Holderbank, Solothurn
Encyclopedia
Holderbank is a municipality
in the district of Thal
in the canton
of Solothurn in Switzerland
.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.6%. Out of the forested land, 47.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 3.2% is used for growing crops and 29.8% is pastures and 10.7% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Thal district, in a longitudinal valley between the first and second Jura mountain chains
near the Oberer Hauenstein Pass
. It consists of the linear village
of Holderbank.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Tierced in bend Gules Argent and Sable, in the second a Letter H of the first.
Most of the population speaks German
(561 or 95.2%), with Serbo-Croatian
being second most common (13 or 2.2%) and English
being third (7 or 1.2%). There are 3 people who speak French
.
, the gender distribution of the population was 51.2% male and 48.8% female. The population was made up of 290 Swiss men (44.5% of the population) and 44 (6.7%) non-Swiss men. There were 280 Swiss women (42.9%) and 38 (5.8%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 230 or about 39.0% were born in Holderbank and lived there in 2000. There were 106 or 18.0% who were born in the same canton, while 177 or 30.1% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 66 or 11.2% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 2 live births to Swiss citizens and were 6 deaths of Swiss citizens and 1 non-Swiss citizen death. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 4 while the foreign population decreased by 1. There were 2 Swiss men and 1 Swiss woman who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 6 non-Swiss men and 3 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 a decrease of 22 and the non-Swiss population increased by 8 people. This represents a population growth rate of -2.1%.
The age distribution, , in Holderbank is; 43 children or 7.3% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 100 teenagers or 17.0% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 23 people or 3.9% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 175 people or 29.7% are between 25 and 44, and 150 people or 25.5% are between 45 and 64. The senior population distribution is 71 people or 12.1% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 27 people or 4.6% who are over 80.
, there were 214 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 300 married individuals, 35 widows or widowers and 40 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.51 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 61.6% 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 260 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 89 households that consist of only one person and 19 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 263 households that answered this question, 33.8% were households made up of just one person and there were 3 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 81 married couples without children, 66 married couples with children There were 14 single parents with a child or children. There were 7 households that were made up of unrelated people and 3 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 141 single family homes (or 66.2% of the total) out of a total of 213 inhabited buildings. There were 28 multi-family buildings (13.1%), along with 26 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (12.2%) and 18 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (8.5%). Of the single family homes 20 were built before 1919, while 11 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (35) were built between 1946 and 1960.
there were 296 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 5 rooms of which there were 75. There were 6 single room apartments and 134 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 245 apartments (82.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 28 apartments (9.5%) were seasonally occupied and 23 apartments (7.8%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.95%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance
.
the most popular party was the CVP
which received 32.88% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP
(30.9%), the FDP
(20.45%) and the Green Party
(7.12%). In the federal election, a total of 260 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 53.5%.
the total number of full-time equivalent
jobs was 173. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 25, of which 23 were in agriculture and 2 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 102 of which 92 or (90.2%) were in manufacturing and 8 (7.8%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 46. In the tertiary sector; 5 or 10.9% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 3 or 6.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 29 or 63.0% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was the insurance or financial industry, 1 was a technical professional or scientist, 5 or 10.9% were in education.
, there were 88 workers who commuted into the municipality and 207 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.4 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 10.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 63% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 19 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 3.23% of the population), there were 2 individuals (or about 0.34% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 5 individuals (or about 0.85% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 13 (or about 2.21% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There was 1 individual who belonged to another church. 60 (or about 10.19% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 9 individuals (or about 1.53% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 48 who completed tertiary schooling, 75.0% were Swiss men, 10.4% were Swiss women and 10.4% were non-Swiss women.
, there were 54 students in Holderbank who came from another municipality, while 37 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 Thal
Thal (district)
Thal District is one of the ten districts of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, situated in the centre of the canton. Together with the Gäu District, it forms the Amtei of Thal-Gäu...
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 Solothurn 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
Holderbank has an area, , of 7.76 square kilometres (3 sq mi). Of this area, 3.44 km² (1.3 sq mi) or 44.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.84 km² (1.5 sq mi) or 49.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.48 km² (0.185329036124417 sq mi) or 6.2% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.03 km² (7.4 acre) or 0.4% is either rivers or lakes.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.6%. Out of the forested land, 47.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 3.2% is used for growing crops and 29.8% is pastures and 10.7% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Thal district, in a longitudinal valley between the first and second Jura mountain chains
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...
near the Oberer Hauenstein Pass
Oberer Hauenstein Pass
Oberer Hauenstein Pass is a mountain pass in the Jura Mountains on the border between the cantons of Basel-Country and Solothurn in Switzerland.It connects Balsthal and Waldenburg....
