Muri, Aargau
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Muri, formerly known as Muri ( Freiamt), is a municipality in southeastern Swiss Canton
Aargau Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau. Aargau is one of the most nort ...
and is the capital of same district. The present municipality of Muri was created in 1816 from the merging of the four municipalities Langdorf,
Egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...
, Hasli and Wey.


Geography

The community consists of three districts. Immediately west of the monastery lies the community of Wey, slightly more than a kilometer south of the district Langdorf (formerly known as Dorfmuri). East of the railway line, at a distance of half a kilometer of the village is Egg. There are also several hamlets: Hasli is located one kilometer north of the monastery, Vili one kilometer in a northwesterly direction, and Langenmatt one kilometer to the west. Türmelen, a hamlet, which lies directly on the eastern boundary of the municipality, is now merged with Egg. There are also numerous isolated farms scattered throughout the area. Muri is located in the upper end of the Bünztal at the foot of Lindenberg, Covering all districts, with one exception lie in a plane at an altitude from . In the west the slope rises evenly, where Langenmatt lies at an altitude of . Toward the south, the terrain is undulating and is divided by two river valleys. The Sörikerbach flows through Wey, and the Rüeribach by Langdorf and Egg. Muri has an area, , of . Of this area, or 58.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 20.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 20.2% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.2% is unproductive land.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 2.6% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 11.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.4%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.3%. Out of the forested land, 19.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 39.5% is used for growing crops and 16.1% is pastures, while 2.4% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. The highest point is located at above the ravine on Sörikerbach, the lowest point lies at in Büelmoos on the eastern boundary of the municipality. The neighboring communities are Aristau in the Northeast, Merenschwand in the east, Benzenschwil in the southeast, Geltwil in the southwest, Buttwil in the west and Boswil in the northwest.


History

Several findings suggest that colonisation of the area happened during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. Close to Hallstatt Era is one Mound, which was discovered in 1929 near the southern boundary of the municipality. From the 1st century AD, smaller Roman settlements existed, but these were destroyed by the
Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of 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, the Alemanni c ...
by 260. This allowed them to settle here in the 8th or 9th century, calling their settlement ''Murah'', from the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''murus'' after the many Roman low walls they found. It was first mentioned in 924 as ''Murahe''. The history is closely linked to that of the
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
s of Muri.
Radbot, Count of Habsburg Radbot, Count of Klettgau ( 9851045) was (Count) of the county of Klettgau on the High Rhine in Swabia. Radbot was one of the progenitors of the Habsburg dynasty, and he chose to name his fortress Habsburg. Radbot was probably the second s ...
and Ida of Lorraine founded
Muri Abbey Muri Abbey () was a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. It flourished for over eight centuries at Muri, in the Canton of Aargau, near Zürich, Switzerland. While the monastery is currently established as Muri-Gries in South ...
in 1027. With the backing of the
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
s, it became more powerful over time, and acquired an extensive estate in the Swiss plateau before rising to become an important spiritual and cultural center. In the 12th century, today's municipality was split into the ''vicus superior'' and the ''vicus inferior'', which included the monastery domain. From parts of that domain arose around 1082 the other settlements and isolated farms.
Egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...
, Hasli, and Wey evolved over time into independent communities. The parish included not only the present day Muri, but also Aristau, Buttwil and Geltwil. The monastery also encompassed parts of Beinwil and Besenbüren. The provincial government and the right of
high justice High, middle and low justices are notions dating from Western feudalism to indicate descending degrees of judicial power to administer justice by the maximal punishment the holders could inflict upon their subjects and other dependents. The scale ...
were held by the counts of Habsburg. A large minority of the population of Muri became Protestants in 1529, but were re-Catholicised after the
Second War of Kappel The Second War of Kappel () was an armed conflict in 1531 between the Catholic and the Protestant cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy during the Reformation in Switzerland. Background The peace concluded after the First War of Kappel two yea ...
(1531). The monastery became increasingly important after 1701, and was for many years the wealthiest in Switzerland. Religious riots broke out in early January 1841 in the Freiamt, directed against the state government. The conflict, which was brought under control within a few days, served the district as an excuse on 13 January to decide that the monastery of Muri would be stripped of its power; the last monks left the monastery on 27 January. This hit the town by surprise, since they now had to take on tasks which had previously been settled by the monastery, such as education. The buildings were subsequently put to a variety of purposes. In March 1798,
Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
abolished the
Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...
and proclaimed the
Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (; ; ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...
. Muri was the administrative seat of a district of the canton of Baden. The current municipality of Muri was created in 1816 after the dissolution of the district municipality and the merger of Egg, Hasli, Langdorf, and Wey; the community of Hasli had meanwhile been driven to bankruptcy. On 21 August 1889, part of the monastery burned down, and the complete restoration of the east wing was completed only in 1989. Since 1960, a small group of monks have been living in a wing of the monastery. The remaining rooms now belong to the county and municipality, as well as some classrooms. On 1 June 1875, the town became connected to the railway network when the Wohlen–Muri section of the
Aargau Southern Railway Aargau Southern Railway () is a former railway company in Switzerland. Between 1873 and 1882, the Schweizerische Centralbahn (SCB) and the Schweizerische Nordostbahn (NOB) jointly built a connecting line to the Gotthardbahn. The line was ope ...
was opened. The continuation after Rotkreuz (with connection to the Gotthardbahn) was delayed for financial reasons and only took place on 1 December 1881. For a while there was much tourism because from 1868 to 1917 there was a spa and bathhouse.


