Le Chenit
Encyclopedia
Le Chenit is a municipality
in the canton
of Vaud
in Switzerland
, located in the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois in the Vallée de Joux
.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.1%. Out of the forested land, 62.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.0% is used for growing crops and 8.8% is pastures and 19.9% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality was part of the La Vallée District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Le Chenit became part of the new district of Jura-Nord Vaudois.
It is located in the heart of the La Vallée in the Jura
on the French
-Swiss border. It is the largest municipality in the upper Vallée de Joux. It consists of the villages of Le Brassus
, Le Sentier
and L'Orient
as well as numerous hamlets
. There is no settlement with the name Le Chenit within the municipality of Le Chenit.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Gules, a Key upright crossed with a Rifle and a Sword in saltire all Argent.
Most of the population speaks French
(3,807 or 88.6%), with Italian
being second most common (124 or 2.9%) and German
being third (108 or 2.5%). There are 3 people who speak Romansh.
Of the population in the municipality 1,775 or about 41.3% were born in Le Chenit and lived there in 2000. There were 804 or 18.7% who were born in the same canton, while 495 or 11.5% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 1,018 or 23.7% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 27 live births to Swiss citizens and 8 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 36 deaths of Swiss citizens and 5 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 9 while the foreign population increased by 3. There were 3 Swiss men who immigrated back to Switzerland and 9 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 43 non-Swiss men and 26 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 12 and the non-Swiss population increased by 43 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.7%.
The age distribution, , in Le Chenit is; 412 children or 9.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 486 teenagers or 11.4% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 489 people or 11.5% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 554 people or 13.0% are between 30 and 39, 594 people or 14.0% are between 40 and 49, and 523 people or 12.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 508 people or 12.0% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 383 people or 9.0% are between 70 and 79, there are 252 people or 5.9% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 49 people or 1.2% who are 90 and older.
, there were 1,621 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 2,074 married individuals, 370 widows or widowers and 232 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.53 which is less people per room than 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 (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 40.1% 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 1,966 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.1 persons per household. There were 781 households that consist of only one person and 106 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 2,007 households that answered this question, 38.9% were households made up of just one person and there were 13 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 586 married couples without children, 465 married couples with children There were 89 single parents with a child or children. There were 32 households that were made up of unrelated people and 41 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 550 single family homes (or 49.9% of the total) out of a total of 1,103 inhabited buildings. There were 330 multi-family buildings (29.9%), along with 147 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (13.3%) and 76 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.9%). Of the single family homes 92 were built before 1919, while 25 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (147) were built between 1946 and 1960. The most multi-family homes (158) were built before 1919 and the next most (55) were built between 1919 and 1945. There was 1 multi-family house built between 1996 and 2000.
there were 2,318 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 721. There were 126 single room apartments and 513 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 1,917 apartments (82.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 250 apartments (10.8%) were seasonally occupied and 151 apartments (6.5%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 1.2 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.12%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
the most popular party was the SP
which received 37.65% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(19.92%), the FDP
(10.08%) and the Green Party
(8.04%). In the federal election, a total of 1,063 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 40.9%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 4,317. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 83, of which 49 were in agriculture and 35 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 3,286 of which 3,055 or (93.0%) were in manufacturing and 175 (5.3%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 948. In the tertiary sector; 384 or 40.5% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 39 or 4.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 103 or 10.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 25 or 2.6% were in the information industry, 19 or 2.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 35 or 3.7% were technical professionals or scientists, 85 or 9.0% were in education and 162 or 17.1% were in health care.
, there were 3,809 workers who commuted into the municipality and 400 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 9.5 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 43.0% of the workforce coming into Le Chenit are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 3.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 66.6% used a private car.
From the , 1,255 or 29.2% were Roman Catholic, while 1,978 or 46.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
. Of the rest of the population, there were 12 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 0.28% of the population), and there were 200 individuals (or about 4.65% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 2 individuals (or about 0.05% of the population) who were Jewish
, and 128 (or about 2.98% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There was 1 person who was Buddhist
, 13 individuals who were Hindu
and 4 individuals who belonged to another church. 544 (or about 12.66% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 257 individuals (or about 5.98% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 408 who completed tertiary schooling, 55.9% were Swiss men, 25.7% were Swiss women, 10.8% were non-Swiss men and 7.6% were non-Swiss women.
In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 489 students in the Le Chenit 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 578 children of which 359 children (62.1%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 253 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 229 students in those schools. There were also 7 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.
, there were 162 students in Le Chenit who came from another municipality, while 143 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 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,...
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....
, located in the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois in the Vallée de Joux
Vallée de Joux
The Vallée de Joux is a valley of the Jura Mountains in the Swiss Canton of Vaud. Located 20 miles north of Geneva and Lausanne, its mean elevation is over 3300 feet . There are three lakes in the Vallée de Joux : the lac de Joux , the lac Brenet and the lac Ter...
.
Geography
Le Chenit has an area, , of 99.25 square kilometres (38.3 sq mi). Of this area, 28.48 km² (11 sq mi) or 28.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 65.87 km² (25.4 sq mi) or 66.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.06 km² (1.2 sq mi) or 3.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.19 km² (0.0733594101325817 sq mi) or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and 1.64 km² (0.633207540091757 sq mi) or 1.7% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.1%. Out of the forested land, 62.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.0% is used for growing crops and 8.8% is pastures and 19.9% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality was part of the La Vallée District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Le Chenit became part of the new district of Jura-Nord Vaudois.
