Oppligen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Oppligen
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 Oppligen
Location in Switzerland
Oppligen
Location in Canton of Bern
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| Country | Switzerland | |
| Canton | Bern | |
| District | Bern-Mittelland | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 3.4 km2 (1.3 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 560 m (1,840 ft) | |
| Population
(Dec 2020 )
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| • Total | 638 | |
| • Density | 187.6/km2 (486/sq mi) | |
| Postal code |
3629
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| Surrounded by | Brenzikofen, Heimberg, Herbligen, Kiesen, Wichtrach | |
Oppligen is a small town, also called a municipality, in Switzerland. It is located in the Bern region, specifically in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district.
Contents
History of Oppligen
Oppligen was first written about in the year 1234. Back then, it was called Oppelingen.
Early Settlements in Oppligen
The oldest signs of people living here come from the Bronze Age. This was a time long ago when people used bronze tools. An old earthwork, which is a large mound of earth built by people, was found on the Oppligerbergli. Roman coins and old graves from the early Middle Ages also show that people continued to live in this area.
Oppligen and the Monastery
By the 1200s, a place called Interlaken Monastery owned Oppligen. A monastery is a building where monks live and work. In 1336, the people of Oppligen were considered citizens of this monastery.
The Reformation and Changes
In 1528, a big change happened. The city of Bern adopted the Protestant Reformation. This was a time when many people changed their religious beliefs. Because of this, the monastery lost its power and lands. Oppligen then became part of a new district in Bern called Interlaken.
There was a small chapel on Oppligerbergli that was first mentioned in 1250. However, it was taken down during the Reformation in 1528. The village was also part of the church area of Oberwichtrach, which is now the Wichtrach municipality.
Modern Oppligen
For a long time, Oppligen was mostly a farming village. But in the 1970s, the city of Bern started to grow bigger. This growth reached Oppligen. By the year 2000, about three-quarters of the people living in Oppligen traveled to jobs in the Bern area every day.
Geography of Oppligen
Oppligen covers an area of about 3.4 square kilometers. This is roughly 1.3 square miles.
Land Use in Oppligen
A large part of Oppligen's land is used for farming. About 54.5% of the area is farmland. Forests cover a good portion too, about 32.0%. The rest of the land is where buildings and roads are, making up about 12.0%. A small part, 1.2%, is made up of rivers or lakes.
Looking closer at the land use:
- Buildings and homes take up 5.0% of the land.
- Roads and other transport areas are 4.4%.
- Power and water systems use 1.8%.
- Most of the forested land (29.9%) is dense forest.
- About 2.1% of the forest land has orchards or small groups of trees.
- For farming, 39.0% is used for growing crops.
- Pastures for animals make up 14.1%.
- A small 1.5% is used for fruit trees or grapevines.
- All the water in Oppligen is flowing water, like rivers.
Location and Districts
The municipality of Oppligen is found in the lower parts of the Kiesen and Rotachen Valleys. It includes the main village of Oppligen and a smaller area called Rotachen.
In 2010, Oppligen joined a new administrative area. It moved from the old Amtsbezirk Konolfingen district to the new Verwaltungskreis Bern-Mittelland.
Coat of Arms of Oppligen
The coat of arms for Oppligen is a special design that represents the town. It shows a red cross that comes up from the bottom of a silver shield. The cross has ends that spread out, like a special shape.
Population in Oppligen
Oppligen has a population of about 668 people as of December 2011.
Population Changes
From 2001 to 2011, the population of Oppligen changed a little, by about 0.5%. This change was due to a few things. More people were born than died, which added to the population. However, slightly more people moved away than moved in.
Languages Spoken
Most people in Oppligen speak German. In 2000, about 97.1% of the population spoke German as their main language. A few people also spoke French or Portuguese. There was also one person who spoke Italian.
Who Lives in Oppligen
As of 2008, the population was almost evenly split between males and females. About 49.0% were male and 51.0% were female. Most of the people living in Oppligen are Swiss citizens. A small number are foreign nationals.
