Bargen is a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland. The northernmost point of the country is situated in the municipality, at Oberbargen. History Bargen is first mentioned in 884 as Paragen. Geography Bargen has an area, , of . Of this area, 29.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 65.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 4.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.2%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). The municipality is located in the Schaffhausen district. It is a farming village on the northernmost point of Switzerland. The municipality includes a notable protected natural area, Tannbüehl, which is known for its over 20 varieties of orchids. Demographics Bargen has a population () of 249, of which 12.4% are foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (), 60% are from Germany, 22.9% are from Italy, 11.4% are from Croatia, and 5.7% are from another country. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -2.1%. Most of the population () speaks German (96.0%), with Italian being second most common ( 1.6%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 1.2%). There is also a small but significant population of Poles. (0.23) The age distribution of the population () is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 18.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 21.3%. In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 65.2% of the vote. The next two most popular parties were the SP (23.7%), and the FDP (11.2%) . The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Bargen about 73.6% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). In Bargen, , 3.86% of the population is attending kindergarten or another pre-school, 8.58% are attending a Primary School, 3.86% attend a lower level Secondary School, and 2.58% attend a higher level Secondary School. , 20.6% of the population belonged to the Roman Catholic Church and 61.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church in Bargen. The historical population is given in the following table: Coat of arms The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Or a Plumb Sable topped with a Hat of the same trimmed Argent feathered Vert, Gules and of the first. Industry Bargen