Orbe
Encyclopedia
Orbe is a municipality
in the Swiss
canton
of Vaud
. It was the seat of the former district of Orbe and is now part of the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois.
, Orbe - then known as Urba - was a town of Gallia
, in the territory of the Helvetii
. In the Antonine Itinerary
it is placed between Lacus Lausonius and Ariolica
, xviii m.p. from Lacus Lausonius and xxiiii m.p. from Ariolica. On the Boscéaz hill, a Roman villa was built by an unknown landowner. The mosaics of the villa are still visible.
Middle ages
Orbe is located on the route to the Jougne Pass and at the intersection of important roads that connected the Jura Mountains
to the Alps
and the Rhine and Rhone
river. Its location made Orbe into an important transit point. During the Middle Ages
a bridge was built across the Orbe river. On the left bank were the villa Tavellis and the parish church
of Saint-Germain, while on the right bank was the villa Tabernis with the church of Saint-Martin. The castle
and market were built on the hill above the river and the bridge. In 888 the town was owned by Rudolf I
of Burgundy
. The town's mint
produced silver coins for Conrad the peaceful
(937-993). After the death of the last Rudolf
in 1032, the area was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire
. In 1076 all the ties to the Kingdom of Burgundy in Orbe were severed by Emperor Henry IV
and Count Wilhelm II. In 1168, about half of the town of Orbe came under Amadeus II of Montfaucon, the count of Montbéliard. The churches and a large part of Orbe were owned by the monastery at Baulmes and Payerne Priory in 1183.
At the end of the 11th Century, Romainmôtier Abbey built a hospital (first mentioned in 1275) in Orbe. In 1139, the Abbey acquired the adjoining chapel of Notre-Dame. Amadeus III of Montfaucon-Montbeliard fortified the town in 1235 with the construction of the Bourg-Vieux and Bourg-Neuf. In 1233 a round keep
was mentioned in the castle. The fortifications allowed Orbe to control the road that led to Les Clées
and the Jura Mountains in one direction and to Lausanne
in the other. Together with Echallens
, Orbe formed a burgund enclave in the midst of the Savoy
lands and the diocese of Lausanne
.
Early Modern and Modern Orbe
Girard de Montfaucon granted Orbe the same rights as city of Moudon
, a decision which was upheld by his widow Jaquette of Grandson in 1352. By inheritance, the town went to Count Montbeliard in 1379, then to Louis de Chalon, Prince of Orange
in 1410. It was captured for the first time by the Swiss Confederation
in 1475 and then quickly recovered by Hugh of Chalon. In the following year, 1476, Charles the Bold met with Swiss messengers at Orbe. After the Burgundian Wars
, the lands of the house of Chalon on the Swiss side of the Jura mountains were administered by Bern and Freiburg
. Orbe, together with Echallens, were managed as a gemeine Herrschaft or shared subject territory by from 1484 until 1798. In 1798 a majority of the urban population supported the Helvetic Revolution
despite the opposition of the nobles. During the Stecklikrieg
, when the government of the Helvetic Republic retreated to Lausanne, following their capitulation, Orbe was briefly occupied by Federal troops in September 1802. Between 1798 and 2006, Orbe was the capital of a district of the same name.
Geography
Orbe has an area, , of 12 square kilometre. Of this area, 8.85 square kilometre or 73.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.44 square kilometre or 3.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.36 square kilometre or 19.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.35 square kilometre or 2.9% is either rivers or lakes.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3.0% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 8.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.7%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.7%. Out of the forested land, 2.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 60.7% is used for growing crops and 9.2% is pastures, while 3.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality was the capital of the Orbe District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Orbe became part of the new district of Jura-Nord Vaudois.
The municipality is located on a hill partly surrounded by the Orbe river
. It consists of the village of Orbe and a number of hamlets
including Granges Saint-Germain, Granges Saint-Martin, Mont Choisi and Le Puisoir.
Coat of arms
Demographics
Orbe has a population of . , 28.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 25.8%. It has changed at a rate of 22.1% due to migration and at a rate of 4.3% due to births and deaths.
Most of the population speaks French
(4,229 or 82.3%), with Portuguese
being second most common (255 or 5.0%) and German
being third (161 or 3.1%). There are 128 people who speak Italian
and 4 people who speak Romansh.
The age distribution, , in Orbe is; 674 children or 11.3% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 781 teenagers or 13.1% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 862 people or 14.5% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 848 people or 14.2% are between 30 and 39, 920 people or 15.4% are between 40 and 49, and 754 people or 12.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 493 people or 8.3% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 378 people or 6.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 216 people or 3.6% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 31 people or 0.5% who are 90 and older.
