Herbetswil
Encyclopedia
Herbetswil is a municipality
in the district of Thal
in the canton
of Solothurn in Switzerland
.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.5%. Out of the forested land, 58.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.0% is used for growing crops and 6.7% is pastures and 22.4% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Thal district, in the Dünnern river valley. It consists of the haufendorf village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Herbetswil and the hamlets
of Vorder and Hinter Hammer.
Most of the population speaks German
(546 or 96.1%), with Albanian
being second most common (5 or 0.9%) and Arabic
being third (5 or 0.9%). There are 3 people who speak French
.
, the gender distribution of the population was 52.3% male and 47.7% female. The population was made up of 262 Swiss men (47.0% of the population) and 30 (5.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 245 Swiss women (43.9%) and 21 (3.8%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 291 or about 51.2% were born in Herbetswil and lived there in 2000. There were 132 or 23.2% who were born in the same canton, while 102 or 18.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 39 or 6.9% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 4 live births to Swiss citizens and there were 4 deaths of Swiss citizens and 2 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens remained the same while the foreign population decreased by 2. There was 1 Swiss woman who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 4 non-Swiss men and 1 non-Swiss woman 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 12 and the non-Swiss population increased by 4 people. This represents a population growth rate of -1.5%.
The age distribution, , in Herbetswil is; 49 children or 8.6% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 98 teenagers or 17.3% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 24 people or 4.2% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 151 people or 26.6% are between 25 and 44, and 151 people or 26.6% are between 45 and 64. The senior population distribution is 75 people or 13.2% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 20 people or 3.5% who are over 80.
, there were 227 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 293 married individuals, 31 widows or widowers and 17 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.58 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.56 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 61.3% 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 221 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. There were 55 households that consist of only one person and 23 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 223 households that answered this question, 24.7% were households made up of just one person and there were 8 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 63 married couples without children, 86 married couples with children There were 5 single parents with a child or children. There were 4 households that were made up of unrelated people and 2 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 105 single family homes (or 59.7% of the total) out of a total of 176 inhabited buildings. There were 23 multi-family buildings (13.1%), along with 36 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (20.5%) and 12 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.8%). Of the single family homes 18 were built before 1919, while 15 were built between 1990 and 2000.
there were 246 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 68. There were 7 single room apartments and 101 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 212 apartments (86.2% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 13 apartments (5.3%) were seasonally occupied and 21 apartments (8.5%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 2.41%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
the most popular party was the CVP
which received 45.65% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(27.97%), the FDP
(19.77%) and the Green Party
(4.35%). In the federal election, a total of 236 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 54.6%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 124. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 31, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 71 of which 64 or (90.1%) were in manufacturing and 7 (9.9%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 22. In the tertiary sector; 3 or 13.6% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 14 or 63.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was in the information industry, 1 was a technical professional or scientist, 2 or 9.1% were in education.
, there were 80 workers who commuted into the municipality and 190 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.4 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 11.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 56.3% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there was 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 11 individuals (or about 1.94% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 21 (or about 3.70% of the population) who were Islam
ic. 28 (or about 4.93% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 6 individuals (or about 1.06% of the population) did not answer the question.
. The wettest month is June during which time Herbetswil receives an average of 119 mm (4.7 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.1 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 13.7, but with only 109 mm (4.3 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is September with an average of 82 mm (3.2 in) of precipitation over 9 days.
). Of the 30 who completed tertiary schooling, 73.3% were Swiss men, 20.0% were Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 43 students in the Herbetswil school system. The education system
in the Canton of Solothurn allows young children to attend two years of non-obligatory Kindergarten
. During that school year, there were children in kindergarten. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school, with some of the children attending smaller, specialized classes. In the municipality there were 43 students in primary school. The secondary school
program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling, followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. All the lower secondary students from Herbetswil attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
, there were 107 students in Herbetswil who came from another municipality, while 66 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 Thal
Thal (district)
Thal District is one of the ten districts of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, situated in the centre of the canton. Together with the Gäu District, it forms the Amtei of Thal-Gäu...
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 Solothurn 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....
.
Geography
Herbetswil has an area, , of 16.31 square kilometres (6.3 sq mi). Of this area, 5.67 km² (2.2 sq mi) or 34.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 10.1 km² (3.9 sq mi) or 61.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.56 km² (0.21621720881182 sq mi) or 3.4% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.01 km² (2.5 acre) or 0.1% is either rivers or lakes and 0.01 km² (2.5 acre) or 0.1% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.5%. Out of the forested land, 58.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.0% is used for growing crops and 6.7% is pastures and 22.4% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Thal district, in the Dünnern river valley. It consists of the haufendorf village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Herbetswil 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 Vorder and Hinter Hammer.
