{{Infobox Swiss town | subject_name = Hellsau | municipality_type = municipality | image_photo = 2011-11-30-Mezlando (Foto Dietrich Michael Weidmann) 284.JPG | image_caption = Entrance into Hellsau village | imagepath_coa = CHE Hellsau COA.svg | imagepath_flag = CHE Hellsau Flag.svg | canton = Bern | iso-code-region = CH-BE | district = Emmental |coordinates = {{coord|47|9|N|7|39|E|display=inline,title}} | postal_code = 3429 | municipality_code = 0408 | area = 1.5 | elevation = 478|elevation_description= | population = {{Swiss populations NC|CH-BE|0408}} | populationof = {{Swiss populations YM|CH-BE}} | popofyear = {{Swiss populations Y|CH-BE}} | website = www.hellsau.ch | mayor = |mayor_asof=|mayor_party= | mayor_title = |list_of_mayors = | places = | demonym = | neighboring_municipalities= Alchenstorf, Heinrichswil-Winistorf (SO), Höchstetten, Seeberg | twintowns = |}} '''Hellsau''' is a municipality in the district of Burgdorf, in the canton of Bern, Switzerland.
==History== Hellsau is first mentioned in 1275 as ''Hellesowe''.<ref name=HDS/>
The earliest trace of a settlement at Hellsau is an early medieval cemetery near the Äbi farm house. It is likely that the old village church once stood near the cemetery. The church was first mentioned in 1275 as a filial church of Burgdorf. It became a full church in 1353 under the patronage of St. Mary. It became part of the parish of Koppigen in 1422 and was given a chaplain in 1471. Following the Protestant Reformation the church was abandoned and eventually demolished.<ref name=HDS/>
For most of Hellsau's history, it was a village under the jurisdiction and town council of Koppigen. In 1571, Koppigen passed a law mandating fences in the Büeltscherzelg field because the farmers of Hellsau had been sneaking into the field to graze their animals. Agriculture is still important in the village economy, though a construction company provides a number of jobs. Between 1894 and 1911 it was the home of a private asylum and hospital. Marshes and meadows were drained in 1943-48. Starting in the 1820s Höchstetten and Hellsau formed a school district. The Moos school house was built in 1976.<ref name=HDS/>
==Geography== thumb|left|Fields around Hellsau Hellsau has an area of {{Swiss area|0408|mi=on}}.{{Swiss area data|0408|QUELLE}}<!--1.48 - 1.51 km2--> Of this area, {{convert|1.06|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} or 71.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while {{convert|0.35|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} or 23.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, {{convert|0.1|km2|acre|abbr=on}} or 6.8% is settled (buildings or roads).<ref name=BFS_land>[http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/02/03/blank/data/gemeindedaten.html Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics] 2009 data {{in lang|de}} accessed 25 March 2010</ref>
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.4% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 2.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.7%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 48.0% is used for growing crops and 21.6% is pastures, while 2.0% is used for orchards or vine crops.<ref name=BFS_land/>
The village of Hellsau includes the village with Halde and the hamlets of Freienhof and Moos. Hellsau belongs to the parish of Koppigen.
