Aadorf is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the district of Münchwilen in the canton of

Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. In 1996 Ettenhausen, Guntershausen bei Aadorf, and Wittenwil merged into Aadorf.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 14 January 2010

History

Aadorf is first mentioned in 886 as ''Ahadorf''. The oldest record of Tänikon, now part of Ettenhausen, dates to 789 as ''Tanninchova''. Tänikon is also the site of the Tänikon monastery, founded in the 13th century. Aawangen is first mentioned in 844 as ''Oninwanc''. Ettenhausen is first mentioned in 1278 as ''Oetenhuse''. Guntershausen bei Aadorf is first mentioned in 1282 as ''Gundolthuser tal''. On 6 April 1358 the brothers Herman and Beringer ''von Landenberg'' and Hermann von Landenberg donated the church of Aadorf to the

Rüti Abbey Rüti, which comes from the Old High German word , meaning " clearing", is a popular name for towns in the German speaking part of Switzerland. It can refer to the following: *Rüti, Glarus in Glarus *Rüti, Zürich in Zürich *:Rüti Reformed Chu ...

. The territory of the municipality was enlarged in 1996, when it absorbed the neighboring municipalities of

Aawangen Aawangen is a village and former municipality in the district of Frauenfeld in the canton of Thurgau, Switzerland. It was probably first recorded in 844 as ''Oninwanc''. The municipality also contained the villages Bürg, Friedtal, Huzenwil, M ...

Ettenhausen Ettenhausen is a village and former municipality in the district of Frauenfeld in the canton of Thurgau, Switzerland. It was first recorded in 1278 as ''Oetenhusen''. The municipality also contained the village Iltishausen. It had 321 inhabitant ...

Guntershausen bei Aadorf Guntershausen bei Aadorf is a village and former municipality in the district of Frauenfeld in the canton of Thurgau, Switzerland. It was first recorded in 1282 as ''Gundolthuser tal''. The municipality also contained the villages Maischhausen, ...

, and

Wittenwil Wittenwil is a village and former municipality in the district of Frauenfeld in the canton of Thurgau, Switzerland. In 1996 the municipality was incorporated and divided into the municipalities Aadorf and Wängi Wängi is a municipality in the ...

. As of 2008, it was the canton's seventh largest municipality. Graves from the

Hallstatt period The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western Europe, Western and Central European Archaeological culture, culture of Late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe ...

were discovered near Elgg and west of Bruggwingert. The ''Bachwiesen'' archeological site has yielded scattered finds from the

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

and Roman eras. The Church (current building from 1863 to 1865) was founded in 840 by the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

, and in 886 it was mentioned as the principal church of the Counts of Linzgau. The nearby older cemetery at Sonnhalde dates from the 7th and 8th centuries. In 890, Count Udalrich IV established a clerical community that was affiliated with the church, for the care of his burial place. But by 894/895 this community had already transferred to the

Abbey of St. Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall (german: Abtei St. Gallen) is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot ...

. The right to appoint the priest, was acquired by the Lords of Bernegg before 1304. In 1318, these rights transferred to Hermann of Hohenlandenberg-Greifensee, in 1349-50 they went to Rüti monastery and after the monastery's secularization in 1525 the rights went to Zurich. After 1427, the dividing line between the territorial boundary of the counties of Kyburg and Thurgau (now the border between Canton Zurich, Thurgau) ran through the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Aadorf. During the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...

the dominant landlord in Aadorf was the Abbey of St. Gallen. In 1413 the Abbey had to sell all their rights, except for the

low justice High, middle and low justices are notions dating from Western feudalism to indicate descending degrees of judicial power to administer justice by the maximal punishment the holders could inflict upon their subjects and other dependents. Low just ...

rights in Tänikon Monastery, to other landholders. In 1528-29, the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

was introduced in Aadorf. As part of the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

Tänikon Monastery expanded. During the wave of secularization that followed the

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (, , ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

, much of the monastery's land was nationalized. After 1804, they were virtually forbidden to accept any new

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

s. The Thurgau Cantonal Constitution of 1831 placed all the monastery's assets under state control. In 1836, the canton appointed a trustee and sold the monastery lands. In 1848 the Grand Council of Thurgau dissolved the monastery and took over the buildings. Two years later, 1850, they sold the monastery and chapel to the Planta family and the Tänikon

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. The monastery was sold in 1936 to Otto Zuber and in 1969 it was taken over by the new ''Eidgenosenschaft Forschungsanstalt für Betriebswirtschaft und Landtechnik'' (Swiss Federal Institute of Business and Agriculture). In 2006 it became the ''Agrotechnorama'' Tänikon.

Geography

Aadorf has an area, , of . Of this area, or 52.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 28.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 19.2% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.4% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.4% is unproductive land.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics
2018 data accessed 26 July 2020 Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 12.6% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 1.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.7%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 0.7%. Out of the forested land, 27.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 50.5% is used for growing crops, while 2.0% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. The municipality is located in the Frauenfeld district, between

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...

and

Wil Wil () is the capital of the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Wil is the third largest city in the Canton of St. Gallen, after the city of St. Gallen and Rapperswil-Jona, a twin city that merged in ...

( SG) along the Lützelmurg. It consists of the villages of Aadorf, Aawangen, Ettenhausen, Guntershausen bei Aadorf and Wittenwil.

