Colombier () is a former municipality in the Boudry District in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. The municipalities of Auvernier, Bôle and Colombier merged on 1 January 2013 into the new municipality of Milvignes.
History
thumb|left|Colombier castle
thumb|left|Aerial view (1954)
Colombier is first mentioned in 1228 as Columbier.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 2.7% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 21.0% and transportation infrastructure made up 11.9%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.0% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 3.5%. Out of the forested land, 17.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 9.3% is used for growing crops and 13.3% is pastures, while 16.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in lakes.
Demographics
Colombier had a population () of 5,510. , 20.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 16.4%. It has changed at a rate of 14.6% due to migration and at a rate of 1.5% due to births and deaths.
Most of the population () speaks French (4,229 or 86.4%) as their first language, German is the second most common (220 or 4.5%) and Italian is the third (132 or 2.7%). There are 4 people who speak Romansh. Of the population in the municipality, 892 or about 18.2% were born in Colombier and lived there in 2000. There were 1,646 or 33.6% who were born in the same canton, while 1,119 or 22.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 1,074 or 21.9% were born outside of Switzerland.
, there were 2,032 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.1 new units per 1000 residents.
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bar:1850 from:start till:896 text:"896"
bar:1860 from:start till:1007 text:"1,007"
bar:1870 from:start till:1375 text:"1,375"
bar:1880 from:start till:1603 text:"1,603"
bar:1888 from:start till:1856 text:"1,856"
bar:1900 from:start till:2051 text:"2,051"
bar:1910 from:start till:2077 text:"2,077"
bar:1920 from:start till:1882 text:"1,882"
bar:1930 from:start till:1941 text:"1,941"
bar:1941 from:start till:1919 text:"1,919"
bar:1950 from:start till:2071 text:"2,071"
bar:1960 from:start till:2652 text:"2,652"
bar:1970 from:start till:4095 text:"4,095"
bar:1980 from:start till:4126 text:"4,126"
bar:1990 from:start till:4636 text:"4,636"
bar:2000 from:start till:4897 text:"4,897"
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Heritage sites of national significance
The Arsenal, the prehistoric lake shore settlement at Baie d‘Auvernier, Colombier Castle with its museum, Roman villa and fortifications, the Domaine de Vaudijon, the House de maître du Bied and the Manoir Le Pontet (house of Béat Louis de Muralt and Isabelle de Charrière) are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. The entire urban village of Colombier and the Areuse region are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
<gallery>
File:Arsenal de Colombier.jpg|Colombier Castle
File:Auvernier Baie d'Auvernier (stations lacustres préhistoriques)20110831 1772 HDR.jpg|the prehistoric lake shore settlement at Baie d‘Auvernier
File:Colombier_Castle_Aug_2011.jpg|Colombier Castle
File:Colombier Domaine de Vaudijon 20110831 1843 HDR.jpg|Domaine de Vaudijon
File:Maitre-du-Bied.jpg|House de maître du Bied
File:Colombier Manoir Le Pontet 20110831 1833.jpg|Manoir Le Pontet
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Politics
In the 2007 Swiss federal election the most popular party was the SP which received 25.18% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (20.67%), the FDP (16.91%) and the LPS Party (14.86%). In the federal election, a total of 1,786 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 52.5%.
Economy
, Colombier had an unemployment rate of 5.8%. , there were 43 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 7 businesses involved in this sector. 270 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 37 businesses in this sector. 1,306 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 164 businesses in this sector.
, there were 947 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,826 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.9 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 1.4% of the workforce coming into Colombier are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 17.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 62.2% used a private car. During the 2010–11 school year, there were 6 kindergarten classes with a total of 116 students in Colombier. In the same year, there were 16 primary classes with a total of 322 students.
, there were 493 students in Colombier who came from another municipality, while 241 residents attended schools outside the municipality.