Stäfa () 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

Meilen Meilen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Meilen (district), Meilen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zürich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. History Archaeological finds in Meilen date back more than ...

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 ...

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 ...

Geography

Stäfa has an area of . Of this area, 46.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 18.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 34% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). housing and buildings made up 26.7% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (7.2%). Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 0.5% of the area. 35.8% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction. It is located near

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 ...

on the north bank of the Lake Zürich in the Pfannenstiel region. Named after the Scottish Island of Staffa by a monk from

Iona Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...

, in the local dialect it is called ''Stäfa''. The early history of Stäfa is closely linked to Einsiedeln Abbey. 972 King Otto II confirmed in documents possessions of the abbey on the lake, including Steveia (Stäfa). The villages of

Kehlhof Kehlhof is a village near Rapperswil, Switzerland. It is located on the north bank of the lake of Zurich and is part of the political municipality of Stäfa. In the local dialect it is called ''Chälhof''. There is an old mansion (''Villa Sunnes ...

and

Uerikon Uerikon (also spelled Ürikon) is a village near Rapperswil, Switzerland. Geography Uerikon is located on the north bank of the Lake Zurich, Zürichsee (Lake Zürich) in the Pfannenstiel (Zürich), Pfannenstiel region and is part of the polit ...

are politically part of the town. Stäfa is linked with the

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 ...

poet

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

who once stayed overnight in the town.

Demographics

Stäfa has a population (as of ) of . , 18.9% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. , the gender distribution of the population was 48.4% male and 51.6% female. Over the last 5 years, the population has grown by 4.1%. Most of the population () speaks German (88.6%), with Italian being second most common ( 3.3%) and Albanian being third ( 1.4%). In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 32.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (20.1%), the FDP (16.2%) and the CSP (11%). The age distribution of the population () is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 20.7% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 63.1% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.2%. In Stäfa about 80.5% of the population (between age 25–64) 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 ...

''). There are 5179 households in Stäfa. Stäfa has an unemployment rate of 2.14%. , there were 153 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 34 businesses involved in this sector. 1592 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 103 businesses in this sector. 2551 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 508 businesses in this sector.Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 10-Aug-2009 55.3% of the working population were employed full-time, and 44.7% were employed part-time.
accessed 4 August 2009 there were 3545

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 6005

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 Stäfa. In the 2000 census, religion was broken down into several smaller categories. From the , 50.9% were some type of Protestant, with 47.5% 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 3.4% belonging to other Protestant churches. 27.2% of the population were Catholic. Of the rest of the population, 3.2% were Muslim, 4.3% belonged to another religion (not listed), 3.6% did not give a religion, and 13.6% were atheist or agnostic.

Economics and education

Zürichsee-Zeitung ''Zürichsee-Zeitung'', commonly shortened to ''ZSZ'', is a Swiss German-language daily newspaper, published in Stäfa. History and profile In 1845 the precursing "Wochenblatt vom Zürichsee" was founded as a liberal newspaper by the ''Leseges ...

'', a daily newspaper is situated in Stäfa. Internationally active high-tech companies

Sonova Sonova Holding AG (Phonak Holding AG before 1 August 2007) is an internationally active Swiss group of companies headquartered in Stäfa that specializes in hearing care ( hearing instruments, cochlear implants, wireless communication). The Son ...

(hearing care) and Sensirion (sensors) are based in Stäfa.

Transportation

Stäfa railway station is served by line S7 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 ...

, which provides two trains per hour to both

and

. The journey time to Zürich is about 25 minutes, and somewhat less to Rapperswil. In summer, Stäfa is served by regular ship services between Zurich and Rapperswil, run by the

Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft The Lake Zurich Navigation Company (, ZSG) is a public Swiss company operating passenger ships and boats on Lake Zurich () and the river Limmat in Zurich.The company's services connect lake-side towns between Zurich and Rapperswil/ Schmerikon, i ...

(ZSG) and calling at various lake side towns. A passenger ferry, operated on an hourly basis throughout the year by the same company, links Stäfa with

Wädenswil Wädenswil (locally often called ''Wättischwiil'', ''Wädischwiil'' or ''Wädi'') is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality located in the district of Horgen (district), Horgen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zürich (canton), Z� ...

on the opposite shore of the lake. The railway station and landing stage are some 5 minutes walk apart. Local bus services are operated by the

Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland (VZO) is a public transport operator in the region between Lake Zürich and the Zürcher Oberland to the south-east of the city of Zürich in the canton of Zürich. It operates bus services between the vari ...

(VZO) bus company.

Sights

The town is well known for its cultural centre ''Rössli'', located near the lake shore.

Wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

production is still important, particularly white wine (''

Riesling Riesling ( , ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...

'').

Notable people

Theodor Eimer Gustav Heinrich Theodor Eimer (22 February 1843 – 29 May 1898) was a German zoologist. He was a popularizer of orthogenesis, a form of directed evolution through mutations that made use of Lamarckian principles. Life and work Eimer was born ...

(1843 in Stäfa – 1898) a German zoologist. *

Ernst Wiechert Ernst Wiechert (18 May 1887 – 24 August 1950) was a German teacher, poet and writer. Biography Wiechert was born in the village of Kleinort, East Prussia, (now Piersławek, Poland). He was one of the most widely read novelists in Germany ...

(1887 – 1950 in Stäfa) a German teacher, poet and writer, lived in Stäfa from 1948 * Paul Vogt (1900 in Stäfa - 1984) a Swiss Protestant pastor and theologian * Karl Landolt (1925 - 2009 in Stäfa) a famous Swiss painter known for his oil-paintings, wood-prints and lithography. * Matthias Ziegler (born 1955) Swiss flautist, lives in Stäfa *

Daniel Jositsch Daniel Reuwen Jositsch (; born 25 March 1965) is a Swiss attorney and politician who currently serves on the Council of States for the Social Democratic Party representing the Canton of Zürich since 2015. He previously served on the National ...

(born 1965), professor and SP politician, lives in Stäfa *

Nick Heidfeld Nick Lars Heidfeld (; born 10 May 1977) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Heidfeld began competitive kart racing aged 11. He progressed to Formu ...

(born 1977) a German professional racing driver, lives in Stäfa

References

External links

Official Page
(German)
Local Tourist Authority
(German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Stafa Cities in Switzerland Municipalities of the canton of Zürich Populated places on Lake Zurich