Heritage sites of national significance

The former Benedictine Muri Abbey, the ''Leontiusbrunnen'' (fountain) at Leontiusplatz, the so-called ''Klosterscheune'' near the Abbey at Klosterhof 197 and the granary at Hasli 233 are all listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. The entire
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
of Hasli is designated as part of the
Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage. Sites of national importance Types The types are based on t ...
.


Muri Abbey

The dominant landmark of Muri is Muri Abbey. This is a nearly 1000-year-old Benedictine. Its centerpiece is an in Baroque constructed, octagonal central building (Octagon) from the 17th Century. The central building is enclosed by one from the 11th -Century Romance Church. Even elements of the Gothic Architectural style are represented. The church is rich with Frescoes and carvings. In the Cloister with the valuable Glass painting cycle of the 16th Century is the Habsburg crypt. It contains the hearts of the last rulers of the Austrian Monarchy Emperor Charles I and Empress
Zita of Bourbon-Parma Zita of Bourbon-Parma (Zita Maria delle Grazie Adelgonda Micaela Raffaela Gabriella Giuseppina Antonia Luisa Agnese; 9 May 1892 – 14 March 1989) was the wife of Charles I, the last monarch of Austria-Hungary. She was also the last Empress o ...
and the hearts of other members of the Habsburg family. The bodies of the couple's sons Randolph and Felix are buried here. The monastery museum houses valuable treasures of the monastery. There is also a permanent exhibition of the painter Caspar Wolf. The monastery church owns five organs.


Other structures

The parish church of St. Goar is from the period around 1030th to about 1335 and parts have survived from this period, however, only the foundations of the church tower remain. In 1583, the tower was rebuilt. From 1640 to 1644, it was rebuilt in the baroque style from scratch. In 1677 the choir altar was taken away, and was replaced 1837/38. The last major renovation took place 1987/88. North of the parish is the parish house which was built in 1747. Halfway between the parish and monastery church is the courthouse. It was built in 1660 and was initially commissioned by the monastery as a guesthouse. Today it is used by the district court.


Crest

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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
is ''Gules a Wall Argent embattled'' or "In red double-breasted, black Grooved white wall with three towers." In 1930, they adopted the arms of the former monastery, which the abbot John Feierabend imposed in 1508. The wall was first three rows, but since 1972 it has only two rows. The District crest, however, remained unchanged.