, there were 2,103 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 2,441 married individuals, 304 widows or widowers and 291 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.63 which is about equal to 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 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 31.4% 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 2,073 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 687 households that consist of only one person and 120 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 2,108 households that answered this question, 32.6% were households made up of just one person and there were 16 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 578 married couples without children, 642 married couples with children There were 120 single parents with a child or children. There were 30 households that were made up of unrelated people and 35 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 529 single family homes (or 54.6% of the total) out of a total of 968 inhabited buildings. There were 222 multi-family buildings (22.9%), along with 154 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (15.9%) and 63 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.5%).
, a total of 1,934 apartments (84.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 208 apartments (9.1%) were seasonally occupied and 141 apartments (6.2%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.4 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.18%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
The Boscéaz (a gallo-roman
villa), Orbe Castle with its two towers and plaza, the Swiss Reformed
Church of Notre-Dame and the City Hall
are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance
. The entire old town of Orbe is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
.
The villa is known for its roman mosaics, which are composed of several hundreds of pieces on the floor of the original site. The villa was a palace belonging to a rich but unknown landowner. It was built in approximately AD 160 and abandoned around the year AD 270.
Politics
In the 2007 federal election
the most popular party was the SP
which received 26.68% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(20.26%), the FDP
(14.52%) and the Green Party
(12.92%). In the federal election, a total of 1,107 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 36.2%.
Economy
The town has a Nestle Research & Development factory with a working force of over 500 employees. The factory is responsible for producing Nespresso and also Nestlé's boxed cereals. The factory accounts for just over 15% of Nestlé's overall turnover per annum.
, Orbe had an unemployment rate of 7.5%. , there were 95 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 18 businesses involved in this sector. 1,121 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 48 businesses in this sector. 2,173 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 227 businesses in this sector. There were 2,624 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 38.5% of the workforce.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 2,996. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 85, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 1,081 of which 807 or (74.7%) were in manufacturing and 241 (22.3%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 1,830. In the tertiary sector; 343 or 18.7% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 82 or 4.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 58 or 3.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 15 or 0.8% were in the information industry, 36 or 2.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 515 or 28.1% were technical professionals or scientists, 121 or 6.6% were in education and 257 or 14.0% were in health care.
, there were 1,832 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,489 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.2 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 7.1% of the workforce coming into Orbe are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 10.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 66.2% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 1,774 or 34.5% were Roman Catholic, while 1,993 or 38.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
. Of the rest of the population, there were 70 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 1.36% of the population), there were 3 individuals (or about 0.06% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 342 individuals (or about 6.65% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 7 individuals (or about 0.14% of the population) who were Jewish
, and 201 (or about 3.91% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There were 10 individuals who were Buddhist
, 14 individuals who were Hindu
and 10 individuals who belonged to another church. 620 (or about 12.06% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 260 individuals (or about 5.06% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Orbe about 1,774 or (34.5%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 433 or (8.4%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
). Of the 433 who completed tertiary schooling, 56.1% were Swiss men, 25.9% were Swiss women, 11.3% were non-Swiss men and 6.7% were non-Swiss women.
In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 802 students in the Orbe 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 427 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 368 students in those schools. There were also 7 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.
Orbe is home to 1 museum, the Fondation Pro Urba. In 2009 it was visited by 2,900 visitors (the average in previous years was 3,278).
, there were 322 students in Orbe who came from another municipality, while 219 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
External links
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 Swiss
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....
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,...
. It was the seat of the former district of Orbe and is now part of the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois.
History
Orbe is first mentioned about 280 as Urba. In 1179 it was mentioned as versus Orbam.Ancient history
During the Roman eraSwitzerland in the Roman era
The history of Switzerland in the Roman era encompasses the roughly six centuries during which the territory of modern Switzerland was a part of the Roman Republic and Empire...
, Orbe - then known as Urba - was a town of Gallia
Gallia
Gallia may refer to:*Gaul , the region of Western Europe occupied by present-day France, Belgium and other neighbouring countries...
, in the territory of the Helvetii
Helvetii
The Helvetii were a Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their contact with the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC...
. In the Antonine Itinerary
Antonine Itinerary
The Antonine Itinerary is a register of the stations and distances along the various roads of the Roman empire, containing directions how to get from one Roman settlement to another...
it is placed between Lacus Lausonius and Ariolica
Ariolica
Ariolica was the name of several different places in ancient geography:* Pontarlier, France* a town in the Lugdunensis region of Gaul, usually identified with La Pacaudière, France...
, xviii m.p. from Lacus Lausonius and xxiiii m.p. from Ariolica. On the Boscéaz hill, a Roman villa was built by an unknown landowner. The mosaics of the villa are still visible.
