Romanshorn 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
Arbon
Arbon is a historic town and a municipality and district capital of the district of Arbon in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland.
Arbon is located on the southern shore of Lake Constance, on a railway line between Konstanz/Romanshorn and Rorsch ...
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 ...
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
Romanshorn was probably settled in the 7th century, and is first mentioned in 779 as ''Rumanishorn'' in a land grant from Waldrata 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 ...
.
[ 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 ...
and until 1367, the bailiwick
A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...
of Romanshorn was partially owned by the Landsberg family. In 1455 Abbot Kaspar Landsberg sold the Romanshorn estate to the city of St. Gallen
, neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach
, twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic)
, website ...
, but his religious superiors forced the courts to repeal the sale. Until 1798, the Abbey of St. Gall owned the taxation, appellate court
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
and the homage
Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to:
History
*Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance
*Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts
*Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...
rights (mostly in Täschlishusen at Häggenschwil) with the remaining sovereignty owned by the County of Thurgau.
In 779 a church was mentioned in Romanshorn. In 1275, the records of the church indicate that the Provost was paid 16 pounds. In 1480 St. Gallen incorporated a church in Romanshorn. The church was expanded in 1504. Then, in 1525 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 ...
entered Romanshorn and much of the population converted. The federally. In 1588, the Reformed priest in Salmsach
Salmsach is a municipality in the district of Arbon in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland.
History
Salmsach is first mentioned in 1155 as ''Salmasa''. Salmsach was probably founded by the Bishop of Constance Salomo I who founded a religious ...
was appointed to care for Romanshorn as well. The church remained a filial church A filial church, in the Roman Catholic Church, is a church to which is annexed the cure of souls, but which remains dependent on another church. The term comes from the Latin ''filialis'', from ''filia'', “daughter”.
Description
The term ''fili ...
until the creation of the Romanshorn-Salmsach 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 ...
. It wasn't until 1567 that the abbot appointed a 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 ...
priest to Romanshorn. The next year, a rectory
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage.
Function
A clergy house is typically ow ...
was built and a sinecure
A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is an office, carrying a salary or otherwise generating income, that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval chu ...
was granted. The number of Catholics slowly grew (1588 there were 2 families and in 1711 there were 36 families). The church was renovated in 1829. It remained a shared church until 1911 when a Protestant church was completed. Two years later a Catholic church was also completed.[
]
The local economy was dominated by cereal grains, horticulture and fruit growing as well as some forestry and fishing. By 1902, some wine was being produced as well. The steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
s, which had operated out of Uttwil since 1824, moved to Romanshorn in 1832. However, the village didn't begin to grow until 1844 when the Canton of Thurgau built a port and the postal route to Swabia
Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.
The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
ran through Romanshorn. In 1855 the railway line Zurich-Romanshorn opened, and in 1856 a telegraph cable was laid across the lake. The rail line (rail ferry) from Lindau to Romanshorn opened in 1869, was expanded in 1945 and in 1976 was replaced by car ferries. Between 1869 and 1871, the Northeastern Railway line Rorschach Rorschach may refer to:
* Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist
** Rorschach test, his psychological evaluation method involving inkblots
* Rorschach (character), a character from the comics ''Watchmen''
* Rorschach (comic book), a 2020 comic
* ...
-Romanshorn-Constance
Constance may refer to:
Places
*Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English
*Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada
* Constance, Kentucky
* Constance, Minnesota
* Constance (Portugal)
* Mount Constance, Washington State
People
* Consta ...
opened. Then, in 1910 a railway line to St. Gallen was added.
Romanshorn's strategic position after 1850 attracted commercial and industrial businesses. The Fatzer company, founded in 1836, initially produced cords and ropes. In 1895 it moved to the cable production. By 1985, the company produced 2,000 tonnes of steel wire and had 85 employees. From the pharmacy of Max Zeller, which opened in 1864 and sold the famous Zeller balm, the company Max Zeller & Sons developed. In 2008, this pharmaceutical company employed just under 100 employees. Opened in 1892, by 1980 the Swiss Alcohol Board possessed a capacity of 30 million liters of alcohol. In 1904, the Voigt Pharmaceutical company was founded in Romanshorn, which grew to be a world-wide pharmaceutical shipping company, and employ about 250 people in 2008. Other well-known companies include Biro (Plastics), the engineering Hydrel (including hydraulic, pneumatic) and the Asco Kohlensäure AG.
