Märstetten 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

Weinfelden Weinfelden is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. It is the capital of the district of the same name. Weinfelden is an old town, which was known during Ancient Rome, Roma ...

in the canton of

Thurgau Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...

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

Scattered finds from the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

era,

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 ...

ruins and a series of grave from the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

show that there was a continuous settlement in the area. In the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

the Baron of Märstetten had a castle located above the church. The modern municipality of Märstetten is first mentioned in 1155 as ''Marsteten'' when the Cathedral of

Constance Constance may refer to: Places * Constance, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Constance, Minnesota, United States, an unincorporated community * Mount Constance, Washington State, United States * Lake Constance (disambiguat ...

granted it as a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

to the

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

von Klingen. The court of Märstetten included the village as well as Illhart and Wigoltingen. In 1724 a portion of Ruberbaum and some other farms were added to the court. In 1395 the court was acquired by Wilhelm von Enne, followed by the Muntprat family in 1419. This was followed by the Breitenlandenberg family in 1441, the Brümsi family in 1559, and Leonhart Zollikofer in 1585. The court remained with Leonhart's family until 1798. The

appellate court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appel ...

for Märstetten was the Lord of Altenklingen, then after, 1460 the Governor of Thurgau and later the federal

Tagsatzung The Federal Diet of Switzerland (, ; ; ) was the legislative and executive council of the Old Swiss Confederacy and existed in various forms from the beginnings of Swiss independence until the formation of the Swiss federal state in 1848. T ...

. The village was responsible to pay

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

s to the Cathedral of Constance. In 1613, the Cathedral

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

, Salomon Buchhorner, had a new

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

() which administered the villages of Boltshausen, Illhart, Sonterswil, Märstetten, and Ottoberg. The church of St. Jakob, which was under the

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

church 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 ...

, was originally the personal church of the Baron. After 1155 it belonged to the lands of the Cathedral of Constance. Between 1242 and 1487, the church was a branch of Wigoltingen. Without the consent of the governing church, St. Jakob's broke away from the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in 1465. In 1482

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

issued a

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

which granted the village the right to hire a lay priest. The

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

prevailed in the village in 1529, though the

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

was permitted between 1594 and 1795. Until 1798 the parish included the so-called inner municipality of Märstetten, the outer municipality of Ottoberg and scattered farm houses. Starting in 1860, the citizens and residents gathered on St. Hilary's day (13 January) for the municipal, local and school community meeting, as well as the so-called ''Hilärimahl'' meal.

Geography

Märstetten has an area, , of . Of this area, or 67.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 19.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 11.8% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010 Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 6.1% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 1.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.8%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 3.7%. Out of the forested land, 17.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 62.2% is used for growing crops, while 5.3% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.3% is in lakes and 0.2% is in rivers and streams. The municipality is located in the Weinfelden district, on the western foot of the ''Ottenberg''. It is at the intersection of the

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 ...

Romanshorn Romanshorn is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Arbon (district), Arbon in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. History Romanshorn was probably settled in the 7th century, and is first menti ...

and Wil-Constance roads. It consists of the ''haufendorf'' village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Märstetten and the

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

of Boltshausen, Altenburg, Dattenhub and Ruberbaum as well as the former '' Ortsgemeinde'' of Ottoberg.

Demographics

Märstetten has a population () of . , 10.6% of the population are foreign nationals.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Superweb database - Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008
accessed 19 June 2010 Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 9.9%. 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 ...

(94.8%), 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 ( 1.6%) 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 ( 0.8%).Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 21-October-2010 , the gender distribution of the population was 49.4% male and 50.6% female. The population was made up of 1,057 Swiss men (43.5% of the population), and 144 (5.9%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,116 Swiss women (45.9%), and 114 (4.7%) non-Swiss women. In there were 14 live births to Swiss citizens and 4 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 11 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 3 while the foreign population increased by 4. There were 1 Swiss woman who emigrated from Switzerland to another country, 1 non-Swiss man who emigrated from Switzerland to another country and 5 non-Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources) was an increase of 23 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 2 people. This represents a

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 70 million annu ...

of 1.0%. The age distribution, , in Märstetten is; 269 children or 11.0% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 385 teenagers or 15.7% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 290 people or 11.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 326 people or 13.3% are between 30 and 39, 448 people or 18.3% are between 40 and 49, and 323 people or 13.2% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 220 people or 9.0% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 124 people or 5.1% are between 70 and 79, there are 54 people or 2.2% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 15 people or 0.6% who are 90 and older. , there were 862 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. there were 400 single family homes (or 84.7% of the total) out of a total of 472 inhabited buildings. There were 27 two family buildings (5.7%), 7 three family buildings (1.5%) and 38 multi-family buildings (or 8.1%). There were 553 (or 24.8%) persons who were part of a couple without children, and 1,283 (or 57.4%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 93 (or 4.2%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 15 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 14 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 16 who lived in a household made up of unrelated persons, and 28 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.41%. , the construction rate of new housing units was 4.2 new units per 1000 residents. there were 926 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 4 room apartment of which there were 249. There were 10 single room apartments and 213 apartments with six or more rooms.Statistical Office of Thurgau
, MS Excel document - ''Wohnungen nach Anzahl Zimmer und Gemeinden, Jahr 2000'' accessed 24 June 2010 the average price to rent an average apartment in Märstetten was 1111.11

