Marsens
Encyclopedia
Marsens is a municipality
in the district of Gruyère
in the canton
of Fribourg in Switzerland
. On 1 January 2001 the former municipality of Vuippens merged into the municipality of Marsens.
. Archaeology in the village uncovered a gallo-roman
temple dedicated to the god, which was destroyed in 260. The site of the temple can be seen today. Marsens is first mentioned in 851 as Curtis marsingus. In 929 it was mentioned as Marsingis and in 1668 it was Marcens. The municipality was formerly known by its German name Marsing, however, that name is no longer used.
Marsens was also well known for the Humilmont convent, the remains of which sit just outside the village.
In more recent times, it is best known as the site of the psychiatric hospital of the canton.
While this region's economy has long been based in agriculture, Marsens today is developing more artisans and industry. The village is expanding as new modern homes are built, but Marsens' pastoral view of the mountains and the sound of nearby cows' bells remains.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 6.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.3%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.2% of the area Out of the forested land, 23.3% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 8.7% is used for growing crops and 52.4% is pastures and 1.7% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Gruyère district. The municipality comprises the small villages of Marsens and its neighbor Vuippens. They are 5 km (16,404.2 ft) from the town of Bulle
, and 20 km (12.4 mi) from the city of Fribourg
.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Pally of Six Argent and Gules
Most of the population speaks French
(1,041 or 92.7%) as their first language, German
is the second most common (45 or 4.0%) and Italian
is the third (11 or 1.0%).
, the population was 50.3% male and 49.7% female. The population was made up of 734 Swiss men (45.0% of the population) and 86 (5.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 736 Swiss women (45.2%) and 74 (4.5%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 252 or about 22.4% were born in Marsens and lived there in 2000. There were 548 or 48.8% who were born in the same canton, while 148 or 13.2% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 127 or 11.3% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 28.9% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 55.2% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.9%.
, there were 524 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 497 married individuals, 53 widows or widowers and 49 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 437 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.8 persons per household. There were 76 households that consist of only one person and 53 households with five or more people. , a total of 333 apartments (82.6% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 64 apartments (15.9%) were seasonally occupied and 6 apartments (1.5%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.2 new units per 1000 residents.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
, the Saint-Ignace Chapel and the Philiponna, farm house in Vuippens at Place Saint-Sulpice 6 are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance
. The entire Vuippens area is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
.
the most popular party was the SP
which received 27.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(21.3%), the CVP
(18.6%) and the FDP
(14.2%).
The SPS received about the same percentage of the vote as they did in the 2007 Federal election
(27.0% in 2007 vs 27.3% in 2011). The SVP moved from third in 2007 (with 18.4%) to second in 2011, the CVP moved from second in 2007 (with 25.2%) to third and the FDP retained about the same popularity (15.8% in 2007). A total of 523 votes were cast in this election, of which 10 or 1.9% were invalid.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 543. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 32, of which 28 were in agriculture and 4 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 26 of which 16 or (61.5%) were in manufacturing and 11 (42.3%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 485. In the tertiary sector; 29 or 6.0% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 4 or 0.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 16 or 3.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was in the information industry, 2 or 0.4% were the insurance or financial industry, 6 or 1.2% were technical professionals or scientists, 14 or 2.9% were in education and 400 or 82.5% were in health care.
, there were 477 workers who commuted into the municipality and 291 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.6 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 6.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 68.7% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there was 1 member of an Orthodox church
, and there were 11 individuals (or about 0.98% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 6 (or about 0.53% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There was 1 person who was Hindu
and 1 individual who belonged to another church. 104 (or about 9.26% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 41 individuals (or about 3.65% of the population) did not answer the question.
. The wettest month is June during which time Marsens receives an average of 134 mm (5.3 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 12.8 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 14.1, but with only 121 mm (4.8 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 78 mm (3.1 in) of precipitation over 10.2 days.
). Of the 118 who completed tertiary schooling, 50.8% were Swiss men, 28.8% were Swiss women, 15.3% were non-Swiss men and 5.1% were non-Swiss women.