. It consists of the linear village
Linear village
In geography, a linear village, or linear settlement, is a small to medium-sized settlement that is formed around a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Wraysbury, a village in Berkshire, is one of the longest villages in England....
of Holderbank.
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 Tierced in bend Gules Argent and Sable, in the second a Letter H of the first.
Demographics
Holderbank has a population of . , 9.2% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 3.4%.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....
(561 or 95.2%), with 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 second most common (13 or 2.2%) and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
being third (7 or 1.2%). There are 3 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...
.
, the gender distribution of the population was 51.2% male and 48.8% female. The population was made up of 290 Swiss men (44.5% of the population) and 44 (6.7%) non-Swiss men. There were 280 Swiss women (42.9%) and 38 (5.8%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 230 or about 39.0% were born in Holderbank and lived there in 2000. There were 106 or 18.0% who were born in the same canton, while 177 or 30.1% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 66 or 11.2% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 2 live births to Swiss citizens and were 6 deaths of Swiss citizens and 1 non-Swiss citizen death. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 4 while the foreign population decreased by 1. There were 2 Swiss men and 1 Swiss woman who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 6 non-Swiss men and 3 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 a decrease of 22 and the non-Swiss population increased by 8 people. This represents a population growth rate of -2.1%.
The age distribution, , in Holderbank is; 43 children or 7.3% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 100 teenagers or 17.0% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 23 people or 3.9% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 175 people or 29.7% are between 25 and 44, and 150 people or 25.5% are between 45 and 64. The senior population distribution is 71 people or 12.1% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 27 people or 4.6% who are over 80.
, there were 214 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 300 married individuals, 35 widows or widowers and 40 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.51 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 61.6% 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 260 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. There were 89 households that consist of only one person and 19 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 263 households that answered this question, 33.8% were households made up of just one person and there were 3 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 81 married couples without children, 66 married couples with children There were 14 single parents with a child or children. There were 7 households that were made up of unrelated people and 3 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 141 single family homes (or 66.2% of the total) out of a total of 213 inhabited buildings. There were 28 multi-family buildings (13.1%), along with 26 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (12.2%) and 18 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (8.5%). Of the single family homes 20 were built before 1919, while 11 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (35) were built between 1946 and 1960.
there were 296 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 5 rooms of which there were 75. There were 6 single room apartments and 134 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 245 apartments (82.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 28 apartments (9.5%) were seasonally occupied and 23 apartments (7.8%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.95%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
The Ruin of Alt-Bechburg CastleAlt-Bechburg Castle
Alt-Bechburg Castle is a castle in the municipality of Holderbank of the Canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.-References:...
is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance
Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...
.
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 CVP
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...
which received 32.88% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were 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...
(30.9%), 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....
(20.45%) 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:...
(7.12%). In the federal election, a total of 260 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 53.5%.
Economy
, Holderbank had an unemployment rate of 2.7%. , there were 35 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 13 businesses involved in this sector. 109 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 9 businesses in this sector. 65 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 17 businesses in this sector. There were 305 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 41.3% of the workforce.the total number of full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
jobs was 173. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 25, of which 23 were in agriculture and 2 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 102 of which 92 or (90.2%) were in manufacturing and 8 (7.8%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 46. In the tertiary sector; 5 or 10.9% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 3 or 6.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 29 or 63.0% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was the insurance or financial industry, 1 was a technical professional or scientist, 5 or 10.9% were in education.
, there were 88 workers who commuted into the municipality and 207 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.4 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 10.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 63% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 318 or 54.0% were Roman Catholic, while 162 or 27.5% 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 19 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 3.23% of the population), there were 2 individuals (or about 0.34% 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 5 individuals (or about 0.85% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 13 (or about 2.21% 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 was 1 individual who belonged to another church. 60 (or about 10.19% 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 9 individuals (or about 1.53% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Holderbank about 223 or (37.9%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 48 or (8.1%) 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 48 who completed tertiary schooling, 75.0% were Swiss men, 10.4% were Swiss women and 10.4% were non-Swiss women.
, there were 54 students in Holderbank who came from another municipality, while 37 residents attended schools outside the municipality.