Ollon

Ollon
Villars-sur-Ollon village
Country Switzerland Canton Vaud District Aigle 46°18′N 7°00′E / 46.3°N 7°E / 46.3; 7Coordinates: 46°18′N 7°00′E / 46.3°N 7°E / 46.3; 7
Population	6,953 (Dec 2009)[1]
- Density	117 /km2 (302 /sq mi)
Area	59.54 km2 (22.99 sq mi)
Elevation	479 m (1,572 ft)
Postal code	1867
SFOS number	5409
Localities	Antagnes, Arveyes, Auliens, Bretaye, Chesieres, Crettaz, Exergillod, Forchex, Glutieres, Huemoz, Les Combes, Les Ecovets, Les Fontaines, Pallueyres, Panex, Plambuit, Plan d'Essert, Salaz, St-Triphon, Verschiez, Villars-sur-Ollon, Villy
Surrounded by	Aigle, Bex, Collombey-Muraz (VS), Gryon, Monthey (VS), Ormont-Dessous, Ormont-Dessus
Website	www.ollon.ch Profile, SFSO statistics
Ollon
View map of Ollon

Ollon is a municipality in the district of Aigle in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, sited in the foothills of the mountains to the south-east of the Lake of Geneva. The old German language name Olun is no longer used.

History

Ollon is first mentioned in 1018 as Aulonum though there is some debate about whether this refers to another settlement. In 1025-32 it was mentioned as Olonum.^[2]

Saint-Triphon

The village of Saint-Triphon is situated on three hills overlooking the Rhone valley. It was first mentioned in 1332 as Triphonis Sancti. Archeological finds include items from the Middle Neolithic to the Roman era, including an Early Bronze Age necropolis and a Late Bronze Age smelter for copper processing.^[3]

On the hill Le Lessus stands a 18 m (59 ft) high square tower, probably from the 13th Century. The tower was partially destroyed in 1476. Foundations indicate that the tower was reached by a walkway. Nearby, the remains of a romanesque chapel from the 12th Century is still visible. In 1232 the Counts of Savoy granted the castle to Guy de Saillon. The fief was dismembered in the 14th Century and reunited in the 16th Century under the Rovéréa family. Between 1476-1798 it was one of the twelve Zenden des Mandements Ollon in the government of Aigle. The village was ruled by a Bernese mayor. Since the middle ages, black marble has been mined in the village.^[3]

Geography

Mountains near Villar-sur-Ollon

Ollon has an area, as of 2009^[update], of 59.54 square kilometers (22.99 sq mi). Of this area, 23.86 km² (9.21 sq mi) or 40.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 27.11 km² (10.47 sq mi) or 45.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 6.3 km² (2.4 sq mi) or 10.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.55 km² (0.21 sq mi) or 0.9% is either rivers or lakes and 1.68 km² (0.65 sq mi) or 2.8% is unproductive land.^[4]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 5.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.1%. Out of the forested land, 38.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 11.1% is used for growing crops and 8.5% is pastures, while 2.9% is used for orchards or vine crops and 17.7% is used for alpine pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.3% is in lakes and 0.6% is in rivers and streams.^[4]

The municipality is located in the Aigle district. The area covered by Ollon borders the Rhône on the southwest side, and rises up the mountainside as far as Chamossaire. Ollon includes 123 hectares (300 acres) of vineyards. It is one of the largest municipalities in the canton. It consists of the village of Ollon and 23 other villages and hamlets (including; Antagnes, Arveyes, Chesières, Huémoz, Panex, Saint-Triphon, Villars-sur-Ollon) as well as scattered summer grazing camps (Bretaye, Les Closalets, La Barboleusaz).