On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Burgdorf, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Emmental.<ref name=Mutation>[http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/infothek/nomenklaturen/blank/blank/gem_liste/02.html Nomenklaturen – Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz] {{in lang|de}} accessed 4 April 2011</ref>
==Coat of arms== The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is ''Vert a Bend wavy Or and in a Chief Argent three Pales Gules.'' The lower part of the coat of arms is an example of canting arms. It represents a light meadow or {{langx|de|helle Au}}.<ref>[http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/ch-be074.html Flags of the World.com] accessed 02-September-2012</ref>
==Demographics== thumb|Hellsau thumb|Partial half-timbered farm house in Hellsau Hellsau has a population ({{as of|{{Swiss populations YM|CH-BE}}|lc=on}}) of {{Swiss populations|CH-BE|0408}}.{{Swiss populations ref|CH-BE}} {{as of|2010}}, 2.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals.<ref name=BE_Stat>[http://www.fin.be.ch/de/index/finanzen/finanzen/publikationen/wohnbevoelkerung.html Statistical office of the Canton of Bern] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215012157/http://www.fin.be.ch/de/index/finanzen/finanzen/publikationen/wohnbevoelkerung.html |date=2012-02-15 }} {{in lang|de}} accessed 4 January 2012</ref> Over the last 10 years (2000-2010) the population has changed at a rate of -5%. Migration accounted for 0.5%, while births and deaths accounted for 1%.<ref name=SFSO>[http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/en/index/regionen/02/key.html Swiss Federal Statistical Office] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105172441/http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/en/index/regionen/02/key.html |date=2016-01-05 }} accessed 02-September-2012</ref>
Most of the population ({{as of|2000|lc=on}}) speaks German (189 or 97.9%) as their first language, with one person each speaking French or Dutch.<ref name=STAT2000/>
{{as of|2008}}, the population was 51.3% male and 48.7% female. The population was made up of 95 Swiss men (49.2% of the population) and 4 (2.1%) non-Swiss men. There were 93 Swiss women (48.2%) and 1 (0.5%) non-Swiss women.<ref name="BE_Stat"/> Of the population in the municipality, 55 or about 28.5% were born in Hellsau and lived there in 2000. There were 93 or 48.2% who were born in the same canton, while 37 or 19.2% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 7 or 3.6% were born outside of Switzerland.<ref name=STAT2000/>
{{as of|2010}}, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 61.1% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.5%.<ref name=SFSO/>
{{as of|2000}}, there were 85 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 92 married individuals, 10 widows or widowers and 6 individuals who are divorced.<ref name=STAT2000>[http://www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch/Database/German_40%20-%20Eidgen%C3%B6ssische%20Volksz%C3%A4hlung/40.3%20-%202000/40.3%20-%202000.asp?lang=1&prod=40&secprod=3&openChild=true STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409212530/http://www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch/Database/German_40%20-%20Eidgen%C3%B6ssische%20Volksz%C3%A4hlung/40.3%20-%202000/40.3%20-%202000.asp?lang=1&prod=40&secprod=3&openChild=true |date=2014-04-09 }} {{in lang|de}} accessed 2 February 2011</ref>
{{as of|2000}}, there were 12 households that consist of only one person and 8 households with five or more people. {{as of|2000|alt=In 2000}}, a total of 66 apartments (95.7% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 1 apartment was seasonally occupied and 2 apartments (2.9%) were empty.<ref name=Housing>[http://www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch/Database/German_09%20-%20Bau-%20und%20Wohnungswesen/09.2%20-%20Geb%C3%A4ude%20und%20Wohnungen/09.2%20-%20Geb%C3%A4ude%20und%20Wohnungen.asp?lang=1&prod=09&secprod=2&openChild=true Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB - Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 - Gebäude und Wohnungen] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907111534/http://www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch/Database/German_09%20-%20Bau-%20und%20Wohnungswesen/09.2%20-%20Geb%C3%A4ude%20und%20Wohnungen/09.2%20-%20Geb%C3%A4ude%20und%20Wohnungen.asp?lang=1&prod=09&secprod=2&openChild=true |date=2014-09-07 }} {{in lang|de}} accessed 28 January 2011</ref> {{as of|2010}}, the construction rate of new housing units was 5.2 new units per 1000 residents.<ref name=SFSO/> The vacancy rate for the municipality, {{as of|2011|alt=in 2011}}, was 1.3%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:<ref name=HDS>{{HDS|245|Hellsau}}</ref><ref>[http://www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch/Database/German_40%20-%20Eidgen%C3%B6ssische%20Volksz%C3%A4hlung/40.4%20-%201850-2000/40.4%20-%201850-2000.asp?lang=1&prod=40&secprod=4&openChild=true Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB Bevölkerungsentwicklung nach Region, 1850-2000] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140930162751/http://www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch/Database/German_40%20-%20Eidgen%C3%B6ssische%20Volksz%C3%A4hlung/40.4%20-%201850-2000/40.4%20-%201850-2000.asp?lang=1&prod=40&secprod=4&openChild=true |date=2014-09-30 }} {{in lang|de}} accessed 29 January 