Amriswil
Encyclopedia
Amriswil is a municipality
Municipalities of Switzerland
Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...

 in Arbon District in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...

 of Thurgau
Thurgau
Thurgau is a northeast canton of Switzerland. The population, , is . In 2007, there were a total of 47,390 who were resident foreigners. The capital is Frauenfeld.-History:...

 in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

.

History

Amriswil is first mentioned in 799 as Amalgeriswilare. During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 Amriswil and Brüschwil were part of a Bishop's
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....

 fief. During the 15th Century, the Helmsdorf family ruled in Eppishausen. In the early 17th Century, the village of Amriswil was sold to Adam Tschudi of Glarus
Glarus
Glarus is the capital of the Canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Glarus municipality since 1 January 2011 incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern....

, and in 1665 the hospital was sold to St. Gallen
St. Gallen
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...

. The court rights
High, middle and low justice
High, middle and low justices are notions dating from Western feudalism to indicate descending degrees of judiciary power to administer justice by the maximal punishment the holders could inflict upon their subjects and other dependents....

 over Amriswil, Hölzli, Brüschwil and houses in Ruti and Giezenhaus were acquired by the city of Bürglen
Bürglen
Bürglen can refer to two places in Switzerland:*Bürglen, Uri, at the entrance of Schächental, start of the Klausen pass road*Bürglen, Thurgau...

, which was under the control of the city of St. Gallen. This situation remained unchanged until 1798.

In the mid 14th Century, chapel dedicated to Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...

, was built in Amriswil. This chapel was part of the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 of Sommeri
Sommeri
Sommeri is a municipality in the district of Arbon in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland.-History:In 1967, Sommeri was created when the municipalities of Niedersommeri and Obersommeri merged. Sommeri is first mentioned in 905 as Sumbrinaro. Between 1474 and 1798, the vogteien of Niedersommeri...

. After the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

 of 1529 the majority in Sommeri returned to the old faith. However, the inhabitants of Amriswil remained with the Reformed faith and the chapel was given to Protestants. After 1630 there were weekly sermons, and after 1680 the chapel held regular Sunday services. Since 1710, the Reformed pastor lived in Amriswil, and it was united with Sommeri in a common parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

. This remained the situation until migration in the 19th Century changed the religious situation. In 1891, a large Reformed church was constructed in Amriswil. Then, in 1911 the Catholic parish of Amriswil and Sommeri separated and an independent parish was established in Amriswil, followed by the 1939 inauguration of the Catholic Church of St. Stephen.

Until about 1830 Amriswil was a nondescript village with some farming and viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...

. The introduction of cattle (1833), a monthly market (1840), the establishment of a dairy in Sommeri (1852), the emergence of large scale weaving and the opening of a knitting factory through the German refugee Joseph Sallmann (1849) were the beginning of a structural change. This was followed by the opening of the Northeastern Railway (1855). Between the square and the station a new settlement area grew up. The town center shifted from the previous settlement nuclei around the market and the road intersection in Köpplishaus toward the northeast. The rapid industrialization, however, can not be satisfactorily explained by the modest amounts of hydropower
Hydropower
Hydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...

 available or through the increased traffic. Rather, entrepreneurial initiative seems to have been an important stimulus. The companies Sallmann, Laib, and Tuchschmid were a center of manufacturing, known as the Trikoterie. While Esco and Löw were important representatives of the clothing and footwear industry. The growth led to structural problems especially in water supply, which were resolved definitively in 1952 with the purchase of water from Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...

.

With the migration, espicially from Italy, the number of foreigners increased from 7% in 1870 to 29% in 1910. Several Bürgergemeinde
Bürgergemeinde
The Bürgergemeinde is a statutory corporation in public law in Switzerland...

n and villages merged into Amriswil, including Hemmerswil in 1925 and Mühlebach in 1932. The construction and services sectors - trade companies, hotels and restaurants, banks, handicapped services (1909), Cantonal Kindergarten training school (1975) - created new jobs. The Trikoterie remained a keystone of the local economy until around 1980, when the various companies had to close down. At this time the economy was more balanced. In 1990 there were about 90 commercial agriculture farms and about 3,300 jobs in the manufacturing and services sectors, of which 47% were in the services sector.

Geography

Amriswil has an area, , of 19.02 square kilometres (7.3 sq mi). Of this area, 12.85 km² (5 sq mi) or 67.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.47 km² (0.953672331723561 sq mi) or 13.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.64 km² (1.4 sq mi) or 19.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.04 km² (9.9 acre) or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and 0.01 km² (2.5 acre) or 0.1% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 10.8% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 2.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.4%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.1% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 4.7%. Out of the forested land, 10.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 54.5% is used for growing crops, while 13.0% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.

The municipality is located in Arbon District, at the crossing of the Winterthur
Winterthur
Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has the country's sixth largest population with an estimate of more than 100,000 people. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti...

-Arbon
Arbon
Arbon may refer to:* Arbon, Haute-Garonne, French commune* Arbon, Switzerland* Arbon , in Switzerland* Arbon Valley, Idaho...

 and Constance
Constance
Constance is a female given name that derives from Latin and means "constant." Variations of the name include Connie, Constancia, Constanze, Constanza, Stanzy, and Konstanze.Constance may refer to:-People:*Constance Bennett , American actress...

-St. Gallen
St. Gallen
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...

 roads. It consists of the village of Amriswil and the hamlets
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

 of Biessenhofen, Oberaach, Schocherswil and Räuchlisberg.

Demographics

Amriswil has a population of , 26.4% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 3.6%. Most of the population speaks German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

(83.2%), with Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

 being second most common ( 4.5%) and Albanian
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...

 being third ( 4.4%).

