Gelterkinden
Encyclopedia
Gelterkinden is a municipality
in the district of Sissach
in the canton
of Basel-Country
in Switzerland
.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 2.1% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 10.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.2%. Out of the forested land, 45.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 12.7% is used for growing crops and 17.8% is pastures, while 3.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Sissach district. The main village is located in the upper Ergolz valley at the confluence
of the Ergolz
and Eibach. It consists of the village of Gelterkinden and more than 20 other settlements including Sommerau, which has its own train station.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Trierced per pale, Azure, Argent and Gules.
Most of the population speaks German
(4,805 or 87.7%), with Italian language
being second most common (173 or 3.2%) and Serbo-Croatian
being third (120 or 2.2%). There are 47 people who speak French
and 4 people who speak Romansh.
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.7% male and 51.3% female. The population was made up of 4,782 Swiss citizens (83.4% of the population), and 954 non-Swiss residents (16.6%) Of the population in the municipality 1,559 or about 28.5% were born in Gelterkinden and lived there in 2000. There were 1,398 or 25.5% who were born in the same canton, while 1,365 or 24.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 987 or 18.0% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 48 live births to Swiss citizens and 8 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 41 deaths of Swiss citizens and 2 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 7 while the foreign population increased by 6. There were 5 Swiss men and 2 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 17 non-Swiss men and 19 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 49 and the non-Swiss population increased by 24 people. This represents a population growth rate of 1.3%.
The age distribution, , in Gelterkinden is; 351 children or 6.1% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 865 teenagers or 15.1% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 772 people or 13.5% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 682 people or 11.9% are between 30 and 39, 863 people or 15.0% are between 40 and 49, and 1,175 people or 20.5% are between 50 and 64. The senior population distribution is 736 people or 12.8% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 292 people or 5.1% who are over 80.
, there were 2,243 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 2,693 married individuals, 316 widows or widowers and 224 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.57 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.56 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 48.6% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 2,208 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. There were 653 households that consist of only one person and 166 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 2,239 households that answered this question, 29.2% were households made up of just one person and 17 were adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 694 married couples without children, 708 married couples with children There were 114 single parents with a child or children. There were 22 households that were made up unrelated people and 31 households that were made some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 904 single family homes (or 65.4% of the total) out of a total of 1,383 inhabited buildings. There were 237 multi-family buildings (17.1%), along with 156 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (11.3%) and 86 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.2%). Of the single family homes 64 were built before 1919, while 163 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (201) were built between 1971 and 1980.
there were 2,324 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 718. There were 46 single room apartments and 812 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 2,144 apartments (92.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 108 apartments (4.6%) were seasonally occupied and 72 apartments (3.1%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.4 new units per 1000 residents. the average price to rent a two room apartment was about 778.00 CHF (US$620, £350, €500), a three room apartment was about 943.00 CHF (US$750, £420, €600) and a four room apartment cost an average of 1186.00 CHF (US$950, £530, €760). The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.32%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 28.99% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
(28.09%), the FDP
(18.21%) and the Green Party
(14.97%). In the federal election, a total of 2,005 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 52.2%.
the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 1,715. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 27, of which 26 were in agriculture and 1 was in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 369, of which 107 or (29.0%) were in manufacturing and 251 (68.0%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 1,319. In the tertiary sector; 354 or 26.8% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 105 or 8.0% were in the movement and storage of goods, 33 or 2.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 11 or 0.8% were in the information industry, 46 or 3.5% were the insurance or financial industry, 113 or 8.6% were technical professionals or scientists, 208 or 15.8% were in education and 299 or 22.7% were in health care.
, there were 1,374 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,904 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.4 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 3.3% of the workforce coming into Gelterkinden are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.1% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 25.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 38.2% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 87 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 1.59% of the population), there were 16 individuals (or about 0.29% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 143 individuals (or about 2.61% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 377 (or about 6.88% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There were 10 individuals who were Buddhist
, 11 individuals who were Hindu
and 3 individuals who belonged to another church. 509 (or about 9.30% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 126 individuals (or about 2.30% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 665 who completed tertiary schooling, 67.2% were Swiss men, 23.6% were Swiss women, 5.1% were non-Swiss men and 4.1% were non-Swiss women.
, there were 406 students in Gelterkinden who came from another municipality, while 152 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Municipalities of Switzerland
Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...
in the district of Sissach
Sissach (district)
Sissach District is one of the five districts of the largely German-speaking canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. It has a population of . The district occupies the western portion of Basel-Country, bordering the neighbouring cantons of canton of Aargau and Solothurn. Its capital is the town of...
in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Basel-Country
Basel-Country
Basel-Landschaft , is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. The capital is Liestal...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Geography
Gelterkinden has an area, , of 9.79 square kilometres (3.8 sq mi). Of this area, 3.35 km² (1.3 sq mi) or 34.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 4.64 km² (1.8 sq mi) or 47.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.78 km² (0.687261842294712 sq mi) or 18.2% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.03 km² (7.4 acre) or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.2% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 2.1% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 10.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.2%. Out of the forested land, 45.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 12.7% is used for growing crops and 17.8% is pastures, while 3.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Sissach district. The main village is located in the upper Ergolz valley at the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the Ergolz
Ergolz
left|thumb|Source of the Ergolz in [[Oltingen]]The Ergolz is the main river in the canton of Basel-Landschaft. It rises on Mount Geisflue in the Faltenjura mountains in the upper region of Basel-Landschaft, on the border with Aargau and Solothurn, and joins the Rhine at Augst...
and Eibach. It consists of the village of Gelterkinden and more than 20 other settlements including Sommerau, which has its own train station.
