Meinisberg

Meinisberg
Country Switzerland Canton Bern District Biel/Bienne 47°10′N 7°21′E / 47.167°N 7.35°E / 47.167; 7.35Coordinates: 47°10′N 7°21′E / 47.167°N 7.35°E / 47.167; 7.35
Population	1,271 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density	289 /km2 (748 /sq mi)
Area	4.4 km2 (1.7 sq mi)
Elevation	445 m (1,460 ft)
Postal code	2554
SFOS number	0390
Surrounded by	Büren an der Aare, Lengnau, Pieterlen, Safnern
Website	www.meinisberg.ch SFSO statistics
Meinisberg
View map of Meinisberg

Meinisberg is a municipality in the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

History

The area has been settled since the Mesolithic and Neolithic ages, as finds near the Scheidwegen section of Meinisberg indicate.^[2] La Tène and Roman artifacts have been found near the Steinen section and a High Middle Ages wooden castle was found near Reibenwald. From the Late Middle Ages Meinisberg was ruled from Pieterlen which was under the authority of the Prince-Bishop of Basel. In 1816 it came under the authority of Bern and in 1833 became an independent community. At this time it was still part of the parish of Pieterlen. When the Nidau-Büren canal was built (1865–75), the Aare River now ran past Meinisberg. The community grew due to its location on the edge of the Naturschutzgebiets Häftli (Natural Park) and ease of reaching Biel/Bienne from Meinisberg.^[2]

Geography

Meinisberg has an area, as of 2009^[update], of 4.42 square kilometers (1.71 sq mi). Of this area, 2.41 km² (0.93 sq mi) or 54.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.11 km² (0.43 sq mi) or 25.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.66 km² (0.25 sq mi) or 14.9% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.23 km² (0.089 sq mi) or 5.2% is either rivers or lakes and 0.04 km² (9.9 acres) or 0.9% is unproductive land.^[3]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 7.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.2%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 45.5% is used for growing crops and 7.2% is pastures, while 1.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in lakes.^[3]

Demographics

Meinisberg has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 1,271.^[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 7.4%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (90.0%), with French being second most common ( 3.9%) and Albanian being third ( 1.5%).

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

year	population
1764	245
1850	493
1900	532
1950	675
2000	1189

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 36.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (23.5%), the FDP (14.9%) and the Green Party (9.6%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 64.7% and the seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.2%. In Meinisberg about 79.2% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Meinisberg has an unemployment rate of 0.69%. As of 2005^[update], there were 30 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 12 businesses involved in this sector. 55 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 10 businesses in this sector. 124 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 35 businesses in this sector.^[4]

External links

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

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 c} Meinisberg 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-Jun-2009