Gorgier

Gorgier is a former municipality in the district of Boudry in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.

[3] Gorgier has an area, as of 2009[update], of 14 square kilometers (5.4 sq mi).

[4] The municipality is located in the Boudry district, on a hill above Lake Neuchatel.

It consists of the village of Gorgier, the hamlets of Chez-le-Bart and the farm houses of Les Prises on Lake Neuchatel.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per pale Gules and Argent, a Rose counterchanged.

[8] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks French (1,530 or 86.2%) as their first language, German is the second most common (97 or 5.5%) and Italian is the third (39 or 2.2%).

[8] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][12] The Castle, the Gallo-Roman settlement at La Béroche and a prehistoric lake shore settlement are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.

Some stone axes, antler ax handles and pottery fragments have been discovered.

In the federal election, a total of 711 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 55.3%.

[8] There were 889 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 39.8% of the workforce.

The number of jobs in the primary sector was 41, of which 38 were in agriculture, 1 was in forestry or lumber production and 1 was in fishing or fisheries.

In the tertiary sector; 24 or 11.5% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 8 or 3.8% were in the movement and storage of goods, 29 or 13.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 1.0% were in the information industry, 11 or 5.3% were the insurance or financial industry, 12 or 5.7% were technical professionals or scientists, 72 or 34.4% were in education.

[8] From the 2000 census[update], 452 or 25.5% were Roman Catholic, while 821 or 46.3% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

Gorgier castle and Lake Neuchatel
Aerial view (1949)