, the gender distribution of the population was 49.0% male and 51.0% female. The population was made up of 4,129 Swiss men (35.0% of the population), and 1,646 (14.0%) non-Swiss men. There were 4,549 Swiss women (38.6%), and 1,464 (12.4%) non-Swiss women.

In there were 80 live births to Swiss citizens and 39 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 99 deaths of Swiss citizens and 11 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 19 while the foreign population increased by 28. There were 7 Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland to another country, 5 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country, 68 non-Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland to another country and 60 non-Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources) was an increase of 53 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 150 people. This represents a population growth rate of 1.8%.

The age distribution, , in Amriswil is; 1,207 children or 10.1% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,540 teenagers or 12.9% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 1,816 people or 15.3% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,410 people or 11.9% are between 30 and 39, 1,851 people or 15.6% are between 40 and 49, and 1,585 people or 13.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 1,100 people or 9.2% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 804 people or 6.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 487 people or 4.1% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 94 people or 0.8% who are 90 and older.

the average number of residents per living room was 0.58 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.56 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 34.9% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...

 or a rent-to-own agreement).

, there were 4,604 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. there were 1,128 single family homes (or 68.1% of the total) out of a total of 1,656 inhabited buildings. There were 185 two family buildings (11.2%), 96 three family buildings (5.8%) and 247 multi-family buildings (or 14.9%). There were 2,448 (or 21.6%) persons who were part of a couple without children, and 6,119 (or 53.9%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 645 (or 5.7%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 51 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 47 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 73 who lived in a household made up of unrelated persons, and 381 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing.

The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 2.07%. , the construction rate of new housing units was 1.6 new units per 1000 residents. there were 5,127 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 4 room apartment of which there were 1,508. There were 234 single room apartments and 704 apartments with six or more rooms.

In the 2007 federal election
Swiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...

 the most popular party was the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...

 which received 40.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...

 (14.89%), the FDP
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....

 (13.41%) and the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

 (11.79%). In the federal election, a total of 2,627 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...

 was 37.8%.

The historical population is given in the following table:
year population
1679 139
1850 492
1880 1,533
1910 3,322
1941 5,377
1970 7,601
1980 9,013
1990 10,426
Only includes Reformed Church members.

Heritage sites of national significance

The Bohlenständerhaus Schrofen, Sallmann Carriage
Carriage
A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...

 Collection and Hagenwil Castle
Hagenwil Castle
Hagenwil Castle is a castle in the municipality of Amriswil of the Canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.-References:...

 are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance
Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...

. The village of Hagenwil bei Amriswil is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
The Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites 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:...

.

Economy

, Amriswil had an unemployment rate of 2.45%. , there were 248 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 90 businesses involved in this sector. 1,764 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 157 businesses in this sector. 2,622 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 422 businesses in this sector.

there were 7,531 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 3,071 or about 40.8% of the residents worked outside Amriswil while 2,080 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 6,540 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 48.8% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 4,084 or 36.0% were Roman Catholic, while 4,090 or 36.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
Swiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...

. Of the rest of the population, there were 8 Old Catholics (or about 0.07% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is the Swiss member church of the Union of Utrecht, also known as Old Catholic Church, originally founded by the jansenists, with a later influx of discontented Catholics following their disappointment with the First Vatican Council. It has 14,000...

  there are 398 individuals (or about 3.50% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 451 individuals (or about 3.97% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There were 3 individuals (or about 0.03% of the population) who were Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

, and 1,135 (or about 9.99% of the population) who are Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

ic. There are 88 individuals (or about 0.77% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 591 (or about 5.20% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....

 or atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...

, and 509 individuals (or about 4.48% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

In Amriswil about 62.2% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...

).

Amriswil is home to the Amriswil primary and secondary school district
Education in Switzerland
The education system in Switzerland is very diverse, because the constitution of Switzerland delegates the authority for the school system mainly to the cantons...

. In the 2008/2009 school year there are 1,474 students at either the primary or secondary levels. There are 320 children in the kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

, and the average class size is 18.82 kindergartners. Of the children in kindergarten, 157 or 49.1% are female, 103 or 32.2% are not Swiss citizens and 96 or 30.0% do not speak German natively. The lower and upper primary levels begin at about age 5-6 and lasts for 6 years. There are 458 children in who are at the lower primary level and 478 children in the upper primary level. The average class size in the primary school is 18.91 students. At the lower primary level, there are 240 children or 52.4% of the total population who are female, 123 or 26.9% are not Swiss citizens and 146 or 31.9% do not speak German natively. In the upper primary level, there are 228 or 47.7% who are female, 146 or 30.5% are not Swiss citizens and 172 or 36.0% do not speak German natively.

At the secondary level, students are divided according to performance. The secondary level begins at about age 12 and usually lasts 3 years. There are 280 teenagers who are in the advanced school, of which 149 or 53.2% are female, 44 or 15.7% are not Swiss citizens and 53 or 18.9% do not speak German natively. There are 240 teenagers who are in the standard school, of which 114 or 47.5% are female, 104 or 43.3% are not Swiss citizens and 112 or 46.7% do not speak German natively. Finally, there are 18 teenagers who are in special or remedial classes, of which 9 or 50.0% are female, 15 or 83.3% are not Swiss citizens and 15 or 83.3% do not speak German natively. The average class size for all classes at the secondary level is 20 students.

Amriswil is home to the Bibliothek-Ludothek library. The library has 17,897 books or other media, and loaned out 82,856 items in the same year. It was open a total of 238 days with average of 17 hours per week during that year.
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