Menziken is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the district of Kulm in 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 capita ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. On 1 January 2023 the former municipality of

Burg The German word Burg means castle. Burg or Bürg may refer to: Places Placename element * ''-burg'', a combining form in Dutch, German and English placenames * Burg, a variant of burh, the fortified towns of Saxon England Settlements * Burg, Aar ...

merged to form the municipality of Menziken.

History

Menziken is first mentioned in 1045 as ''Manzinchouen'' though that comes from a 14th-century copy of the original document. In 1295 it was mentioned as ''Menzchon''. However, the current site of Menziken was settled earlier. Both

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

ruins and

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...

graves have been discovered in the municipality. During the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...

it was owned by the

Counts of Lenzburg The Counts of Lenzburg (also Counts of Baden by the early 12th century) were a comital family in the Duchy of Swabia in the 11th and 12th centuries, controlling substantial portions of the '' pagi'' of Aargau and Zürichgau. After the extinction ...

. In 1173 it passed over to the Kyburgs and following the extinction of the Kyburg line, in 1273 it passed to the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

. The Habsburgs held the rights to

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. Low just ...

while their

vassals A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

, the Lords of Reinach, held the rights to low justice. From the conquest of Aargau in 1415 until the creation of the Helvetic Republic in 1798, the village was under

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

ese domination. At that time, Menziken belonged to the district (german: Oberamt) of Lenzburg. With the creation of the Canton of Aargau through the

Act of Mediation The Act of Mediation () was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the French Republic on 19 February 1803 establishing the Swiss Confederation. The act also abolished the previous Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion ...

in 1803, Menziken became a municipality in the new canton. 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 a ...

Menziken was part of the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Pfeffikon. Following the introduction of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in 1528, it was initially part of Gontenschwil parish and then of the parish of Reinach. It became the independent parish of Menziken-Burg in 1889–90, with the construction of its own church. The Catholic Menziken-Reinach Diaspora parish was created in 1906-07 when St Anne's Church was built in the municipality. In 1729 a cotton factory was built in the municipality. This factory was followed by numerous weavers, spinners and dyers, which until the 19th century provided a major source of income. In 1838 Samuel Weber opened a cigar factory in the village which led to the cigar industry dominating the entire upper

Wynental The Wyna (or Wyne) is a river located mostly in canton of Aargau, but also in canton of Lucerne, Switzerland and runs through the ''Wynetal'' (the Wyne Valley). It is a tributary of the Suhre. The Wyna is 32 km long (main outflow in Reinach ...

. The cigar companies represented a major employer until the second half of the 20th century. Major employers in the early 21st century include the Schlör AG (which had developed from the brewery founded in 1888 and today produce soft drinks, fruit and apple juice) and Alu Menziken, which produces metal goods. Since 1904 Menziken has been the terminus of the

Wynental- und Suhrentalbahn The Wynental and Suhrental Railway (german: Wynental- und Suhrentalbahn, WSB) was a privately owned railway company in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. It was formed by the merger of the Aarau-Schöftland Railway (german: Aarau-Schöftland Ba ...

Geography

Menziken has an area, , of . Of this area, or 47.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 23.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 29.3% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.2% 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 2.8% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 17.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.4%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.7% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.3%. 21.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 29.9% is used for growing crops and 16.6% is pastures, while 1.1% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. The municipality is located in the Kulm district. Menziken, together with Reinach

and

Pfeffikon Pfeffikon is a former municipality in the district of Sursee in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipality of Pfeffikon merged into the municipality of Rickenbach.Canton of Lucerne The canton of Lucerne (german: Kanton Luzern rm, Chantun Lucerna french: Canton de Lucerne it, Canton Lucerna) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland. The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the populati ...

, forms an agglomeration in the upper

(Wyna River valley).

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 vis ...

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 latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

is ''Gules a Soldier Armoured and with Helmet Argent looking to sinister standing on Coupeaux Vert holding in dexter a Spear Or topped of the second and in sinister a Mullet of Five of the fourth.''

Demographics

Menziken has a population () of . , 34.4% 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 1.8%. Most of the population () speaks German (81.3%), with Albanian being second most common ( 5.0%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 4.1%).
accessed 28-April-2010 The age distribution, , in Menziken is; 568 children or 10.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 780 teenagers or 14.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 658 people or 12.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 710 people or 13.0% are between 30 and 39, 911 people or 16.7% are between 40 and 49, and 671 people or 12.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 560 people or 10.3% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 356 people or 6.5% are between 70 and 79, there are 220 people or 4.0% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 27 people or 0.5% who are 90 and older.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau -Bevölkerungsdaten für den Kanton Aargau und die Gemeinden (Archiv)
accessed 20 January 2010 the average number of residents per living room was 0.59 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.57 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 43.8% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...

or a rent-to-own agreement). , there were 211 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 1,099 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 745 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. The average number of people per household was 2.50 individuals. , there were 2,111 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. there were 986 single family homes (or 40.4% of the total) out of a total of 2,442 homes and apartments.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau
accessed 20 January 2010 There were a total of 142 empty apartments for a 5.8% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 4.2 new units per 1000 residents. In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 42.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (17.7%), the FDP (16.8%) and the CVP (6.1%). In Menziken about 60.5% 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 ''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 arts ...

''). Of the school age population (), there are 436 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 e ...

, there are 219 students attending secondary school, there are 95 students attending tertiary or university level schooling in the municipality. The historical population is given in the following table:

Heritage sites of national significance

The Villa Mathys at Hofmattpark 1A is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance
21.11.2008 version, accessed 28-April-2010

Economy

, Menziken had an unemployment rate of 2.69%. , there were 28 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 11 businesses involved in this sector. 660 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 50 businesses in this sector. 1,077 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 second ...

, with 139 businesses in this sector. there were 2,728 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 1,816 or about 66.6% of the residents worked outside Menziken while 1,296 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 2,208 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, 7.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 52.1% used a private car.

Transport

Menziken is served by the Aarau–Menziken railway line, operated by Aargau Verkehr, which carries service S14 of the

Aargau S-Bahn The Aargau S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Aargau or german: S-Bahnen Aargau) is an S-Bahn-style regional rail network serving the canton of Aargau, Switzerland. History Upon the timetable change on 14 December 2008, an S-Bahn numbering system was introd ...

. This provides a fifteen minute interval service to the cantonal capital at

Aarau Aarau (, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital of the northern Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau. The List of towns in Switzerland, town is also the capital of the dis ...

, and stops at station within the municipality,

Religion

From the , 1,673 or 30.4% were

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 lette ...

, while 2,181 or 39.6% 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 were 5 individuals (or about 0.09% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic faith and a small congregation of

Moravian Brethren , image = AgnusDeiWindow.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , caption = Church emblem featuring the Agnus Dei.Stained glass at the Rights Chapel of Trinity Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States , main_classification = Proto-Prot ...

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

References

External links

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