Oberdorf, Solothurn
Encyclopedia
Oberdorf is a municipality
in the district of Lebern
in the canton
of Solothurn in Switzerland
.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.0%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 11.1% is used for growing crops and 7.3% is pastures and 5.8% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Lebern district, on a terrace at the southern foot of the Weissenstein
of the Jura mountains
. Oberdorf lies at 559 metres (1,834 ft), 3.5 km (2.2 mi) to the north-west of Solothurn
, the capital of the Canton of Solothurn
.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Azure St. Michael Argent with Wings displayed holding in dexter a Sword and in sinister Scales.
Most of the population speaks German
(1,527 or 94.7%), with French
being second most common (20 or 1.2%) and Italian
being third (13 or 0.8%). There are 2 people who speak Romansh.
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. The population was made up of 752 Swiss men (44.3% of the population) and 68 (4.0%) non-Swiss men. There were 828 Swiss women (48.8%) and 49 (2.9%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 400 or about 24.8% were born in Oberdorf and lived there in 2000. There were 564 or 35.0% who were born in the same canton, while 441 or 27.4% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 170 or 10.5% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 13 live births to Swiss citizens and were 6 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 7 while the foreign population remained the same. There was 1 Swiss man who emigrated from Switzerland and 3 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 2 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 an increase of 31 and the non-Swiss population increased by 3 people. This represents a population growth rate of 2.1%.
The age distribution, , in Oberdorf is; 111 children or 6.9% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 272 teenagers or 16.9% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 62 people or 3.8% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 476 people or 29.5% are between 25 and 44, and 432 people or 26.8% are between 45 and 64. The senior population distribution is 197 people or 12.2% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 62 people or 3.8% who are over 80.
, there were 595 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 861 married individuals, 78 widows or widowers and 78 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 71.2% 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 621 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 128 households that consist of only one person and 42 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 632 households that answered this question, 20.3% were households made up of just one person and there were 7 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 230 married couples without children, 225 married couples with children There were 21 single parents with a child or children. There were 10 households that were made up of unrelated people and 11 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 357 single family homes (or 73.0% of the total) out of a total of 489 inhabited buildings. There were 76 multi-family buildings (15.5%), along with 43 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (8.8%) and 13 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (2.7%). Of the single family homes 24 were built before 1919, while 73 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (88) were built between 1981 and 1990.
there were 681 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 187. There were 10 single room apartments and 338 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 618 apartments (90.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 42 apartments (6.2%) were seasonally occupied and 21 apartments (3.1%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
and pilgrimage church in Oberdorf is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance
. The entire village of Oberdorf is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
.
the most popular party was the FDP
which received 33.69% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP
(20.01%), the SVP
(17.46%) and the SP
(15.23%). In the federal election, a total of 731 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 59.7%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 301. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 32, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 49 of which 34 or (69.4%) were in manufacturing and 15 (30.6%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 220. In the tertiary sector; 7 or 3.2% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 16 or 7.3% were in the movement and storage of goods, 42 or 19.1% were in a hotel or restaurant, 19 or 8.6% were in the information industry, 12 or 5.5% were the insurance or financial industry, 5 or 2.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 14 or 6.4% were in education and 59 or 26.8% were in health care.
, there were 154 workers who commuted into the municipality and 655 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 4.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 24.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 52.6% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 11 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 0.68% of the population), there were 5 individuals (or about 0.31% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 39 individuals (or about 2.42% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 16 (or about 0.99% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There were 2 individuals who were Buddhist
and 1 individual who belonged to another church. 277 (or about 17.18% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 36 individuals (or about 2.23% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 318 who completed tertiary schooling, 68.9% were Swiss men, 22.0% were Swiss women, 5.3% were non-Swiss men and 3.8% were non-Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 165 students in the Oberdorf 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 31 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 134 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 Oberdorf attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
, there was one student in Oberdorf who came from another municipality, while 146 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 Lebern
Lebern (district)
Lebern District is one of the ten districts of the canton of Solothurn, Switzerland, situated to the west of the canton. Together with the city of Solothurn, it forms the Amtei of Solothurn-Lebern...
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
Oberdorf has an area, , of 11.95 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi). Of this area, 2.96 km² (1.1 sq mi) or 24.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 8.1 km² (3.1 sq mi) or 67.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.83 km² (0.320464791631804 sq mi) or 6.9% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and 0.04 km² (9.9 acre) or 0.3% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.0%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 11.1% is used for growing crops and 7.3% is pastures and 5.8% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Lebern district, on a terrace at the southern foot of the Weissenstein
Weissenstein
The Weissenstein is a mountain of the Jura range near Solothurn, Switzerland.There is a chairlift from Oberdorf to the spa hotel on top of the mountain . The tunnel of the railway line Solothurn-Moutier from Oberdorf to Gänsbrunnen on the other side was opened in 1908...
of the Jura mountains
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...
