Hemberg, St. Gallen

Hemberg is a municipality in the Wahlkreis (constituency) of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Hemberg
Municipality in Switzerland
Hemberg village center
Location of Hemberg
Hemberg Hemberg
Coordinates: 47°18′N 9°10′E
Country	Switzerland
Canton	St. Gallen
District	Toggenburg
Government
• Mayor	Walter Fischbacher
Area [1]
• Total	20.15 km^2 (7.78 sq mi)
Elevation	935 m (3,068 ft)
Population  (2018-12-31)[2]
• Total	906
• Density	45/km^2 (120/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)	9633
SFOS number	3372
Surrounded by	Brunnadern, Ebnat-Kappel, Mogelsberg, Nesslau-Krummenau, Sankt Peterzell, Schönengrund (AR), Urnäsch (AR), Wattwil
Website	www.hemberg.ch SFSO statistics

History

Hemberg is first mentioned in 878 as Hemmenberch. In 1225 it was mentioned as Hemberc.[3]

Geography

Aerial view of Hemberg

Aerial view (1947)

Hemberg has an area, as of 2006, of 20.2 km² (7.8 sq mi). Of this area, 63.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 31.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.6%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).[4]

The municipality is located in the Toggenburg Wahlkreis in the alpine foothills around the upper Neckar river. It is located in a line of hills at an elevation of 945 m (3,100 ft) and west of the Neckar river. It consists of the village of Hemberg and the hamlets of Bächli, Mistelegg, Bomen, Harzenmoos, Brand, Lemberg, Starkenbach, Wis and Unterhemberg.

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per fess dancety Argent and Vert.[5]

Demographics

Hemberg has a population (as of 31 December 2019) of 902.[6] As of 2007, about 5.6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (as of 2000), 14 are from Germany, 1 person is from Italy, 5 are from ex-Yugoslavia, 3 are from Austria, and 7 are from another country.[7] Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -1.1%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (98.7%), with English being second most common ( 0.5%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 0.3%).[4] Of the Swiss national languages (as of 2000), 932 speak German, 1 person speaks, Italian,[8]

The age distribution, as of 2000, in Hemberg is; 146 children or 15.5% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 187 teenagers or 19.8% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 90 people or 9.5% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 111 people or 11.8% are between 30 and 39, 136 people or 14.4% are between 40 and 49, and 95 people or 10.1% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 70 people or 7.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 77 people or 8.2% are between 70 and 79, there are 26 people or 2.8% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 6 people or 0.6% who are between 90 and 99.[8]

In 2000 there were 85 persons (or 9.0% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 156 (or 16.5%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 553 (or 58.6%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 47 (or 5.0%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 9 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 3 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, and 91 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing.[8]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 43.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (15.8%), the CVP (15.6%) and the SP (7.9%).[4]

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Hemberg about 66.8% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).[4] Out of the total population in Hemberg, as of 2000, the highest education level completed by 232 people (24.6% of the population) was Primary, while 283 (30.0%) have completed Secondary, 65 (6.9%) have attended a Tertiary school, and 44 (4.7%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question.[8]

The historical population is given in the following table:[3]

year	population
1827	1,882
1850	1,813
1900	1,348
1950	1,003
2000	944

Religion

Catholic church of Hemberg

Swiss Reformed Church of Hemberg

From the 2000 census, 156 or 16.5% are Roman Catholic, while 683 or 72.4% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there are 7 individuals (or about 0.74% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 23 individuals (or about 2.44% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 4 individuals (or about 0.42% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 52 (or about 5.51% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 19 individuals (or about 2.01% of the population) did not answer the question.[8]

Heritage sites of national significance

The Rotes Haus (Red House) in Bächli on Brugg 693 is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.[9]

Economy

As of  2007, Hemberg had an unemployment rate of 0.63%. As of 2005, there were 165 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 72 businesses involved in this sector. 47 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 12 businesses in this sector. 178 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 32 businesses in this sector.[4]

As of October 2009 the average unemployment rate was 1.6%.[10] There were 115 businesses in the municipality of which 11 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 36 were involved in the third.[11]

As of 2000 there were 246 residents who worked in the municipality, while 191 residents worked outside Hemberg and 54 people commuted into the municipality for work.[12]

References

1. "Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeinden nach 4 Hauptbereichen". Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
2. "Ständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeitskategorie Geschlecht und Gemeinde; Provisorische Jahresergebnisse; 2018". Federal Statistical Office. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
3. Hemberg in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
4. Swiss Federal Statistical Office Archived 2016-01-05 at the Wayback Machine accessed 12-January-2010
5. Flags of the World.com Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine accessed 12-January-2010
6. "Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit". bfs.admin.ch (in German). Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
7. Der Kanton St. Gallen und seine Menschen in Zahlen – Ausgabe 2009 (in German) accessed 30 December 2009
8. Canton St. Gallen Statistics-Hauptergebnisse der Volkszählung 2000: Regionen- und Gemeindevergleich-Personen Archived 2010-09-09 at the Wayback Machine (in German) accessed 30 December 2009
9. "Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance". A-Objects. Federal Office for Cultural Protection (BABS). 1 January 2017. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
10. St Gallen Canton statistics-Unemployment (in German) accessed 30 December 2009
11. St Gallen Canton statistics-Businesses Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine (in German) accessed 31 December 2009
12. St Gallen Canton statistics-Commuters Archived 2009-07-22 at the Wayback Machine (in German) accessed 31 December 2009

External links

• Official website (in German)
• Hemberg in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.