The Canton of Fribourg school system provides one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten
, followed by six years of Primary school. This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude. Following the lower Secondary students may attend a three or four year optional upper Secondary school. The upper Secondary school is divided into gymnasium
(university preparatory) and vocational programs. After they finish the upper Secondary program, students may choose to attend a Tertiary school or continue their apprenticeship
.
During the 2010-11 school year, there were a total of 184 students attending 9 classes in Marsens. A total of 369 students from the municipality attended any school, either in the municipality or outside of it. There was one kindergarten class with a total of 20 students in the municipality. The municipality had 8 primary classes and 164 students. During the same year, there were no lower secondary classes in the municipality, but 58 students attended lower secondary school in a neighboring municipality. There were no upper Secondary classes or vocational classes, but there were 39 upper Secondary students and 55 upper Secondary vocational students who attended classes in another municipality. The municipality had no non-university Tertiary classes, but there were 5 non-university Tertiary students and 5 specialized Tertiary students who attended classes in another municipality.
, there were 54 students in Marsens who came from another municipality, while 128 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 Gruyère
Gruyère (district)
Gruyère District is a district of the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It has a population of . Its capital is Bulle.-Municipalities:-Mergers and name changes:...
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 Fribourg 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....
. On 1 January 2001 the former municipality of Vuippens merged into the municipality of Marsens.
History
Marsens derives its name from the god MarsMars (mythology)
Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...
. Archaeology in the village uncovered a gallo-roman
Gallo-Roman culture
The term Gallo-Roman describes the Romanized culture of Gaul under the rule of the Roman Empire. This was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman mores and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context...
temple dedicated to the god, which was destroyed in 260. The site of the temple can be seen today. Marsens is first mentioned in 851 as Curtis marsingus. In 929 it was mentioned as Marsingis and in 1668 it was Marcens. The municipality was formerly known by its German name Marsing, however, that name is no longer used.
Marsens was also well known for the Humilmont convent, the remains of which sit just outside the village.
In more recent times, it is best known as the site of the psychiatric hospital of the canton.
While this region's economy has long been based in agriculture, Marsens today is developing more artisans and industry. The village is expanding as new modern homes are built, but Marsens' pastoral view of the mountains and the sound of nearby cows' bells remains.
Geography
Marsens has an area, , of 7.8 square kilometre. Of this area, 4.96 square kilometre or 63.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.94 square kilometre or 24.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.86 square kilometre or 11.0% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.3% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 6.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.3%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.2% of the area Out of the forested land, 23.3% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 8.7% is used for growing crops and 52.4% is pastures and 1.7% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Gruyère district. The municipality comprises the small villages of Marsens and its neighbor Vuippens. They are 5 km (16,404.2 ft) from the town of Bulle
Bulle
Bulle is a municipality in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. In January 2006 Bulle incorporated the formerly independent municipality of La Tour-de-Trême.-History:...
, and 20 km (12.4 mi) from the city of Fribourg
Fribourg
Fribourg is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and the district of Sarine. It is located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss plateau, and is an important economic, administrative and educational center on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland...
.
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 Pally of Six Argent and Gules
Demographics
Marsens has a population of . , 9.4% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 24.7%. Migration accounted for 14.9%, while births and deaths accounted for 7.5%.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...
(1,041 or 92.7%) as their first language, 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....
is the second most common (45 or 4.0%) and 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...
is the third (11 or 1.0%).
, the population was 50.3% male and 49.7% female. The population was made up of 734 Swiss men (45.0% of the population) and 86 (5.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 736 Swiss women (45.2%) and 74 (4.5%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 252 or about 22.4% were born in Marsens and lived there in 2000. There were 548 or 48.8% who were born in the same canton, while 148 or 13.2% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 127 or 11.3% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 28.9% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 55.2% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.9%.
, there were 524 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 497 married individuals, 53 widows or widowers and 49 individuals who are divorced.