Demographics

Muri has a population () of . , 20.8% of the population are foreign nationals.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau -Bereich 01 -Bevölkerung
accessed 20 January 2010
Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 11%. Most of the population () speaks
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
(86.4%), with
Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
being second most common ( 4.2%) and
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
being third (2.7%).Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 26-May-2010
Serbo-Croatian was fourth with 2.2%, and fifth at 1.1% was Portuguese. The age distribution, , in Muri is; 788 children or 11.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 853 teenagers or 12.6% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 946 people or 14.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 909 people or 13.4% are between 30 and 39, 1,085 people or 16.0% are between 40 and 49, and 849 people or 12.5% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 698 people or 10.3% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 413 people or 6.1% are between 70 and 79, there are 213 people or 3.1% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 24 people or 0.4% 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 279 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 1,218 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 871 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 2,436 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. there were 934 single family homes (or 32.6% of the total) out of a total of 2,865 homes and apartments.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau
accessed 20 January 2010
There were a total of 13 empty apartments for a 0.5% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 7.2 new units per 1000 residents. In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 34.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (24.5%), the SP (16.1%) and the FDP (10.3%). The historical population is given in the following table:


Religion

From the , 4,172 or 63.7% were
Roman Catholic 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 ...
, while 1,088 or 16.6% belonged 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 ...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 8 individuals (or about 0.12% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic faith.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau - Aargauer Zahlen 2009
accessed 20 January 2010
In the same census, 6.9% of the population was Muslim and 1.0% belonged to other faiths.


Politics and Law

The Congregational assembly of electors exercises the legislative power. The executive body is the five-member Municipal. His term of office is four years and he is elected by the people with a majority vote. He leads and represents the community. In addition, he implements the decisions of the municipal assembly and the tasks that were assigned to him by the canton and the Confederation. Mayor of the term 2006-2009 is Joseph Etterlin (CVP). Muri is the seat of the District Court and the Peace of the district Muri.


Economy

, Muri had an unemployment rate of 2.22%. , there were 176 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 47 businesses involved in this sector. 1,645 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 92 businesses in this sector. 2,209 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 271 businesses in this sector. there were 3,453 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 1,905 or about 55.2% of the residents worked outside Muri while 1,918 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 3,466 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
Of the working population, 10.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 49.6% used a private car. The main manufacturing sectors are metal processing, chemicals, plastics processing, production of fruit juices, and the manufacture of appliances, precision instruments and electronic devices. Muri houses the District Hospital for the Freiamt. This regional hospital is for the whole region of Freiamt jurisdiction and covers a catchment area from more than 100,000 inhabitants.


Transport

Muri has its own railway station, which is located on the
Aargau Southern Railway Aargau Southern Railway () is a former railway company in Switzerland. Between 1873 and 1882, the Schweizerische Centralbahn (SCB) and the Schweizerische Nordostbahn (NOB) jointly built a connecting line to the Gotthardbahn. The line was ope ...
line. The station is served by services of the Aargau S-Bahn and the S42 of the
Zurich S-Bahn 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 (Aargau, Glarus, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, ...
, which is a rush-hour service.


Education

In Muri about 67.9% 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 ...
''). Of the school age population (), there are 518 students attending
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
, there are 303 students attending secondary school, there are 349 students attending tertiary or university level schooling, and there are 14 students who are seeking a job after school in the municipality. There are five educational centers in Muri (Bachmatten, Badweiher, the monastery, and Rösslimattstrasse). Some classes of Primary school are housed in a wing of the monastery. The closest School District (High School) is located in Wohlen.


Notable people

* Conrad of Mure (c. 1210-1281), author of Latin didactic *John Feierabend (c. 1440-1508), John II as Abbot of Muri 1500-1508 *
Silvio Galizia Silvio Galizia (August 5, 1925, in Muri AG – November 28, 1989, in Rome) was a Swiss architect and artist. Most of his life he lived and worked in Rome, Italy. Life Silvio Galizia studied at the ETH Zurich. He gained his first professional e ...
(1925-1989), architect * Caspar Wolf (1735–1783), painter * Theodore Wolf (1770–1818), painter * Roland Koch (born 1959), actor *
Walter Thurnherr Walter Thurnherr (born 11 July 1963) is a Swiss government official who served as Chancellor of Switzerland from 2016 to 2023. Although he holds a traditionally nonpartisan office, he was elected as a member of the Christian Democratic People's ...
(born 1963),
Federal Chancellor of Switzerland The federal chancellor is the head of the Federal Chancellery of Switzerland, the oldest Swiss federal institution, established at the initiative of Napoleon in 1803. The officeholder acts as the general staff of the seven-member Federal Counc ...
(2016-present)


References

{{Authority control Cultural property of national significance in Aargau Municipalities of Aargau