On 30 August 1912 an ex-soldier and local resident named Hermann Schwarz went on a shooting spree
A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders or homicides in a short time, in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations w ...
that left seven people dead and several others wounded. After the shooting he was examined by several psychiatrists and was found to suffer from mental illness, resulting in his acquittal due to insanity. He was ordered to be institutionalized for the rest of his life.
Geography
Romanshorn has an area, , of . Of this area, or 41.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 24.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 33.4% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.2% 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 17.1% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 4.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.0%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 3.2% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 7.3%. Out of the forested land, 21.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 32.6% is used for growing crops, while 8.7% is used for orchards or vine crops.[
The municipality is located in the Arbon district, on ]Lake Constance
Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...
. It consists of the village of Romanshorn and the hamlets
A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...
of Holzenstein, Hotterdingen, Reckholdern, Riedern and Spitz. Most of the surrounding hamlets have grown together with Romanshorn.
Demographics
Romanshorn has a population () of . , 27.3% 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 0.8%. 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
**Ge ...
(83.7%), with 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 second most common ( 3.3%) and 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 third ( 2.9%).[Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
accessed 08-September-2010
, the gender distribution of the population was 48.6% male and 51.4% female. The population was made up of 3,231 Swiss men (34.0% of the population), and 1,383 (14.6%) non-Swiss men. There were 3,669 Swiss women (38.7%), and 1,207 (12.7%) non-Swiss women.
In there were 48 live births to Swiss citizens and 27 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 89 deaths of Swiss citizens and 6 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 41 while the foreign population increased by 21. There were 14 Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland to another country, 6 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country, 65 non-Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland to another country and 60 non-Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources) was an increase of 56 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 114 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 1.8%.[
The age distribution, , in Romanshorn is; 837 children or 8.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,158 teenagers or 12.1% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 1,272 people or 13.2% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,109 people or 11.5% are between 30 and 39, 1,486 people or 15.5% are between 40 and 49, and 1,339 people or 13.9% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 1,035 people or 10.8% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 768 people or 8.0% are between 70 and 79, there are 499 people or 5.2% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 103 people or 1.1% who are 90 and older.
, there were 3,858 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household.][ there were 942 single family homes (or 64.8% of the total) out of a total of 1,454 inhabited buildings. There were 160 two family buildings (11.0%), 137 three family buildings (9.4%) and 215 multi-family buildings (or 14.8%). There were 2,232 (or 24.6%) persons who were part of a couple without children, and 4,585 (or 50.5%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 473 (or 5.2%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 44 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 46 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 55 who lived in a household made up of unrelated persons, and 277 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing.
The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 2.63%. , the construction rate of new housing units was 12.3 new units per 1000 residents.][ there were 4,442 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 4 room apartment of which there were 1,448. There were 171 single room apartments and 495 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
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 35.31% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (16.03%), the CVP (14.78%) and the FDP (13.58%). In the federal election, a total of 2,450 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 42.9%.
The historical population is given in the following table:
Heritage sites of national significance
The Old ''Paritätische'' Church, Harbor, 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 Johannes der Täufer'' are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire village of Romanshorn is listed in the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage.
Sites of national importance
Types
The types are based on t ...
.
Economy
, Romanshorn had an unemployment rate of 3.13%. , there were 81 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 29 businesses involved in this sector. 2,137 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 90 businesses in this sector. 3,085 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 345 businesses in this sector.[
there were 5,805 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 2,038 or about 35.1% of the residents worked outside Romanshorn while 2,820 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 6,587 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 12% used public transportation to get to work, and 40.4% used a private car.][
]
Companies in Romanshorn
Eftec AG
Fatzer AG
Geobrugg AG
* Eugster/Frismag AG
Transportation
Romanshorn railway station
Romanshorn railway station (german: Bahnhof Romanshorn) is a railway station that serves the municipality of Romanshorn, in the canton of Thurgau, Switzerland. Opened in 1855, the station is owned and operated by SBB-CFF-FFS. It forms the jun ...
, opened in 1855, forms the junction
Junction may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film
* Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film
* Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille
* Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002
* Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...
between the Winterthur–Romanshorn railway
The Winterthur–Romanshorn railway, also known in German as the ''Thurtallinie'' ("Thur valley line"), is a Swiss railway line and was built as part of the railway between Zürich and Lake Constance (Bodensee). It connects Winterthur with Romans ...
