Etzelkofen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Etzelkofen
|
||
|---|---|---|
_123.JPG)
Etzelkofen village entrance
|
||
|
||
 Etzelkofen
Location in Switzerland
Etzelkofen
Location in Canton of Bern
|
||
| Country | Switzerland | |
| Canton | Bern | |
| District | Bern-Mittelland | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 2.8 km2 (1.1 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 529 m (1,736 ft) | |
| Population
(Dec 2011)
|
||
| • Total | 291 | |
| • Density | 103.9/km2 (269/sq mi) | |
| Postal code |
3306
|
|
| Surrounded by | Brunnenthal (SO), Büren zum Hof, Fraubrunnen, Grafenried, Iffwil, Messen (SO), Mülchi, Scheunen | |
Etzelkofen is a small village in Switzerland. It used to be its own municipality (like a town with its own local government). It was located in the Bern-Mittelland area of the canton of Bern.
On January 1, 2014, Etzelkofen joined with several other nearby villages. These included Büren zum Hof, Grafenried, Limpach, Mülchi, Schalunen, and Zauggenried. They all became part of the larger municipality called Fraubrunnen.
Contents
A Look Back: Etzelkofen's History
_157.JPG)
Etzelkofen was first written about in the year 1302. Back then, it was called villa Ezenchoven.
During the Middle Ages, Etzelkofen was part of an area called the Herrschaft of Messen. A Herrschaft was like a small territory ruled by a lord. In the 1300s, a place called Fraubrunnen Abbey (a type of monastery) bought the land rights for Etzelkofen from Messen.
In 1373, the Abbey tried to get more power. They wanted the Zwing und Bann right, which meant they could judge almost all court cases, except for very serious crimes. But Messen stopped them and kept control over these legal matters in Etzelkofen. Serious crimes for the village were judged in Zollikofen.
In 1406, the whole area came under the control of Bern. However, in 1410, a church in Solothurn called the collegiate church of St. Ursen claimed authority over Messen, including Etzelkofen. They said they had a right to it from a gift made in 1278. Just two years later, Solothurn gained control of Etzelkofen. The village became part of Solothurn's bailiwick (an area managed by a local official) called Bucheggberg.
Etzelkofen stayed with Solothurn for over 200 years. Then, in 1665, a special agreement called the Wynigervertrag was made between Solothurn and Bern. This agreement moved Etzelkofen back to Bern. It then became part of Bern's bailiwick of Fraubrunnen. Even so, the village remained part of the Solothurn church area of Messen.
In 1833, a new local government group was formed. It was called the Einwohnergemeinde (municipality) of Bernisch-Messen. This group included Etzelkofen and other nearby villages. Later, in 1921, it was renamed the Gemeindeverband Bernisch-Messen. In 1979, it became the Fürsorgeverband Etzelkofen und Umgebung, which was a welfare group for the area.
Starting in the 1800s, many farmers in Etzelkofen began raising dairy cows. They did this instead of, or in addition to, growing crops. A dairy was built in the village in 1851 to help these farmers. Today, farming is still very important to the local economy. A brick factory also opened in 1967. Since 1982, Etzelkofen has worked with Limpach and Mülchi for schools and community activities.
Etzelkofen's Geography
_163.JPG)
Before it merged, Etzelkofen covered an area of about 2.8 square kilometers (about 1.1 square miles).
Most of this land was used for farming. About 59.1% of the area was farmland. Another large part, 35.6%, was covered by forests. A smaller part, 5.3%, had buildings or roads on it. Only a tiny bit, 0.4%, was unproductive land, meaning it couldn't be used for anything.
The village is located on a flat area called the Rapperswil plateau.
On December 31, 2009, the old district of Amtsbezirk Fraubrunnen, which Etzelkofen was part of, was closed down. The next day, January 1, 2010, Etzelkofen joined a new administrative area called Verwaltungskreis Bern-Mittelland.
Village Symbol: The Coat of Arms
The blazon (a special description) of Etzelkofen's coat of arms is: Azure an Arm armoured Argent issuant from sinister holding a Sceptre of the same. This means it shows a silver armored arm coming from the left side on a blue background, holding a silver scepter.
People of Etzelkofen: Demographics
_135.JPG)
In 2011, Etzelkofen had a population of 291 people. As of 2010, about 3.1% of the people living there were foreign nationals. Over the past 10 years (from 2000 to 2010), the number of people in Etzelkofen went down by 13.8%. This was partly because some people moved away and partly because there were fewer births than deaths.
Most people in Etzelkofen speak German as their main language. In 2000, about 99.2% of the population spoke German. A small number spoke English (0.6%) or French (0.3%).
In 2008, the population was almost evenly split between males and females. About 51.5% were male and 48.5% were female. Most residents were Swiss citizens.
Looking at age groups in 2010, children and teenagers (ages 0–19) made up 13% of the population. Adults (ages 20–64) were the largest group at 70.6%. Seniors (over 64 years old) made up 16.4%.
In 2000, many people in Etzelkofen were single and had never been married (152 people). There were 184 married people, 11 widows or widowers, and 11 divorced individuals.
Also in 2000, there were 26 households with only one person. There were 18 households with five or more people. Most apartments (83.7%) were lived in all the time. Some (15.4%) were used only at certain times of the year, and only one apartment was empty. In 2011, very few homes were empty, with a vacancy rate of 0.66%.
The chart below shows how Etzelkofen's population has changed over many years:
Working in Etzelkofen: Economy
In 2011, Etzelkofen had a very low unemployment rate of 0.85%. This means almost everyone who wanted a job had one.
In 2008, there were 75 people working in the municipality.
- The primary sector (like farming) had 24 people working in 9 businesses.
- The secondary sector (like manufacturing or construction) had 21 people working in 6 businesses.
- The tertiary sector (like services, shops, or offices) had 30 people working in 13 businesses.
A total of 186 residents from Etzelkofen had jobs. About 46.2% of these workers were female.
In 2008, there were 55 full-time equivalent jobs. This means if you add up all the hours worked, it was like 55 people working full-time.
- 14 jobs were in farming.
- 20 jobs were in the secondary sector. Of these, 5 were in manufacturing and 15 were in construction.
- 21 jobs were in the tertiary sector. These included jobs in sales, restaurants, science, and education.
In 2000, 12 workers came into Etzelkofen for their jobs, but 118 workers left Etzelkofen to work elsewhere. This means many more people living in Etzelkofen worked outside the village than those who came in to work. Most people (67.7%) used a private car to get to work, while 3.2% used public transportation.
Beliefs: Religion
Based on the 2000 census:
- 28 people (7.8%) were Roman Catholic.
- 288 people (80.4%) belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church (a type of Protestant church).
- 20 people (5.59%) said they had no church affiliation, or were agnostic (not sure if God exists) or atheist (don't believe in God).
- 22 people (6.15%) did not answer the question about their religion.
Learning in Etzelkofen: Education
The school system in the Canton of Bern works like this:
- There's one year of optional Kindergarten.
- Then, six years of Primary school.
- After that, three years of required lower Secondary school. In Secondary school, students are grouped based on their abilities.
- After lower Secondary, students can continue their education or start an apprenticeship (learning a trade on the job).
During the 2010-2011 school year, 13 students attended classes in Etzelkofen. There were no kindergarten classes in the village. The municipality had one primary class with 13 students.
In 2000, 29 students came to Etzelkofen from other municipalities to attend school. However, 42 students who lived in Etzelkofen went to schools outside the municipality.
See also
In Spanish: Etzelkofen para niños