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Quartered Vert and Gules, overall a Cross couped Argent.^[5]

Demographics

Roc d'Orsay gondola

balconies in Villars-sur-Ollon

Villars-sur-Ollon

Ollon has a population (as of December 2009^[update]) of 6,953.^[1] As of 2008^[update], 32.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals.^[6] Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 11.7%. It has changed at a rate of 10.7% due to migration and at a rate of 1.2% due to births and deaths.^[7]

Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks French (4,955 or 79.2%), with English being second most common (335 or 5.4%) and German being third (246 or 3.9%). There are 96 people who speak Italian and 3 people who speak Romansh.^[8]

Of the population in the municipality 1,724 or about 27.6% were born in Ollon and lived there in 2000. There were 1,374 or 22.0% who were born in the same canton, while 1,011 or 16.2% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 1,869 or 29.9% were born outside of Switzerland.^[8]

In 2008^[update] there were 38 live births to Swiss citizens and 15 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 45 deaths of Swiss citizens and 5 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 7 while the foreign population increased by 10. There was 1 Swiss man and 1 Swiss woman who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 81 non-Swiss men and 107 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 91 and the non-Swiss population increased by 95 people. This represents a population growth rate of 2.8%.^[6]

The age distribution, as of 2009^[update], in Ollon is; 690 children or 9.9% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,368 teenagers or 19.7% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 622 people or 9.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 772 people or 11.1% are between 30 and 39, 1,142 people or 16.4% are between 40 and 49, and 900 people or 13.0% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 750 people or 10.8% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 437 people or 6.3% are between 70 and 79,there are 246 people or 3.5% who are 80 and 89, and there are 22 people or 0.3% who are 90 and older.^[9]

As of 2000^[update], there were 2,723 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 2,915 married individuals, 318 widows or widowers and 301 individuals who are divorced.^[8]

As of 2000^[update] the average number of residents per living room was 0.58 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.61 per room.^[7] 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.^[10] About 64.7% 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).^[11]

As of 2000^[update], there were 2,399 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household.^[7] There were 839 households that consist of only one person and 151 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 2,519 households that answered this question, 33.3% were households made up of just one person and there were 15 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 627 married couples without children, 726 married couples with children There were 158 single parents with a child or children. There were 34 households that were made up of unrelated people and 120 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.^[8]

In 2000^[update] there were 1,463 single family homes (or 61.0% of the total) out of a total of 2,399 inhabited buildings. There were 511 multi-family buildings (21.3%), along with 237 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (9.9%) and 188 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (7.8%). Of the single family homes 336 were built before 1919, while 132 were built between 1990 and 2000. The most multi-family homes (126) were built before 1919 and the next most (88) were built between 1981 and 1990. There were 9 multi-family houses built between 1996 and 2000.^[12]

In 2000^[update] there were 5,227 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 1,523. There were 486 single room apartments and 1,154 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 2,130 apartments (40.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 2,880 apartments (55.1%) were seasonally occupied and 217 apartments (4.2%) were empty.^[12] As of 2009^[update], the construction rate of new housing units was 2 new units per 1000 residents.^[7] The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010^[update], was 1.33%.^[7]

The historical population is given in the following chart:^[2][13]

Heritage sites of national significance

The Saint-Triphon Et Charpigny, a prehistoric to medieval hilltop settlement, is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire villages of Huémoz and Ollon are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.^[14]

Politics

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 26.43% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (20.06%), the FDP (19.34%) and the Green Party (12.08%). In the federal election, a total of 1,602 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 45.5%.^[15]

Economy

As of 2010^[update], Ollon had an unemployment rate of 3.7%. As of 2008^[update], there were 221 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 75 businesses involved in this sector. 287 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 54 businesses in this sector. 1,588 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 227 businesses in this sector.^[7] There were 2,815 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 43.4% of the workforce.