2011</ref> <timeline> Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width:1020 height:210 PlotArea = top:10 left:100 bottom:50 right:100 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:220 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:40 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:8 start:0 PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1764 from:start till:89 text:"89" bar:1850 from:start till:216 text:"216" bar:1860 from:start till:214 text:"214" bar:1870 from:start till:218 text:"218" bar:1880 from:start till:178 text:"178" bar:1888 from:start till:186 text:"186" bar:1900 from:start till:210 text:"210" bar:1910 from:start till:155 text:"155" bar:1920 from:start till:198 text:"198" bar:1930 from:start till:163 text:"163" bar:1941 from:start till:169 text:"169" bar:1950 from:start till:178 text:"178" bar:1960 from:start till:139 text:"139" bar:1970 from:start till:138 text:"138" bar:1980 from:start till:159 text:"159" bar:1990 from:start till:150 text:"150" bar:2000 from:start till:193 text:"193" </timeline>
==Economy== thumb|Small restaurant and hotel in Hellsau {{as of|2011|In 2011}}, Hellsau had an unemployment rate of 0.08%. {{as of|2008}}, there were a total of 128 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 23 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 6 businesses involved in this sector. 83 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 5 businesses in this sector. 22 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 5 businesses in this sector.<ref name=SFSO/>
{{as of|2008|alt=In 2008}} there were a total of 112 full-time equivalent jobs. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 16, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 79 of which 3 or (3.8%) were in manufacturing and 77 (97.5%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 17. In the tertiary sector; 4 or 23.5% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 4 or 23.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 5 or 29.4% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 23.5% were in education.<ref>[http://www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch/Database/German_06%20-%20Industrie%20und%20Dienstleistungen/06.2%20-%20Unternehmen/06.2%20-%20Unternehmen.asp?lang=1&prod=06&secprod=2&openChild=true Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB Betriebszählung: Arbeitsstätten nach Gemeinde und NOGA 2008 (Abschnitte), Sektoren 1-3] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225013454/http://www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch/Database/German_06%20-%20Industrie%20und%20Dienstleistungen/06.2%20-%20Unternehmen/06.2%20-%20Unternehmen.asp?lang=1&prod=06&secprod=2&openChild=true |date=2014-12-25 }} {{in lang|de}} accessed 28 January 2011</ref>
{{as of|2000|alt=In 2000}}, there were 84 workers who commuted into the municipality and 63 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.3 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving.<ref name=commuter>[https://archive.today/20120804043150/http://www.media-stat.admin.ch/stat/pendler/pop.php Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb] {{in lang|de}} accessed 24 June 2010</ref> Of the working population, 10.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 55.7% used a private car.<ref name=SFSO/>
==Religion== From the {{as of|2000|alt=2000 census}}, 10 or 5.2% were Roman Catholic, while 156 or 80.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 18 individuals (or about 9.33% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 2 (or about 1.04% of the population) who were Islamic. 16 (or about 8.29% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist.<ref name=STAT2000/>
==Education== In Hellsau about 81 or (42.0%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 24 or (12.4%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a ''Fachhochschule''). Of the 24 who completed tertiary schooling, 75.0% were Swiss men, 20.8% were Swiss women.<ref name=STAT2000/>
The Canton of Bern school system provides one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten, 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 an apprenticeship.<ref>{{Cite report |title=Kantonale Schulstrukturen in der Schweiz und im Fürstentum Liechtenstein / Structures Scolaires Cantonales en Suisse et Dans la Principauté du Liechtenstein |url= http://edudoc.ch/record/35128/files/Schulsystem_alle.pdf |author= EDK/CDIP/IDES |year= 2010 |accessdate= 24 June 2010 }}</ref>
During the 2009-10 school year, there were a total of 31 students attending classes in Hellsau. There were no kindergarten classes in the municipality. The municipality had 2 primary classes and 31 students.<ref name=School>[http://www.erz.be.ch/erz/de/index/direktion/organisation/generalsekretariat/statistik/schul-_und_gemeindetabellen.html Schuljahr 2010/11 pdf document] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602073606/http://www.erz.be.ch/erz/de/index/direktion/organisation/generalsekretariat/statistik/schul-_und_gemeindetabellen.html |date=2012-06-02 }}{{in lang|de}} accessed 4 January 2012</ref>
{{as of|2000}}, there were 15 students in Hellsau who came from another municipality, while 11 residents attended schools outside the municipality.<ref name=commuter/>
==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{HDS|245|Hellsau}}
{{Municipalities of the administrative district of Emmental}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Municipalities of the canton of Bern