Saxeten | |
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 Interlaken as viewed from Saxeten | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Saxeten  | |
  Saxeten  Saxeten | |
| Coordinates:46°38′N7°50′E / 46.633°N 7.833°E /46.633; 7.833 | |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Canton | Bern |
| District | Interlaken-Oberhasli |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Robert Seematter |
| Area | |
• Total | 19.02 km2 (7.34 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,103 m (3,619 ft) |
| Population (31 December 2018)[2] | |
• Total | 99 |
| • Density | 5.2/km2 (13/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (Central European Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time) |
| Postal code(s) | 3813> |
| SFOS number | 0591 |
| ISO 3166 code | CH-BE |
| Localities | Aeschi bei Spiez,Därligen,Lauterbrunnen,Leissigen,Wilderswil |
| Website | www SFSO statistics |
Saxeten is amunicipality in theInterlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in thecanton ofBern inSwitzerland.
In 1999, Saxeten became internationally known following an incident where 21 tourists and guides were killed in a flash flood in theSaxetbach gorge.
Saxeten is first mentioned in 1303 asSachsaton.[3]
During theMiddle Ages, the Saxetenbach valley belonged to the UnspunnenHerrschaft. During the 13th century theFreiherr of Weissenburg inherited a half share of the village from Unspunnen. In 1334, Weissenburg sold his share toInterlaken Monastery. The other half share remained with Unspunnen. In 1348–49, the village joined an unsuccessful rebellion of theBernese Oberland against the monastery. In 1500, the Unspunnen half of the village was acquired by the city ofBern. In 1528, the city ofBern adopted the new faith of the ProtestantReformation and began imposing it on the Bernese Oberland. Iseltwald joined many other villages and the monastery in an unsuccessful rebellion against the new faith. After Bern imposed its will on the Oberland, they secularized the monastery and annexed all the monastery lands, finally combining the two shares of the village.[3]
In 1828, Saxeten was noted in George DownesGuide Through Switzerland book.[4] In 1856 and 1897, Alfred Wills andKarl Baedeker both wrote of hikes through and around the village of Saxeten.[5][6]
Saxeten has always been part of the largeparish of Gsteig bei Interlaken, now a village in the municipality ofGsteigwiler. On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Interlaken, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Interlaken-Oberhasli.[7]
On 27 July 1999, there was an accident in theSaxetenbach Gorge, just above the village of Saxeten, in which 21 young people fromAustralia,New Zealand,England,South Africa, and Switzerland died. 48 people from 2 coach tour parties had opted to do a side activity of canyoning where you float, swim and climb through an area, such as a gorge. It was organized by Adventure World, a now defunct company who were located in Wilderswil, not far from Saxeten. Shortly into the experience, flash floods began pouring through the gorge and 21 people within the group were swept to their deaths. 18 were tourists and 3 were canyon guides. The authorities were alerted to the incident when a local jogger spotted bodies in Lake Brienz.[8][9][10][11][12][13]
In December 2001, eight staff at Adventure World, including managers Felix Oehler and Bernhard Gafner were tried formanslaughter in connection to the deaths.[14][15] Six were found guilty of manslaughter through culpable negligence and given suspended sentences of between two and five months and fined between 4,000 and 7,500CHF.[16][17][18][19]
Theblazon of the municipalcoat of arms isGules on a Pile inverted Argent two Ibex Horns Sable in Saltire.[20]
Saxeten has an area of 19.38 km2 (7.48 sq mi).[21] Of this area, 7.77 km2 (3.00 sq mi) or 40.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 6.07 km2 (2.34 sq mi) or 31.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.27 km2 (0.10 sq mi) or 1.4% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.3 km2 (0.12 sq mi) or 1.6% is either rivers or lakes and 4.75 km2 (1.83 sq mi) or 24.8% is unproductive land.[22]
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.8%. Out of the forested land, 24.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 4.4% is pastures and 36.2% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 9.2% is unproductive vegetation and 15.6% is too rocky for vegetation.[22]
Saxeten is located near the center of theBödeli watershed. The Saxetenbach river flows through the gorge to Saxeten, before it joins theLütschine inWilderswil. Waterfalls mark the path around Saxeten including Wyssbachfall and the Saxetbachfall at the narrowest point of the Saxettal valley.[23]
Saxeten has a population (as of December 2020[update]) of 92, all Swiss citizens.[24] Over the last 10 years (2000-2010) the population has changed at a rate of -24.8%. Migration accounted for -29.3%, while births and deaths accounted for 2.3%.[25] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaksGerman (127 or 99.2%) as their first language with the rest speakingFrench[26]
As of 2008[update], the population was 46.0% male and 54.0% female. The population was made up of 46 Swiss men and 54 Swiss women.[27] Of the population in the municipality, 64 or about 50.0% were born in Saxeten and lived there in 2000. There were 46 or 35.9% who were born in the same canton, while 11 or 8.6% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 2 or 1.6% were born outside of Switzerland.[26]
