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Näfels is a former
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
canton of Glarus The canton of Glarus ( ; ; ; ) is a cantons of Switzerland, canton in east-central Switzerland. The capital is Glarus. The population speaks a variety of Alemannic German. The majority of the population (81%) identifies as Christianity in Switzer ...
in
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 ...
. Effective from 1 January 2011, Näfels is part of the municipality of
Glarus Nord Glarus Nord is one of three Municipalities of Switzerland, municipalities of the canton of Glarus, Switzerland (the others being Glarus and Glarus Süd). Effective from 1 January 2011, Glarus Nord incorporates the former municipalities of Bilten ...
.


History

Näfels is first mentioned in 1240 as ''Nevels''. In 1388, the
Swiss Confederates ''Eidgenossenschaft'' () is a German word specific to the political history of Switzerland. It means "oath commonwealth" or "oath alliance", in reference to the "eternal pacts" formed between the Eight Cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy of th ...
beat the
Habsburgs 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 ...
at the
Battle of Näfels The Battle of Näfels was fought on 9 April 1388 between the Swiss canton of Glarus, supported by its allies of the Old Swiss Confederation, and the Duchy of Austria ruled by the House of Habsburg. It was a decisive victory for Glarus and led t ...
, a victory that proved to be decisive in the series of Swiss-Austrian conflicts that stretched through most of the 14th Century as, in 1389, a peace treaty was signed at Vienna. The losses were much higher on the Austrian side, with 2,500 Austrians killed and 54 Swiss. The town's ''Slachtkapelle'' was created as a memorial to the men who fell in battle, and the ''Näfelser Fahrt'', a pilgrimage to the site of the battle, has been held in April every year since the battle.


Geography

Näfels has an area, , of . Of this area, 35.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 37.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 4.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (22.1%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). Näfels is located in the ''Glarner Unterland'' on the left side of the valley, across from
Mollis Mollis is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Mollis is part of the municipality of Glarus Nord. History Mollis is first mentioned in 1288. Geography Mollis has an area, , of . Of this a ...
. It consists of the village of Näfels and the scattered settlements that make up the ''Näfelser Berg'' and the ''Oberseetal''.


Demographics

Näfels had a population (as of 2010) of 4,021. , 19.3% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.Canton Glarus population growth
accessed 9 September 2009
Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of −0.6%. Most of the population () speaks German (86.9%), with Italian being second most common (5.2%) and Albanian being third (2.9%).
(). Accessed 14-Sep-2009.
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SPS which received 48.6% of the vote. Most of the rest of the votes went to the SVP with 40.2% of the vote. In Näfels about 64% of the population (between age 25 and 64) have completed either non-mandatory
upper secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
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 ...
''). Näfels has an unemployment rate of 1.59%. , there were 94 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 39 businesses involved in this sector, while 1,399 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 62 businesses in this sector. There are 918 people 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 140 businesses in this sector. The historical population is given in the following table:


Transport

Näfels-Mollis railway station Näfels-Mollis railway station () is a railway station in the municipality of Glarus Nord in the Swiss canton of Glarus. It is an intermediate stop on the Weesen to Linthal railway line, and serves the twin villages of Näfels and Mollis. Th ...
is on the Weesen to Linthal railway line. It is served by 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, ...
service S25 between Linthal and
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 ...
, and by the St. Gallen S-Bahn service S6 between
Rapperswil Rapperswil (Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dial ...
and Schwanden. both services operate once per hour, combining to provide two trains per hour between
Ziegelbrücke Ziegelbrücke is a village situated on both sides of the Linth Channel in Switzerland. Ziegelbrücke is shared by the Municipalities of Switzerland, municipalities of Niederurnen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Glarus (canton), Glarus an ...
and Schwanden.


Notable residents

*
Niklaus Franz von Bachmann Niklaus Leodegar Franz Ignaz von Bachmann (27 March 1740 – 11 February 1831) was a Swiss military officer who served as commander-in-chief (General (Switzerland), General) of the Swiss Army at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Family and early l ...
(1740–1831), Swiss general in the Napoleonic Wars *
Karl Josef von Bachmann ''Maréchal de camp'' Karl Josef Anton Leodegar von Bachmann (3 December 1734 – 3 September 1792) was a French Royal Army officer who served in the Seven Years' War. He is best known as the commander of the Swiss Guards during the insurrectio ...
(1734–1792), Commander Swiss Guard for King
Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
of France, executed during the French Revolution *
Friedrich Schröder Friedrich Schröder (6 August 1910 – 25 September 1972) was a Swiss composer of what could be referred to as light music. Career Born in Näfels, Switzerland, Schröder studied music in Stuttgart, Münster, and Berlin. Already in those ea ...
(1910—1972), German composer, born in Näfels


Gallery

Naefels-Ansicht.jpg, Church Naefels-Schlachtdenkmal.jpg, Battle memorial Naefels-Kirche.jpg, St. Hilarius Parish Church Naefels-Kloster.jpg, Franciscan abbey


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nafels Former municipalities of the canton of Glarus