Schattenhalb 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 Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district

Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district)

Interlaken-Oberhasli District in the Canton of Bern was created on 1 January 2010. It is part of the Oberland administrative region. It contains 29 municipalities with an area of and a population of 48,763....

 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....

.

History

The municipality was created in 1834 from the cooperative farms (Bäuerten) of "Willigen," "Geissholz," "Falchern" and "Lugen." The name Schattenhalb ("Shadow-half") refers to the shady face of the mountainside south of Meiringen

Meiringen

-References:...

.

Geography

Schattenhalb has an area of 31.5 km² (12.2 sq mi). Of this area, 26.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 39% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (32.5%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

Schattenhalb lies in the Bernese Oberland

Bernese Oberland

The Bernese Oberland is the higher part of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, in the southern end of the canton: The area around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and the valleys of the Bernese Alps .The flag of the Bernese Oberland consists of a black eagle in a gold field The Bernese Oberland (Bernese...

 in the Hasli valley, where the Aare River flows. The highest mountain is the Wellhorn

Wellhorn

Wellhorn is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland.-External links:*...

, on the southwestern edge of the municipality (3,192 m).

Part of the municipality is covered by the Rosenlaui Glacier

Rosenlaui Glacier

The Rosenlaui Glacier is a 5-km-long glacier situated in the Bernese Alps in the canton of Berne in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of 6.14 km².-External links:*...

. Underneath this glacier is the Rosenlaui Gorge, a tourist attraction, which can be reached from the valley.

Demographics

Schattenhalb has a population (as of ) of . , 11.3% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -1.3%. Most of the population speaks German (92.8%), with Spanish being second most common (2.9%) and Portuguese being third (1.4%).

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 56.3% 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....

 (17.5%), 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....

 (12.5%) 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:...

 (7.7%).

The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22.5% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 55.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 21.7%. In Schattenhalb about 68.3% 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...

).

Schattenhalb has an unemployment rate of 0.72%. , there were 47 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 22 businesses involved in this sector. 92 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 7 businesses in this sector. 448 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 16 businesses in this sector.