Schwanden bei Brienz

Schwanden bei Brienz
Municipality
Coat of arms
Location of Schwanden bei Brienz
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Interlaken-Oberhasli
Government
• Mayor	Xaver Pfyl
Area
• Total	7.02 km2 (2.71 sq mi)
Elevation	659 m (2,162 ft)
Population  (31 December 2018)
• Total	617
• Density	88/km2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)	3855
SFOS number	0592
ISO 3166 code	CH-BE
Surrounded by	Giswil, Hofstetten bei Brienz, Brienz and Flühli
Website	https://www.schwandenbrienz.ch SFSO statistics

Schwanden bei Brienz (until 1911 officially named Schwanden) is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Origin of the name

Schwanden is a name of a clearing, that was applied to the settlement built there. The name goes back to the Swiss German Schwand- ("clearing"). The added "bei Brienz" was added in 1911 to ease distinction with the municipality Schwanden in the canton of Glarus, and numerous villages across Switzerland. The first historical appearance of the place was in 1524.

Geography

Schwanden bei Brienz has an area of 7.1 km² (2.7 sq mi). Of this area, 12.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 48.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (35.5%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

It lies in the Bernese Oberland south of the Brienzer Rothorn, which forms the natural border between the Bernese Oberland and Central Switzerland. The three streams Glyssibach, Schwanderbach, and Lammbach flow through the town and lead soon thereafter to Lake Brienz. In the past the streams were dangerous, as they were prone to sudden onrushes of water. In order to reduce the danger, walls have been built to contain it in certain areas.

Demographics

Schwanden bei Brienz has a population (as of 31 December 2020) of 625. As of 2007, 3.3% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 4.7%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (96.0%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 1.0%) and Italian being third ( 0.7%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 28.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (20.2%), the SPS (16.6%) and the Green Party (14.6%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 57% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18%. In Schwanden bei Brienz about 81.3% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Schwanden bei Brienz has an unemployment rate of 1.72%. As of 2005, there were 26 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 10 businesses involved in this sector. 20 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 5 businesses in this sector. 26 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 7 businesses in this sector.