Höfen, Thun

Höfen
Former municipality
Coat of arms
Location of Höfen
Höfen Show map of Switzerland Höfen Show map of Canton of Bern
Coordinates: 46°43′N 7°33′E / 46.717°N 7.550°E / 46.717; 7.550
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Thun
Area
• Total	4.62 km2 (1.78 sq mi)
Elevation	705 m (2,313 ft)
Highest elevation (Stockbeissern)	833 m (2,733 ft)
Lowest elevation (Amsoldingersee)	641 m (2,103 ft)
Population  (Dec 2011)
• Total	444
• Density	96/km2 (250/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)	3631
SFOS number	0930
ISO 3166 code	CH-BE
Surrounded by	Niederstocken, Oberstocken, Reutigen, Zwieselberg, Amsoldingen, Übeschi and Pohlern
Website	www.hoefen.ch SFSO statistics

Höfen is a former municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Höfen, Niederstocken and Oberstocken merged into the new municipality of Stocken-Höfen.^[1]

Before the merger, Höfen had a total area of 4.6 km² (1.8 sq mi).^[2] Of this area, 3.42 km² (1.32 sq mi) or 74.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.74 km² (0.29 sq mi) or 16.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.27 km² (0.10 sq mi) or 5.9% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.1 km² (25 acres) or 2.2% is either rivers or lakes and 0.08 km² (20 acres) or 1.7% is unproductive land.^[3]

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.8%. 14.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 23.9% is used for growing crops and 48.2% is pastures, while 2.2% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in lakes. Of the unproductive areas, 1.7% is unproductive vegetation.^[3]

The lake Uebeschisee is located partially in the former municipality.

Höfen had a population (as of 2011) of 444.^[2] As of 2007^[update], 2.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -3.5%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (98.7%), with French being second most common ( 0.3%) and Rhaeto-romance being third ( 0.3%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 49.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Green Party (12.3%), the SPS (11.6%) and the local small left-wing parties (10.7%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 29.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 11.3%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Höfen about 77.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Höfen has an unemployment rate of 0.92%. As of 2005^[update], there were 65 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 26 businesses involved in this sector. 9 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 3 businesses in this sector. 56 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 10 businesses in this sector.^[2] The historical population is given in the following table:^[4]

• Official website of the municipality in (in German)
• Höfen, Thun in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.