Boswil 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
Muri in the
canton of
Aargau in
Switzerland.
The village lies in the
Bünztal valley at the foot of the
Lindenberg mountain. The hamlet Wissenbach and Sentenhof (a former estate of the Benedictine
Muri Abbey
Muri Abbey (german: Kloster Muri) is a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. It flourished for over eight centuries at Muri, in the Canton of Aargau, near Zürich, Switzerland. It is currently established as Muri-Gries in Sout ...
) belong to the municipality.
History
During
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
times, between 10000 and 8000
BCE
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
, settlements were first established near the fish-rich
Bünzersee (a small lake). In 1930, a cemetery, dated to have been from between 350-325 BCE, was discovered north of Boswil, and is seen as evidence that the area was occupied by
Celtic peoples during the same time period. Various wall remains of farm estates and mansions from
Roman
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 ...
times lie nearby.
Boswil was first mentioned as ''Bozuuila'' in a document found in the
Grossmünster
The Grossmünster (; "great minster") is a Romanesque-style Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche and St. Peterskirche). Its congregation f ...
church in
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich ...
. Although this document is not dated, recent research places the document's origin between 874 and 887 CE.
Boswil and the surrounding regions were ruled by successions of counts and dukes of the
Habsburgs up until 1379, when they began losing territories to the expanding Swiss Confederates. The lords of
Hallwyl
Hallwil is a municipality in the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
The Castle of Hallwyl is located in the neighboring municipality Seengen.
History
Hallwil is first mentioned in 1167 as ''de Allewilare''. Between ...
maintained control over Boswil from 1380, until it was handed over to the ministrations of Muri Abbey in 1483. Meanwhile, the eight ''Old Cantons'' of the
Old Swiss Confederacy had unified and taken control in 1415, and jointly exercised power in all external affairs.
In 1649, a third of the village was destroyed in a fire. After the
Second War of Villmerger of 1712, the lands of the
Freie Ämter
The Freiamt or ''Freie Ämter'' ( en, Free Office or ''Free Administrative Unit'', though it is not usually translated into English) is a region in Switzerland and is located in the southeast of Canton of Aargau. It comprises the area between th ...
were divided into two parts. One section of the new boundary line, extending west from the church in
Oberlunkhofen
Oberlunkhofen is a municipality in the district of Bremgarten, in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
History
The earliest signs of a settlement in Oberlunkhofen are scattered Bronze Age items. In Schalchmatthau there is the foundation of a ...
to the ''
Hochgericht'' in
Fahrwangen
Fahrwangen is a municipality in the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
History
Prehistorical finds from various Neolithic eras, Roman and Alamanni ruins all testify to a long history of human habitation around Fahrw ...
, passed directly through Boswil, with the northern section under control of the Protestant cantons
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich ...
,
Bern and
Glarus
, neighboring_municipalities= Glarus Nord, Glarus Süd, Muotathal (SZ), Innerthal (SZ)
, twintowns= Wiesbaden-Biebrich (Germany)
}
Glarus (; gsw, Glaris; french: Glaris; it, Glarona; rm, Glaruna) is the capital of the canton of Glarus ...
, and the southern section under control of the catholic cantons. Because of its unique position under the domain of two separate jurisdictions, Boswil's development was constrained. Even with the formation of the
Helvetic Republic in 1798, Boswil remained divided between the
canton of Baden and the newly formed canton of Aargau, until the two cantons were merged in 1803 as the canton of Aargau. Since then, Boswil has been a part of the
Muri district
Muri District is a district in the Swiss Canton of Aargau with the administrative capital of Muri. It covers the central and southern part of Freiamt and has a population of (as of ).
Geography
The Muri district has an area, , of . Of this are ...
.
Industrialization began in 1874, when Boswil became a stop on the
Aargauische Südbahn line from
Aarau to
Muri. From 1870,
peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...
was dug from the Bünzmoos swampland which had resulted from the silting-up of the
Bünzersee. In the 1930s and the 1940s, several peat mining companies came into prominence, and an area comprising over 2 square kilometers was cleared, to a depth of 6 meters. As more factories were built, Boswil developed to an industrial site.
Geography
![Boswil-Panorama vido 139](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Boswil-Panorama_vido_139.jpg)
Boswil has an area, , of . Of this area, or 65.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 21.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 10.9% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.8% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.4% is unproductive land.
[Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics]
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 5.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.7%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 48.3% is used for growing crops and 16.3% is pastures, while 1.2% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.
[
The municipality is located in the Muri district, on the eastern slope of the ''Lindenberg'' in the Bünz river valley. It consists of the village of Boswil.
]
Coat of arms
The blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...
of the municipal coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
is ''Azure a Moon Or increscent with human face.''
