| Meiringen | ||||||||||
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| Population | 4,533 (December 2007[update]) | |||||||||
| - Density | 111 /km2 (288 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 40.7 km2 (15.7 sq mi) | |||||||||
| Elevation | 595 m (1,952 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 3860 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 0785 | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Brienz, Brienzwiler, Grindelwald, Hasliberg, Innertkirchen, Lungern (OW), Schattenhalb | |||||||||
| Website | www.meiringen.ch SFSO statistics |
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  Meiringen
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Meiringen is a municipality in the district of Oberhasli in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
Contents |
Sights
The town is famous for the Reichenbach Falls, a spectacular water fall that was the setting for the fictional presumed death of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes. A museum dedicated to Holmes is located in the basement of the deconsecrated English Church, located in what has now been named Conan Doyle Place.
The town is also known for its claim to have invented meringue.
History
Meiringen is first mentioned in 1234 as Magiringin.[1]
Geography
Meiringen has an area of 40.7 square kilometers (15.7 sq mi). Of this area, 44.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 32.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 6.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (16.2%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[2]
Demographics
Meiringen has a population (as of 2007[update]) of 4,533, of which 13.4% are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -2.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (88.7%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 2.5%) and Portugese being third ( 1.6%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 41.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (25.2%), the FDP (12.5%) and the Green Party (11.3%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 58.9% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.2%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Meiringen about 70.6% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).
Meiringen has an unemployment rate of 1.43%. As of 2005[update], there were 208 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 75 businesses involved in this sector. 419 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 52 businesses in this sector. 1797 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 201 businesses in this sector.[2] The historical population is given in the following table:[1]
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1764 | 964 |
| 1850 | 2,358 |
| 1900 | 3,077 |
| 1950 | 3,640 |
| 1980 | 4,072 |
| 2000 | 4,803 |
Transportation
Meiringen is served by Meiringen railway station on the Brünigbahn narrow-gauge railway from Interlaken to Lucerne. This station is also the terminus of the local Meiringen-Innertkirchen Bahn narrow-gauge railway, which links the town with the nearby village of Innertkirchen. The lower terminus of the Reichenbachfall-Bahn funicular, which links the town to the Reichenbach Falls, is located at Willigen, some 20 minutes walk, or a 6 minute bus ride, from Meiringen station.
One of three main air bases of the Swiss Air Force is located in Unterbach,near Meiringen. Among other aircraft, it operates F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets.
Weather
| Weather data for Meiringen | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 1.8 (35) |
4.4 (40) |
8.4 (47) |
13 (55) |
17.7 (64) |
20.4 (69) |
22.6 (73) |
21.6 (71) |
18.8 (66) |
14 (57) |
7.3 (45) |
2.3 (36) |
12.7 (55) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | -2.2 (28) |
-0.2 (32) |
3.1 (38) |
7.3 (45) |
11.8 (53) |
14.6 (58) |
16.7 (62) |
15.8 (60) |
13.1 (56) |
8.7 (48) |
3.1 (38) |
-1.3 (30) |
7.5 (46) |
| Average low °C (°F) | -5.5 (22) |
-4.1 (25) |
-1.4 (29) |
2 (36) |
5.8 (42) |
8.7 (48) |
10.7 (51) |
10.3 (51) |
7.9 (46) |
4.1 (39) |
-0.7 (31) |
-4.5 (24) |
2.8 (37) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 96 (3.78) |
93 (3.66) |
107 (4.21) |
99 (3.9) |
122 (4.8) |
151 (5.94) |
148 (5.83) |
165 (6.5) |
89 (3.5) |
86 (3.39) |
97 (3.82) |
97 (3.82) |
1,351 (53.19) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 11 | 10.4 | 12.2 | 11.6 | 14.1 | 14.8 | 13.7 | 14.3 | 9.6 | 8.8 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 141.9 |
| Source: MeteoSchweiz [3] 8 May 2009 | |||||||||||||
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Meiringen |
- ^ a b Meiringen in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ a b Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 10-Jul-2009
- ^ "Temperature and Precipitation Average Values-Table, 1961-1990" (in German, French, Italian). Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss. http://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/web/de/klima/klima_schweiz/tabellen.html. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
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