. Oberdorf lies at 559 metres (1,834 ft), 3.5 km (2.2 mi) to the north-west of Solothurn
Solothurn
The city of Solothurn is the capital of the Canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. The city also comprises the only municipality of the district of the same name.-Pre-roman settlement:...
, the capital of the Canton of Solothurn
Canton of Solothurn
Solothurn is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn.-History:The territory of the canton comprises land acquired by the capital...
.
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 Azure St. Michael Argent with Wings displayed holding in dexter a Sword and in sinister Scales.
Demographics
Oberdorf has a population of . , 5.9% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 5.6%.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....
(1,527 or 94.7%), 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 (20 or 1.2%) 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...
being third (13 or 0.8%). There are 2 people who speak Romansh.
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. The population was made up of 752 Swiss men (44.3% of the population) and 68 (4.0%) non-Swiss men. There were 828 Swiss women (48.8%) and 49 (2.9%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 400 or about 24.8% were born in Oberdorf and lived there in 2000. There were 564 or 35.0% who were born in the same canton, while 441 or 27.4% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 170 or 10.5% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 13 live births to Swiss citizens and were 6 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 7 while the foreign population remained the same. There was 1 Swiss man who emigrated from Switzerland and 3 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 2 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 an increase of 31 and the non-Swiss population increased by 3 people. This represents a population growth rate of 2.1%.
The age distribution, , in Oberdorf is; 111 children or 6.9% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 272 teenagers or 16.9% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 62 people or 3.8% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 476 people or 29.5% are between 25 and 44, and 432 people or 26.8% are between 45 and 64. The senior population distribution is 197 people or 12.2% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 62 people or 3.8% who are over 80.
, there were 595 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 861 married individuals, 78 widows or widowers and 78 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 71.2% 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 621 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 128 households that consist of only one person and 42 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 632 households that answered this question, 20.3% were households made up of just one person and there were 7 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 230 married couples without children, 225 married couples with children There were 21 single parents with a child or children. There were 10 households that were made up of unrelated people and 11 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 357 single family homes (or 73.0% of the total) out of a total of 489 inhabited buildings. There were 76 multi-family buildings (15.5%), along with 43 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (8.8%) and 13 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (2.7%). Of the single family homes 24 were built before 1919, while 73 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (88) were built between 1981 and 1990.
there were 681 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 187. There were 10 single room apartments and 338 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 618 apartments (90.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 42 apartments (6.2%) were seasonally occupied and 21 apartments (3.1%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
The parishParish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
and pilgrimage church in Oberdorf is listed as a 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 village of Oberdorf 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 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 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....
which received 33.69% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were 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...
(20.01%), 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...
(17.46%) and the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(15.23%). In the federal election, a total of 731 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 59.7%.
Economy
, Oberdorf had an unemployment rate of 2%. , there were 40 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 14 businesses involved in this sector. 58 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 10 businesses in this sector. 417 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 43 businesses in this sector. There were 841 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 43.3% 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 301. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 32, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 49 of which 34 or (69.4%) were in manufacturing and 15 (30.6%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 220. In the tertiary sector; 7 or 3.2% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 16 or 7.3% were in the movement and storage of goods, 42 or 19.1% were in a hotel or restaurant, 19 or 8.6% were in the information industry, 12 or 5.5% were the insurance or financial industry, 5 or 2.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 14 or 6.4% were in education and 59 or 26.8% were in health care.
, there were 154 workers who commuted into the municipality and 655 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 4.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 24.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 52.6% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 638 or 39.6% were Roman Catholic, while 587 or 36.4% 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 were 11 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 0.68% of the population), there were 5 individuals (or about 0.31% 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 39 individuals (or about 2.42% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 16 (or about 0.99% 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 were 2 individuals who were 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...
and 1 individual who belonged to another church. 277 (or about 17.18% 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 36 individuals (or about 2.23% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Oberdorf about 632 or (39.2%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 318 or (19.7%) 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 318 who completed tertiary schooling, 68.9% were Swiss men, 22.0% were Swiss women, 5.3% were non-Swiss men and 3.8% were non-Swiss women.
During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 165 students in the Oberdorf 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 31 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 134 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 Oberdorf attend their school in a neighboring municipality.
, there was one student in Oberdorf who came from another municipality, while 146 residents attended schools outside the municipality.