Country Switzerland District Neuchâtel SFOS number 6461 Population 4,799 (Dec 2008) Postal code 2074 | Canton Neuchâtel Elevation 450 m (1,480 ft) Area 5.44 km² Local time Friday 12:12 PM | |
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Surrounded by Cudrefin (VD), Gampelen (BE), Ins (BE), Saint-Blaise, Thielle-Wavre Weather 13°C, Wind E at 10 km/h, 57% Humidity | ||
La Tène ([la tɛn]) is a municipality in the district of Neuchâtel in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel. On 1 January 2009, the former municipalities of Marin-Epagnier and Thielle-Wavre merged to form the new municipality of La Tène.
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The La Tène municipality is named for La Tène, a village formerly in the Marin-Epagnier municipality, notable as the eponymous site of the Iron Age archaeological La Tène culture.
Geography
La Tène has an area, as of 2009, of 5.4 square kilometers (2.1 sq mi). Of this area, 2.65 km2 (1.02 sq mi) or 48.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.45 km2 (0.17 sq mi) or 8.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2 km2 (1 sq mi) or 36.8% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.21 km2 (0.08 sq mi) or 3.9% is either rivers or lakes and 0.13 km2 (32.12 acres) or 2.4% is unproductive land.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 6.1% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 14.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 11.9%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 3.9%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 41.9% is used for growing crops and 3.3% is pastures, while 3.5% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.2% is in lakes and 3.7% is in rivers and streams.
It is located at the northeastern tip of Lake Neuchâtel at an elevation of 455 meters, and, as of December 2015, a population of 4,929 people. It lies close to Biel/Bienne, at the boundary between French- and German-speaking regions, and at a knot of highways.
Demographics
La Tène has a population (as of December 2015) of 4,929. As of 2008, 26.0% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 16.7%. It has changed at a rate of 12.1% due to migration and at a rate of 3.2% due to births and deaths.
Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks French (81.6%) as their first language, German is the second most common (7.2%) and Italian is the third (3.8%).
As of 2008, the population was 49.2% male and 50.8% female. The population was made up of 1,740 Swiss men (36.1% of the population) and 634 (13.1%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,871 Swiss women (38.8%) and 578 (12.0%) non-Swiss women.
As of 2000, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 64.2% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 11.4%.
The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010, was 0.1%.
Heritage sites of national significance
The Clinique De Préfargier, Maison De Santé and Les Bourguignonnes-les-Perveuils in Marin-Epagnier, the La Tène culture settlement and the Les marais d‘Epagnier prehistoric and medieval sites are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The Préfargier, Montmirail and Cité Martini areas are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
Economy
As of 2010, La Tène had an unemployment rate of 5.6%. As of 2008, there were 47 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 14 businesses involved in this sector. 1,167 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 60 businesses in this sector. 2,867 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 198 businesses in this sector.
Of the working population, 15.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 55.2% used a private car.