Echichens
Encyclopedia
Echichens is a municipality
in the Swiss
canton
of Vaud
, located in the district of Morges
.
The municipalities of Colombier, Monnaz
and Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges
merged on 1 July 2011 into the municipality of Echichens.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 13.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.7%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 3.1%. Out of the forested land, 4.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 46.9% is used for growing crops and 6.2% is pastures, while 18.2% is used for orchards or vine crops.
The municipality was part of the Morges District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Echichens became part of the new district of Morges.
The municipality is located on a vineyard
covered hill above the Morges river and Lake Geneva
. It consists of the village of Echichens and the hamlets
of Joulens and Le Vernay.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Azure, three ganders two and one Argent.
Most of the population speaks French
(997 or 89.1%), with German
being second most common (44 or 3.9%) and Portuguese
being third (22 or 2.0%). There are 11 people who speak Italian
.
Of the population in the municipality 197 or about 17.6% were born in Echichens and lived there in 2000. There were 458 or 40.9% who were born in the same canton, while 212 or 18.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 212 or 18.9% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 7 live births to Swiss citizens and 4 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 21 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 14 while the foreign population increased by 4. There was 1 Swiss man and 2 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 6 non-Swiss men and 6 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was a decrease of 1 and the non-Swiss population increased by 21 people. This represents a population growth rate of 2.0%.
The age distribution, , in Echichens is; 98 children or 9.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 114 teenagers or 11.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 99 people or 9.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 118 people or 11.6% are between 30 and 39, 159 people or 15.6% are between 40 and 49, and 151 people or 14.8% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 91 people or 8.9% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 84 people or 8.2% are between 70 and 79, there are 70 people or 6.9% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 37 people or 3.6% who are 90 and older.
, there were 504 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 503 married individuals, 72 widows or widowers and 40 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.61 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.61 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 46.1% 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 357 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. There were 81 households that consist of only one person and 36 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 382 households that answered this question, 21.2% were households made up of just one person and there were 3 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 104 married couples without children, 148 married couples with children There were 13 single parents with a child or children. There were 8 households that were made up of unrelated people and 25 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 119 single family homes (or 54.3% of the total) out of a total of 219 inhabited buildings. There were 46 multi-family buildings (21.0%), along with 25 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (11.4%) and 29 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (13.2%). Of the single family homes 14 were built before 1919, while 10 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (35) were built between 1981 and 1990. The most multi-family homes (11) were built between 1981 and 1990 and the next most (10) were built between 1961 and 1970. There were 3 multi-family houses built between 1996 and 2000.
there were 391 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 131. There were 12 single room apartments and 141 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 330 apartments (84.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 51 apartments (13.0%) were seasonally occupied and 10 apartments (2.6%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0%.
Mestral Castle
is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance
. The entire villages of Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges and Colombier are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
.
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 22.46% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
(18.79%), the Green Party
(13.16%) and the FDP
(11.74%). In the federal election, a total of 323 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 46.2%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 328. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 17, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 32 of which 18 or (56.3%) were in manufacturing and 14 (43.8%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 279. In the tertiary sector; 9 or 3.2% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 1 was in the movement and storage of goods, 5 or 1.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 0.7% were in the information industry, 2 or 0.7% were the insurance or financial industry, 6 or 2.2% were technical professionals or scientists, 48 or 17.2% were in education and 202 or 72.4% were in health care.
, there were 248 workers who commuted into the municipality and 361 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.5 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 13.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 55% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 7 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 0.63% of the population), and there were 147 individuals (or about 13.14% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 3 individuals (or about 0.27% of the population) who were Jewish
, and 4 (or about 0.36% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There was 1 person who was Buddhist
and 2 individuals who belonged to another church. 132 (or about 11.80% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 38 individuals (or about 3.40% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 229 who completed tertiary schooling, 48.0% were Swiss men, 31.9% were Swiss women, 11.4% were non-Swiss men and 8.7% were non-Swiss women.
In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 105 students in the Echichens school district. In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts. During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 631 children of which 203 children (32.2%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 48 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 56 students in those schools. There was also 1 student who was home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.
, there were 26 students in Echichens who came from another municipality, while 130 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 Swiss
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....
canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Vaud
Vaud
Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...
, located in the district of Morges
Morges (district)
Morges District is a district in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The seat of the district is the city of Morges.-Geography:Morges has an area, , of . Of this area, or 55.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 33.9% is forested...
.
The municipalities of Colombier, Monnaz
Monnaz
Monnaz is a former municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Morges.The municipalities of Colombier, Monnaz and Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges merged on 1 July 2011 into the municipality of Echichens.-Geography:...
and Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges
Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges
Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges is a former municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Morges.The villages of Colombier, Monnaz and Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges merged on 1 July 2011 into the municipality of Echichens.-Geography:...
merged on 1 July 2011 into the municipality of Echichens.