, the Schaffhausen–Rorschach railway and the Romanshorn–Nesslau Neu St. Johann railway.
A car ferry connects Romanshorn with Friedrichshafen
Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''Kre ...
across the lake in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
Religion
From the , 3,220 or 35.5% are Roman Catholic, while 3,297 or 36.3% belong 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 are 6 Old Catholics (or about 0.07% of the population) who belong 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 171 individuals (or about 1.88% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 292 individuals (or about 3.22% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 1,002 (or about 11.04% 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 87 individuals (or about 0.96% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 679 (or about 7.48% 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 ...
or 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 322 individuals (or about 3.55% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Romanshorn about 61.9% 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 ...
'').[
Romanshorn is home to the Romanshorn primary school district. It is also home to the Romanshorn-Salmsach secondary school district. In the 2008/2009 school year there are 731 students in the primary school district. There are 185 children in the ]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 ...
, and the average class size is 18.5 kindergartners. Of the children in kindergarten, 80 or 43.2% are female, 84 or 45.4% are not Swiss citizens and 86 or 46.5% do not speak German natively. The lower and upper primary levels begin at about age 5-6 and lasts for 6 years. There are 272 children in who are at the lower primary level and 274 children in the upper primary level. The average class size in the primary school is 19.52 students. At the lower primary level, there are 118 children or 43.4% of the total population who are female, 116 or 42.6% are not Swiss citizens and 117 or 43.0% do not speak German natively. In the upper primary level, there are 146 or 53.3% who are female, 98 or 35.8% are not Swiss citizens and 102 or 37.2% do not speak German natively.
In the secondary school district there are 366 students. At the secondary level, students are divided according to performance. The secondary level begins at about age 12 and usually lasts 3 years. There are 181 teenagers who are in the advanced school, of which 108 or 59.7% are female, 29 or 16.0% are not Swiss citizens and 33 or 18.2% do not speak German natively. There are 163 teenagers who are in the standard school, of which 74 or 45.4% are female, 70 or 42.9% are not Swiss citizens and 76 or 46.6% do not speak German natively. Finally, there are 22 teenagers who are in special or remedial classes, of which 11 or 50.0% are female, 12 or 54.5% are not Swiss citizens and 16 or 72.7% do not speak German natively. The average class size for all classes at the secondary level is 19.11 students.Canton Thurgau Schools
accessed 23 June 2010
Festivals
Since 1999 the annua
Festival of Nations
has taken place every June.
Moc Moc
In 2004 there was erected a statue of Moc moc by Swiss artist group Com&Com (de).
Notable People
* Johann Georg Birnstiel (1858 – 1927), Swiss minister and writer, died in Romanshorn
* Émile Taddéoli (1879 – 1920 in Romanshorn) a Swiss aviation pioneer, instructor and test pilot
* Antonio Ligabue
Antonio Ligabue (18 December 1899 – 27 May 1965; born Antonio Laccabue) was an Italian painter. He was one of the most important Naïve artists of the 20th century.
Biography
He was born in Zürich, Switzerland on 18 December 1899, to Elisab ...
(1899-1965) an Italian painter
* Maria Stader (1911-1999) a Hungarian-born Swiss lyric soprano, known particularly for her Mozart interpretations; brought up in Romanshorn
* Christoph Sutter (born 1962), teacher, poet, presenter, musical and theater author
; Sport
* Peter Lüscher
Peter Lüscher (born 14 October 1956) is a former Swiss Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer who won an overall FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, World Cup in 1979.
Biography
Born in Romanshorn in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Thurgau, he won the ov ...
(born 1956 in Romanshorn) a former World Cup alpine ski racer
* Daniel Lopar
Daniel Lopar (born 19 April 1985) is a Switzerland, Swiss football goalkeeper. He has most recently played for SC Brühl.
Club career
Western Sydney Wanderers
23 May 2019, Western Sydney Wanderers (WSW) announced the signing of Daniel Lopar o ...
(born 1985) a Swiss football goalkeeper
References
External links
*
Town of Romanshorn
*
{{Authority control
Populated places on Lake Constance
Cultural property of national significance in Thurgau