Coat of arms
The blazonBlazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
of the municipal coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
is Trierced per pale, Azure, Argent and Gules.
Demographics
Gelterkinden has a population of . , 15.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 5.8%.Most of the population speaks German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(4,805 or 87.7%), with Italian language
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
being second most common (173 or 3.2%) and Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
being third (120 or 2.2%). There are 47 people who speak French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and 4 people who speak Romansh.
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.7% male and 51.3% female. The population was made up of 4,782 Swiss citizens (83.4% of the population), and 954 non-Swiss residents (16.6%) Of the population in the municipality 1,559 or about 28.5% were born in Gelterkinden and lived there in 2000. There were 1,398 or 25.5% who were born in the same canton, while 1,365 or 24.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 987 or 18.0% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 48 live births to Swiss citizens and 8 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 41 deaths of Swiss citizens and 2 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 7 while the foreign population increased by 6. There were 5 Swiss men and 2 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 17 non-Swiss men and 19 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 49 and the non-Swiss population increased by 24 people. This represents a population growth rate of 1.3%.
The age distribution, , in Gelterkinden is; 351 children or 6.1% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 865 teenagers or 15.1% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 772 people or 13.5% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 682 people or 11.9% are between 30 and 39, 863 people or 15.0% are between 40 and 49, and 1,175 people or 20.5% are between 50 and 64. The senior population distribution is 736 people or 12.8% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 292 people or 5.1% who are over 80.
, there were 2,243 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 2,693 married individuals, 316 widows or widowers and 224 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.57 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.56 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 48.6% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 2,208 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. There were 653 households that consist of only one person and 166 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 2,239 households that answered this question, 29.2% were households made up of just one person and 17 were adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 694 married couples without children, 708 married couples with children There were 114 single parents with a child or children. There were 22 households that were made up unrelated people and 31 households that were made some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 904 single family homes (or 65.4% of the total) out of a total of 1,383 inhabited buildings. There were 237 multi-family buildings (17.1%), along with 156 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (11.3%) and 86 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (6.2%). Of the single family homes 64 were built before 1919, while 163 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (201) were built between 1971 and 1980.
there were 2,324 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 718. There were 46 single room apartments and 812 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 2,144 apartments (92.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 108 apartments (4.6%) were seasonally occupied and 72 apartments (3.1%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.4 new units per 1000 residents. the average price to rent a two room apartment was about 778.00 CHF (US$620, £350, €500), a three room apartment was about 943.00 CHF (US$750, £420, €600) and a four room apartment cost an average of 1186.00 CHF (US$950, £530, €760). The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.32%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Sights
The entire village of Gelterkinden is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage SitesInventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
The Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage.-Sites of national importance:-Types:...
Politics
In the 2007 federal electionSwiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...
the most popular party was the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
which received 28.99% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(28.09%), the FDP
FDP.The Liberals
FDP.The Liberals is a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It is the joint-largest party in the Federal Council, third-largest party in the National Council, and second-largest in the Council of States....
(18.21%) and the Green Party
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
(14.97%). In the federal election, a total of 2,005 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was 52.2%.
Economy
, Gelterkinden had an unemployment rate of 1.93%. , there were 67 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 22 businesses involved in this sector. 404 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 70 businesses in this sector. 1,823 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 241 businesses in this sector. There were 2,780 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 43.1% of the workforce.the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 1,715. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 27, of which 26 were in agriculture and 1 was in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 369, of which 107 or (29.0%) were in manufacturing and 251 (68.0%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 1,319. In the tertiary sector; 354 or 26.8% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 105 or 8.0% were in the movement and storage of goods, 33 or 2.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 11 or 0.8% were in the information industry, 46 or 3.5% were the insurance or financial industry, 113 or 8.6% were technical professionals or scientists, 208 or 15.8% were in education and 299 or 22.7% were in health care.
, there were 1,374 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,904 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.4 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 3.3% of the workforce coming into Gelterkinden are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.1% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 25.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 38.2% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 1,248 or 22.8% were Roman Catholic, while 2,946 or 53.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed ChurchSwiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 87 members of an Orthodox church
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
(or about 1.59% of the population), there were 16 individuals (or about 0.29% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is the Swiss member church of the Union of Utrecht, also known as Old Catholic Church, originally founded by the jansenists, with a later influx of discontented Catholics following their disappointment with the First Vatican Council. It has 14,000...
, and there were 143 individuals (or about 2.61% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 377 (or about 6.88% of the population) who were Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic. There were 10 individuals who were Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, 11 individuals who were Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and 3 individuals who belonged to another church. 509 (or about 9.30% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
or atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, and 126 individuals (or about 2.30% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Gelterkinden about 2,090 or (38.2%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 665 or (12.1%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a FachhochschuleFachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
). Of the 665 who completed tertiary schooling, 67.2% were Swiss men, 23.6% were Swiss women, 5.1% were non-Swiss men and 4.1% were non-Swiss women.
, there were 406 students in Gelterkinden who came from another municipality, while 152 residents attended schools outside the municipality.