Gempenach

Gempenach
State :	Switzerland
Canton :	Freiburg (FR)
District :	lake
BFS no. :	2260
Postal code :	3215
Coordinates :	581 703  /  198858 coordinates: 46 ° 56 '26 "  N , 7 ° 11' 54"  O ; CH1903:  581 703  /  198858
Height :	501  m above sea level M.
Height range :	467-533 m above sea level M.
Area :	1.67  km²
Residents:	289 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	173 inhabitants per km²
Website:	www.gempenach.ch
Entrance to Gempenach
Location of the municipality

Gempenach ( French: Champagny ; Freiburger Patois Tsanpanyi ^{? / I} ) is a municipality in the lake district (French: District du Lac) in the canton of Friborg in Switzerland .

geography

Gempenach lies at 501  m above sea level. M. , 6.5 km east of the district capital Murten (linear distance). The street village extends on a plateau on the western side of the Biberental, at the height south of the Grosse Moos , in the northern Freiburg Central Plateau .

The area of ​​the 1.7 km² large municipal area comprises a section of the Molasse heights between the Grosse Moos in the northwest and the Saane valley in the east. The eastern border runs partly along the Biberen , which flows here in a valley that is about 10 to 20 m deep into the plateau. A small part of the Wannerenwald to the right of the Biberen also belongs to Gempenach. In the south, a left side stream, the Dorfbach von Lurtigen, forms the natural border. To the north, the municipality extends over the plateau ( Chilenfeld ) into the forests of Stöckholz and Büchslenholz . The highest point of Gempenach is 533  m above sea level. M. reached on the meadow hill Breitfeld . In 1997, 7% of the municipal area was accounted for by settlements, 18% for forests and trees and 75% for agriculture.

The northern part of the hamlet of Chäppelimatt and some individual farms belong to Gempenach. Neighboring communities of Gempenach are Ulmiz , Murten and Ried bei Kerzers in the canton of Friborg and Ferenbalm in the canton of Bern .

population

With 289 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018) Gempenach is one of the small communities in the canton of Friborg. 97.5% of the residents speak German, 1.4% speak Portuguese and 0.7% speak French (as of 2000). The population of Gempenach was 191 in 1850 and 213 in 1900. In the course of the 20th century the population fluctuated between 180 and 210 inhabitants. Only since 1980 (177 inhabitants) has there been significant population growth.

economy

Until the second half of the 20th century, Gempenach was a predominantly agricultural village. Even today, arable farming , fruit growing and animal husbandry have an important place in the income structure of the population. Further jobs are available in local small businesses and in the service sector, including in companies in the transport industry and wood construction. In the last few decades the village has also developed into a residential community. Many employed people are therefore commuters who mainly work in the Murten and Kerzers regions and in the Bern agglomeration .

traffic

The community is very well developed in terms of transport. It is located on main road 1 from Bern via Payerne to Lausanne . The nearest connection to the A1 motorway (Bern-Lausanne) is around 5 km from the town center. Gempenach is connected to the public transport network by a post bus line between Düdingen and Kerzers and a bus line operated by Transports publics Fribourgeois between Murten and Gümmenen .

history

The municipality of Gempenach was settled very early. A large burial ground from the early and middle La Tène period was found on the Forstmatte . The rich grave goods (jewelry, bronze fables, weapons) can now be viewed in the museums of Murten and Bern.

The first written mention of the place took place in 961 under the name Chempinnacho (Gut des Campanius ). Later the (partly French) names Champagniaco , Champagnie (1265) and Gampenach (1558) appeared.

Since the Middle Ages Gempenach has been under the rule of Murten. In 1475, the village came under the joint administration of the estates of Bern and Freiburg as part of the bailiwick of Murten. After the collapse of the Ancien Régime (1798), Gempenach came to the canton of Friborg. During the Helvetic Republic and the following period it belonged to the Murten district before it was incorporated into the lake district in 1848 with the new cantonal constitution.

Attractions

Some old buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries have been preserved in the town center, including the Zum Kantonsschild inn, which was built at the beginning of the 19th century. The village does not have its own church; it belongs to the cross-cantonal parish Ferenbalm .

photos

• 

  Schoolhouse Gempenach

• 

  village street

• 

  Chäppelimatt

Web links

Commons : Gempenach  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the municipality of Gempenach
• Ursula Birchler: Gempenach. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Permanent and non-permanent resident population by year, canton, district, municipality, population type and gender (permanent resident population). In: bfs. admin.ch . Federal Statistical Office (FSO), August 31, 2019, accessed on December 22, 2019 .