindergarten classes with a total of 94 students in Cortaillod. In the same year, there were 12 primary classes with a total of 236 students.
, there were 5 students in Cortaillod who came from another municipality, while 377 residents 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 Boudry
Boudry (district)
Boudry District is one of the six districts of the canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. It has a population of . The district capital is the town of Boudry.-Municipalities:The district consists of the following 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 Neuchâtel 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....
.
The neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
Cortaillod culture
Cortaillod culture
The Cortaillod culture is one of several archaeologically defined cultures belonging to the Neolithic period of Switzerland. The Cortaillod Culture in the west of the region is contemporary with the Pfyn Culture...
was named after Cortaillod, where four neolithic villages have been discovered.
Neolithic settlements
Cortaillod gave its name to the Cortaillod cultureCortaillod culture
The Cortaillod culture is one of several archaeologically defined cultures belonging to the Neolithic period of Switzerland. The Cortaillod Culture in the west of the region is contemporary with the Pfyn Culture...
, a neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
culture in Switzerland and surrounding areas. There are four neolithic sites along the lake shore at Cortaillod; La Fabrique or Le Vivier which is now eroding, Les Cotes which was almost completely washed out in 1880, Petit-Cortaillod and La Tuillières. At La Tuillières several large flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
and stone axes were found. Petit-Cortaillod is the largest and most productive. It is about 300 by 60 m (984.3 by 196.9 ft) and is between 0.6 to thick. These sites were originally underwater, but were discovered when the water level of Lake Neuchâtel dropped. Because they were no longer flooded, between 1876 and 1879 the sites were looted. Many items were bought by museums or private collectors with limited study and documentation. The first scientific study was done in 1878 by Albert Vouga and Fritz Borel at the Petit-Cortaillod site. Their first excavations went down to a chalk layer at a depth of 1.25 m (4.1 ft). The list of objects excavated on this occasion is impressive: thousands of flints and awls made of bone, 3,000 ax shafts, and about 2,000 smaller axes and hatchets.
Bronze age settlements
Ferdinand Keller and Frederic Troyon reported the discovery of lake shore settlements from the Late Bronze AgeBronze 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...
(1250-800 BC) in 1858. Friedrich Schwab and Edouard Desor's archeological excavations found many bronze items. One of the most striking items, a wheel spoke made of bronze and oak wood with a diameter of 51 cm (20.1 in), was discovered in 1862. Other finds included axes, sickles and needles as well as bronze swords and hundreds of vases. There were also a number of crescent-shaped earthenware objects called d'argile croissants. The d'argile croissants are about 30 cm (11.8 in) long and may represent constellations. After the first Jura water correction
Jura water correction
The correction of the waters of the Swiss Jura consisted in a wide series of hydrological undertakings carried out in Switzerland in the region of the three lakes: Lake Morat connected to Lake Neuchâtel by the Broye canal, the latter connected to Lake of Bienne by the Thielle canal, an area so...
dropped the water levels by 2.7 m (8.9 ft), the sites began to erode. In 1925 Paul Vouga took soundings to study the stratigraphy
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....
of the site. At his request, the Army made a series of aerial photographs in 1927, which provided a number of fundamental insights into these villages from the Bronze Age.
The settlement at Cortaillod-Est was explored by divers in 1981-84. They were able to use dendrochronology
Dendrochronology
Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...
to determine that the settlement was inhabited between 1010 and 955 BC. At its largest, it consisted of eight parallel rows of houses (total 22 houses), which were separated by straight-line paths. The houses were built on dry stone foundations. It was enclosed by a fence that was built in a semicircular arc and covered an area of about 5200 m² (1.3 acre). Cortaillod-Plage, the extension of the village to the north-east was inhabited between 968-954 BC. The settlement was built on an area of approximately 2500 square metre. The village of Cortaillod Les Esserts was surrounded by a 120 m (393.7 ft) long, three layer palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
. Cortaillod Les Esserts was inhabited between 870-850 BC and had an area of between 15000–18000 m² (3.7–4.4 acre). It had a road running through the center of the village with houses on both sides.
La Fabrique or Le Vivier, the other Bronze Age site, is located above the Neolithic site. During the construction of the A1 motorway in 1993-98, the site was explored. In 1993 in Murgiers, two cremation graves from the Late Bronze Age (Hallstatt A 1
Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Central European culture from the 8th to 6th centuries BC , developing out of the Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC and followed in much of Central Europe by the La Tène culture.By the 6th century BC, the Hallstatt culture extended for some...
