Neuenegg

Neuenegg
Country Switzerland Canton Bern District Bern-Mittelland 46°54′N 7°18′E / 46.9°N 7.3°E / 46.9; 7.3Coordinates: 46°54′N 7°18′E / 46.9°N 7.3°E / 46.9; 7.3
Population	4,874 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density	222 /km2 (574 /sq mi)
Area	22.0 km2 (8.5 sq mi)
Elevation	525 m (1,722 ft)
Postal code	3176
SFOS number	0670
Localities	Au, Bärfischenhaus, Bramberg, Brüggelbach, Freiburghaus, Süri, Thörishaus, Wyden
Surrounded by	Bern (Bern), Bösingen (FR), Köniz, Laupen, Mühleberg, Ueberstorf (FR), Wünnewil-Flamatt (FR)
Website	www.neuenegg.ch SFSO statistics
Neuenegg
View map of Neuenegg

Neuenegg is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

History

The Battle of Neuenegg, 1798.

Neuenegg is first mentioned in 1228 as Nuneca. In 1235 it was mentioned as Nuwenegge.^[2]

During the French invasion of 1798 a major battle was fought near Neuenegg. Under the command of Johann Rudolf von Graffenried the Bernese triumphed over numerically superior French troops under Brigadier General Pigeon on March 5, 1798. However, after the Bernese defeat that same day at the Battle of Grauholz, the collapse of the Ancien Régime could no longer be avoided.

Geography

Neuenegg has an area, as of 2009^[update], of 21.87 square kilometers (8.44 sq mi). Of this area, 11.49 km² (4.44 sq mi) or 52.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 8.35 km² (3.22 sq mi) or 38.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.97 km² (0.76 sq mi) or 9.0% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.15 km² (37 acres) or 0.7% is either rivers or lakes.^[3]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 5.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.7%. Out of the forested land, 37.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 35.7% is used for growing crops and 15.0% is pastures, while 1.9% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.^[3]

It is located on a plateau on the right bank of the Sense River. It includes the village of Neuenegg and half of Thörishaus as well as a number of hamlets including Bärfischenhaus, Bramberg, Brügelbach and Landstuhl. It also includes a portion of the Forsts, a nature preserve in Bern.

Demographics

Neuenegg has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 4,874.^[1] As of 2007^[update], 8.6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 14.1%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (93.0%), with French being second most common ( 1.1%) and Italian being third ( 0.7%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 40.4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (20.5%), the FDP (13.8%) and the Green Party (8.3%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 21.7% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 63.2% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.2%. In Neuenegg about 76.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).^[4]

The historical population is given in the following table:^[2]

year	population
1764	779
1850	2,155
1900	2,111
1950	2,800
1980	3,727
2000	4,362

Business and Infrastructure

Neuenegg has an unemployment rate of 1.75%. As of 2005^[update], there were 282 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 81 businesses involved in this sector. 668 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 44 businesses in this sector. 719 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 122 businesses in this sector.^[4]

Traffic

The municipality is accessible by the A12, with the SBB-CFF-FFS rail line, and by bus (Neuenegg-Thörishaus Dorf).

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} Neuenegg 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. ^ ^{a b} Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 07-Jul-2009

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.