Orbe (; ; older , ; ) is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud. It was the seat of the former district of Orbe and is now part of the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois.

History

Orbe is first mentioned about 280 as Urba. In 1179, it was mentioned as versus Orbam.

Of the built-up area, industrial buildings made up 3.0% of the total area, while housing and buildings made up 8.7%, and transportation infrastructure made up 5.7%. Parks, green belts, and sports fields made up 1.7%. Of the forested land, 2.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 60.7% is used for growing crops and 9.2% is pastures, while 3.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.

The municipality is located on a hill partly surrounded by the Orbe River. It consists of the village of Orbe and a number of hamlets, including Granges Saint-Germain, Granges Saint-Martin, Mont Choisi, and Le Puisoir.

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules, two Sea-daces addorsed Or.

Demographics

thumb|Casino Orbe

thumb|Part of the old city of Orbe

thumb|Newer buildings in Orbe

Orbe has a population () of . , 28.6% of the population is resident foreign nationals. Over the years 1999–2009, the population has changed at a rate of 25.8%, 22.1% due to migration and 4.3% due to births and deaths.

Most of the population () speaks French (4,229 or 82.3%), with Portuguese being second-most common (255 or 5.0%) and German being third (161 or 3.1%). There are 128 people who speak Italian and four people who speak Romansh.

, 2,103 people were single and never married in the municipality. There were 2,441 married individuals, 304 widows or widowers, and 291 individuals who are divorced.

, 2,073 private households were in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household.

, a total of 1,934 apartments (84.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 208 apartments (9.1%) were seasonally occupied, and 141 apartments (6.2%) were empty.

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bar:1850 from:start till:1923 text:"1,923"

bar:1860 from:start till:1859 text:"1,859"

bar:1870 from:start till:1816 text:"1,816"

bar:1880 from:start till:1873 text:"1,873"

bar:1888 from:start till:1929 text:"1,929"

bar:1900 from:start till:2080 text:"2,080"

bar:1910 from:start till:3234 text:"3,234"

bar:1920 from:start till:3657 text:"3,657"

bar:1930 from:start till:3422 text:"3,422"

bar:1941 from:start till:3558 text:"3,558"

bar:1950 from:start till:3565 text:"3,565"

bar:1960 from:start till:3824 text:"3,824"

bar:1970 from:start till:4522 text:"4,522"

bar:1980 from:start till:3985 text:"3,985"

bar:1990 from:start till:5084 text:"5,084"

bar:2000 from:start till:5139 text:"5,139"

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Heritage sites of national significance

The Boscéaz (a Gallo-Roman villa), Orbe Castle with its two towers and plaza, the Swiss Reformed Church of Notre-Dame and the City Hall are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire old town of Orbe is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

The Gallo-Roman villa is known for its Roman mosaics, which are composed of several hundreds of pieces on the floor of the original site. The villa was a palace belonging to a rich but unknown landowner. It was built around AD 160 and abandoned about 270. Nowadays, eight mosaics are still visible and can be visited. A ninth mosaic, discovered in 1993, is being restored and it is not open for public visits.

<gallery>

File:Orbe 5.JPG|Orbe Castle

File:Orbe 4.JPG|Swiss Reformed Church of Notre-Dame

File:Orbe-Bosceaz (3).jpg|alt=Orbe-Bosceaz: mosaic of the Divinities|Gallo-Roman villa: Mosaic of the divinities

File:Orbe-Bosceaz (5).jpg|Gallo-Roman villa: mosaic of the "Cortège rustique"

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Politics

In the 2007 federal election, the most popular party was the SP, which received 26.68% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (20.26%), the FDP (14.52%), and the Green Party (12.92%). In the federal election, a total of 1,107 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 36.2%.

Economy

thumb|Aerial view of Orbe with the Nestlé factory complex (foreground) and the [[Jura Mountains (background)]]

The town has a Nestle Research & Development factory with a working force of over 500 employees. The factory is responsible for producing Nescafé and Nespresso. The factory accounts for just over 15% of Nestlé's overall turnover per annum. The factory was opened in 1901 by Daniel Peter, the inventor of milk chocolate, to expand his production. A 52-metre-tall chimney built for the former chocolate factory has been preserved.

, Orbe had an unemployment rate of 7.5%. , there were 95 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 18 businesses involved in this sector. 1,121 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 48 businesses in this sector. 2,173 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 227 businesses in this sector.

, there were 1,832 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,489 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.2 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 7.1% of the workforce coming into Orbe are coming from outside Switzerland. Of the working population, 10.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 66.2% used a private car. During the school year, the political district provided pre-school care for a total of 578 children of which 359 children (62.1%) received subsidized pre-school care. The canton's primary school program requires students to attend for four years. There were 427 students in the municipal primary school program. The obligatory lower secondary school program lasts for six years and there were 368 students in those schools. There were also 7 students who were home schooled or attended another non-traditional school.

Orbe is home to 1 museum, the Fondation Pro Urba. In 2009 it was visited by 2,900 visitors (the average in previous years was 3,278).

, there were 322 students in Orbe who came from another municipality, while 219 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

See also

  • Orbe penitentiary complex

References

  • Switzerland Tourism information
  • Orbe-Boscéaz (timetable of the Gallo-Roman villa)
  • Fondation Pro Urba