Frutigen
Encyclopedia
Frutigen is a municipality
in the Bernese Oberland
in the canton
of Bern in Switzerland
. It is the capital of the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district
.
or Roman
times. It is first mentioned in 1234 as Frutingen.
Frutigen has an area, , of 71.75 km² (27.7 sq mi). Of this area, 38.4 km² (14.8 sq mi) or 53.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 19.06 km² (7.4 sq mi) or 26.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.3 km² (1.3 sq mi) or 4.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.86 km² (0.33204785638958 sq mi) or 1.2% is either rivers or lakes and 10.16 km² (3.9 sq mi) or 14.2% is unproductive land.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.6%. 21.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 16.9% is pastures and 36.5% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 8.8% is unproductive vegetation and 5.3% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality includes parts of the Kander and Engstligen
valleys between the Niesenkette and Gehrihorn
. It includes the villages of Frutigen, Kanderbrück, Hasli, Innerschwandi, Ladholz, Oberfeld-Prasten, Reinisch and Winklen mit Weilern as well as individual farms on the valley floor and stretching up the mountain sides to 1600 m (5,249.3 ft) above sea level.
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP
which received 41% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CSP
(17.2%), the local small left-wing parties (15%) and the FDP
(10%).
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 28.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 56.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.4%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Frutigen about 66.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
).
The historical population is given in the following table:
Frutigen has an unemployment rate of 1.59%. , there were 678 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 242 businesses involved in this sector. 1137 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 91 businesses in this sector. 1441 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 193 businesses in this sector.
Today the main focus of its economy is the hydraulics
industry, slate
mining and tourism
.
Frutigen is at the northern point of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel
, whose geothermal energy powers the Tropenhaus Frutigen
, a tropical greenhouse producing exotic fruit, sturgeon
meat and caviar
.
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 Bernese Oberland
Bernese Oberland
The Bernese Oberland is the higher part of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, in the southern end of the canton: The area around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and the valleys of the Bernese Alps .The flag of the Bernese Oberland consists of a black eagle in a gold field The Bernese Oberland (Bernese...
in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Bern in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. It is the capital of the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district
Frutigen-Niedersimmental (administrative district)
Frutigen-Niedersimmental District in the Canton of Bern was created on 1 January 2010. It is part of the Oberland administrative region. It contains 13 municipalities with an area of and a population of 38,871....
.
History
The area around Frutigen may have been settled since possibly the 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...
or Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
times. It is first mentioned in 1234 as Frutingen.
Geography
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.6%. 21.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 16.9% is pastures and 36.5% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 8.8% is unproductive vegetation and 5.3% is too rocky for vegetation.
The municipality includes parts of the Kander and Engstligen
Engstligen falls
The Engstligen falls near Adelboden in the Bernese Oberland are the second highest waterfalls in Switzerland. They are listed in the Swiss inventory of landscapes of national significance....
valleys between the Niesenkette and Gehrihorn
Gehrihorn
The Gehrihorn is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland.-External links:*...
. It includes the villages of Frutigen, Kanderbrück, Hasli, Innerschwandi, Ladholz, Oberfeld-Prasten, Reinisch and Winklen mit Weilern as well as individual farms on the valley floor and stretching up the mountain sides to 1600 m (5,249.3 ft) above sea level.
Demographics
Frutigen has a population (as of ) of . , 6.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 1.9%. Most of the population speaks German (96.1%), with Albanian being second most common ( 0.9%) and French being third ( 0.5%).In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
which received 41% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CSP
Christian Social Party (Switzerland)
The Christian Social Party is a political party in Switzerland. The CSP is more social democratic than the CVP. With the moderate Christian left as its background, the CSP commits itself to social democratic and environmentalist political solutions...
(17.2%), the local small left-wing parties (15%) and the FDP
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....
(10%).
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 28.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 56.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.4%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Frutigen about 66.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
).
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1764 | 1,935 |
| 1850 | 3,480 |
| 1900 | 3,996 |
| 1950 | 5,643 |
| 2000 | 6,661 |
Economy
Today the main focus of its economy is the hydraulics
Hydraulics
Hydraulics is a topic in applied science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. In fluid power, hydraulics is used for the generation, control,...
industry, slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
mining and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
.
Frutigen is at the northern point of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel
Lötschberg Base Tunnel
The Lötschberg Base Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the BLS Lötschbergbahn's Lötschberg Line cutting through the Alps of Switzerland some below the existing Lötschberg Tunnel. It is currently the world's longest land tunnel and accommodates passenger and freight trains. It runs between Frutigen,...
, whose geothermal energy powers the Tropenhaus Frutigen
Tropenhaus Frutigen
The Tropenhaus in Frutigen, Switzerland is a commercial project using geothermal energy from the Lötschberg rail tunnel for the production of exotic fruit, sturgeon meat and caviar in a tropical greenhouse in the Swiss alps...
, a tropical greenhouse producing exotic fruit, sturgeon
Sturgeon
Sturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common...
meat and caviar
Caviar
Caviar, sometimes called black caviar, is a luxury delicacy, consisting of processed, salted, non-fertilized sturgeon roe. The roe can be "fresh" or pasteurized, the latter having much less culinary and economic value....
.