Corgémont

Corgémont
Country Switzerland Canton Bern District Jura bernois 47°12′N 7°9′E / 47.2°N 7.15°E / 47.2; 7.15Coordinates: 47°12′N 7°9′E / 47.2°N 7.15°E / 47.2; 7.15
Population	1,548 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density	88 /km2 (228 /sq mi)
Area	17.6 km2 (6.8 sq mi)
Elevation	663 m (2,175 ft)
Postal code	2606
SFOS number	0431
Surrounded by	Tramelan, Mont-Tramelan, Cortébert, Nods, Orvin, Sonceboz-Sombeval, Tavannes
Website	www.corgemont.ch SFSO statistics
Corgémont
View map of Corgémont

Corgémont is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (Jura Bernois).

History

Corgémont was first mentioned in 1178 as Coriamont.^[2] In 1179 Pope Alexander III confirmed the rights of the Abbey of Moutier-Grandval to their property in Corgémont. From the 12th to 15th Century much of the village was owned by the noble family de Corgémont (also known as de Chalmé), who had received the property from the Prince-Bishop of Basel. Later this property was transferred to the Family d'Asuel. Corgémont belonged to the Barony of Erguel which was under the Prince-Bishops. In 1530 Biel introduced the Reformation to Corgémont.

Geography

Corgémont has an area, as of 2009^[update], of 17.61 km² (6.80 sq mi). Of this area, 9.65 km² (3.73 sq mi) or 54.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 6.81 km² (2.63 sq mi) or 38.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.03 km² (0.40 sq mi) or 5.8% is settled (buildings or roads), 6 ha (15 acres) or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes and 2 ha (5 acres) or 0.1% is unproductive land.^[3]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.0%. 33.3% of the total land area is heavily forested and 5.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 14.8% is used for growing crops and 15.3% is pastures and 24.5% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.^[3]

Demographics

Corgémont has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 1,548.^[1] As of 2007^[update], 10.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -0.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks French (77.5%), with German being second most common (16.1%) and Italian being third ( 3.3%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 33.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (24.6%), the FDP (18.7%) and the Green Party (9.2%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 56.6% and the seniors (over 64 years old) make up 19%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Corgémont about 68.5% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).

Corgémont has an unemployment rate of 1.9%. As of 2005^[update], there were 85 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 30 businesses involved in this sector. 158 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 25 businesses in this sector. 224 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 40 businesses in this sector.^[4] The historical population is given in the following table:^[2]

year	population
1801	342
1850	753
1900	1,418
1950	1,285
1970	1,645
2000	1,493

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB, online database – Datenwürfel für Thema 01.2 - Bevölkerungsstand und -bewegung (German) accessed 29 September
2. ^ ^{a b} Corgémont in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
3. ^ ^{a b} Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data (German) accessed 25 March 2010
4. ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 04-Jun-2009

External links

• Corgémont in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.