Demographics

Aadorf has a population () of . , 14.2% of the population are foreign nationals.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Superweb database - Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008
accessed 19 June 2010 Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 6%. Most of the population () speaks

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

(91.2%), with

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

being second most common ( 2.5%) and

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

being third ( 2.0%).Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 14-September-2010 , the gender distribution of the population was 49.7% male and 50.3% female. The population was made up of 3,294 Swiss men (42.1% of the population), and 596 (7.6%) non-Swiss men. There were 3,427 Swiss women (43.8%), and 515 (6.6%) non-Swiss women. In there were 60 live births to Swiss citizens and 9 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 56 deaths of Swiss citizens and 5 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 4 while the foreign population increased by 4. There were 3 Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland to another country, 5 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country, 43 non-Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland to another country and 35 non-Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources) was an increase of 177 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 56 people. This represents a

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

of 3.1%. The age distribution, , in Aadorf is; 779 children or 9.8% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,041 teenagers or 13.0% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 1,010 people or 12.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 983 people or 12.3% are between 30 and 39, 1,351 people or 16.9% are between 40 and 49, and 1,224 people or 15.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 833 people or 10.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 484 people or 6.1% are between 70 and 79, there are 237 people or 3.0% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 38 people or 0.5% who are 90 and older. , there were 2,933 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. there were 1,181 single family homes (or 81.4% of the total) out of a total of 1,451 inhabited buildings. There were 99 two family buildings (6.8%), 42 three family buildings (2.9%) and 129 multi-family buildings (or 8.9%). There were 1,642 (or 22.5%) persons who were part of a couple without children, and 4,032 (or 55.2%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 439 (or 6.0%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 33 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 33 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 47 who lived in a household made up of unrelated persons, and 174 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.21%. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.3 new units per 1000 residents. there were 3,090 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the four-room apartment of which there were 797. There were 90 single-room apartments and 564 apartments with six or more rooms.Statistical Office of Thurgau
, MS Excel document - ''Wohnungen nach Anzahl Zimmer und Gemeinden, Jahr 2000'' accessed 24 June 2010 the average price to rent an average apartment in Aadorf was 1048.91

Swiss franc The Swiss franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the f ...

s (CHF) per month (US$840, £470, €670 approx. exchange rate from 2000). The average rate for a one-room apartment was 514.48 CHF (US$410, £230, €330), a two-room apartment was about 751.73 CHF (US$600, £340, €480), a three-room apartment was about 923.69 CHF (US$740, £420, €590) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1567.37 CHF (US$1250, £710, €1000). The average apartment price in Aadorf was 94.0% of the national average of 1116 CHF. In the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

the most popular party was the SVP which received 41.73% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (18.74%), the SP (10.78%) and the FDP (10.01%). In the federal election, a total of 2,449 votes were cast, and the

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...

was 46.4%. The historical population is given in the following table:

Heritage sites of national significance

The ''Agrotechnorama'' Tänikon and the former monastery church of St Bernhard are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The former

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monastery of Tänikon, which included the Church of St Bernhard, was first mentioned in 1247. During the 15th and 16th centuries, portions of the monastery were demolished and later a road was built through the

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

. The monastery buildings eventually became a federal agricultural research facility, the ''Agrotechnorama'' Tänikon. The former monastery church includes a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

and

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

by Johann Josef Mosbrugger from 1830 to 1831.

Economy

, Aadorf had an unemployment rate of 1.64%. , there were 181 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 56 businesses involved in this sector. 1,172 people are employed in the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construction. ...

and there are 93 businesses in this sector. 1,351 people are employed in the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

, with 233 businesses in this sector. there were 5,189 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 2,419 or about 46.6% of the residents worked outside Aadorf while 1,406 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 4,176 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 15.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 48.1% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 3,014 or 41.3% were

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, while 2,892 or 39.6% belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...

. Of the rest of the population, there were 2 Old Catholics (or about 0.03% of the population) who belonged to the

Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is an Old Catholic denomination in Switzerland. This denomination is part of the Union of Utrecht (Old Catholic). Recent developments In 1871 the Zürich Catholic community planned to build a chu ...

there are 66 individuals (or about 0.90% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 242 individuals (or about 3.31% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and 382 (or about 5.23% of the population) who are

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic. There are 17 individuals (or about 0.23% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 502 (or about 6.88% of the population) belong to no church, are

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 183 individuals (or about 2.51% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

In Aadorf about 75% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a ''

Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts ...

'').

Crime

In 2014 the crime rate, of the over 200 crimes listed in the

Swiss Criminal Code , french: Code pénal suisse (CP), it, Codice penale svizzero (CP), rm, Cudesch penal svizzer , citation = , territorial_extent = Switzerland , enacted_by = Federal Assembly of Switzerland , date_enacted = 20 Decemb ...

(running from murder, robbery and assault to accepting bribes and election fraud), in Aadorf was 33 per thousand residents. This rate is only 74.3% of the cantonal rate and 51.1% of the average rate in the entire country. During the same period, the rate of drug crimes was 2.4 per thousand residents. This rate is lower than average, at only 33.8% of the rate in the district, 50.0% of the cantonal rate and is only 24.2% of the national rate. The rate of violations of immigration, visa and work permit laws was 0.4 per thousand residents. This rate is lower than average at only 13.8% of the rate in the canton and 8.2% of the rate for the entire country.Statistical Atlas of Switzerland
accessed 5 April 2016

Climate

Aadorf has either an

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

or a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

. Aadorf has an average of 134.5 days of precipitation per year and on average receives of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

. The wettest month is June during which time Aadorf receives an average of of rain or snow. During this month there are 12.1 days with precipitation. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 12.7, but with only of precipitation. The driest month of the year is February with an average of of precipitation over 10.0 days.