Kilchberg (

High Alemannic High Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic German spoken in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg and in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Intelligibility of these dialects to non-Alemannic speakers tends to be limited. Language area The High ...

: ''Chilchbèèrg'') 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 Horgen 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. Kilchberg is the site of a regional

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

History

Kilchberg is first mentioned in 1248 as ''Hilchberch''. In 1250 it was mentioned as ''Kilchperch''. It grew out of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

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 heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

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 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 3,512 households in Kilchberg. there were 1928

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 2786

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 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 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 1.6% 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 Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

of the

confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewh ...

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, Zürich, K ...

. 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 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 ...

, 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 is a stop 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 S8 and S24 (4 per hour). Kilchberg is connected to Zürich with bus line 161. Bus line 162 connects Kilchberg See 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, also sail from here to (Bendlikon) 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, ...

). 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 (; ) is a traditional college town, 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 (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

, 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 that makes and sells chocolate confections. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other raw ingredients. Chocolatiers work artisanally with pre- ...

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