, there were 437 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.8 persons per household. There were 76 households that consist of only one person and 53 households with five or more people. , a total of 333 apartments (82.6% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 64 apartments (15.9%) were seasonally occupied and 6 apartments (1.5%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.2 new units per 1000 residents.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
Baillival (Bailiff's) CastleBaillival Castle (Vuippens)
Baillival Castle is a bailiff's castle in the village of Vuippens in the municipality of Marsens of the Canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.-References:...
, the Saint-Ignace Chapel and the Philiponna, farm house in Vuippens at Place Saint-Sulpice 6 are listed as 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 Vuippens area is 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 2011 federal electionSwiss federal election, 2011
Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 23 October 2011.All of the Federal Assembly were to be elected: all 200 seats in the National Council and all 46 seats in the Council of States....
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 27.3% 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...
(21.3%), 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...
(18.6%) 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....
(14.2%).
The SPS received about the same percentage of the vote as they did in the 2007 Federal election
Swiss 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...
(27.0% in 2007 vs 27.3% in 2011). The SVP moved from third in 2007 (with 18.4%) to second in 2011, the CVP moved from second in 2007 (with 25.2%) to third and the FDP retained about the same popularity (15.8% in 2007). A total of 523 votes were cast in this election, of which 10 or 1.9% were invalid.
Economy
, Marsens had an unemployment rate of 1.8%. , there were 37 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 17 businesses involved in this sector. 29 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 9 businesses in this sector. 599 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 34 businesses in this sector. There were 488 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 45.9% 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 543. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 32, of which 28 were in agriculture and 4 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 26 of which 16 or (61.5%) were in manufacturing and 11 (42.3%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 485. In the tertiary sector; 29 or 6.0% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 4 or 0.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 16 or 3.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was in the information industry, 2 or 0.4% were the insurance or financial industry, 6 or 1.2% were technical professionals or scientists, 14 or 2.9% were in education and 400 or 82.5% were in health care.
, there were 477 workers who commuted into the municipality and 291 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.6 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 6.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 68.7% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 902 or 80.3% were Roman Catholic, while 61 or 5.4% 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 member of an Orthodox church
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
, and there were 11 individuals (or about 0.98% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 6 (or about 0.53% 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 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 1 individual who belonged to another church. 104 (or about 9.26% 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 41 individuals (or about 3.65% of the population) did not answer the question.
Weather
Marsens has an average of 132.5 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives 1212 mm (47.7 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 Marsens receives an average of 134 mm (5.3 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 12.8 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 14.1, but with only 121 mm (4.8 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 78 mm (3.1 in) of precipitation over 10.2 days.
Education
In Marsens about 338 or (30.1%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 118 or (10.5%) 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 118 who completed tertiary schooling, 50.8% were Swiss men, 28.8% were Swiss women, 15.3% were non-Swiss men and 5.1% were non-Swiss women.
The Canton of Fribourg school system provides one year 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...
, followed by six years of Primary school. This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude. Following the lower Secondary students may attend a three or four year optional upper Secondary school. The upper Secondary school is divided into gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
(university preparatory) and vocational programs. After they finish the upper Secondary program, students may choose to attend a Tertiary school or continue their apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
.
During the 2010-11 school year, there were a total of 184 students attending 9 classes in Marsens. A total of 369 students from the municipality attended any school, either in the municipality or outside of it. There was one kindergarten class with a total of 20 students in the municipality. The municipality had 8 primary classes and 164 students. During the same year, there were no lower secondary classes in the municipality, but 58 students attended lower secondary school in a neighboring municipality. There were no upper Secondary classes or vocational classes, but there were 39 upper Secondary students and 55 upper Secondary vocational students who attended classes in another municipality. The municipality had no non-university Tertiary classes, but there were 5 non-university Tertiary students and 5 specialized Tertiary students who attended classes in another municipality.
, there were 54 students in Marsens who came from another municipality, while 128 residents attended schools outside the municipality.