Beggingen

Aerial view (1948)

Beggingen is first mentioned in 1278 as Beggingen. Later it was known as Beckingen and Böckingen.[3]

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Vert two Ploughshares in pale touching in point.[4]

Beggingen has an area, as of 2006, of 12.6 km² (4.9 sq mi). Of this area, 50.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 45.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 4.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.2%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[5]

The municipality is located in the Schleitheim district. It is on the border with Germany and is north-east of Schleitheim in a valley on the west foot of the Randen range.

Beggingen has a population (as of 2008) of 512, of which 4.7% are foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (as of 2008), 73.3% are from Germany, 3.3% are from Italy, 6.7% are from Serbia, and 16.7% are from another country.[6] Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -4.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (97.2%), with English being second most common ( 0.8%) and Italian being third ( 0.4%).[5]

The age distribution of the population (as of 2008) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 26.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 57.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.2%.[6]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 67.7% of the vote. The next two most popular parties were the SP (17.2%), and the FDP (15.2%) .[5]

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Beggingen about 81.2% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).[5] In Beggingen, as of 2007, 2.36% of the population is attending kindergarten or another pre-school, 9.25% are attending a Primary School, 5.71% attend a lower level Secondary School, and 3.74% attend a higher level Secondary School.[6]

As of 2000, 10% of the population belonged to the Roman Catholic Church and 81.2% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.[6]

The historical population is given in the following table:[3]

Beggingen has an unemployment rate of 0.42%. As of 2005, there were 73 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 29 businesses involved in this sector. 17 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 7 businesses in this sector. 68 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 13 businesses in this sector.[5]

As of 2008 the mid year average unemployment rate was 1%. There were 20 non-agrarian businesses in the municipality and 31.9% of the (non-agrarian) population was involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 68.1% were involved in the third. At the same time, 73.6% of the working population was employed full-time, and 26.4% was employed part-time. There were 72 residents of the municipality were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 25% of the workforce. As of 2000 there were 83 residents who worked in the municipality, while 140 residents worked outside Beggingen and 18 people commuted into the municipality for work.[6]

As of 2008, there is 1 restaurant. The hospitality industry in Beggingen employs 3 people.[6]

• Beggingen in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

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