Gränichen 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

Aarau Aarau (, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital of the northern Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau. The List of towns in Switzerland, town is also the capital of the dis ...

of the canton of

Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...

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 ...

Geography

The river Wyna flows north at first and heads northwest thereafter. The valley has an average width of about . On both sides of the valley there are steep hills with tributary valleys and small high plateaus. The landscape is not dissimilar to that of the Tafeljura, even though - geographically and geologically speaking - Gränichen lies in the Midland of Switzerland. The hills on the left side of the valley are (from north to south): Manzenberg ( ), Wällenen (559 m), Moosberg (550 m), Heidberg () and Pfendel (). These are foothills of the Schornig (), which marks the transition to the valley of the river Suhre. The hills on the right side of the valley are called Fuden (), Räckholderen (), Breitenberg () and Surberg (). In front of the Breitenberg is the Schulthess () which has almost the shape of an ellipsis. The Dossen () und the high plateau of the Liebegg are foothills of the Surberg. Near the southern border, at an average distance of two kilometers, there are three hamlets, which also belong to the

of Gränichen: Rütihof () on Moorbergs, Bleien () and Refental () between Breitenberg, Dossen and Surberg. Gränichen has an area, , of . Of this area, 30.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 56.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 13.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.1%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). The highest point is at above main sea level on the 'Pfendel', the lowest point is at where the river wyna leaves the village. The seven neighbouring villages are Suhr in the nordwest,

Hunzenschwil Hunzenschwil is a municipality in the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History Under the Romans, the area that would become Hunzenschwil was an extensive brickyard. The modern village of Hunzenschwil was first men ...

in the north, Schafisheim in the northeast, Seon in the east,

Teufenthal Teufenthal is a municipality in the district of Kulm in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. Geography The street lies in the lower part of a tight, three-kilometer long side of Wyna, in an easterly direction to the plateau of Dürrenäsch. I ...

in the south,

Unterkulm Unterkulm is a municipality in the district of Kulm in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History Both Roman ruins near the church and late-Roman coins at Sonnenhof indicate that the area near Unterkulm was settled during the Roman era. Howe ...

in the south, Muhen in the southwest and

Hirschthal Hirschthal is a municipality in the district of Aarau of the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History Hirschthal is first mentioned in 924 as ''Hyrztale''. Geography Hirschthal has an area, , of . Of this area, 34.1% is used for agricultural p ...

in the west.

History

History's first mention of Gränichen was around 1184 under the name of ''Cranechon''. However, archaeological discoveries dating from the

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 parts ...

, as well as the remains of a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

castle, show that the area around Gränichen has been settled for quite some time. In the 12th century Gränichen belonged to the monastery of Engelberg and later came under the reign of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

s, who passed the government of the village to the Lords of the Castle of Liebegg. After 1415, Gränichen belonged to

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. The construction of the Wynentalbahn railway in 1904 promoted the settlement of local industries.

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 ''Per bend sinister Or and Azure a Bend counterchanged.''

Points of interest

The castle of Liebegg resides on a hill close to the border to

, about three kilometers south-south-east of the village center. The Castle, which dates from the 11th century, is nowadays used as a center for culture, meetings and congresses. Near the village center one finds the "Chornhaus", which, built in 1695, looks very similar to a small castle, because of its tower. Until 1798 it served as a granary and was thereafter used by the municipal administration department for over a century. Since the new parish hall was completed in 1995 it contains a small village museum. The Reformed Church was built from 1661 to 1663 on the site where the previous church had collapsed. It is one of the main works of Protestant church building in the canton of Aargau, and is listed as a heritage site of national significance. The other heritage site of national significance in Gränichen is the ''Untervogthaus'' on Lochgasse.

