Fontainemelon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fontainemelon
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 Fontainemelon
Location in Switzerland
Fontainemelon
Location in Canton of Neuchâtel
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| Country | Switzerland | |
| Canton | Neuchâtel | |
| District | Val-de-Ruz | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 2.45 km2 (0.95 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 864 m (2,835 ft) | |
| Population
(December 2011)
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| • Total | 1,625 | |
| • Density | 663.3/km2 (1,718/sq mi) | |
| Postal code |
2052
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| Surrounded by | Cernier, Fontaines, Les Hauts-Geneveys | |
Fontainemelon was a small town, or "municipality," in Switzerland. It was located in the Val-de-Ruz district, which is part of the Neuchâtel canton. In 2013, Fontainemelon joined with several other towns. These towns merged to form a new, bigger municipality called Val-de-Ruz. The towns that merged were Boudevilliers, Cernier, Chézard-Saint-Martin, Coffrane, Dombresson, Engollon, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Fontainemelon, Fontaines, Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane, Les Hauts-Geneveys, Montmollin, Le Pâquier, Savagnier, and Villiers.
Contents
A Look Back: Fontainemelon's History
Fontainemelon is an old place! It was first mentioned in writings around the year 1350. Back then, it was called Fontainnemelom. A few years later, in 1358, its name was written as Fontannamillon.
Exploring Fontainemelon's Geography
Fontainemelon covered an area of about 2.5 square kilometers (about 1 square mile) in 2009. A large part of this land was used for farming. About 40.4% of the area was agricultural land. Another big part, 40.0%, was covered by forests. The remaining 21.2% of the land was developed with buildings and roads.
Most of the developed area included houses and other buildings (13.1%). Roads and other transport areas made up 5.7%. Parks and sports fields covered 1.2%. In the forested areas, 35.5% was dense forest. Another 4.5% had orchards or small groups of trees. For farming, 11.0% was used for growing crops. Another 11.0% was pastures for animals. Finally, 18.0% was used for high mountain pastures.
The former town is in the Val-de-Ruz district. It includes the main village of Fontainemelon. It also has a part of a small village called Les Loges. This part is located high up, at about 1,230 meters (4,035 feet) above sea level.
Understanding Fontainemelon's Coat of Arms
The coat of arms for Fontainemelon has a special design. It is divided into three vertical sections. The first section is red. It has a wavy silver bar. Above this bar is a golden five-pointed star. Below it is a golden watch. The middle section is gold and has three black chevron shapes. The last section is green. It also has a wavy silver bar. Above this bar is a golden five-pointed star. Below it is a golden plough.
People and Population: Demographics
In 2011, Fontainemelon had a population of 1,625 people. In 2008, about 19.3% of the people living there were foreign nationals. Over ten years (from 2000 to 2010), the population changed slightly. It decreased by 0.4% overall. This was due to more people moving away than moving in. However, more births than deaths helped balance this.
Most people in Fontainemelon speak French. In 2000, about 88.9% of the population spoke French as their main language. Serbo-Croatian was the second most common language (2.9%). German was the third (2.5%). A smaller number of people spoke Italian or Romansh.
In 2008, the population was almost evenly split between males and females. About 48.5% were male and 51.5% were female. Most residents were Swiss citizens. In 2000, about 20.4% of the people were born in Fontainemelon. About 37.4% were born in the same canton. Another 20.3% were born elsewhere in Switzerland. About 18.9% were born outside of Switzerland.
In 2000, children and teenagers (ages 0–19) made up 24.2% of the population. Adults (ages 20–64) were the largest group at 60.1%. Seniors (over 64 years old) made up 15.8%.
Also in 2000, 643 people were single and had never been married. There were 787 married people. There were 85 widows or widowers, and 90 divorced individuals.
There were 681 private households in Fontainemelon in 2000. Each household had about 2.3 people on average. About 218 households had only one person. There were 39 households with five or more people. Most apartments (92.1%) were lived in all year. A small number (5.5%) were used only during certain seasons. Very few (2.3%) were empty. In 2009, new homes were being built at a rate of 8.8 units per 1000 residents. In 2010, only 0.64% of homes were empty.
The population of Fontainemelon has changed over time. In 1750, there were 62 people. By 1850, it grew to 490. The population continued to grow, reaching 794 in 1900 and 1,605 in 2000.
Fontainemelon's Economy
In 2010, Fontainemelon had an unemployment rate of 3.3%. This means a small percentage of people looking for work could not find a job.
In 2008, there were different types of jobs.
- Primary Sector: This includes jobs like farming. There were 7 people working in this sector, with 2 businesses.
- Secondary Sector: This includes manufacturing and construction. There were 653 people working in this sector, with 9 businesses. Most of these jobs (90.5%) were in manufacturing.
- Tertiary Sector: This includes services like sales, transport, and healthcare. There were 276 people working in this sector, with 46 businesses.
Overall, 818 residents of Fontainemelon had jobs. About 44.9% of these workers were female.
In 2008, there were 827 full-time equivalent jobs in the town.
- Only 5 jobs were in the primary sector, all in agriculture.
- The secondary sector had 640 jobs. Most were in manufacturing (579 jobs). The rest were in construction (61 jobs).
- The tertiary sector had 182 jobs. These included sales (68 jobs), transport (8 jobs), hotels/restaurants (5 jobs), and education (16 jobs). Healthcare had 37 jobs.
In 2000, many people traveled for work. About 648 workers came into Fontainemelon for their jobs. At the same time, 609 workers left the town to work elsewhere. This means Fontainemelon had slightly more people coming in for work than leaving. About 12.5% of the workers coming into Fontainemelon were from outside Switzerland. To get to work, 15.3% of the working population used public transport. A much larger group, 62.2%, used a private car.
Religious Beliefs in Fontainemelon
Based on the 2000 census, people in Fontainemelon followed various religions. About 25.4% (407 people) were Roman Catholic. A larger group, 46.2% (741 people), belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.
Other Christian groups were also present. There were a few members of an Orthodox church. Some people belonged to the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland. About 4.55% of the population belonged to other Christian churches. There were also 83 people (5.17%) who were Islamic. A small number of people were Buddhist.
About 16.51% of the population said they did not belong to any church. These individuals were agnostic or atheist. Finally, about 3.99% of the population did not answer the question about their religion.
Learning and Schools: Education
In Fontainemelon, many people have completed higher levels of education. About 36.3% of the population (582 people) finished non-mandatory upper secondary education. This is like high school. Another 12.1% (194 people) completed even higher education. This means they went to a university or a specialized college. Of those with higher education, most were Swiss men (56.2%) or Swiss women (27.3%).
In the canton of Neuchâtel, most towns offer two years of non-mandatory kindergarten. After that, there are five years of mandatory primary education. Then, students have four years of mandatory secondary education. Many students travel to larger secondary schools outside their home town for this.
During the 2010-2011 school year, Fontainemelon had 2 kindergarten classes with 38 students. In the same year, there were 6 primary classes with 91 students.
In 2000, only 2 students living in Fontainemelon came from another town to attend school there. However, 140 residents of Fontainemelon went to schools outside their own town.
See also
In Spanish: Fontainemelon para niños
