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Erlenbach () is a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
in the district of
Meilen Meilen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Meilen (district), Meilen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zürich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. History Archaeological finds in Meilen date back more than ...
in the canton of
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.


History

Erlenbach is first mentioned in 981 as ''Liber Heremi'' though this identification is questionable. Between 1173-90 it was mentioned as ''Erlibach''. Archeological digs have shown that there were settlements in Erlenbach more than 5,000 years ago. During
Roman 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
times an important road passed through what is now Erlenbach. The
Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...
settled in this village in the 6th century. In 981 the name ''Erlibach'' was first mentioned when the monastery of
Einsiedeln Einsiedeln () is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and Districts of Switzerland#Schwyz, district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century. Histor ...
acquired the land. Around 1400 the city of
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
bought the land. Two castles ''Balp'' and ''Dachsberg'' are mentioned in old writings, but there is no evidence left. On 6 October 1445 a small battle (''Schlacht bey Ehrlibach'') took place in Erlenbach. Troops from Zürich defeated wine thieves. In 1798 the village housed in turn French, Austrian, Russian, and eventually again French troops. Until the middle of the 19th century, Erlenbach remained a small village with less than 1000 inhabitants, mainly engaged in
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
growing. In 1835 the first school was built, but it had just two classrooms. After World War II the village was very sought after and the population grew dramatically.


Geography

Erlenbach has an area of . Of this area, 25.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 26.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 47% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.7%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). housing and buildings made up 37% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (10.1%). Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 0.3% of the area. 46.3% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction. It is located on the north bank of the lake of Zürich, opposite
Thalwil Thalwil is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and town in the district of Horgen (district), Horgen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. The municipality includes two parts: Thalwil and Gatti ...
. The village is located on the Erlen stream (''Erlen Bach'') and along the Zürich-
Rapperswil Rapperswil (Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dial ...
road. It includes the village and the outlying sections of Wyden, Winkel, Isler, Bindschädler and Lerchenberg.


Demographics

Erlenbach has a population (as of ) of . , 17.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. the gender distribution of the population was 47.8% male and 52.2% female. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 19.5%. Most of the population () speaks German (86.3%), with English being second most common ( 2.8%) and Italian being third ( 2.7%). In the 2007 election the most popular party was the FDP which received 30.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (27.9%), the SPS (16.1%) and the CSP (10.1%). The age distribution of the population () is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 20.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62.2% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.4%. About 82.3% 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 (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...
''). There are 2041 households in Erlenbach. Erlenbach has an unemployment rate of 1.59%. , there were 60 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 10 businesses involved in this sector. 204 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 33 businesses in this sector. 1131 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 ...
, with 227 businesses in this sector.Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 10-Aug-2009
50% of the working population were employed full-time, and 50% were employed part-time.
accessed 4 August 2009
there were 1419
Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and 2146
Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
in Erlenbach. In the 2000 census, religion was broken down into several smaller categories. From the , 47% were some type of Protestant, with 45.9% belonging to the
Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...
and 1.1% belonging to other Protestant churches. 29.2% of the population were Catholic. Of the rest of the population, 0% were Muslim, 5.4% belonged to another religion (not listed), 2.4% did not give a religion, and 15.7% were atheist or agnostic. The historical population is given in the following table:


Transportation

The development of a railway link between
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
and
Rapperswil Rapperswil (Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dial ...
had a great impact on the village. Bit by bit the village turned from an agricultural village to part of Zürich's agglomeration. There are two stations within the municipality, Erlenbach ZH station and Winkel am Zürichsee station. Both are stops of the
S-Bahn Zürich The Zurich S-Bahn () system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zurich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Canton of Aargau, Aargau, Canton of Gla ...
on the lines S6 and S16. Tourist boat trips, run by the
Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft The Lake Zurich Navigation Company (, ZSG) is a public Swiss company operating passenger ships and boats on Lake Zurich () and the river Limmat in Zurich.The company's services connect lake-side towns between Zurich and Rapperswil/ Schmerikon, i ...
, also sail from Zürich and Rapperswil.


Cultural Heritage

Located on ''Zürichsee'' lakeshore, Erlenbach–Winkel is part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', and the settlement is also listed in the
Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance #REDIRECT Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance {{R from other capitalisation ...
as a ''Class object''. Because the lake has grown in size over time, the original piles are now around to under the water level of .


References

{{Authority control Municipalities of the canton of Zürich Populated places on Lake Zurich