As of 2010[update], children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 17% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 54% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 29%.[25]
As of 2000[update], there were 57 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 64 married individuals, 6 widows or widowers and 1 individuals who are divorced.[26]
As of 2000[update], there were 10 households that consist of only one person and 4 households with five or more people. In 2000[update], a total of 45 apartments (55.6% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 23 apartments (28.4%) were seasonally occupied and 13 apartments (16.0%) were empty.[28] The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2011[update], was 2.2%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][29]
In the2011 federal election the most popular party was theSwiss People's Party (SVP) which received 52.5% of the vote with avoter turnout was 44.0%.[30]
In the2019 Swiss federal election, the most popular party remained theSwiss People's Party (SVP) with a 75.1% vote share, followed byGreen Party of Switzerland with 7.2% of votes andSP with 3.73% of votes. Voter turnout was 44.6%. In the2023 Swiss federal election theSVP retained the municipality with 70% of the vote, withSP receiving 10.1% and theGreen Party of Switzerland 6.8% of votes. Voter turn out was 36%.[31]
As of 2011[update], Saxeten had an unemployment rate of 0.85%. As of 2008[update], there were a total of 39 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 22 people employed in theprimary economic sector and about 10 businesses involved in this sector. 1 person was employed in thesecondary sector and there was 1 business in this sector. 16 people were employed in thetertiary sector, with 4 businesses in this sector.[25] There were 58 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 34.5% of the workforce.
In 2008[update] there were a total of 22full-time equivalent jobs. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 13, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 1, all of which were in manufacturing. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 8. In the tertiary sector; 2 were in the movement and storage of goods, 2 were in a hotel or restaurant and 4 were in education.[32]
In 2000[update], there were 3 workers who commuted into the municipality and 39 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 13.0 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering.[33] Of the working population, 12.1% used public transportation to get to work, and 58.6% used a private car.[25]
There is one hotel in Saxeten, the Alpenrose which was founded in 1895. Attached to the hotel is the village's only restaurant Plinti and wine bar Chalberboden. The restaurant and wine bar are currently closed. Seematter, a wood cutting company, is based in Saxeten.[34][35] Agricultural coperatives Bergschaft Bällen and Bergschaft Innenberg constitute a significant part of the local economy.[36][37]
From the 2000 census[update], 4 or 3.1% wereRoman Catholic, while 104 or 81.3% belonged to theSwiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 24 individuals (or about 18.75% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. 2 (or about 1.56% of the population) belonged to no church, areagnostic oratheist, and 6 individuals (or about 4.69% of the population) did not answer the question.[26]
In Saxeten about 34 or (26.6%) of the population have completed non-mandatoryupper secondary education, and 3 or (2.3%) have completed additional higher education (eitheruniversity or aFachhochschule). All 3 who completed tertiary schooling were Swiss men.[26]
The Canton of Bern school system provides one year of non-obligatoryKindergarten, followed by six years of Primary school. This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude. Following the lower Secondary students may attend additional schooling or they may enter anapprenticeship.[38]
During the 2010–11 school year, there were a total of 11 students attending classes in Saxeten. There were no kindergarten classes in the municipality. A total of 7 students attended a primary school in another municipality. During the same year, there was one lower secondary class with a total of 4 students.[39]
As of 2000[update], there were 14 students in Saxeten who came from another municipality, while 6 residents attended schools outside the municipality.[33]
Saxeten is served by thePostBus route 111 fromWilderswil Station. The vehicle is a smaller van as opposed to the traditional larger buses. There are 8 services daily, running year round, with some winter routes starting and ending at Saxeten Skipintli.[40][41] As of 2016, the Wilderswil-Saxeten service was the last PostBus delivering milk in Switzerland.[42]
Saxeten has a small ski area at Skipintli. There are two runs, generally in operation from December until March along with a singlesurface lift to the top.[43] The Swiss Alpine Ski club promotes a ski touring route from Saxeten to the Rengghorn mountain.[44] In addition, Saxeten has atoboggan run from Alp Nessleren to the village centre.[45][46]
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