Matten bei Interlaken

Matten bei Interlaken
Country Switzerland Canton Bern District Interlaken-Oberhasli 46°40′N 7°51′E / 46.667°N 7.85°E / 46.667; 7.85Coordinates: 46°40′N 7°51′E / 46.667°N 7.85°E / 46.667; 7.85
Population	3,781 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density	641 /km2 (1,660 /sq mi)
Area	5.9 km2 (2.3 sq mi)
Elevation	572 m (1,877 ft)
Postal code	3800
SFOS number	0587
Surrounded by	Interlaken, Bönigen, Gsteigwiler, Wilderswil and Därligen
Website	www.matten.ch SFSO statistics
Matten bei Interlaken
View map of Matten bei Interlaken

Matten bei Interlaken (or simply Matten) is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

The municipalities of Matten, Unterseen, and Interlaken comprise a single metropolitan area.

History

Matten bei Interlaken is first mentioned in 1133 as inter lacus Madon.^[2]

In the seventh century, Alemanni first settled in the modern municipal area, pushing out the Celts into the surrounding valleys. The first documented reference to the town, in the phrase inter lacus Madon, was on November 8, 1133 in a letter from Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor. It is known that many residents of Matten served as soldiers in service of a foreign power.

A milestone in the history of the place was the first Unspunnenfest in 1805. As tourism to the Bernese Oberland increased in the course of the nineteenth century, Matten profitted, and the large hotels Jungfraublick (1863) and Mattenhof (1870) were built. The latter served as a military hospital in World War II.

This stone inscribed "frontier defence 1939-1945" stands between the airbase and the Lütschine river

During World War II, an airbase was built in the municipality. For its construction, a large portion of the southeastern part of the municipality was drained. Today, although there is still a tarmac strip, this area no longer serves a military purpose and it is now used for cattle grazing. Other large events take advantage of the large flattened area as well, such as the Country- und Trucker Festival and the Greenfield Festival. Erich von Däniken's Mystery Park was also built on the former airbase land.

Origin of the name

Matten is a native field name, going back to the Old High German matta- ("meadow").

Geography

Matten bei Interlaken has an area, as of 2009^[update], of 5.9 square kilometers (2.3 sq mi). Of this area, 1.26 km² (0.49 sq mi) or 21.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.37 km² (1.30 sq mi) or 57.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.25 km² (0.48 sq mi) or 21.2% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.07 km² (17 acres) or 1.2% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km² (4.9 acres) or 0.3% is unproductive land.^[3]

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 9.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 7.6%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.2%. Out of the forested land, 55.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 2.0% is used for growing crops and 18.6% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.^[3]

Matten bei Interlaken lies in the Bernese Oberland in the Alps, in the Bödeli (the tongue of land between of Lake Thun and Lake Brienz). In the West, Matten borders on the foothills of the Abendberg Ridge, the Kleinen Rugen and the Grossen Rugen. The municipality includes the village and the exclave of Änderberg.

Matten bei Interlaken, like eight adjacent municipalities, belongs to the church parish Gsteig bei Interlaken.

Demographics

Matten bei Interlaken has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 3,781.^[1] As of 2007^[update], 13.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 4.3%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (90.3%), with Italian being second most common ( 2.3%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 1.4%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 33.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (21.3%), the FDP (15.9%) and the Green Party (10.6%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.9% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.7%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Matten bei Interlaken about 75.2% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Matten bei Interlaken has an unemployment rate of 2.75%. As of 2005^[update], there were 37 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 15 businesses involved in this sector. 162 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 26 businesses in this sector. 803 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 97 businesses in this sector.^[4] The historical population is given in the following table:^[2]

year	population
1764	372
1850	795
1900	1,602
1910	2,042
1930	1,813
1950	2,183
2000	3,671

Politics

The legislature consists of the municipal assembly. The executive is the municipal council of seven members; in the case of tied votes the mayor becomes the tie-breaker. All of the authorities have additional responsibilities as well.

Economy

Because of the growth of the municipalities Unterseen, Interlaken, and Matten into one another, their economies have also become tightly interconnected. For all of them, tourism plays an important role. In Matten, the Balmers Herberge is well-known to backpackers. The Tell Freilichtspiele, located within the municipality, attracts thousands of tourists in summer. Along with Mystery Park, it is one of Matten's most famous tourist attractions.

With the closing of the airbase, Matten and the Bödeli region as a whole lost many valuable jobs. Although the area is still characterized by agriculture, only 4% of the workforce is employed in the sector.

Notable sights in the area

View of Unterseen, Interlaken, and Matten

• Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Lake Thun and Lake Brienz
• Tell Freilichtspiele
• Kunsteisbahn
• Loop road to the kleinen Rugen
• The Schynige Platte (via the Schynige Platte Railway) provides a scenic view of Interlaken and the surrounding mountains
• The Harder Kulm via the Harderbahn
• Mystery Park
• Greenfield Festival
• Country und Trucker-Festival

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} Matten bei Interlaken 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 01-Jul-2009