In 2008^[update] the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 1,777. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 139, of which 124 were in agriculture and 15 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 269 of which 78 or (29.0%) were in manufacturing and 168 (62.5%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 1,369. In the tertiary sector; 224 or 16.4% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 110 or 8.0% were in the movement and storage of goods, 355 or 25.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 5 or 0.4% were in the information industry, 28 or 2.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 66 or 4.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 387 or 28.3% were in education and 8 or 0.6% were in health care.^[16]

In 2000^[update], there were 499 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,334 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.7 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 2.0% of the workforce coming into Ollon are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.1% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work.^[17] Of the working population, 10.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 59.5% used a private car.^[7]

Religion

Catholic Church of Villars-sur-Ollon

From the 2000 census^[update], 1,922 or 30.7% were Roman Catholic, while 2,603 or 41.6% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 128 members of an Orthodox church (or about 2.05% of the population), there were 3 individuals (or about 0.05% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 167 individuals (or about 2.67% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 14 individuals (or about 0.22% of the population) who were Jewish, and 175 (or about 2.80% of the population) who were Islamic. There were 11 individuals who were Buddhist, 14 individuals who were Hindu and 8 individuals who belonged to another church. 732 (or about 11.70% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 480 individuals (or about 7.67% of the population) did not answer the question.^[8]

Education

In Ollon about 1,975 or (31.6%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 885 or (14.1%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Of the 885 who completed tertiary schooling, 44.2% were Swiss men, 23.2% were Swiss women, 18.0% were non-Swiss men and 14.7% were non-Swiss women.^[8]

In the 2009/2010 school year there were a total of 789 students in the Ollon school district. In the Vaud cantonal school system, two years of non-obligatory pre-school are provided by the political districts.^[18] During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 205 children of which 96 children (46.8%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 402 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 386 students in those schools. There were also 1 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.^[19]

As of 2000^[update], there were 46 students in Ollon who came from another municipality, while 346 residents attended schools outside the municipality.^[17]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Swiss Federal Statistical Office, MS Excel document – Bilanz der ständigen Wohnbevölkerung nach Kantonen, Bezirken und Gemeinden (German) accessed 25 August 2010
2. ^ ^{a b} Ollon in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
3. ^ ^{a b} Saint-Triphon in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
4. ^ ^{a b} Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data (German) accessed 25 March 2010
5. ^ Flags of the World.com accessed 07-May-2011
6. ^ ^{a b} Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Superweb database - Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008 (German) accessed 19 June 2010
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 07-May-2011
8. ^ ^{a b c d e f} STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000 (German) accessed 2 February 2011
9. ^ Canton of Vaud Statistical Office (French) accessed 29 April 2011
10. ^ Eurostat. "Housing (SA1)" (pdf). Urban Audit Glossary. 2007. p. 18. http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/en/index/international/22/lexi.Document.116365.pdf. Retrieved 12 February 2010. 
11. ^ Urban Audit Glossary pg 17
12. ^ ^{a b} Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB - Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 - Gebäude und Wohnungen (German) accessed 28 January 2011
13. ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB Bevölkerungsentwicklung nach Region, 1850-2000 (German) accessed 29 January 2011
14. ^ "Kantonsliste A-Objekte" (in German). KGS Inventar. Federal Office of Civil Protection. 2009. http://www.bevoelkerungsschutz.admin.ch/internet/bs/de/home/themen/kgs/kgs_inventar/a-objekte.html. Retrieved 25 April 2011. 
15. ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Nationalratswahlen 2007: Stärke der Parteien und Wahlbeteiligung, nach Gemeinden/Bezirk/Canton (German) accessed 28 May 2010
16. ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB Betriebszählung: Arbeitsstätten nach Gemeinde und NOGA 2008 (Abschnitte), Sektoren 1-3 (German) accessed 28 January 2011
17. ^ ^{a b} Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb (German) accessed 24 June 2010
18. ^ Organigramme de l'école vaudoise, année scolaire 2009-2010 (French) accessed 2 May 2011
19. ^ Canton of Vaud Statistical Office - Scol. obligatoire/filières de transition (French) accessed 2 May 2011

External links

• Huémoz in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Saint-Triphon in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.