Hämikon

Hämikon is a municipality in the district of Hochdorf in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. On 1 January 2009 it became part of the municipality of Hitzkirch.

Hämikon
Former municipality of Switzerland
Coat of arms
Location of Hämikon
Hämikon
Hämikon
Coordinates: 47°14′N 8°17′E
CountrySwitzerland
CantonLucerne
DistrictHochdorf
Area
 • Total4.62 km2 (1.78 sq mi)
Elevation
680 m (2,230 ft)
Population
 (December 2007)
 • Total474
 • Density100/km2 (270/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)
6289
SFOS number1028
Surrounded byAesch, Altwis, Buttwil (AG), Hitzkirch, Müswangen, Schongau, Sulz
Website
Profile (in German), SFSO statistics

History

Hämikon is first mentioned in 924 as Hamminchova.[1]

Geography

Hämikon has an area of 4.6 km2 (1.8 sq mi). Of this area, 66.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 27.4% is forested. The rest of the land, (5.8%) is settled.[2] The municipality is located on the western slope of the Lindenberg mountain. On 21 May 2006 an attempt to merge the Hitzkirch and the surrounding 10 municipalities failed, when five of the eleven voted against the merger.[3] A less ambitious merger was then proposed and accepted, with the municipalities of Gelfingen, Hämikon, Mosen, Müswangen, Retschwil and Sulz joining Hitzkirch.[4]

Demographics

Hämikon has a population (as of 2007) of 474, of which 3.6% are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 11.3%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (97.5%), with Portuguese being second most common ( 0.9%) and Albanian being third ( 0.9%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the CVP which received 34.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (27.8%), the FDP (24%) and the Green Party (5.9%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 33.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.2% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 7.7%. In Hämikon about 70.5% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).

Hämikon has an unemployment rate of 1.16%. As of 2005, there were 69 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 22 businesses involved in this sector. 18 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 42 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 7 businesses in this sector.[2]

The historical population is given in the following table:[1]

year population
1678 304
1850 588
1900 383
1950 351
1960 297
2000 444

References
  1. Hämikon in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  2. Swiss Federal Statistical Office Archived 2011-09-04 at the Wayback Machine accessed 18-Aug-2009
  3. "Die Fusion im Hitzkirchertal kommt nicht zustande – fünf Gemeinden sagen nein – auch Hitzkirch" (Press release) (in German). Kanton Luzern, Staatskanzlei. 21 May 2006. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  4. Canton of Lucerne, Office of Municipalities Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine (in German) accessed 18 August 2009
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