Population

Gränichen has a population (as of ) of . , 17.6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau -Bereich 01 -Bevölkerung
accessed 20 January 2010 Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 6.8%. Most of the population () speaks German (90.2%), with Italian being second most common ( 4.1%) and Albanian being third ( 1.5%). Of the rest, 1.1% spoke Serbo Croatian and 0.7% spoke Turkish.
accessed 24-January-2010 The age distribution, , in Gränichen is; 580 children or 9.0% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 804 teenagers or 12.5% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 691 people or 10.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 774 people or 12.0% are between 30 and 39, 1,174 people or 18.2% are between 40 and 49, and 956 people or 14.8% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 674 people or 10.5% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 503 people or 7.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 251 people or 3.9% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 37 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 , there were 140 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 1,243 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 1,001 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. The average number of people per household was 2.50 individuals. there were 1,357 single family homes (or 47.3% of the total) out of a total of 2,871 homes and apartments.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau
accessed 20 January 2010 In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 40.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (18.4%), the FDP (13.4%) 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 ...

(7.3%).

Authorities

The municipal

assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

(Gemeindeversammlung) is the law-making body (

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

). The

executive authority The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems b ...

is the municipal council (Gemeinderat). The members of the council are elected by the assembly according to the principle of majority. They stay in office for a duration of four years. The council's task is to lead and represent the municipality. In order to do so, he takes care of the decisions of the assembly and the assignments imposed by the canton and the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

. The five municipal councils (since 1 January 2012) are: *Rolf Arber,

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

*Hans-Peter Lüem, Vice-Mayor *Ruedi Gautschi *Peter Stirnemann *Peter Hofmann The district court of

is responsible for matters of

civil right Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

Economy

, Gränichen had an unemployment rate of 1.54%. , there were 94 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 45 businesses involved in this sector. 1,098 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 68 businesses in this sector. 961 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 155 businesses in this sector. One of the largest bakeries in Switzerland
Jowa
is located in Gränichen. In addition, there is also a company which fabricates heaters
Zehnder
, a gravel plant and several other smaller businesses. there was a total of 3,149 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 2,312 or about 73.4% of the residents worked outside Gränichen while 1,145 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 1,982 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau-Bereich 11 Verkehr und Nachrichtenwesen
accessed 21 January 2010

Religion

From the , 1,370 or 22.4% are

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 ...

, while 3,619 or 59.2% 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 ...

. Of the rest of the population, there are 21 individuals (or about 0.34% of the population) who belong to the Christian Catholic faith, 4.3% were

Moslem Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, 1.1% were Christian-Orthodox and 1.0% belonged to a different religion.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau - Aargauer Zahlen 2009
accessed 20 January 2010

Transport

Gränichen lies on the connecting road from Aarau via

Beromünster Beromünster is a municipality in the district of Sursee in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. On 1 January 2004 the former municipality of Schwarzenbach merged into the municipality of Beromünster.Luzern , neighboring_municipalities= Adligenswil, Ebikon, Emmen, Horw, Kriens, Malters, Meggen, Neuenkirch Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a ...

. The town is also connected to Seon in the Seetal valley. The local public rail service (AAR-Bahn), which goes from Aarau through the Wyna valley up to

Menziken Menziken is a municipality in the district of Kulm in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. On 1 January 2023 the former municipality of Burg merged to form the municipality of Menziken. History Menziken is first mentioned in 1045 as ''Manzincho ...

, has four stations: Töndler, Gränichen-Dorf, Oberdorf and Bleien. The rails of the public transport were right next to the main street, until they were rebuilt along the Wyna river in 1985.

Education

There are five

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 ...

s as well as three

elementary 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 ed ...

s. Furthermore, there is a center for secondary education covering ''Realschule'', ''Sekundarschule'' and ''Bezirksschule'' levels. The closest gymnasium is in Aarau. Aside from the Castle of Liebegg, there is also an agricultural school. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Gränichen about 72.7% 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 ...

''). Of the school age population (), there are 448 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 203 students attending

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

, there are 128 students attending tertiary or university level schooling in the municipality.

References

External links

Official webpage of GränichenCastle of LiebeggAgricultural SchoolAAR Bus und Bahn (public transport)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Granichen Municipalities of Aargau Cultural property of national significance in Aargau