Büren an der Aare (usually abbreviated with Büren a.A., means Büren on the Aare) is a historic town and a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

History

Büren an der Aare is first mentioned in 1185 as Buirro. In 1236 it was mentioned as Buron.

The earliest trace of humans in Büren are scattered neolithic and La Tene items. The Roman era road between Aventicum and Salodurum (Solothurn) runs through the area that would become the municipality. Roman ruins include part of the road and a milestone at Bürenmoos, a canal at Burgweg and what may have been a country estate on Kirchmatt. Above the town, on the Schlosshubel hill, was the high medieval Strassberg Castle, the home of the Baron of Strassberg. The town was built on a narrow strip of land between the Städtiberg and the Aare. The town received a town charter from Berchtold I of Strassberg in 1260, which was confirmed in 1288. Under the Barons, the town became the center of the Büren Herrschaft. During the 13th and 14th centuries, the Counts of Neuchâtel gained power in the Herrschaft. In 1345, financial difficulties forced Imer of Strassberg to pledge some rights in the town to Solothurn. In 1369 Solothurn also acquired the right to collect duties and tolls in Büren. In 1375 Enguerrand de Coucy besieged the town, but did not take it. After Imer's death the town was inherited by the Counts of Neu-Kyburg, who then sold it to Austria. During the Sempach War, Büren was besieged and captured by Bern and in 1388 it was placed under joint Bern-Solothurn control. In 1393, the captured land was finally divided and Büren became the capital of a new Bernese bailiwick. In 1620-25 Büren Castle was built on the main street as the official residence of the Bernese bailiff. Over the past two decades (1979/85-2004/09) the amount of land that is settled has increased by and the agricultural land has decreased by .

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 7.0% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.3%. Out of the forested land, 32.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 40.2% is used for growing crops and 5.1% is pastures, while 1.1% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the water in the municipality, 3.9% is in lakes and 3.2% is in rivers and streams.

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules a Bear paw Argent issuant from chief sinister.

Demographics

thumb|Houses in the old town of Büren

Büren an der Aare has a population () of . , 16.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 4 years (2010-2014) the population has changed at a rate of 5.93%. The birth rate in the municipality, in 2014, was 8.7, while the death rate was 9.9 per thousand residents.

In 2014 there were 1,539 private households in Büren an der Aare with an average household size of 2.20 persons. Of the 733 inhabited buildings in the municipality, in 2000, about 54.8% were single family homes and 19.5% were multiple family buildings. Additionally, about 23.1% of the buildings were built before 1919, while 11.1% were built between 1991 and 2000. In 2013 the rate of construction of new housing units per 1000 residents was 1.45. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.14%.

Most of the population () speaks German (2,800 or 91.0%) as their first language, Italian is the second most common (51 or 1.7%) and French is the third (38 or 1.2%). There are 2 people who speak Romansh. Of the population in the municipality, 999 or about 32.5% were born in Büren an der Aare and lived there in 2000. There were 986 or 32.0% who were born in the same canton, while 553 or 18.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 374 or 12.2% were born outside of Switzerland.

The historical population is given in the following chart:

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bar:1764 from:start till:579 text:"579"

bar:1850 from:start till:1419 text:"1,419"

bar:1860 from:start till:1413 text:"1,413"

bar:1870 from:start till:1378 text:"1,378"

bar:1880 from:start till:1643 text:"1,643"

bar:1888 from:start till:1673 text:"1,673"

bar:1900 from:start till:1963 text:"1,963"

bar:1910 from:start till:2020 text:"2,020"

bar:1920 from:start till:2252 text:"2,252"

bar:1930 from:start till:2119 text:"2,119"

bar:1941 from:start till:1948 text:"1,948"

bar:1950 from:start till:2171 text:"2,171"

bar:1960 from:start till:2432 text:"2,432"

bar:1970 from:start till:3085 text:"3,085"

bar:1980 from:start till:2761 text:"2,761"

bar:1990 from:start till:3125 text:"3,125"

bar:2000 from:start till:3077 text:"3,077"

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Notable people

125px|thumb|Gaston Strobino

  • Prof. Bernhard Studer (1794 in Büren an der Aare – 1887) a 19th-century Swiss geologist
  • Ernst Pflüger (1846 in Büren an der Aare – 1903) a Swiss ophthalmologist
  • Gaston Strobino (1891 in Büren an der Aare – 1969) an American athlete, bronze medallist in the marathon at the 1912 Summer Olympics
  • Markus Raetz (born 1941) a Swiss painter, illustrator and sculptor

Heritage sites of national significance

thumb|upright|Büren Castle built as the official residence of the Bernese bailiff.

Büren Castle is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire old town of Büren an der Aare is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Politics

In the 2015 federal election the most popular party was the SVP with 36.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (16.6%), the BDP (15.4%) and the FDP (10.1%). In the federal election, a total of 1,164 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 47.6%.

In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 28.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the BDP Party (19.1%), the SPS (18.3%) and the FDP (9.5%). In the federal election, a total of 1,136 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 47.4%.

Economy

, there were a total of 1,893 people employed in the municipality. Of these, a total of 112 people worked in 32 businesses in the primary economic sector. In 2014 the primary sector numbers had increased by 165 and remained constant respectively. A minority (30.0% of the primary sector employees worked in very small businesses (less than ten employees). There was one small business with a total of 30 employees and one mid sized business with a total of 164 employees. The secondary sector employed 1,048 workers in 55 separate businesses. In 2014 the secondary sector numbers had decreased by 157 and increased by 1 respectively. A minority (19.6% of the secondary sector employees worked in very small businesses. There were 7 small businesses with a total of 250 employees and 3 mid sized businesses with a total of 466 employees. Finally, the tertiary sector provided 733 jobs in 182 businesses. In 2014 the tertiary sector numbers had decreased by 9 and 8 respectively. A majority (61.3% of the tertiary sector employees worked in very small businesses. There were 7 small businesses with a total of 194 employees and one mid sized business with a total of 86 employees. In 2014 a total of 1.5% of the population received social assistance.

, there were 881 workers who commuted into the municipality and 993 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.1 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 13.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 51.5% used a private car.

During the 2009–10 school year, there were a total of 370 students attending classes in Büren an der Aare. There were 3 kindergarten classes with a total of 60 students in the municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 23.3% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 28.3% have a different mother language than the classroom language. The municipality had 11 primary classes and 207 students. Of the primary students, 16.4% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 15.9% have a different mother language than the classroom language. During the same year, there were 6 lower secondary classes with a total of 103 students. There were 10.7% who were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 32.0% have a different mother language than the classroom language.

, there were 31 students in Büren an der Aare who came from another municipality, while 79 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

Crime

In 2014 the crime rate, of the over 200 crimes listed in the Swiss Criminal Code (running from murder, robbery and assault to accepting bribes and election fraud), in Büren an der Aare was 47 per thousand residents. This rate is about three-fourths of the average rate in the entire country. During the same period, the rate of drug crimes was 4.4 per thousand residents, slightly less than half the national rate.

References

  • Büren an der Aare website