Merishausen 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 canton of

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...

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

Merishausen is first mentioned in 846 as ''Morinishusun''.

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 vis ...

of the municipal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

is ''Azure a Mullet Or.''

Geography

Merishausen has an area, , of . Of this area, 30.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 65.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.9% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.2%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). The municipality is located in the Schaffhausen district on the

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 ...

border. It is located on the Durach river along an important trade route between southern Germany and Switzerland.

Demographics

Merishausen has a population () of 779, of which 10.0% are foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (), 50% are from Germany, 10.9% are from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and 39.1% are from another country.Statistical Office of the Canton of Schaffhausen
accessed 2 December 2009 Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 7.4%. Most of the population () speaks German (97.0%), with English being second most common ( 1.1%) and Italian being third ( 0.6%).
accessed 16-December-2009 The age distribution of the population () is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 61.2% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.7%. 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 56% of the vote. The next two most popular parties were the SP (22.8%), and the FDP (21.2%) . In Merishausen about 78.2% 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 ...

''). In Merishausen, , 2.34% of the population attend

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

or another pre-school, 7.72% attend a

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 ...

, 2.48% attend a lower level Secondary School, and 2.76% attend a higher level Secondary School. , 14.1% of the population belonged to the

Roman Catholic Church 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 74.2% 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 ...

. The historical population is given in the following table:

Economy

Merishausen has an unemployment rate of 0.38%. , there were 58 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 20 businesses involved in this sector. 29 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 7 businesses in this sector. 54 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 19 businesses in this sector. the mid year average unemployment rate was 0.5%. There were 35 non-agrarian businesses in the municipality and 16.2% of the (non-agrarian) population was involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 83.8% were involved in the third. At the same time, 49.6% of the working population was employed full-time, and 50.4% was employed part-time. There were 117 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 49.6% of the workforce. there were 67 residents who worked in the municipality, while 246 residents worked outside Merishausen and 34 people commuted into the municipality for work. , there are 3 restaurants in the village and the hospitality industry in Merishausen employs 9 people.

Heritage sites of national significance

The ''Pfarrscheune'' or parish

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the vi ...

on the ''Kirchgasse'' is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance
21.11.2008 version, accessed 16-Dec-2009 The village church was built in 1838 on the site of the earlier, first mentioned in 846, St. Martins Church. The nearby tithing barn was built in 1560, and today is a farm house.

Weather

Merishausen has an average of 130.1 days of rain or snow 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 Merishausen receives an average of of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 11.7 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 12.6, but with only of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is September with an average of of precipitation over 11.7 days., the weather station elevation is 525 meters above sea level.

References

{{Authority control Municipalities of the canton of Schaffhausen Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Schaffhausen