) were discovered. One of the graves contained both offerings and a ceramic jar containing the cremated bones of a person. The other grave had fine pottery including vases with a decorative edge. The excavations at Petit Ruz in 1995-97 discovered many traces of a Bronze Age settlement, including some 300 post holes, numerous pits and hearths, and a 2.5 by 84 m (8.2 by 275.6 ft) gravel road. An excavation at Champ Basset in 1996 discovered a circular pit 4 m (13.1 ft) in diameter. This pit contained 27 kg (59.5 lb) of very well-preserved pottery from the Hallstatt period. Other sites in Cortaillod include postholes, burials, hearths and pottery at Tolay, in Champ Barrett, Rochettes in Chanélaz and at Tilles as well as a number of tombs from the La Tène period
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
at Courbes Rayes.
Medieval town
Part of Cortaillod was given in 1311 to Peter Stäffis, Lord of Gorgier as a result of an exchange that he made with Count Rudolph IV of Neuchâtel. During the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
the ownership of the village was quite complicated. Members 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...
es of Pontareuse and Bevaix both lived there. The municipal community
Bürgergemeinde
The Bürgergemeinde is a statutory corporation in public law in Switzerland...
consisted of citizens of Boudry
Boudry
Boudry is the capital of the district of Boudry in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.-History:Boudry is first mentioned in 1278 as Baudri.There are numerous prehistoric settlements around Boudry...
(who were under the Lord of Gorgier) and also subjects of the priory of Bevaix. Each feudal lord had a bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
or magistrate to represent him in the village. There was only a civil court in Cortaillod, criminal cases were heard by one of the feudal lords. Starting in 1379 the inhabitants of the municipal community, owned their own pastures. In 1499 Philip of Hochberg, Count of Neuchatel, allowed them the right to farm the sandy shoreline. Between 1541 and 1545, the Lord of Colombier bought Cortaillod from the two preceding feudal lords. However, Cortaillod was sold to the Count of Neuchâtel in 1564, and became part of the County of Neuchâtel. The inhabitants then called themselves citizens of Boudry, but they did not enjoy all the citizenship rights.
Early modern and modern Cortaillod
During the 15th to 19th centuries, there were repeated disputes between Cortaillod and the municipal community of Boudry. The disputes were over the division of the common pastures and forestsThe 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...
and a special tax (Eminem de la porte), which had to be paid by the residents of Cortaillod but only benefited Boudry. This tax was abolished in 1813.
In 1503, the Bishop of Lausanne
Bishop of Lausanne
The Bishop of Lausanne was a Prince-Bishop of the Holy Roman Empire and the Ordinary of the diocese of Lausanne, Switzerland .Bern secularized the bishopric in 1536....
allowed the villagers to establish a chapel. The Chapel of St. Nicholas was consecrated two years later. Until 1524 the pastor of Pontareuse and Bevaix protested against the permanent presence of a priest in Cortaillod. The village finally became an important parish when it accepted 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 1537 it became an independent parish.
The first weaving mill in Cortaillod opened in 1731 and was open for about 30 years. In 1752 the famous Fabrique-Neuve de Cortaillod mill opened near the other mills. It remained in operation until 1854. The building was then acquired in 1879 by Câbles Cortaillod. The company remained one of the most important companies in the municipality, even after it was acquired in 2001 by Nexans Schweiz AG. Between 1855 and 1885 there was a watch factory in Cortaillod. The European manufacturing and technology center of Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. was a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, including computer hardware and software, founded in 1981 by Jim Clark...
settled in Cortaillod in 1992. However, this plant, which employed about 300 people, closed in 2001. Viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
remains a significant part of the local economy, and the wines of Cortaillod enjoy a good reputation.
Geography
Cortaillod has an area, , of 3.7 square kilometre. Of this area, 1.73 square kilometre or 46.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.42 square kilometre or 11.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.48 square kilometre or 40.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes and 0.01 km² (2.5 acre) or 0.3% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 4.9% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 20.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 6.8%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 6.0% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.4%. Out of the forested land, 9.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 23.0% is used for growing crops and 4.6% is pastures, while 19.2% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Boudry district, above a steep drop into Lake Neuchatel
Lake Neuchâtel
Lake Neuchâtel is a lake in Romandy, Switzerland . The lake lies mainly in the canton of Neuchâtel, but is also shared by the cantons of Vaud, of Fribourg, and of Bern....
