Rüegsau
Encyclopedia
Rüegsau is a municipality
in the administrative district of Emmental
in the Swiss
canton
of Bern.
ruhe Aue, meaning calm floodplain
.
. It borders the Emme and then stretches north-east-ward. It contains the villages of Rüegsauschachen, Rüegsau, Rüegsbach and Rinderbach and several hamlet
s. The municipality has the approximate shape of a rectangle with a width of 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) and a length of 8 km (5 mi).
Rüegsau has an area, , of 15.08 km² (5.8 sq mi). Of this area, 10.15 km² (3.9 sq mi) or 67.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.48 km² (1.3 sq mi) or 23.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.29 km² (0.49807178458437 sq mi) or 8.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.13 km² (32.1 acre) or 0.9% is either rivers or lakes.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 5.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.3%. 20.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 19.9% is used for growing crops and 45.6% is pastures, while 1.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP
which received 43.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS
(14.9%), the local small left-wing parties (12.2%) and the FDP
(10.8%).
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 57.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.9%. In Rüegsau about 74.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
).
s for industrial purposes, are located in the municipality of Rüegsau.
Rüegsau has an unemployment rate of 0.82%. , there were 244 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 80 businesses involved in this sector. 393 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 30 businesses in this sector. 578 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 84 businesses in this sector.
plays a small, but not insignificant role for this municipality. Several inn
s, which are typical for the Emmental, provide accommodation; further, holidays on the farms are possible. A small museum
of history
lies right on the Emme.
The main attraction is the timber bridge over the Emme between the municipalities of Hasle bei Burgdorf
and Rüegsau. With 58.5 metres (191.9 ft) length, it is probably the largest wooden arch bridge
in Europe
.
with its Hasle bei Burgdorf called Hasle-Rüegsau.
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 administrative district of Emmental
Emmental (administrative district)
Emmental District in the Canton of Bern was created on 1 January 2010. It is part of the Emmental-Oberaargau administrative region. It contains 42 municipalities with an area of and a population of 93,082....
in the Swiss
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....
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 Bern.
History
Rüegsau was first mentioned in 1139. The name comes from ruggere aue, in modern GermanGerman 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....
ruhe Aue, meaning calm floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
.
Geography
Rüegsau is located in the lower EmmentalEmmental
For the cheese made in the region, see Emmental .The Emmental is a region in west central Switzerland, forming part of the canton of Bern. It is a hilly landscape comprising the basins of the Emme and Ilfis rivers. The region is mostly devoted to farming, particularly dairy farming...
. It borders the Emme and then stretches north-east-ward. It contains the villages of Rüegsauschachen, Rüegsau, Rüegsbach and Rinderbach and several hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
s. The municipality has the approximate shape of a rectangle with a width of 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) and a length of 8 km (5 mi).
Rüegsau has an area, , of 15.08 km² (5.8 sq mi). Of this area, 10.15 km² (3.9 sq mi) or 67.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.48 km² (1.3 sq mi) or 23.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.29 km² (0.49807178458437 sq mi) or 8.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.13 km² (32.1 acre) or 0.9% is either rivers or lakes.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 5.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.3%. 20.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 19.9% is used for growing crops and 45.6% is pastures, while 1.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.
Demographics
Rüegsau has a population (as of ) of . , 3.9% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 2.5%. Most of the population speaks German (97.5%), with French being second most common ( 0.4%) and Italian being third ( 0.4%).In the 2007 election 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 43.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(14.9%), the local small left-wing parties (12.2%) and the FDP
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....
(10.8%).
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 57.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.9%. In Rüegsau about 74.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or 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...
).
Economy
The headquarters of the company Blaser Swisslube AG, one of the leading manufacturers cooling agents and lubricantLubricant
A lubricant is a substance introduced to reduce friction between moving surfaces. It may also have the function of transporting foreign particles and of distributing heat...
s for industrial purposes, are located in the municipality of Rüegsau.
Rüegsau has an unemployment rate of 0.82%. , there were 244 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 80 businesses involved in this sector. 393 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 30 businesses in this sector. 578 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 84 businesses in this sector.
Tourism
TourismTourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
plays a small, but not insignificant role for this municipality. Several inn
INN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
s, which are typical for the Emmental, provide accommodation; further, holidays on the farms are possible. A small museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
of history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
lies right on the Emme.
The main attraction is the timber bridge over the Emme between the municipalities of Hasle bei Burgdorf
Hasle bei Burgdorf
Hasle bei Burgdorf is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Hasle bei Burgdorf is located as the crow flies southeast of the district capital Burgdorf. It is in the Emmental in the floodplain on the left shore of the Emme in the...
and Rüegsau. With 58.5 metres (191.9 ft) length, it is probably the largest wooden arch bridge
Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Transportation
Rüegsau shares a train stationTrain station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
with its Hasle bei Burgdorf called Hasle-Rüegsau.