Middle ages
Orbe is located on the route to the Jougne Pass and at the intersection of important roads that connected 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...
to the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
and the Rhine and Rhone
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
river. Its location made Orbe into an important transit point. During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
a bridge was built across the Orbe river. On the left bank were the villa Tavellis and the parish church
Parish 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....
of Saint-Germain, while on the right bank was the villa Tabernis with the church of Saint-Martin. The castle
Orbe Castle
Orbe Castle is a castle in the municipality of Orbe of the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.-References:...
and market were built on the hill above the river and the bridge. In 888 the town was owned by Rudolf I
Rudolph I of Burgundy
Rudolph I was King of Burgundy from his election in 888 until his death.Rudolph belonged to the elder Welf family and was the son of Conrad, Count of Auxerre, from whom he inherited the lay abbacy of St Maurice en Valais, making him the most powerful magnate in Upper Burgundy - present-day...
of Burgundy
Kingdom of Burgundy
Burgundy is a historic region in Western Europe that has existed as a political entity in a number of forms with very different boundaries. Two of these entities - the first around the 6th century, the second around the 11th century - have been called the Kingdom of Burgundy; a third was very...
. The town's mint
Mint (coin)
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
produced silver coins for Conrad the peaceful
Conrad of Burgundy
Conrad the Peaceful was the king of Burgundy from 937 until his death. He was the son of King Rudolph II, the first king of a united Burgundy and Bertha of Swabia...
(937-993). After the death of the last Rudolf
Rudolph III of Burgundy
Rudolf III of Burgundy was the last King of an independent Burgundy. He was the son of Conrad, King of Burgundy, and Matilda of France...
in 1032, the area was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. In 1076 all the ties to the Kingdom of Burgundy in Orbe were severed by Emperor Henry IV
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...
and Count Wilhelm II. In 1168, about half of the town of Orbe came under Amadeus II of Montfaucon, the count of Montbéliard. The churches and a large part of Orbe were owned by the monastery at Baulmes and Payerne Priory in 1183.
At the end of the 11th Century, Romainmôtier Abbey built a hospital (first mentioned in 1275) in Orbe. In 1139, the Abbey acquired the adjoining chapel of Notre-Dame. Amadeus III of Montfaucon-Montbeliard fortified the town in 1235 with the construction of the Bourg-Vieux and Bourg-Neuf. In 1233 a round keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
was mentioned in the castle. The fortifications allowed Orbe to control the road that led to Les Clées
Les Clées
Les Clées is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.-History:Les Clées is first mentioned in 1134 as Clees....
and the Jura Mountains in one direction and to Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
in the other. Together with Echallens
Echallens
Echallens is a municipality in the district of Gros-de-Vaud in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.-History:The territory of the municipality was already settled very early. There are remains of a Bronze Age foundry....
, Orbe formed a burgund enclave in the midst of the Savoy
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...
lands and the diocese of Lausanne
Bishop of Lausanne
The Bishop of Lausanne was a Prince-Bishop of the Holy Roman Empire and the Ordinary of the diocese of Lausanne, Switzerland .Bern secularized the bishopric in 1536....
.
Early Modern and Modern Orbe
Girard de Montfaucon granted Orbe the same rights as city of Moudon
Moudon
Moudon is a municipality in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It was the seat of the district of Moudon and is now in the Broye-Vully district.-History:...
, a decision which was upheld by his widow Jaquette of Grandson in 1352. By inheritance, the town went to Count Montbeliard in 1379, then to Louis de Chalon, Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange is a title of nobility, originally associated with the Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. In French it is la Principauté d'Orange....
in 1410. It was captured for the first time by the Swiss Confederation
Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....
in 1475 and then quickly recovered by Hugh of Chalon. In the following year, 1476, Charles the Bold met with Swiss messengers at Orbe. After the Burgundian Wars
Burgundian Wars
The Burgundian Wars were a conflict between the Dukes of Burgundy and the Kings of France, later involving the Old Swiss Confederacy, which would play a decisive role. Open war broke out in 1474, and in the following years the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was defeated three times on the...
, the lands of the house of Chalon on the Swiss side of the Jura mountains were administered by Bern and Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
. Orbe, together with Echallens, were managed as a gemeine Herrschaft or shared subject territory by from 1484 until 1798. In 1798 a majority of the urban population supported the Helvetic Revolution
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...
despite the opposition of the nobles. During the Stecklikrieg
Stecklikrieg
The Stecklikrieg of 1802 resulted in the collapse of the Helvetic Republic, the renewed French occupation of Switzerland and ultimately the Act of Mediation dictated by Napoleon on 10 March 1803....
, when the government of the Helvetic Republic retreated to Lausanne, following their capitulation, Orbe was briefly occupied by Federal troops in September 1802. Between 1798 and 2006, Orbe was the capital of a district of the same name.