Demographics
Herbetswil has a population of . , 5.4% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of -8.4%.Most of the population speaks 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....
(546 or 96.1%), with Albanian
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
being second most common (5 or 0.9%) and Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
being third (5 or 0.9%). There are 3 people who speak 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...
.
, the gender distribution of the population was 52.3% male and 47.7% female. The population was made up of 262 Swiss men (47.0% of the population) and 30 (5.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 245 Swiss women (43.9%) and 21 (3.8%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 291 or about 51.2% were born in Herbetswil and lived there in 2000. There were 132 or 23.2% who were born in the same canton, while 102 or 18.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 39 or 6.9% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 4 live births to Swiss citizens and there were 4 deaths of Swiss citizens and 2 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens remained the same while the foreign population decreased by 2. There was 1 Swiss woman who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 4 non-Swiss men and 1 non-Swiss woman 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 12 and the non-Swiss population increased by 4 people. This represents a population growth rate of -1.5%.
The age distribution, , in Herbetswil is; 49 children or 8.6% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 98 teenagers or 17.3% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 24 people or 4.2% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 151 people or 26.6% are between 25 and 44, and 151 people or 26.6% are between 45 and 64. The senior population distribution is 75 people or 13.2% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 20 people or 3.5% who are over 80.
, there were 227 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 293 married individuals, 31 widows or widowers and 17 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.58 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.56 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 61.3% 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 221 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. There were 55 households that consist of only one person and 23 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 223 households that answered this question, 24.7% were households made up of just one person and there were 8 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 63 married couples without children, 86 married couples with children There were 5 single parents with a child or children. There were 4 households that were made up of unrelated people and 2 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 105 single family homes (or 59.7% of the total) out of a total of 176 inhabited buildings. There were 23 multi-family buildings (13.1%), along with 36 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (20.5%) and 12 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.8%). Of the single family homes 18 were built before 1919, while 15 were built between 1990 and 2000.
there were 246 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 68. There were 7 single room apartments and 101 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 212 apartments (86.2% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 13 apartments (5.3%) were seasonally occupied and 21 apartments (8.5%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 2.41%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
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 CVP
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...
which received 45.65% 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...
(27.97%), 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....
(19.77%) and the Green Party
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
(4.35%). In the federal election, a total of 236 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 54.6%.
Economy
, Herbetswil had an unemployment rate of 1.9%. , there were 46 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 19 businesses involved in this sector. 80 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 7 businesses in this sector. 32 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 11 businesses in this sector. There were 286 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 38.8% 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 124. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 31, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 71 of which 64 or (90.1%) were in manufacturing and 7 (9.9%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 22. In the tertiary sector; 3 or 13.6% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 14 or 63.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was in the information industry, 1 was a technical professional or scientist, 2 or 9.1% were in education.
, there were 80 workers who commuted into the municipality and 190 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.4 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 11.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 56.3% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 370 or 65.1% were Roman Catholic, while 131 or 23.1% 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 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 11 individuals (or about 1.94% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 21 (or about 3.70% 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. 28 (or about 4.93% 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 6 individuals (or about 1.06% of the population) did not answer the question.
Weather
Herbetswil has an average of 139.9 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives 1192 mm (46.9 in) of precipitationPrecipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
. The wettest month is June during which time Herbetswil receives an average of 119 mm (4.7 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.1 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 13.7, but with only 109 mm (4.3 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is September with an average of 82 mm (3.2 in) of precipitation over 9 days.
Education
In Herbetswil about 208 or (36.6%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 30 or (5.3%) 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 30 who completed tertiary schooling, 73.3% were Swiss men, 20.0% were Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 43 students in the Herbetswil school system. The education system
Education in Switzerland
The education system in Switzerland is very diverse, because the constitution of Switzerland delegates the authority for the school system mainly to the cantons...
in the Canton of Solothurn allows young children to attend two years of non-obligatory 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...
. During that school year, there were children in kindergarten. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school, with some of the children attending smaller, specialized classes. In the municipality there were 43 students in primary school. The secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling, followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. All the lower secondary students from Herbetswil attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
, there were 107 students in Herbetswil who came from another municipality, while 66 residents attended schools outside the municipality.