Kilchberg (

High Alemannic High Alemannic is a dialect of Alemannic German spoken in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg and in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Language area The High Alemannic dialects are spoken in Liechtenstein and in most of German-speaking S ...

: ''Chilchbèèrg'') 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 municipal ...

in the canton of

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

in Switzerland. Kilchberg is the site of a regional

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

History

Kilchberg is first mentioned in 1248 as ''Hilchberch''. In 1250 it was mentioned as ''Kilchperch''. It grew out of the mediaeval village of Bendlikon (first mentioned in 1250 as ''Benklinkon'') where Kilchberg was just a section of the village. Its

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

is Azure a Quatrefoil Argent seeded Or.

Geography

Kilchberg has an area of . Of this area, 26.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 71.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.4%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). housing and buildings made up 58.1% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (13.2%). 74.9% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.

Demographics

Kilchberg has a population (as of ) of . , 21.2% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. the gender distribution of the population was 48.1% male and 51.9% female. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 1.8% per annum. Most of the population () speaks German (84.0%), with English being second most common (4.1%) and Italian being third (2.8%). In the 2007 national election the most popular party was the SVP which received 30.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (27.4%), the SPS (12.5%) and the CSP (10.2%). The age distribution of the population () is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 17.2% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 63% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 19.8%. About 84.7% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a '' Fachhochschule''). There are 3,512 households in Kilchberg. there were 1928 Catholics and 2786 Protestants in Kilchberg. In the 2000 census, religion was broken down into several smaller categories. From the , 44.3% were some type of Protestant, with 42.7% belonging to the Swiss Reformed Church and 1.6% belonging to other Protestant churches. 28.1% of the population were Catholic. Of the rest of the population, 0% were Muslim, 6.3% belonged to another religion (not listed), 3.3% did not give a religion, and 17.3% were atheist or agnostic. The historical population is given in the following table:

Industry

Kilchberg is home to the corporate headquarters of the

confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categorie ...

Lindt & Sprüngli Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG, doing business as Lindt, is a Swiss chocolatier and confectionery company founded in 1845 and known for its chocolate truffles and chocolate bars, among other sweets. It is based in Kilchberg, where its ...

. Kilchberg has an unemployment rate of 1.64%. , there were 118 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 11 businesses involved in this sector. 1479 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 48 businesses in this sector. 1983 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 306 businesses in this sector.Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 07-Aug-2009 65% of the working population were employed full-time, and 35% were employed part-time.
accessed 4 August 2009 Kilchberg is also the location of the private hospital Krankenhaus Sanitas.

Transport

Kilchberg railway station Kilchberg railway station is a railway station in Switzerland, situated near to the banks of Lake Zurich __NOTOC__ Lake Zurich ( Swiss German/ Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extend ...

is a stop 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 c ...

on the lines S8 and S24 (4 per hour). Kilchberg is connected to Zürich with bus line 161. Bus line 162 connects Kilchberg Spital with Kilchberg railway station and bus line 163 runs between Kilchberg, Obere Hornhalde and Kilchberg Railway station. 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 here to Zürich and Rapperswil.

Education

Public schools

The public schools (primary and lower secondary school) are supervised by the commune's school board. The board consists of nine elected members. Public school buildings: *Brunnenmoos A-C *Alte Landstrasse *Gemeindehaus *Dorfstrasse

Private, publicly subsidised schools

Other private schools

The Zürich International School (ZIS), an American curriculum private international school, has two campuses in Kilchberg: Early Childhood Center and Middle School Kilchberg.Maps and Directions"
Zürich International School. Retrieved on April 22, 2015. The American International School of Zurich was previously located in Kilchberg. The bureau for elementary school (''Volksschulamt'') of the canton of Zürich does not approve ZIS for its lower and upper secondary education (''Sekundarstufe I'' aka ''Sekundarschule'', and ''Sekundarstufe II'' aka

Mittelschule ''Mittelschule'' is a German term literally translating to "Middle School" (i.e. a level "intermediate" between elementary and higher education). It is used in various senses in the education systems of the various parts of German-speaking Europe, n ...

). Therefore, its upper secondary school is not approved by the Swiss Federation, neither.

International relations

Kilchberg, Zürich is twinned with: * Kilchberg district of

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...

, Germany ''(since 1956)''

Notable people

* German author

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

made his home in Kilchberg when he returned to Europe after World War II, and is buried there. * Swiss author

Conrad Ferdinand Meyer Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (11 October 1825 – 28 November 1898) was a Swiss poet and historical novelist, a master of literary realism who is mainly remembered for stirring narrative ballads like "Die Füße im Feuer" (The Feet in the Fire). Biog ...

was born in Zürich (October 11, 1825) and died in Kilchberg (November 28, 1898). In his honour, there is a C. F. Meyer museum in Kilchberg. * Swiss-German

chocolatier A chocolatier is a person or company who makes confectionery from chocolate. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other ingredients. Education and training Traditionally, chocolatiers, ...

David Sprüngli-Schwartz and his son were born in Zürich but owned factories and died in Kilchberg. Their chocolate company,

, is more commonly known as Lindt.

References

External links

Official website
*
Statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilchberg, Zurich Municipalities of the canton of Zürich Populated places on Lake Zurich