Hochwald, Switzerland
Encyclopedia
Hochwald is a municipality
in the district of Dorneck
in the canton
of Solothurn in Switzerland
. Hochwald means "high forest".
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.0%. Out of the forested land, 43.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 23.2% is used for growing crops and 19.4% is pastures, while 3.2% is used for orchards or vine crops.
The municipality is located in the Dorneck district, on the Gempen plateau. It consists of the linear village
of Hochwald and the hamlets
of Herrenmatt and Tiefenthal.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Per pale Gules a Crozier sinister Argent and Argent three Fir Trees issuant from a Base Vert.
Most of the population speaks German
(1,097 or 97.6%), with French
being second most common (6 or 0.5%) and French
being third (6 or 0.5%).
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.1% male and 51.9% female. The population was made up of 535 Swiss men (43.1% of the population) and 62 (5.0%) non-Swiss men. There were 589 Swiss women (47.5%) and 54 (4.4%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 353 or about 31.4% were born in Hochwald and lived there in 2000. There were 81 or 7.2% who were born in the same canton, while 523 or 46.5% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 133 or 11.8% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 8 live births to Swiss citizens and were 5 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 3 while the foreign population remained the same. There were 2 Swiss men and 1 Swiss woman who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 3 non-Swiss men and 5 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 10 and the non-Swiss population increased by 2 people. This represents a population growth rate of -0.7%.
The age distribution, , in Hochwald is; 119 children or 10.6% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 206 teenagers or 18.3% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 37 people or 3.3% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 342 people or 30.4% are between 25 and 44, and 302 people or 26.9% are between 45 and 64. The senior population distribution is 89 people or 7.9% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 29 people or 2.6% who are over 80.
, there were 453 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 575 married individuals, 51 widows or widowers and 45 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.54 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 79.5% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 427 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. There were 106 households that consist of only one person and 42 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 435 households that answered this question, 24.4% 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 123 married couples without children, 171 married couples with children There were 21 single parents with a child or children. There were 3 households that were made up of unrelated people and 8 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 323 single family homes (or 77.6% of the total) out of a total of 416 inhabited buildings. There were 33 multi-family buildings (7.9%), along with 42 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (10.1%) and 18 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (4.3%). Of the single family homes 31 were built before 1919, while 93 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (79) were built between 1981 and 1990.
there were 476 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 5 rooms of which there were 142. There were 10 single room apartments and 254 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 405 apartments (85.1% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 60 apartments (12.6%) were seasonally occupied and 11 apartments (2.3%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.3 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.15%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
the most popular party was the CVP
which received 25.63% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(20.65%), the FDP
(19.27%) and the Green Party
(16.92%). In the federal election, a total of 502 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 58.1%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 129. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 27, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 16 of which 3 or (18.8%) were in manufacturing and 13 (81.3%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 86. In the tertiary sector; 7 or 8.1% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 17 or 19.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 8 or 9.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 4 or 4.7% were in the information industry, 19 or 22.1% were technical professionals or scientists, 6 or 7.0% were in education and 5 or 5.8% were in health care.
, there were 49 workers who commuted into the municipality and 434 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 8.9 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 15.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 63.3% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 2 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 0.18% of the population), there were 6 individuals (or about 0.53% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 46 individuals (or about 4.09% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were There was 1 person who was Buddhist
. 242 (or about 21.53% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 33 individuals (or about 2.94% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 175 who completed tertiary schooling, 68.0% were Swiss men, 17.7% were Swiss women, 8.6% were non-Swiss men and 5.7% were non-Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 115 students in the Hochwald 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 27 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 88 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 Hochwald attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
, there were 106 students from Hochwald who 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 Dorneck
Dorneck (district)
Dorneck District is one of the ten districts of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, situated to the north of the canton. Together with Thierstein District, it forms the Amtei of Dorneck-Thierstein. Ithas a population of...
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....
. Hochwald means "high forest".
Geography
Hochwald has an area, , of 8.32 square kilometres (3.2 sq mi). Of this area, 3.81 km² (1.5 sq mi) or 45.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.73 km² (1.4 sq mi) or 44.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.74 km² (0.285715597358476 sq mi) or 8.9% is settled (buildings or roads).Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.0%. Out of the forested land, 43.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 23.2% is used for growing crops and 19.4% is pastures, while 3.2% is used for orchards or vine crops.
