Erlinsbach 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 Aarau 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 capit ...

in Switzerland.

History

Erlinsbach is first mentioned in 1173 as ''Arnlesbah''. In 1220 it was mentioned as ''Erndespah'' and in the 14th Century it was known as ''Erlispach''. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

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 Obererlinsbach and Niedererlinsbach were part of Erlinsbach. They are now in the

Canton of Solothurn The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure (german: Kanton Solothurn rm, Chantun Soloturn french: Canton de Soleure; it, Canton Soletta) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn. Hi ...

. In the 14th Century, the hamlet of Edliswil was abandoned, however its exact location is currently unknown. In the 15th or 16th Century, the hamlet of Hard was founded.

Geography

Erlinsbach has an area, , of . Of this area, 34.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 53.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 10.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.9%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). The municipality is located in the Aarau district between the

Aare The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it desce ...

river and

Jura Mountains The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Fre ...

on the border with the

. It is near the

Salhöhe Pass Salhöhe Pass (el. 779 m.) is a mountain pass in the Jura Mountains of Switzerland between Kienberg in the canton of Solothurn and Erlinsbach in the canton of Aargau. It connects Kienberg in Solothurn and Erlinsbach in Aargau. The pass road ...

, a regionally important route over the Jura Mountains. It consists of the village of Erlinsbach and the hamlet of Hard.

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 visua ...

of the municipal

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 it ...

is ''Divided by Bend wavy Argent in Or a Bend sinister Sable and Azure a Mullet of Five of the first.''

Demographics

Erlinsbach has a population (as of ) of . , 14.9% 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 8.1%. Most of the population () speaks German (90.3%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common (2.7%) and Italian being third (1.7%).
accessed 22-January-2010 The age distribution, , in Erlinsbach is; 359 children or 10.3% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 384 teenagers or 11.0% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 369 people or 10.6% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 391 people or 11.2% are between 30 and 39, 588 people or 16.9% are between 40 and 49, and 496 people or 14.2% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 444 people or 12.8% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 280 people or 8.0% are between 70 and 79, there are 147 people or 4.2% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 23 people or 0.7% 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 57 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 644 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 542 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. The average number of people per household was 2.43 individuals. there were 761 single family homes (or 50.4% of the total) out of a total of 1,509 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 36.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (18.2%), the SP (16.1%) and the CVP (9.3%). The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Erlinsbach about 75.6% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory

upper secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...

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 ar ...

''). Of the school age population (), there are 468 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 ed ...

, there are 175 students attending secondary school in the municipality. The historical population is given in the following table:

Economy

, Erlinsbach had an unemployment rate of 1.42%. , there were 58 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 20 businesses involved in this sector. 122 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 constructio ...

and there are 24 businesses in this sector. 648 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 secon ...

, with 68 businesses in this sector. there was a total of 1,677 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 1,355 or about 80.8% of the residents worked outside Erlinsbach while 373 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 695 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 , 957 or 29.1% 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 letter ...

, while 1,593 or 48.5% 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 12 individuals (or about 0.37% of the population) who belong to the

Christian Catholic 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 ...

faith.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau - Aargauer Zahlen 2009
accessed 20 January 2010

References

External links

* {{Authority control