Oltingen
Encyclopedia
Oltingen is a 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

Oltingen has an area, , of 7.18 square kilometres (2.8 sq mi). Of this area, 4.3 km² (1.7 sq mi) or 59.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.43 km² (0.93822824537986 sq mi) or 33.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.42 km² (0.162162906608865 sq mi) or 5.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.3% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.2%. Out of the forested land, 31.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 22.8% is used for growing crops and 31.9% is pastures, while 5.2% is used for orchards or vine crops.

The municipality is located in the Sissach district, at the foot of the old road over the Schafmatt pass.

Coat of arms

The blazon
Blazon
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 Or, on a Bend Sable three Horse-shoes Argent.

Demographics

Oltingen has a population of . , 5.5% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 0.7%.

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....

 (388 or 95.8%), with Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 being second most common (5 or 1.2%). There is 1 person who speaks 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 48.0% male and 52.0% female. The population was made up of 414 Swiss citizens (95.2% of the population), and 21 non-Swiss residents (4.8%) Of the population in the municipality 207 or about 51.1% were born in Oltingen and lived there in 2000. There were 98 or 24.2% who were born in the same canton, while 65 or 16.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 32 or 7.9% were born outside of Switzerland.

In there were 2 live births to Swiss citizens and were 4 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 2 while the foreign population remained the same. There were 3 Swiss men and 2 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 5 and the non-Swiss population decreased by 3 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.5%.

The age distribution, , in Oltingen is; 33 children or 7.6% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 64 teenagers or 14.7% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 47 people or 10.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 55 people or 12.6% are between 30 and 39, 73 people or 16.8% are between 40 and 49, and 94 people or 21.6% are between 50 and 64. The senior population distribution is 42 people or 9.7% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 27 people or 6.2% who are over 80.

, there were 171 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 200 married individuals, 22 widows or widowers and 12 individuals who are divorced.

the average number of residents per living room was 0.59 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 58.7% 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 158 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. There were 41 households that consist of only one person and 14 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 159 households that answered this question, 25.8% were households made up of just one person and 1 were adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 45 married couples without children, 64 married couples with children There were 5 single parents with a child or children. There were 2 households that were made up unrelated people and 1 household that was made some sort of institution or another collective housing.

there were 55 single family homes (or 48.7% of the total) out of a total of 113 inhabited buildings. There were 20 multi-family buildings (17.7%), along with 35 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (31.0%) and 3 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (2.7%). Of the single family homes 19 were built before 1919, while 9 were built between 1990 and 2000.

there were 173 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 48. There were 3 single room apartments and 61 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 155 apartments (89.6% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 12 apartments (6.9%) were seasonally occupied and 6 apartments (3.5%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents. the average price to rent a two room apartment was about .00 CHF (US$0, £0, €0), a three room apartment was about 671.00 CHF (US$540, £300, €430) and a four room apartment cost an average of 1154.00 CHF (US$920, £520, €740). The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0%.

The historical population is given in the following chart:

Heritage sites of national significance

The Reformed
Swiss 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...

 parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

 of St. Niklaus and the house (known as Grosses Haus) at Hauptstrasse 54 are listed as 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...

. The entire village of Oltingen is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
Inventory 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:...

.

The Church of St. Niklaus is located outside and slightly above the village of Oltingen. The church is surrounded by a low wall, which encloses the church, rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...

, barns and an ossuary
Ossuary
An ossuary is a chest, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the skeletal remains are removed and placed in an ossuary...

. The church was built in 1474. In 1852, the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...

 was widened toward the north. The interior of the church is decorated with a series of late-gothic
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...

 mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...

s. The murals include images of Marian
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...

 legends, the Last Judgement, Apostles and Saints.

Politics

In the 2007 federal election
Swiss 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 33.1% 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....

 (22.65%), 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:...

 (22.56%) and 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....

 (10.89%). In the federal election, a total of 165 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 52.1%.

Economy

, Oltingen had an unemployment rate of 1.07%. , there were 72 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 23 businesses involved in this sector. 11 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 5 businesses in this sector. 21 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 10 businesses in this sector. There were 223 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 42.6% of the workforce. {

{as of|2008|alt=In 2008}} 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 68. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 36, of which 35 were in agriculture and 1 was in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 13, of which 1 or (7.7%) were in manufacturing and 10 (76.9%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 19. In the tertiary sector; 5 or 26.3% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 4 or 21.1% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 or 5.3% were in the information industry, 3 or 15.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 21.1% were in education.

, there were 18 workers who commuted into the municipality and 151 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 8.4 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 23.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 40.8% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 31 or 7.7% were Roman Catholic, while 300 or 74.1% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 2 individuals (or about 0.49% 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 2 individuals (or about 0.49% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 10 (or about 2.47% 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. 57 (or about 14.07% 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 3 individuals (or about 0.74% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

In Oltingen about 165 or (40.7%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 49 or (12.1%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
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 49 who completed tertiary schooling, 55.1% were Swiss men, 36.7% were Swiss women.

, there were 27 students from Oltingen who attended schools outside the municipality.
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