Richterswil (
Swiss German
Swiss German (Standard German: , gsw, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no defined orthography for any of them, many different spelling ...
: ''Richtischwiil'' ) 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
Horgen
Horgen is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
It is one of the larger towns along the south bank of the Lake of Zurich.
On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Hirzel merged into the municipali ...
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
Richterswil is first mentioned in 1265 as ''Richtliswile''.
[
During the 17th Century, a series of peasant revolts broke out across Switzerland. One of these revolts, the 1645/46 ''Wädenswiler Steueraufstand'' (]Wädenswil
Wädenswil, locally often called ''Wädi'' or ''Wädischwil,'' is a municipality located in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. The population, , was about 21,000. On 1 January 2019 the former municipalities of Hü ...
tax revolt), occurred around Lake Zürich and involved the village of Richterswil. The Richterswiler Weibel Rudolf Goldschmid was one of the leaders of the revolt who was executed in Zürich following the failure of the revolt. During the first Villmergen war (1656) Richterswil was invaded by an army from Schwyz
The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.
The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the '' ...
. During the second Villmergen war, the newly built fortifications above the city, prevented another invasion. Under the French established 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 ...
Richterswil was part of the District of Horgen, and had a higher tax rate than surrounding villages. As part of this higher tax, during the War of the Second Coalition
The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war on revolutionary France by most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, N ...
(1799), it was forced to house French troops. Following the unsuccessful uprising in 1804 ( Bockenkrieg) against Zürich, Richterswil was punished severely.
From 1803 to 1831 it was part of the District of Wädenswil, but since 1831 has belonged to the District of Horgen. Since 1831, Samstagern has been part of the municipality Richterswil. In 1869 the majority of citizens of Richterswil voted against the new democratic cantonal constitution.[
]
Geography
Richterswil has an area of . Of this area, 54.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 7.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 36.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.9%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[ housing and buildings made up 26.4% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (10.2%).] Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 0.5% of the area. 34.8% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.
The northern shore of Hüttnersee
Hüttnersee ("Hüttenerweiher" or "Hüttnerseeli") is a small lake at Hütten in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland. The northern shore is located in Samstagern, a village in the municipality of Richterswil
Richterswil (Swiss German: ''Richtisc ...
is located in the municipality. It is located on the left shore of Lake 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 to ...
. It includes the sections known as Dorf and Berg (which is part of Samstagern
Samstagern is a village in the municipality Richterswil in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland. Hüttnersee is located in the village.
Demographics
The population is about 2,851 with a rapidly increasing trend. Sams ...
village).
Demographics
Richterswil has a population (as of ) of . , 17.6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. the gender distribution of the population was 49% male and 51% female. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 18.7%. Most of the population () speaks German (89.0%), with Italian being second most common ( 2.9%) and English being third ( 1.8%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 34.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were 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 ...
(17.4%), the FDP (15%) and the CSP (10.6%).
The age distribution of the population () is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.8% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62.6% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.6%. In Richterswil about 80.8% 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 4452 households in Richterswil.
Richterswil has an unemployment rate of 2.41%. , there were 90 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 32 businesses involved in this sector. 1,178 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 109 businesses in this sector. 1684 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 315 businesses in this sector.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
accessed 10-Aug-2009 48.8% of the working population were employed full-time, and 51.3% were employed part-time.
accessed 4 August 2009
there were 3,966 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 4,524 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 Richterswil. In the 2000 census, religion was broken down into several smaller categories. From the , 45% were some type of Protestant, with 41.8% 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 3.2% belonging to other Protestant churches. 34.5% of the population were Catholic. Of the rest of the population, 2.9% were Muslim, 4.5% belonged to another religion (not listed), 3.2% did not give a religion, and 12.2% were atheist or agnostic.
The historical population of the town is as follows:
Transport
The municipality is located on the A3 motorway.
The municipality is served by four railway stations. Richterswil station is on the main Lake Zürich left-bank line and is a stop of the Zürich S-Bahn
The Zürich S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Zürich) system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zürich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Glarus, ...
services S2 and S8; it is a 33-minute ride from Zürich Hauptbahnhof
Zürich Hauptbahnhof (often shortened to Zürich HB, or just HB; ''Zürich Main Station'' or ''Zürich Central Station'') is the largest railway station in Switzerland. Zürich is a major railway hub, with services to and from across Switzerland a ...
. Burghalden station, Grüenfeld station and Samstagern station are all on the Wädenswil to Einsiedeln line, and are stops of the S13 service.
The Zimmerberg bus line
The Zimmerbergbus is a bus network in the Horgen District in Switzerland, operated by the Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn (SZU) and its local partner firms: ''AHW Busbetriebe AG'' in Horgen, ''Busbetriebe Bamert GmbH'' in Wollerau, ''Leuthold Tra ...
(''Zimmerbergbus''), provided by the Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn
The ''Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn AG'' – commonly abbreviated to SZU – is a railway company and transport network in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. The network comprises the Uetliberg railway line and the Sihltal railway line, ...
(SZU), connects the Zimmerberg
Zimmerberg (el. ) is a mountain and a region located in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Its name bases on the Old High German word ''zimbar'' in the meaning of lumber.
Geography
Zimmerberg mountain is located s ...
region and parts of the Sihl valley Sihl Valley (German: ''Sihltal'') is a river valley and belongs to the Zimmerberg-Sihltal region located in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Commonly ''Sihltal'' is used as the name of the Lower Sihl Valley, i.e. the are ...
.
Notable residents
* Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze (1739 in Richterswil – 1799) a Swiss-born general in the Austrian army during the French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
* John Caspar Wild (1804 in Richterswil – 1846) American painter and lithographer
* Margrit Rainer
Margrit Rainer born as Margrit Rosa Sandmeier (9 February 1914 – 10 February 1982) was a Swiss comedian, radio personality, and stage and film actress starring usually in Swiss German language cinema and television and stage productions.
Early ...
(1914–1982) a Swiss comedian, radio personality and stage and film actress IMDb Database
retrieved 3 February 2019
* Annelies Štrba
Annelies Štrba is a Swiss multimedia artist, who lives in the Zurich metropolitan area. She works with video, photography, and digital media to approach her subjects, which range from domestically themed images, portraiture, and both urban and na ...
(born 1947) a Swiss multimedia artist, who works with video, photography and digital media; lives in Richterswil
* André Blattmann
André Blattmann (born 6 March 1956) was the Swiss Lieutenant General and Chief of the Armed Forces from 1 March 2009 (ad interim since 20 August 2008) until 31 December 2016. He led the Swiss army after the leave of Roland Nef ad interim on 25 ...
(born 1956 in Richterswil) a Swiss Lieutenant General and Chief of the Armed Forces 2009-2016
* Marina Keller (born 1984 in Richterswil) a Swiss football player currently playing for FC Zürich
Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a Swiss football club based in Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup 10 times. The most recent titles a ...
* Julia Jakob
Julia Jakob, formerly Julia Gross (born 15 April 1991) is a Swiss orienteer. She was born in Richterswil and resides in Zürich.
She won a bronze medal in the sprint at the 2014 European Orienteering Championships in Palmela. At the 2017 World ...
(born 1991) a Swiss orienteer
References
External links
Richterswil Online
Official website
*
{{Authority control
Cities in Switzerland
Municipalities of the canton of Zürich
Populated places on Lake Zurich