Erlenbach () 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
Meilen
Meilen is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
History
Archaeological finds in Meilen date back more than 4,000 years. In January 1854 the level of lake Zürich was particularly low and the locals ...
in the
canton of
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
in
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 ...
.
History
Erlenbach is first mentioned in 981 as ''Liber Heremi'' though this identification is questionable. Between 1173-90 it was mentioned as ''Erlibach''.
[
Archeological digs have shown that there were settlements in Erlenbach more than 5,000 years ago. During ]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 letter ...
times an important road passed through what is now Erlenbach. The Alemanni
The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes
*
*
*
on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...
settled in this village in the 6th century. In 981 the name ''Erlibach'' was first mentioned when the monastery of Einsiedeln
Einsiedeln () is a municipality and district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century.
History Early history
There was no permanent settlement in the area p ...
acquired the land. Around 1400 the city of Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
bought the land. Two castles ''Balp'' and ''Dachsberg'' are mentioned in old writings, but there is no evidence left.
On 6 October 1445 a small battle (''Schlacht bey Ehrlibach'') took place in Erlenbach. Troops from Zürich defeated wine thieves. In 1798 the village housed in turn French, Austrian, Russian, and eventually again French troops.
Until the middle of the 19th century, Erlenbach remained a small village with less than 1000 inhabitants, mainly engaged in wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
growing. In 1835 the first school was built, but it had just two classrooms.
After World War II the village was very sought after and the population grew dramatically.
Geography
Erlenbach has an area of . Of this area, 25.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 26.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 47% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.7%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[ housing and buildings made up 37% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (10.1%).][ Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 0.3% of the area. 46.3% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.][
It is located on the north bank of the ]lake of Zürich
__NOTOC__
Lake Zurich ( Swiss German/ Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used ...
, opposite Thalwil
Thalwil is a municipality and town in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. In addition to the town of Thalwil, the municipality includes the village of Gattikon.
History
Thalwil is first mentioned around 1030 as ''Talw ...
. The village is located on the Erlen stream (''Erlen Bach'') and along the Zürich-Rapperswil
Rapperswil ( Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dia ...
road. It includes the village and the outlying sections of Wyden, Winkel, Isler, Bindschädler and Lerchenberg.
Demographics
Erlenbach has a population (as of ) of . , 17.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. the gender distribution of the population was 47.8% male and 52.2% female. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 19.5%. Most of the population () speaks German (86.3%), with English being second most common ( 2.8%) and Italian being third ( 2.7%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the FDP which received 30.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (27.9%), the SPS
SPS may refer to:
Law and government
* Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the WTO
* NATO Science for Peace and Security
* Single Payment Scheme, an EU agricultural subsidy
* The Standard Procurement System, fo ...
(16.1%) and the CSP (10.1%).
The age distribution of the population () is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 20.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62.2% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.4%. About 82.3% 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 ...
''). There are 2041 households in Erlenbach.[
Erlenbach has an unemployment rate of 1.59%. , there were 60 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 10 businesses involved in this sector. 204 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 33 businesses in this sector. 1131 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 227 businesses in this sector.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
accessed 10-Aug-2009 50% of the working population were employed full-time, and 50% were employed part-time.
accessed 4 August 2009
there were 1419 Catholics
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 ...
and 2146 Protestants
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
in Erlenbach. In the 2000 census, religion was broken down into several smaller categories. From the , 47% were some type of Protestant, with 45.9% belonging 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 ...
and 1.1% belonging to other Protestant churches. 29.2% of the population were Catholic. Of the rest of the population, 0% were Muslim, 5.4% belonged to another religion (not listed), 2.4% did not give a religion, and 15.7% were atheist or agnostic.[
The historical population is given in the following table:]
Transportation
The development of a railway link between Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
and Rapperswil
Rapperswil ( Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dia ...
had a great impact on the village. Bit by bit the village turned from an agricultural village to part of Zürich's agglomeration. There are two stations within the municipality, Erlenbach ZH station and Winkel am Zürichsee station. Both are stops of the S-Bahn Zürich
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...
on the lines S6 and S16. Tourist boat trips, run by the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft
The ''Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft'' or Lake Zürich Navigation Company (commonly abbreviated to ZSG) is a public Swiss company operating passenger ships and boats on Lake Zürich.
The company operates services connecting lake-side towns ...
, also sail from Zürich and Rapperswil.
Cultural Heritage
Located on ''Zürichsee'' lakeshore, Erlenbach–Winkel
Erlenbach–Winkel is one of the 111 serial sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', of which are 56 located in Switzerland.
Geography
The site is located on ''Zürichsee'' lakeshore in Winkel, a lo ...
is part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', and the settlement is also listed in the as a ''Class object''. Because the lake has grown in size over time, the original piles are now around to under the water level of .
References
{{Authority control
Municipalities of the canton of Zürich
Populated places on Lake Zurich