Geography
Orbe has an area, , of 12 square kilometre. Of this area, 8.85 square kilometre or 73.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.44 square kilometre or 3.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.36 square kilometre or 19.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.35 square kilometre or 2.9% is either rivers or lakes.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3.0% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 8.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.7%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.7%. Out of the forested land, 2.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 60.7% is used for growing crops and 9.2% is pastures, while 3.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality was the capital of the Orbe District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Orbe became part of the new district of Jura-Nord Vaudois.
The municipality is located on a hill partly surrounded by the Orbe river
Orbe (river)
The Orbe is a river of the Rhine basin. It starts in France and flows to Switzerland to finally flow into the river Aar. On the final leg of its course, it takes the name Thièle or Thielle...
. It consists of the village of Orbe and a number of 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...
including Granges Saint-Germain, Granges Saint-Martin, Mont Choisi and Le Puisoir.
Coat of arms
The blazonBlazonIn 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 armsCoat of armsA 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, two Sea-daces addorsed Or.
DemographicsOrbe has a population of . , 28.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 25.8%. It has changed at a rate of 22.1% due to migration and at a rate of 4.3% 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...
(4,229 or 82.3%), with Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
being second most common (255 or 5.0%) 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 (161 or 3.1%). There are 128 people who speak 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...
and 4 people who speak Romansh.
The age distribution, , in Orbe is; 674 children or 11.3% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 781 teenagers or 13.1% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 862 people or 14.5% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 848 people or 14.2% are between 30 and 39, 920 people or 15.4% are between 40 and 49, and 754 people or 12.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 493 people or 8.3% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 378 people or 6.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 216 people or 3.6% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 31 people or 0.5% who are 90 and older.
, there were 2,103 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 2,441 married individuals, 304 widows or widowers and 291 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.63 which is about equal to 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 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 31.4% 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 2,073 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 687 households that consist of only one person and 120 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 2,108 households that answered this question, 32.6% were households made up of just one person and there were 16 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 578 married couples without children, 642 married couples with children There were 120 single parents with a child or children. There were 30 households that were made up of unrelated people and 35 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 529 single family homes (or 54.6% of the total) out of a total of 968 inhabited buildings. There were 222 multi-family buildings (22.9%), along with 154 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (15.9%) and 63 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.5%).
, a total of 1,934 apartments (84.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 208 apartments (9.1%) were seasonally occupied and 141 apartments (6.2%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.4 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.18%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
The Boscéaz (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...
villa), Orbe Castle with its two towers and plaza, the Swiss Reformed
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...
Church of Notre-Dame and the City Hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
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 old town of Orbe 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:...
.
The villa is known for its roman mosaics, which are composed of several hundreds of pieces on the floor of the original site. The villa was a palace belonging to a rich but unknown landowner. It was built in approximately AD 160 and abandoned around the year AD 270.
Politics
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...
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 26.68% 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...
(20.26%), 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....
(14.52%) 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:...
(12.92%). In the federal election, a total of 1,107 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 36.2%.
Economy
The town has a Nestle Research & Development factory with a working force of over 500 employees. The factory is responsible for producing Nespresso and also Nestlé's boxed cereals. The factory accounts for just over 15% of Nestlé's overall turnover per annum.
, Orbe had an unemployment rate of 7.5%. , there were 95 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 18 businesses involved in this sector. 1,121 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 48 businesses in this sector. 2,173 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 227 businesses in this sector. There were 2,624 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 38.5% 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 2,996. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 85, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 1,081 of which 807 or (74.7%) were in manufacturing and 241 (22.3%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 1,830. In the tertiary sector; 343 or 18.7% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 82 or 4.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 58 or 3.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 15 or 0.8% were in the information industry, 36 or 2.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 515 or 28.1% were technical professionals or scientists, 121 or 6.6% were in education and 257 or 14.0% were in health care.
, there were 1,832 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,489 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.2 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 7.1% of the workforce coming into Orbe are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 10.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 66.2% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 1,774 or 34.5% were Roman Catholic, while 1,993 or 38.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
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 70 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 1.36% of the population), there were 3 individuals (or about 0.06% 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 342 individuals (or about 6.65% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 7 individuals (or about 0.14% of the population) who were Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and 201 (or about 3.91% 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 10 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...
, 14 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 10 individuals who belonged to another church. 620 (or about 12.06% 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 260 individuals (or about 5.06% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Orbe about 1,774 or (34.5%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 433 or (8.4%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
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 433 who completed tertiary schooling, 56.1% were Swiss men, 25.9% were Swiss women, 11.3% were non-Swiss men and 6.7% were non-Swiss women.
In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 802 students in the Orbe 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 427 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 368 students in those schools. There were also 7 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.
Orbe is home to 1 museum, the Fondation Pro Urba. In 2009 it was visited by 2,900 visitors (the average in previous years was 3,278).
, there were 322 students in Orbe who came from another municipality, while 219 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
External links