In 2000, about 30.8% of the people living in Oppligen were born there. Many others, about 50.8%, were born in the same canton (Bern). Some people (9.7%) were born elsewhere in Switzerland, and 5.9% were born outside of Switzerland.
Age Groups
As of 2011, young people (ages 0-19) make up about 25.4% of the population. Adults (ages 20-64) are the largest group, at 58.7%. Seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.9% of the population.
Family Life
In 2000, many people in Oppligen were single and had never been married. There were also many married couples. A smaller number of people were widowed or divorced.
Homes and Housing
As of 2010, there were 70 homes where only one person lived. There were also 26 homes with five or more people. In 2000, most apartments (92.4%) were lived in all the time. A few were used only at certain times of the year, and a very small number were empty. In 2010, new homes were being built at a rate of about 4.5 new homes for every 1000 residents.
Historical Population Trends
The chart below shows how the population of Oppligen has changed over many years:
Economy in Oppligen
In 2011, Oppligen had a very low unemployment rate of 0.98%. This means almost everyone who wanted a job had one.
Jobs and Businesses
As of 2008, there were 162 people working in Oppligen. These jobs were in different areas:
- Primary Sector: This includes jobs like farming. There were 58 people working in this area, with 11 businesses.
- Secondary Sector: This includes jobs like manufacturing and construction. There were 61 people working here, with 4 businesses.
- Tertiary Sector: This includes jobs in services, like shops, restaurants, and education. There were 43 people working in this area, with 14 businesses.
In total, 300 residents of Oppligen had jobs. About 41.7% of these workers were women.
Types of Jobs
In 2008, there were 118 full-time equivalent jobs in Oppligen. This means counting part-time jobs as fractions of full-time jobs.
- Primary Sector: All 30 jobs in this sector were in agriculture (farming).
- Secondary Sector: There were 56 jobs. Most of these (85.7%) were in mining, and some (12.5%) were in manufacturing. One job was in construction.
- Tertiary Sector: There were 32 jobs. About a third (34.4%) were in sales or vehicle repair. A quarter (25.0%) were in hotels or restaurants. Some were technical professionals or scientists (6.3%), and others were in education (15.6%).
Commuting to Work
In 2000, 69 workers came into Oppligen for their jobs. However, 228 workers left Oppligen to work in other places. This means more people from Oppligen work outside the town than inside it.
To get to work, 18.3% of the working population used public transportation. A larger number, 56.3%, used a private car.
Religion in Oppligen
Based on the 2000 census, most people in Oppligen belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. This was about 83.7% of the population. A smaller group, 5.6%, were Roman Catholic.
Some people belonged to other Christian churches (6.78%). There was also one person who was Islamic. A few people were Buddhist or Hindu. About 4.58% of the population did not belong to any church, or they were agnostic or atheist.
Education in Oppligen
Education is important in Oppligen. About 42.2% of the people have finished high school (upper secondary education). Also, 12.0% have gone on to higher education, like a university or a specialized college. Of those with higher education, most were Swiss men, and some were Swiss women.
School System in Bern
The school system in the Canton of Bern works like this:
- First, there's one year of optional Kindergarten.
- Then, students go to six years of Primary school.
- After that, there are three years of required lower Secondary school. In this stage, students are grouped based on their abilities.
- After lower Secondary, students can choose to continue their schooling or start an apprenticeship, which is like on-the-job training.
Schools in Oppligen
During the 2010–11 school year, 60 students attended classes in Oppligen.
- There was one kindergarten class with 9 students. Some of these students (22.2%) were not Swiss citizens, and some (22.2%) spoke a different language at home than in the classroom.
- The municipality had three primary classes with 51 students. A small number of these students (2.0%) were not Swiss citizens, and some (5.9%) spoke a different language at home.
In 2000, 34 students from Oppligen went to schools outside the municipality.
See also
In Spanish: Oppligen para niños