The municipality is located in the Dorneck district, on the Gempen plateau. It consists of the linear village
Linear village
In geography, a linear village, or linear settlement, is a small to medium-sized settlement that is formed around a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Wraysbury, a village in Berkshire, is one of the longest villages in England....
of Hochwald 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 Herrenmatt and Tiefenthal.
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 Per pale Gules a Crozier sinister Argent and Argent three Fir Trees issuant from a Base Vert.
Demographics
Hochwald has a population of . , 7.8% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 8.5%.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....
(1,097 or 97.6%), with 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...
being second most common (6 or 0.5%) and 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...
being third (6 or 0.5%).
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.1% male and 51.9% female. The population was made up of 535 Swiss men (43.1% of the population) and 62 (5.0%) non-Swiss men. There were 589 Swiss women (47.5%) and 54 (4.4%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 353 or about 31.4% were born in Hochwald and lived there in 2000. There were 81 or 7.2% who were born in the same canton, while 523 or 46.5% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 133 or 11.8% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 8 live births to Swiss citizens and were 5 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 3 while the foreign population remained the same. There were 2 Swiss men and 1 Swiss woman who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 3 non-Swiss men and 5 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 10 and the non-Swiss population increased by 2 people. This represents a population growth rate of -0.7%.
The age distribution, , in Hochwald is; 119 children or 10.6% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 206 teenagers or 18.3% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 37 people or 3.3% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 342 people or 30.4% are between 25 and 44, and 302 people or 26.9% are between 45 and 64. The senior population distribution is 89 people or 7.9% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 29 people or 2.6% who are over 80.
, there were 453 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 575 married individuals, 51 widows or widowers and 45 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.54 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 79.5% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 427 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. There were 106 households that consist of only one person and 42 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 435 households that answered this question, 24.4% 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 123 married couples without children, 171 married couples with children There were 21 single parents with a child or children. There were 3 households that were made up of unrelated people and 8 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 323 single family homes (or 77.6% of the total) out of a total of 416 inhabited buildings. There were 33 multi-family buildings (7.9%), along with 42 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (10.1%) and 18 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (4.3%). Of the single family homes 31 were built before 1919, while 93 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (79) were built between 1981 and 1990.
there were 476 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 5 rooms of which there were 142. There were 10 single room apartments and 254 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 405 apartments (85.1% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 60 apartments (12.6%) were seasonally occupied and 11 apartments (2.3%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.3 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.15%.
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 25.63% 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...
(20.65%), 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....
(19.27%) 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:...
(16.92%). In the federal election, a total of 502 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 58.1%.
Economy
, Hochwald had an unemployment rate of 2.2%. , there were 53 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 17 businesses involved in this sector. 17 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 5 businesses in this sector. 117 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 30 businesses in this sector. There were 566 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 40.5% of the workforce.the total number of full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
jobs was 129. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 27, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 16 of which 3 or (18.8%) were in manufacturing and 13 (81.3%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 86. In the tertiary sector; 7 or 8.1% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 17 or 19.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 8 or 9.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 4 or 4.7% were in the information industry, 19 or 22.1% were technical professionals or scientists, 6 or 7.0% were in education and 5 or 5.8% were in health care.
, there were 49 workers who commuted into the municipality and 434 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 8.9 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 15.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 63.3% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 541 or 48.1% were Roman Catholic, while 253 or 22.5% 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 2 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 0.18% of the population), there were 6 individuals (or about 0.53% 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 46 individuals (or about 4.09% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 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...
. 242 (or about 21.53% 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 33 individuals (or about 2.94% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Hochwald about 441 or (39.2%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 175 or (15.6%) 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 175 who completed tertiary schooling, 68.0% were Swiss men, 17.7% were Swiss women, 8.6% were non-Swiss men and 5.7% were non-Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 115 students in the Hochwald 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 27 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 88 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 Hochwald attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
, there were 106 students from Hochwald who attended schools outside the municipality.