History
Echichens is first mentioned in 1131 as Chichens. Colombier is first mentioned in 937 as Columbaris. Monnaz is first mentioned in 1200 as Monna. In 1221 it was mentioned as Muna. Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges is first mentioned in 1171 as Sancti Simphoriani.Geography
Echichens has an area, , of 2.6 square kilometre. Of this area, 1.84 square kilometre or 71.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.24 square kilometre or 9.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.55 square kilometre or 21.3% is settled (buildings or roads).Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 13.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.7%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 3.1%. Out of the forested land, 4.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 46.9% is used for growing crops and 6.2% is pastures, while 18.2% is used for orchards or vine crops.
The municipality was part of the Morges District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Echichens became part of the new district of Morges.
The municipality is located on a vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
covered hill above the Morges river and 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...
. It consists of the village of Echichens and the 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...
of Joulens and Le Vernay.
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, three ganders two and one Argent.
Demographics
Echichens has a population of . , 15.4% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 0.4%. It has changed at a rate of 8.3% due to migration and at a rate of -8.1% 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...
(997 or 89.1%), 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 (44 or 3.9%) and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
being third (22 or 2.0%). There are 11 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...
.
Of the population in the municipality 197 or about 17.6% were born in Echichens and lived there in 2000. There were 458 or 40.9% who were born in the same canton, while 212 or 18.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 212 or 18.9% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 7 live births to Swiss citizens and 4 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 21 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 14 while the foreign population increased by 4. There was 1 Swiss man and 2 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 6 non-Swiss men and 6 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was a decrease of 1 and the non-Swiss population increased by 21 people. This represents a population growth rate of 2.0%.
The age distribution, , in Echichens is; 98 children or 9.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 114 teenagers or 11.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 99 people or 9.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 118 people or 11.6% are between 30 and 39, 159 people or 15.6% are between 40 and 49, and 151 people or 14.8% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 91 people or 8.9% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 84 people or 8.2% are between 70 and 79, there are 70 people or 6.9% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 37 people or 3.6% who are 90 and older.
, there were 504 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 503 married individuals, 72 widows or widowers and 40 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.61 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.61 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 46.1% 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 357 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. There were 81 households that consist of only one person and 36 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 382 households that answered this question, 21.2% were households made up of just one person and there were 3 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 104 married couples without children, 148 married couples with children There were 13 single parents with a child or children. There were 8 households that were made up of unrelated people and 25 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 119 single family homes (or 54.3% of the total) out of a total of 219 inhabited buildings. There were 46 multi-family buildings (21.0%), along with 25 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (11.4%) and 29 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (13.2%). Of the single family homes 14 were built before 1919, while 10 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (35) were built between 1981 and 1990. The most multi-family homes (11) were built between 1981 and 1990 and the next most (10) were built between 1961 and 1970. There were 3 multi-family houses built between 1996 and 2000.
there were 391 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 131. There were 12 single room apartments and 141 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 330 apartments (84.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 51 apartments (13.0%) were seasonally occupied and 10 apartments (2.6%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0%.
Heritage sites of national significance
Mestral Castle
Mestral Castle is a castle in the municipality of Echichens of the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.-References:...
is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance
Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...
. The entire villages of Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges and Colombier are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
The Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage.-Sites of national importance:-Types:...
.
Politics
In the 2007 federal electionSwiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...
the most popular party was the 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 22.46% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(18.79%), 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:...
(13.16%) 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....
(11.74%). In the federal election, a total of 323 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 46.2%.
Economy
, Echichens had an unemployment rate of 3%. , there were 33 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 8 businesses involved in this sector. 36 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 6 businesses in this sector. 400 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 21 businesses in this sector. There were 538 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.0% 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 328. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 17, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 32 of which 18 or (56.3%) were in manufacturing and 14 (43.8%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 279. In the tertiary sector; 9 or 3.2% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 1 was in the movement and storage of goods, 5 or 1.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 0.7% were in the information industry, 2 or 0.7% were the insurance or financial industry, 6 or 2.2% were technical professionals or scientists, 48 or 17.2% were in education and 202 or 72.4% were in health care.
, there were 248 workers who commuted into the municipality and 361 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.5 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 13.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 55% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 329 or 29.4% were Roman Catholic, while 529 or 47.3% 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 7 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 0.63% of the population), and there were 147 individuals (or about 13.14% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 3 individuals (or about 0.27% of the population) who were Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and 4 (or about 0.36% 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 was 1 person who was Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and 2 individuals who belonged to another church. 132 (or about 11.80% 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 38 individuals (or about 3.40% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Echichens about 334 or (29.8%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 229 or (20.5%) 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 229 who completed tertiary schooling, 48.0% were Swiss men, 31.9% were Swiss women, 11.4% were non-Swiss men and 8.7% were non-Swiss women.
In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 105 students in the Echichens school district. In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts. During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 631 children of which 203 children (32.2%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 48 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 56 students in those schools. There was also 1 student who was home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.
, there were 26 students in Echichens who came from another municipality, while 130 residents attended schools outside the municipality.