Guntmadingen

Aerial view (1964)

Guntmadingen is first mentioned in 1111 as Guntrammingin, though this comes from a 12th-century forgery. In 1122 it was mentioned as Guntramingin.[2]

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per pale Gules a Dove Argent statant on a Cross patte sable regardant to sinister holding in the beak a branch Vert and of the last a Garb Or.[3]

Before the merger, Guntmadingen had a total area of 4.6 km² (1.8 sq mi).[4] Of this area, 37.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 56.7% is forested. The rest of the land, (5.5%) is settled.[4]

The municipality is located in the Oberklettgau district. The farming municipality is located at the foot of the Lauferberg and includes a high, forested region.

Guntmadingen had a population (as of 2010) of 237.[4] In 2008 a total of 5.6% were foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (as of 2008), 35.7% are from Germany, 14.3% are from Italy, and 50% are from another country.[5] Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 4.7%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (97.3%), with Swedish being second most common ( 0.8%) and English being third ( 0.4%).[4]

The age distribution of the population (as of 2008) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 14.9%.[5]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 65.1% of the vote. The next two most popular parties were the SP (21.3%), and the FDP (13.6%) .[4]

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Guntmadingen about 77.1% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).[4] In Guntmadingen, as of 2007, 2.86% of the population attend kindergarten or another pre-school, 8.98% attend a Primary School, 2.45% attend a lower level Secondary School, and 3.27% attend a higher level Secondary School.[5]

As of 2000, 10.1% of the population belonged to the Roman Catholic Church and 77.1% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.[5]

The historical population is given in the following table:[2]

Guntmadingen has an unemployment rate of 0.73%. As of 2005, there were 43 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 15 businesses involved in this sector. 9 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 4 businesses in this sector. 8 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 4 businesses in this sector.[4]

As of 2008 the mid year average unemployment rate was 0.6%. There were 8 non-agrarian businesses in the municipality and 40% of the (non-agrarian) population was involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 60% were involved in the third. At the same time, 55% of the working population was employed full-time, and 45% was employed part-time. There were 20 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 35% of the workforce. As of 2000 there were 39 residents who worked in the municipality, while 84 residents worked outside Guntmadingen and 15 people commuted into the municipality for work.[5]

As of 2008, there is 1 restaurant and the hospitality industry in Guntmadingen employs 4 people.[5]

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