. It consists of the village of Cortaillod above the lake, a residential development on the lake shore at Petit Cortaillod harbor and the largest forest on the Boudry hills.
The proposed merger of the municipalities of Bevaix
Bevaix
Bevaix is a municipality in the district of Boudry in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.-History:Bevaix is first mentioned in 998 as in villa Bevacensi. In 1139 it was mentioned as Betuaci....
, Boudry
Boudry
Boudry is the capital of the district of Boudry in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.-History:Boudry is first mentioned in 1278 as Baudri.There are numerous prehistoric settlements around Boudry...
and Cortaillod was rejected by the residents.
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 Vert, a Cross patte Argent ensigned with a Crescent increscent Or.
Demographics
Cortaillod has a population of . , 19.0% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010 ) the population has changed at a rate of 3.9%. It has changed at a rate of 0.6% due to migration and at a rate of 3.4% 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...
(3,800 or 86.9%) as their first language, 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....
is the second most common (171 or 3.9%) and 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...
is the third (122 or 2.8%). There is 1 person who speaks Romansh.
, the population was 48.7% male and 51.3% female. The population was made up of 1,734 Swiss men (38.4% of the population) and 466 (10.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,956 Swiss women (43.3%) and 362 (8.0%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 935 or about 21.4% were born in Cortaillod and lived there in 2000. There were 1,461 or 33.4% who were born in the same canton, while 917 or 21.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 997 or 22.8% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 23.4% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 62.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.9%.
, there were 1,666 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 2,212 married individuals, 236 widows or widowers and 259 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 1,851 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 599 households that consist of only one person and 93 households with five or more people. , a total of 1,794 apartments (90.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 147 apartments (7.4%) were seasonally occupied and 45 apartments (2.3%) were empty. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.19%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
The La Fabrique Neuve and the prehistoric lake shore settlement of Le Petit Cortaillod are listed as 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 village of Cortaillod 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:...
.
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 26.02% 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...
(23.46%), 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....
(16.01%) and the FDP
FDP.The Liberals
FDP.The Liberals is a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It is the joint-largest party in the Federal Council, third-largest party in the National Council, and second-largest in the Council of States....
(14.87%). In the federal election, a total of 1,408 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 48.8%.
Economy
, Cortaillod had an unemployment rate of 4.7%. , there were 33 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 12 businesses involved in this sector. 858 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 27 businesses in this sector. 662 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 122 businesses in this sector. There were 2,236 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.3% 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 1,407. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 26, of which 23 were in agriculture and 3 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 818 of which 747 or (91.3%) were in manufacturing and 71 (8.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 563. In the tertiary sector; 231 or 41.0% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 33 or 5.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 70 or 12.4% were in a hotel or restaurant, 37 or 6.6% were in the information industry, 4 or 0.7% were the insurance or financial industry, 60 or 10.7% were technical professionals or scientists, 22 or 3.9% were in education and 53 or 9.4% were in health care.
, there were 1,319 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,552 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.2 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 1.7% of the workforce coming into Cortaillod are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 15.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 63.6% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 1,364 or 31.2% were Roman Catholic, while 1,584 or 36.2% 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 56 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 1.28% of the population), there were 5 individuals (or about 0.11% of the population) who belonged 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 295 individuals (or about 6.75% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 2 individuals (or about 0.05% of the population) who were Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and 66 (or about 1.51% 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...
, 1 person who was 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...
and 8 individuals who belonged to another church. 993 (or about 22.71% 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 144 individuals (or about 3.29% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Cortaillod about 1,670 or (38.2%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 610 or (13.9%) 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 610 who completed tertiary schooling, 57.5% were Swiss men, 24.6% were Swiss women, 11.1% were non-Swiss men and 6.7% were non-Swiss women.
In the canton of Neuchâtel most municipalities provide two years of non-mandatory 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...
, followed by five years of mandatory primary education. The next four years of mandatory secondary education is provided at thirteen larger secondary schools, which many students travel out of their home municipality to attend. During the 2010-11 school year, there were 5 kindergarten classes with a total of 94 students in Cortaillod. In the same year, there were 12 primary classes with a total of 236 students.
, there were 5 students in Cortaillod who came from another municipality, while 377 residents attended schools outside the municipality.