Seehof, Switzerland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Seehof
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 Seehof
Location in Switzerland
Seehof
Location in Canton of Bern
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| Country | Switzerland | |
| Canton | Bern | |
| District | Jura bernois | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 8.42 km2 (3.25 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 752 m (2,467 ft) | |
| Population
(Dec 2020 )
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| • Total | 56 | |
| • Density | 6.65/km2 (17.23/sq mi) | |
| Postal code |
2747
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| Surrounded by | Corcelles, Vermes (JU), Aedermannsdorf (SO), Herbetswil (SO), Welschenrohr (SO), Gänsbrunnen(SO) | |
Seehof (also known as Elay in French) is a small town, called a municipality, in Switzerland. It is located in the Jura bernois area of the canton of Bern. Seehof is special because it is one of only two towns in the mostly French-speaking Bernese Jura that uses German as its main language. The other German-speaking town is Schelten.
Contents
History of Seehof
Seehof was first written about in the year 1540, when it was called Seehoft. Later, in 1673, it was known as Eslay. Until 1914, its official name was the French name, Elay. By 1880, almost everyone living in the village, about 97%, spoke German.
For most of its history, Seehof was part of the lands controlled by the provost of Moutier-Grandval. This area was under the rule of the Prince-Bishop of Basel. During the Protestant Reformation in 1528, Seehof/Elay was part of a region that stayed loyal to the old Catholic faith.
After the French won a big battle in 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars, Seehof became part of a French area called the Département of Mont-Terrible. Three years later, in 1800, it moved to another French Département called Haut-Rhin. When Napoleon was defeated and the Congress of Vienna happened, Seehof was given to the Canton of Bern in 1815.
Today, Catholic residents of Seehof are part of the church group in Vermes. Protestants, who follow the Swiss Reformed faith, are part of the German-speaking church group in Moutier or Grandval.
The first mention of a school in Seehof was in 1784. The school building that is used today was built in 1969.
Seehof's Geography
Seehof covers an area of about 8.42 square kilometers (3.25 square miles). A large part of this land, about 33.3%, is used for farming. Even more, about 63.7%, is covered by forests. The rest of the land includes buildings, roads, and some rivers or lakes.
Most of the forested land, about 59.7% of the total area, is dense forest. Another 4.0% has orchards or small groups of trees. For farming, 1.2% of the land is used for growing crops. About 18.7% is used for pastures where animals graze, and 13.2% is for alpine pastures, which are high mountain grasslands. All the water in Seehof is from flowing rivers or streams.
The town is located in the Seehof valley. It includes the main village of Seehof and smaller areas called hamlets, such as Bächlen, Karlisberg, and Stägen.
On December 31, 2009, the old district that Seehof belonged to was closed. The next day, January 1, 2010, Seehof became part of a new area called Arrondissement administratif Jura bernois.
Seehof's Coat of Arms
The blazon (description) of Seehof's coat of arms is: Argent a Cow Gules statant on a Mount of 3 Coupeaux Vert. This means the coat of arms has a silver background. On it, there is a red cow standing on a green hill with three peaks.
People of Seehof
Seehof has a small population of about 70 people (as of December 2011). In 2010, about 2.9% of the people living in Seehof were foreign nationals. Over the past 10 years (2001-2011), the population has changed a little, growing by about 1.4%. This growth was mainly due to more births than deaths.
Most people in Seehof (about 91.1%) speak German as their first language. A smaller number speak French.
In 2008, about 56.5% of the population was male and 43.5% was female. Most of the people living in Seehof were born there or in the same canton. About 7.6% were born outside of Switzerland.
As of 2011, children and teenagers (ages 0–19) make up 27.1% of the population. Adults (ages 20–64) make up 54.3%, and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18.6%.
The chart below shows how the population of Seehof has changed over time:
Seehof's Economy
In 2011, Seehof had a very low unemployment rate of 0%. This means everyone who wanted a job had one. In 2008, 33 people worked in the town. All of them worked in the primary economic sector, which means they worked in farming, forestry, or fishing. There were no jobs in manufacturing (secondary sector) or services (tertiary sector) within the town.
Most of the people who live in Seehof also work there. However, some people travel out of Seehof for work, and a few people travel into Seehof to work. In 2000, about 14.7% of working people used public transportation to get to their jobs, and 17.6% used a private car.
Religion in Seehof
According to a survey in 2000, about 60.8% of the people in Seehof belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church (Protestant). About 6.3% were Roman Catholic. There were also some people who belonged to other Christian churches. About 13.92% of the population did not belong to any church, or were agnostic (meaning they don't know if God exists) or atheist (meaning they don't believe in God).
Education in Seehof
In Seehof, about 55.6% of the people have finished non-mandatory upper secondary education, which is like high school. A smaller number, 2.8%, have gone on to higher education, like university.
The school system in the Canton of Bern starts with one year of optional Kindergarten. After that, students go to six years of Primary school. Then, they have three years of mandatory lower Secondary school. In this stage, students are grouped based on their abilities. After lower Secondary school, students can continue their education or start an apprenticeship, which is a way to learn a job by working with an experienced person.
During the 2011-2012 school year, 7 students attended classes in Seehof. Four of these students went to a primary school that was shared with a nearby town. Three students attended a lower secondary class in Seehof.
See also
In Spanish: Seehof para niños
