Lauenen
Country Switzerland Canton Bern District Obersimmental-Saanen 46°25′N 7°19′E / 46.417°N 7.317°E / 46.417; 7.317Coordinates: 46°25′N 7°19′E / 46.417°N 7.317°E / 46.417; 7.317
Population	802 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density	14 /km2 (35 /sq mi)
Area	58.73 km2 (22.68 sq mi)[2]
Elevation	1,252 m (4,108 ft)
Postal code	3782
SFOS number	0842
Mayor	Ruedi Trachsel
Surrounded by	Saanen, Lenk, Ayent, Savièse, Gsteig bei Gstaad.
Website	www.lauenen.ch SFSO statistics
Lauenen
Location of Lauenen

Lauenen (French: Lauvine, Romansh: Lavina) is a municipality in the Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

History [link]

Lauenen is first mentioned in 1296 as an der Lowinon.^[3] Lauenen is known as an area with substantial danger of landslides and avalanches, which is the origin of its name (German Lawine "landslide," from Latin labina "slide").

Geography [link]

Lauenen has an area, as of 2009^[update], of 58.73 km² (22.68 sq mi). Of this area, 22.38 km² (8.64 sq mi) or 38.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 14.69 km² (5.67 sq mi) or 25.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.76 km² (0.29 sq mi) or 1.3% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.61 km² (0.24 sq mi) or 1.0% is either rivers or lakes and 20.3 km² (7.8 sq mi) or 34.6% is unproductive land.^[4]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.5%. 20.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 8.8% is pastures and 29.3% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 5.4% is unproductive vegetation, 24.3% is too rocky for vegetation and 4.9% of the land is covered by glaciers.^[4]

Lauenen lies in the Bernese Oberland in the Lauenen Valley. The mountains in the south of the municipality, for instance Wildhorn (3,243 m (10,640 ft)) form the border with the canton of Valais. The municipality has a number of notable glaciers and lakes, including the Tungel Glacier, the Gelten Glacier, and Lake Lauenen.

Demographics [link]

Lauenen has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 802.^[1] As of 2007^[update], 7.9% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 0.6%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (93.5%), with Albanian being second most common ( 2.9%) and French being third ( 1.6%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 70.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (6.6%), the local small left-wing parties (6.5%) and the FDP (6.1%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 56% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Lauenen about 60.1% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Lauenen has an unemployment rate of 0.88%. As of 2005^[update], there were 198 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 64 businesses involved in this sector. 66 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 11 businesses in this sector. 95 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 16 businesses in this sector.^[5] The historical population is given in the following table:^[3]

Famous people [link]

• Gottfried Straßer (1854–1912), minister a poet (born in Lauenen)
• Ernst Friedrich Langhans (1829–1880) worked as reformed minister in Lauenen from 1855 to 1858

References [link]

External links [link]

• Website about Lake Lauenen region, including pictures and routes (German)
• Lauenen in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lauenen

v t e Municipalities in the Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district, Switzerland Boltigen Gsteig bei Gstaad Lauenen Lenk Saanen St. Stephan Zweisimmen Canton of Bern Districts of Canton Bern Municipalities of the canton of Bern