Épendes (Fribourg)

Geschichte

Épendes is a municipality in the district of Sarine in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. Its former German name was Spinz. In 1977, the former municipality of Sales merged into Épendes.The asteroid 129342 Ependes is named in its honour.HistoryÉpendes is first mentioned in 1142 as Spindes.GeographyÉpendes has an area, of 5.6km2. Of this area, 3.72km2 or 66.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.33km2 or 23.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.58km2 or 10.3% is settled (buildings or roads).Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 6.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.5%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 39.9% is used for growing crops and 25.5% is pastures.The municipality is located in the Sarine district. It consists of the village of Épendes, the hamlet of Le Petit-Épendes, and, since 1977, the village of Sales.Coat of armsThe blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure on a chief Or a Cross pattee couped of the first and overall in bend a lance Argent with a Flag Gules.DemographicsÉpendes has a population of., 8.5% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 3.4%. Migration accounted for -2.3%, while births and deaths accounted for 5.2%.