Swiss franc The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) iss ...

s (CHF) per month (US$890, £500, €710 approx. exchange rate from 2000). The average rate for a one-room apartment was 434.00 CHF (US$350, £200, €280), a two-room apartment was about 681.89 CHF (US$550, £310, €440), a three-room apartment was about 906.80 CHF (US$730, £410, €580) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1679.33 CHF (US$1340, £760, €1070). The average apartment price in Märstetten was 99.6% of the national average of 1116 CHF. In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 38.62% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (18.31%), the CVP (12.21%) and the SP (11.97%). In the federal election, a total of 875 votes were cast, and the

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...

was 53.8%. The historical population is given in the following table:

Heritage sites of national significance

The ''Hohes Haus'' and the Church of St. Jakob are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. The villages of Märstetten and Ottoberg, the

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 Boltshausen and the Ottenberg Südhang area are all listed 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 ...

The ''Hohes Haus'' is a

half-timbered Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

building which was built in 1613 by Salomon Buchhorner, from the Cathedral of Constance, as a

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the ...

. A court room was added in 1620. The walls are decorated with late

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

paneling and carvings. The building was restored in 1972. The Church of St. Jakob was first mentioned in 1155 as chapel under the administration of the Cathedral of Constance. The combined bell tower and

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

was probably built in the 13th or 14th century. In 1465 the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was extended toward the west and the tower was raised. The

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

was added in 1489, bringing the church to its current appearance. In the same year it was raised to a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

and the center of a local

. The

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

was added in 1590. The

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

was built in 1790. The sundial was painted in 1808 by Conrad Boltshauser and restored in 1954. During a renovation in 1975, two frescos were discovered. The ''Weihnachtsgeschichte'' or Christmas Story was painted in the 15th century, while the

Last Judgement The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...

is from around 1460–70. The church is shared between the Reformed and Roman Catholic residents, with Reformed services at 9:30 and Catholic

at 11:15. For Catholics the church is a chapel under the parish of

Economy

, Märstetten had an unemployment rate of 1.46%. , there were 124 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 48 businesses involved in this sector. 307 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 36 businesses in this sector. 450 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 70 businesses in this sector. there were 1,587 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 856 or about 53.9% of the residents worked outside Märstetten while 417 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 1,148 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 9.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 56.2% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 573 or 25.6% 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 1,247 or 55.8% 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 was 1 Old Catholic who belonged to the

Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is an Old Catholic denomination in Switzerland. This denomination is part of the Union of Utrecht. History In 1871 the Zürich Catholic community planned to build a church to commemorate the 1270s ...

there are 9 individuals (or about 0.40% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 78 individuals (or about 3.49% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There were 78 (or about 3.49% of the population) who are

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic. There are 6 individuals (or about 0.27% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 155 (or about 6.94% of the population) belong to no church, are

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 87 individuals (or about 3.89% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

In Märstetten about 75.1% 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 ...

''). Märstetten is home to the Märstetten primary school district. In the 2008/2009 school year there were 190 students. There were 42 children in the

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

, and the average class size was 21 kindergartners. Of the children in kindergarten, 17 or 40.5% were female, 9 or 21.4% were not Swiss citizens and 4 or 9.5% did not speak German natively. The lower and upper primary levels begin at about age 5-6 and last for 6 years. There were 59 children in who were at the lower primary level and 89 children in the upper primary level. The average class size in the primary school was 18.5 students. At the lower primary level, there were 29 children or 49.2% of the total population who were female, 8 or 13.6% were not Swiss citizens and 8 or 13.6% did not speak German natively. In the upper primary level, 38 or 42.7% students were female, 10 or 11.2% were not Swiss citizens and 5 or 5.6% did not speak German natively.Canton Thurgau Schools
accessed 23 June 2010

Transport

Märstetten railway station Märstetten railway station is a railway station in the Swiss canton of Thurgau and the municipality of Märstetten. The station is located on the Winterthur–Romanshorn railway line. It is an intermediate stop on Zurich S-Bahn Th ...

is a stop of the

Zürich 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, ...

on services S24 and S30.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marstetten Municipalities of Thurgau Cultural property of national significance in Thurgau