Rüeggisberg is a 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 Bern-Mittelland administrative district

Bern-Mittelland (administrative district)

Bern-Mittelland District in the Canton of Bern was created on 1 January 2010. It is part of the Bern-Mittelland administrative region, and is the only district in the region...

 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 Bern 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

Rüeggisberg has an area of 35.7 km² (13.8 sq mi). Of this area, 64.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 29.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 4.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.7%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

Demographics

Rüeggisberg has a population (as of ) of . , 3.4% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -7.3%. Most of the population speaks German (97.6%), with Albanian being second most common ( 0.6%) and French being third ( 0.4%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was 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...

 which received 58.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS

Social Democratic Party of Switzerland

The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

 (9.7%), 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:...

 (7.6%) and the FDP

Free Democratic Party of Switzerland

The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....

 (7.3%).

The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 26.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 57% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.7%. In Rüeggisberg about 67.6% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or 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...

).

Rüeggisberg has an unemployment rate of 1.11%. , there were 388 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 153 businesses involved in this sector. 110 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 24 businesses in this sector. 244 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 45 businesses in this sector.

Sights

• Rüeggisberg Priory
  Rüeggisberg Priory
  Rüeggisberg Priory was a Cluniac priory in the municipality of Rüeggisberg, Canton of Bern, Switzerland.The original foundation of uncertain date, made by Lütold of Rümligen, was turned into the first Cluniac house in the German-speaking world by Cuno of Siegburg and Ulrich of Zell in about 1072,...
  
   - The original foundation of uncertain date, made by Lütold of Rümligen, was turned into the first Cluniac house in the German-speaking world by Cuno of Siegburg
  Siegburg
  --122.148.78.228 05:06, 14 November 2011 Siegburg is a city in the district of Rhein-Sieg-Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany...
  
   and Ulrich of Zell
  Ulrich of Zell
  Saint Ulrich of Zell, also known as Wulderic, sometimes of Cluny or of Regensburg , was a Cluniac reformer of Germany, abbot, founder and saint.-Life:...
  
   in about 1072, when the first cells were built. Construction of the Romanesque
  Romanesque architecture
  Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
  
   church lasted from about 1100 to about 1185, of which there still remain the north transept
  Transept
  For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
  
   and parts of the crossing tower. The priory was one of the most important monastic houses of Switzerland 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...
  
  , but in the late medieval period decline set in, and in 1484 it was incorporated into the newly-built college of the Augustinian Canons of Bern Minster. The church was shut down in 1541 during the Reformation
  Protestant Reformation
  The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
  
  . The monastic buildings thereafter served as a source of building stone and partly as a barn.