Demographics
Boswil has a population () of , 12.9% of the population are foreign nationals.[Statistical Department of Canton Aargau -Bereich 01 -Bevölkerung]
accessed 20 January 2010 Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 1.5%. Most of the population () speaks German (92.2%), with Italian being second most common ( 2.2%) and Albanian being third ( 1.4%).
accessed 23-May-2010
The age distribution, , in Boswil is; 213 children or 9.0% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 284 teenagers or 12.0% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 361 people or 15.2% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 310 people or 13.1% are between 30 and 39, 416 people or 17.5% are between 40 and 49, and 333 people or 14.0% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 223 people or 9.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 147 people or 6.2% are between 70 and 79, there are 70 people or 3.0% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 14 people or 0.6% who are 90 and older.[Statistical Department of Canton Aargau -Bevölkerungsdaten für den Kanton Aargau und die Gemeinden (Archiv)]
accessed 20 January 2010
the average number of residents per living room was 0.55 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.57 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 53.6% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 76 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 364 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 413 homes with 5 or more persons in the household.[ , there were 882 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household.][ there were 395 single family homes (or 38.5% of the total) out of a total of 1,027 homes and apartments.][Statistical Department of Canton Aargau]
accessed 20 January 2010 There were a total of 70 empty apartments for a 6.8% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 8.1 new units per 1000 residents.[
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 ...
the most popular party was the SVP which received 44.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (24.3%), the SP (10.6%) and the Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
(7%).[
The historical population is given in the following table:]
Administration
Legislation
Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...
is exercised by municipality meetings. Implementing this authority is the local council. Its term of office lasts four years, and then the majority choice candidate is selected by the people. The council leads and represents the town. In addition, it carries out the resolutions and tasks of the municipality meetings.
The 5 local councillors are:
* Alois Huber
* Ruedi Return
* Othmar Stoeckli
* Roger Wiesli
* Elmar Mueller
Four levels of law exist, with the district court of Muri being locally responsible. A justice of the peace is shared between the municipalities of Besenbueren, Bettwil
Bettwil () is a municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
History
The first traces of human settlement are some scattered, Roman era artifacts. The modern municipality of Bettwil is first mentioned in 924 as ...
, Bünzen, Kallern
Kallern is a municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
History
Kallern is first mentioned around 1303-08 as ''Kaltherren''. During the Late Middle Ages, the major landowners in Kallern were Muri Abbey and H ...
, Rottenschwil
Rottenschwil is a municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
History
The earliest trace of a human settlement in the area around Rottenschwil, is a Roman era farm. The modern municipality of Rottenschwil is ...
and Waltenschwil.
Heritage sites of national significance
The Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
church of St. Pankraz, the ''Säge Weissenbach'' at Weissenbach 301 and House Nr. 169 on Niesenbergstrasse 6 are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. The entire village of Boswil is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
The former 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 o ...
church of St. Pankraz was built in the 17th Century around a late-gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
tower. In the 18th Century the exterior and interior were redecorated. In 1913 the church was put to profane use
Profane use is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to refer to closed parish churches that will no longer be used as churches. This is often done in preparation to sell the former church building to another party. In this context, ''Profane ...
and since 1953 has served as a concert hall."
Economy
, Boswil had an unemployment rate of 1.21%. , there were 145 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 43 businesses involved in this sector. 334 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 constructi ...
and there are 45 businesses in this sector. 497 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 77 businesses in this sector.[
there were 1,260 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 875 or about 69.4% of the residents worked outside Boswil while 505 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 890 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 9.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 52% used a private car.][
The municipality possesses a considerable number of industrial companies, which are particularly active in the ]construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...
and transportation
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...
industries. This is beside several trade and service enterprises.
Transportation
The main road of Lenzburg-Luzern passes through the middle of the village, and serves as a public traffic route. The Swiss Federal Railways have a station, , on the railway line connecting Aarau and Arth-Goldau
Arth-Goldau railway station (german: Bahnhof Arth-Goldau) is a railway station in the Swiss canton of Schwyz and municipality of Arth. The station is located in the centre of the village of Goldau, which forms part of Arth.
The station is an i ...
.
Schools
Bosvil has a primary and secondary school. The district school is in Muri and the Cantonal school is in Wohlen. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Boswil about 72.5% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a '' Fachhochschule'').[ Of the school age population (), there are 147 students attending ]primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
, there are 126 students attending secondary school in the municipality.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office, list of libraries]
accessed 14 May 2010
Religion
From the , 1,609 or 69.7% 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 let ...
, while 326 or 14.1% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there was 1 individual who belonged to the Christian Catholic faith.[Statistical Department of Canton Aargau - Aargauer Zahlen 2009]
accessed 20 January 2010
Culture
At the end of the 1880s a new church was established, inaugurated on August 24, 1890. The old church, which had become too small, was later sold including the parsonage building. Since that time the old church has, at regular intervals, held cultural high level meetings, some of which received worldwide attention.
The old parsonage building served first as a home for elderly artists, then later as an area for creative art class participants.
References
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Aargau
Cultural property of national significance in Aargau