Seeland (administrative district)

Seeland District
Verwaltungskreis Seeland
District
Coordinates: 47°02′N 7°16′E / 47.033°N 7.267°E / 47.033; 7.267Coordinates: 47°02′N 7°16′E / 47.033°N 7.267°E / 47.033; 7.267
Country   Switzerland
Canton  Bern
Capital Aarberg
Area
 • Total 335 km2 (129 sq mi)
Population (2014)
 • Total 71,126
 • Density 210/km2 (550/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Municipalities 42

Seeland District in the Canton of Bern was created on 1 January 2010.[1] It is part of the Seeland administrative region. It contains 45 municipalities with an area of 334.14 km2 (129.01 sq mi) and a population (as of 2014) of 71,126.[2]

Municipalities

Flag Name Population
(31 December 2014)[2]		 Area in km²
Aarberg 4,422 7.92
Arch 1,531 6.37
Bargen 982 7.88
Brüttelen 568 6.62
Büetigen 819 3.62
Bühl 409 2.95
Büren an der Aare 3,446 12.64
Diessbach bei Büren 967 6.27
Dotzigen 1,424 4.22
Epsach 329 3.44
Erlach 1,346 3.50
Finsterhennen 528 3.56
Gals 770 7.84
Gampelen 844 10.75
Grossaffoltern 2,948 15.01
Hagneck 401 1.84
Hermrigen 275 3.43
Ins 3,406 23.91
Jens 680 4.56
Kallnach 1,951 15.18
Kappelen 1,338 10.97
Leuzigen 1,232 10.27
Lüscherz 528 5.44
Lyss 14,183 1483
Meienried 54 0.65
Merzligen 396 2.27
Müntschemier 1,309 4.88
Oberwil bei Büren 828 6.72
Radelfingen 1,219 14.72
Rapperswil 2,571 18.19
Rüti bei Büren 823 6.50
Schüpfen 3,680 19.83
Seedorf 2,968 20.92
Siselen 584 5.50
Studen (BE) 3,107 2.73
Täuffelen 2,691 4.40
Treiten 427 4.75
Tschugg 440 3.30
Vinelz 855 4.57
Walperswil 986 6.94
Wengi 598 7.06
Worben 2,263 2.81
Total (42) 71,126 334.14

Mergers and name changes

On 1 January 2011 the municipality of Busswil bei Büren merged into the municipality of Lyss.[3]

On 1 January 2013 the municipality of Niederried bei Kallnach merged into Kallnach. The municipality of Ruppoldsried merged into Rapperswil.[4]

On 1 January 2016 the municipality of Bangerten merged into Rapperswil.

History

During the Ancien Régime Bern acquired the rural bailiwicks or counties of Aarberg, Buren, Erlach and Nidau from the estates of the Lords of Aarberg-Valangin, Strassberg-Büren, Nidau and the Counts of Neuchâtel. Between 1595 and 1628 they were combined together militarily into the so-called Seefähnchen. However, they were politically separate. It was not until 1783-84 that Johann Friedrich von Ryhiner's administrative compendium of the Bernese State presented the four counties as a united region.[5]

During the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803), the borders of the Seeland shrunk to the Amt of Erlach and portions of the Amts of Nidau and Aarberg. Between 1803 and 1815 it was a Grand Council of Bern election district with the Amts of Fraubrunnen and Wangen and portions of the Amts of Bern and Burgdorf. Between 1850 and 1918 it formed a National Council of Switzerland constituency, made up of Laupen and Biel. From 1869 to 1921 it was again a Grand Council of Bern election district made up of the Amts of Biel, Aarberg, Laupen and the northern portion of Bern. In 2010, the Seeland region was created with the Districts of Biel and Seeland. The new Seeland district (Verwaltungskreise) was made up of all or part of the former districts of Aarberg, Büren, Erlach and Nidau[6]

The Bernese Seeland consists of two differing landscapes. The lake shore areas were occupied as far back as the Neolithic, such as the UNESCO World Heritage Site pile dwellings at Twann from about 3800 BC. The lake shore areas were easily settled and fishing dominated the local economies. During the Middle Ages vineyards were added on the slopes of the Jura Mountains above the lakes. In contrast, the plains and the Grosses Moos swamp were crossed by meandering rivers like the Aare and Zihl/Thielle which frequently flooded making the land hostile to settlements. The villages on the edges of the swamp, used the swamp mainly for grazing. However, following the Jura water correction projects the bogs were drained and the formerly useless swamps became excellent farming land.[5]

Demographics

Seeland has a population (as of December 2014) of 71,126.[2]

As of 2008, the population was 49.4% male and 50.6% female. The population was made up of 30,045 Swiss men (44.0% of the population) and 3,719 (5.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 31,406 Swiss women (46.0%) and 311 (0.5%) non-Swiss women.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz, Mutationsmeldungen 2009 / Répertoire officiel des communes de Suisse, Mutations 2009 / Elenco ufficiale dei Comuni della Svizzera, Mutazione 2009 (PDF) (Report). Federal Statistical Office. 2009. 2776. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB, online database – Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit (German) accessed 31 August 2015
  3. ↑ Nomenklaturen – Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz (German) accessed 4 April 2011
  4. ↑ Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (German) accessed 17 April 2013
  5. 1 2 Seeland in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  6. ↑ Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz, Mutationsmeldungen 2009 / Répertoire officiel des communes de Suisse, Mutations 2009 / Elenco ufficiale dei Comuni della Svizzera, Mutazione 2009 (PDF) (Report). Federal Statistical Office. 2009. nden. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
  7. ↑ Statistical office of the Canton of Bern (German) accessed 4 January 2012
  1. 1 2 "Karte der Verwaltungskreise und Verwaltungsregionen" (PDF) (PDF) (in German). Thun, Berne: Justiz-, Gemeinde- und Kirchendirektion, Canton of Berne. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
  2. 1 2 "Regierungsstatthalterämter" (in German). Thun, Berne: Justiz-, Gemeinde- und Kirchendirektion, Canton of Berne. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
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