Merzligen

Merzligen
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Seeland
Coordinates	47°5′N 7°15′E / 47.083°N 7.25°E / 47.083; 7.25Coordinates: 47°5′N 7°15′E / 47.083°N 7.25°E / 47.083; 7.25
Population	406 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density	177 /km2 (457 /sq mi)
Area	2.3 km2 (0.89 sq mi)
Elevation	509 m (1,670 ft)
Postal code	3274
SFOS number	0741
Surrounded by	Bellmund, Hermrigen, Jens, Kappelen
Twin towns	Jamné (Czech Republic)
Website	www.merzligen.ch SFSO statistics
Merzligen
View map of Merzligen

Merzligen is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

History

Merzligen is first mentioned in 1278 as Merzelingen.^[2]

Geography

Merzligen has an area, as of 2009^[update], of 2.28 square kilometers (0.88 sq mi). Of this area, 1.63 km² (0.63 sq mi) or 71.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.38 km² (0.15 sq mi) or 16.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.24 km² (0.093 sq mi) or 10.5% is settled (buildings or roads) and 0.01 km² (2.5 acres) or 0.4% is unproductive land.^[3]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 6.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.5%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 61.8% is used for growing crops and 5.7% is pastures, while 3.9% is used for orchards or vine crops.^[3]

Merzligen is located on the heights between Lake Biel and the Bernese Seeland. It includes the village of Merzligen and part of the hamlet of St. Niklaus (the other part belongs to Bellmund).

Demographics

Merzligen has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 406.^[1] As of 2007^[update], 2.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 4.7%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (91.5%), with French being second most common ( 6.1%) and Italian being third ( 0.5%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 31.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (21.7%), the FDP (17.4%) and the Green Party (10.7%).

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 62.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.9%. In Merzligen about 80.8% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Merzligen has an unemployment rate of 0.46%. As of 2005^[update], there were 27 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 12 businesses involved in this sector. 5 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 4 businesses in this sector. 16 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 8 businesses in this sector.^[4] The historical population is given in the following table:^[2]

year	population
1764	97
1850	198
1900	210
1950	230
2000	411

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} Merzligen 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 09-Jul-2009