Landiswil facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Landiswil
Landiswil Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Landiswil Location in Canton of Bern Show map of Canton of Bern
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Bern-Mittelland
Area
• Total	10.26 km² (3.96 sq mi)
Elevation	764 m (2,507 ft)
Population (Dec 2020 )
• Total	619
• Density	60.33/km² (156.26/sq mi)
Postal code	3434
Surrounded by	Arni, Lauperswil, Lützelflüh, Rüderswil, Walkringen
Twin towns	Münchenbuchsee (Switzerland)

Landiswil is a small town, also called a municipality, in Switzerland. It is located in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern.

History of Landiswil

Landiswil was first mentioned in old writings in the year 1277. Back then, its name was Landoloswile.

Early Settlements and Ownership

The oldest signs of people living here are tools and items from the Neolithic (New Stone Age) and Late Bronze Age. These were found scattered around the area. During the Middle Ages, the villages of Landiswil and Obergoldbach were part of the Biglen parish. A parish is like a church district.

Rich families from Solothurn, like the Durrach and Spiegelberg families, owned Landiswil until 1421. Then, it was given to a hospital in Bern. Obergoldbach was owned by wealthy families from Bern too. One famous owner was Peter Kistler, who was a Schultheiss (a type of mayor or chief official) between 1469 and 1471.

Combining Villages and Courts

In 1422, Bern decided to combine the two villages, Landiswil and Obergoldbach, into one court. A court is a place where legal decisions are made. Later, in 1471, they combined the courts of Landiswil and Biglen. This new, larger court was then placed under the Konolfingen district.

In 1529, the combined court was put under the control of the Landvogt of Signau. A Landvogt was a local governor or ruler. Landiswil remained part of the Biglen church parish for a long time. It wasn't until 1954 that Landiswil built its own village church.

Famous Spas

In the 1800s, Landiswil was home to two well-known spas. These were places where people went to relax and use special waters for health. The spas were called Tannental and Löchlibad. However, both of them closed down by the early 1900s.

Geography of Landiswil

Landiswil covers an area of about 10.3 square kilometers (about 4 square miles).

Land Use in Landiswil

A big part of Landiswil's land is used for farming. About 62.4% of the area is farmland. Forests cover about 32.5% of the land. The rest of the land, about 5.0%, has buildings or roads. A very small part, 0.3%, is made up of rivers or lakes.

Most of the built-up areas are houses and other buildings (2.5%). Roads and other transport paths make up 1.7%. In the forested areas, 30.5% is dense forest. Another 1.9% has orchards or small groups of trees. For farming, 20.3% is used for growing crops. Pastures for animals cover 39.8%, and 2.3% is for orchards or vineyards. All the water in Landiswil is flowing water, like streams.

Location and Administration

Landiswil is located in the upper Goldbach Valley. It includes the main villages of Landiswil and Obergoldbach. There are also many individual farmhouses spread out.

On December 31, 2009, the old district of Amtsbezirk Konolfingen was closed. The very next day, Landiswil became part of the new Verwaltungskreis Bern-Mittelland. This is a new administrative area.

Landiswil's Coat of Arms

The blazon (official description) of Landiswil's coat of arms is quite detailed. It shows a green fir tree growing from three green hills. This is placed on a shield that is half red and half silver. In the top right, there is a golden letter "L". In the top left, there is a golden star.

Population and People in Landiswil

Landiswil has a population of 632 people, based on numbers from December 2011.

Population Changes

As of 2010, a small part of the population, about 1.6%, are people from other countries. Over ten years, from 2001 to 2011, the population changed by about 0.8%. This change was mostly due to people moving in (0.6%). The number of births and deaths caused a small decrease (-0.2%).

Languages Spoken

Most people in Landiswil speak German. In 2000, about 99.5% of the people spoke German as their main language. A few people spoke Serbo-Croatian (0.3%) or Spanish (0.2%).

Where People Come From

In 2000, about half of the people (50.2%) living in Landiswil were also born there. About 39.2% were born in the same canton (Bern). A smaller number, 4.3%, were born elsewhere in Switzerland. Only 1.2% were born outside of Switzerland.

Age Groups

As of 2011, young people (ages 0–19) make up 21.5% of the population. Adults (ages 20–64) are the largest group, at 57.8%. Seniors (over 64 years old) make up 20.7%.

Family Life

In 2000, there were 282 single people who had never been married. There were 321 married people, 35 widows or widowers, and 17 divorced people.

Homes and Housing

In 2000, there were 48 homes where only one person lived. There were also 35 homes with five or more people. Most apartments (89.2%) were lived in all year round. Some (7.6%) were used only at certain times of the year, and a few (3.2%) were empty. In 2010, new homes were being built at a rate of 1.6 new homes for every 1000 residents. In 2011, about 2.46% of homes were empty.

Historical Population Chart

The chart below shows how Landiswil's population has changed over many years:

Economy in Landiswil

In 2011, Landiswil had a very low unemployment rate of 0.99%. This means almost everyone who wanted a job had one.

Jobs and Businesses

As of 2008, 264 people worked in Landiswil.

The primary economic sector (like farming and forestry) employed 182 people. There were 61 businesses in this area.
The secondary sector (like manufacturing and construction) employed 41 people. There were 9 businesses in this area.
The tertiary sector (like services, shops, and education) employed 41 people. There were 10 businesses in this area.

Overall, 323 people living in Landiswil had jobs. About 37.8% of these workers were women.

Full-Time Jobs

In 2008, there were 179 full-time equivalent jobs. This means the total amount of work was equal to 179 full-time positions.

In the primary sector, there were 116 jobs. Most of these (108) were in agriculture, and 8 were in forestry.
In the secondary sector, there were 36 jobs. About a third (12) were in manufacturing, and 23 were in construction.
In the tertiary sector, there were 27 jobs. These included jobs in sales, transport, hotels, restaurants, and education.

Commuting for Work

In 2000, 29 workers traveled into Landiswil for their jobs. However, 154 workers traveled out of Landiswil to work in other places. This means many more people leave Landiswil for work than come in. About 5.3% of working people used public transport to get to work. Most (45.8%) used a private car.

Religion in Landiswil

Based on the 2000 census, most people in Landiswil belong to a Christian church.

About 87.2% (571 people) were part of the Swiss Reformed Church.
About 1.5% (10 people) were Roman Catholic.
Another 4.58% (30 people) belonged to other Christian churches.
One person was Islamic.
About 3.36% (22 people) did not belong to any church. They were either agnostic (not sure if God exists) or atheist (do not believe in God).
About 5.50% (36 people) did not answer the question about their religion.

Education in Landiswil

Education is important in Landiswil.

Education Levels

In Landiswil, about 31.9% of the population (209 people) have finished non-mandatory upper secondary education. This is like high school. Another 8.1% (53 people) have completed higher education. This means they went to a university or a Fachhochschule (a type of college). Of those with higher education, 58.5% were Swiss men and 41.5% were Swiss women.

School System

The Canton of Bern has a specific school system:

One year of non-obligatory Kindergarten.
Six years of Primary school.
Three years of obligatory lower Secondary school. Here, students are grouped based on their abilities.
After lower Secondary, students can continue schooling or start an apprenticeship. An apprenticeship is a way to learn a job by working with a skilled person.

Students in Landiswil

During the 2010–11 school year, 66 students attended classes in Landiswil.

There was one kindergarten class with 10 students. One student had a different first language than the classroom language.
The town had 2 primary classes with 37 students.
There was one lower secondary class with 19 students.

In 2000, 30 students from Landiswil went to schools outside the municipality.