It is located in the heart of the La Vallée in the Jura
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...
on the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-Swiss border. It is the largest municipality in the upper Vallée de Joux. It consists of the villages of Le Brassus
Le Brassus
Le Brassus is a village in the Vallée de Joux in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. It is part of the municipality Le Chenit.-References:...
, Le Sentier
Le Sentier
Le Sentier is a village in the Vallée de Joux in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Part of the municipality Le Chenit, the village has 3,000 inhabitants....
and L'Orient
L'Orient, Switzerland
L'Orient is a village in the Vallée de Joux, Vaud, Switzerland. It is part of the municipality of Le Chenit....
as well as numerous 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...
. There is no settlement with the name Le Chenit within the municipality of Le Chenit.
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 Gules, a Key upright crossed with a Rifle and a Sword in saltire all Argent.
Demographics
Le Chenit has a population of . , 22.8% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 1.6%. It has changed at a rate of 4.6% due to migration and at a rate of -2.5% 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...
(3,807 or 88.6%), with 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...
being second most common (124 or 2.9%) and 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 third (108 or 2.5%). There are 3 people who speak Romansh.
Of the population in the municipality 1,775 or about 41.3% were born in Le Chenit and lived there in 2000. There were 804 or 18.7% who were born in the same canton, while 495 or 11.5% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 1,018 or 23.7% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 27 live births to Swiss citizens and 8 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 36 deaths of Swiss citizens and 5 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 9 while the foreign population increased by 3. There were 3 Swiss men who immigrated back to Switzerland and 9 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 43 non-Swiss men and 26 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 12 and the non-Swiss population increased by 43 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.7%.
The age distribution, , in Le Chenit is; 412 children or 9.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 486 teenagers or 11.4% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 489 people or 11.5% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 554 people or 13.0% are between 30 and 39, 594 people or 14.0% are between 40 and 49, and 523 people or 12.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 508 people or 12.0% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 383 people or 9.0% are between 70 and 79, there are 252 people or 5.9% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 49 people or 1.2% who are 90 and older.
, there were 1,621 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 2,074 married individuals, 370 widows or widowers and 232 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.53 which is less people per room than 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 (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 40.1% 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 1,966 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.1 persons per household. There were 781 households that consist of only one person and 106 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 2,007 households that answered this question, 38.9% were households made up of just one person and there were 13 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 586 married couples without children, 465 married couples with children There were 89 single parents with a child or children. There were 32 households that were made up of unrelated people and 41 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 550 single family homes (or 49.9% of the total) out of a total of 1,103 inhabited buildings. There were 330 multi-family buildings (29.9%), along with 147 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (13.3%) and 76 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.9%). Of the single family homes 92 were built before 1919, while 25 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (147) were built between 1946 and 1960. The most multi-family homes (158) were built before 1919 and the next most (55) were built between 1919 and 1945. There was 1 multi-family house built between 1996 and 2000.
there were 2,318 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 721. There were 126 single room apartments and 513 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 1,917 apartments (82.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 250 apartments (10.8%) were seasonally occupied and 151 apartments (6.5%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 1.2 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.12%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Sights
The entire villages of Le Sentier and Le Solliat and the hamlet of Chez-les-Aubert are designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage SitesInventory 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 37.65% 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...
(19.92%), 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....
(10.08%) 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:...
(8.04%). In the federal election, a total of 1,063 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 40.9%.
Economy
, Le Chenit had an unemployment rate of 5.2%. , there were 100 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 31 businesses involved in this sector. 3,448 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 76 businesses in this sector. 1,184 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 138 businesses in this sector. There were 2,053 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 43.6% 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 4,317. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 83, of which 49 were in agriculture and 35 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 3,286 of which 3,055 or (93.0%) were in manufacturing and 175 (5.3%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 948. In the tertiary sector; 384 or 40.5% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 39 or 4.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 103 or 10.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 25 or 2.6% were in the information industry, 19 or 2.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 35 or 3.7% were technical professionals or scientists, 85 or 9.0% were in education and 162 or 17.1% were in health care.
, there were 3,809 workers who commuted into the municipality and 400 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 9.5 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 43.0% of the workforce coming into Le Chenit are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 3.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 66.6% used a private car.
Religion
Swiss 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 12 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 0.28% of the population), and there were 200 individuals (or about 4.65% 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 128 (or about 2.98% 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...
, 13 individuals who were 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 4 individuals who belonged to another church. 544 (or about 12.66% 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 257 individuals (or about 5.98% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Le Chenit about 1,469 or (34.2%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 408 or (9.5%) 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 408 who completed tertiary schooling, 55.9% were Swiss men, 25.7% were Swiss women, 10.8% were non-Swiss men and 7.6% were non-Swiss women.
In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 489 students in the Le Chenit 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 578 children of which 359 children (62.1%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 253 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 229 students in those schools. There were also 7 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.
, there were 162 students in Le Chenit who came from another municipality, while 143 residents attended schools outside the municipality.