Gipf-Oberfrick
Encyclopedia
Gipf-Oberfrick is a municipality
in the district of Laufenburg
in the canton
of Aargau
in Switzerland
.
items, La Tène culture
graves and Roman era
buildings and a farm house from the 1st to 4th Centuries. The modern village of Gipf is first mentioned in 1259 as Cubibe. In 1276 it was mentioned as Gipff, and in 1278 as Guffpha. In 1288 Oberfrick was mentioned as Obiren Vrieche. At one time the castle of Alt-Thierstein was above the village on the Tiersteinberg. The castle is now a ruin. Before 1232 the village was owned by the count
of Homberg-Thierstein. After 1232 it came under the authority of the lords of Frick, a Habsburg
vassal
. In 1406 the Lords of Eptingen
acquired the village and then later it came to the city of Basel
. In 1534 the rights to the village fell back to Austria and it became part of the district of Fricktal. It remained under Habsburgs until 1797. Frick, Oberfrick and Gipf formed a municipal court (bailiwick
). This court had the authority over Zwing und Bann
within the three villages, making the bailiwick self-governing on minor issues. The area suffered great destruction in the Thirty Years War. After the Act of Mediation
in 1803, the Confederation of Fricktal joined the Swiss Confederation. At that time, the former bailiwick was divided into the municipalities of Frick
and Gipf-Oberfrick.
Gipf and Frick were united in one parish
, until 1953, when an independent Gipf-Oberfrick parish was created. St. Wendelin's chapel was built in 1708, and a parish church
was built in 1968-70.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 6.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.7%. 38.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 24.8% is used for growing crops and 18.9% is pastures, while 5.5% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.
The municipality is located in the Laufenburg district, in the upper Fricktal
(Frick river valley). It consists of the villages of Gipf and Oberfrick.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Or a Doe Gules stantant on Coupeaux Vert
The age distribution, , in Gipf-Oberfrick is; 340 children or 10.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 420 teenagers or 13.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 412 people or 12.9% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 415 people or 13.0% are between 30 and 39, 603 people or 18.9% are between 40 and 49, and 438 people or 13.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 320 people or 10.0% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 151 people or 4.7% are between 70 and 79, there are 77 people or 2.4% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 12 people or 0.4% who are 90 and older.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.57 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 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 63% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 79 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 459 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 497 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 1,074 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. there were 590 single family homes (or 45.1% of the total) out of a total of 1,308 homes and apartments. There were a total of 73 empty apartments for a 5.6% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.1 new units per 1000 residents.
In the 2007 federal election
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 30.4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
(21.1%), the CVP
(17.9%) and the FDP
(10.3%).
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Gipf-Oberfrick about 82.1% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
). Of the school age population , there are 262 students attending primary school, there are 164 students attending secondary school in the municipality.
The historical population is given in the following table:
.
there were 1,498 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 1,204 or about 80.4% of the residents worked outside Gipf-Oberfrick while 251 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 545 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 20% used public transportation to get to work, and 47.8% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 15 individuals (or about 0.53% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic
faith.
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 the district of Laufenburg
Laufenburg (district)
Laufenburg District is a district of the canton of Aargau, Switzerland, essentially consisting of the upper Fricktal valley in the Aargau Jura south of the Rhine. Its capital is the town of Laufenburg. It has a population of .-Geography:...
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 Aargau
Aargau
Aargau is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. It comprises the lower course of the river Aare, which is why the canton is called Aar-gau .-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
Discoveries in area that would become Gipf-Oberfrick indicated that there were several earlier settlements. These finds include; several Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
items, La Tène culture
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
graves and Roman era
Switzerland in the Roman era
The history of Switzerland in the Roman era encompasses the roughly six centuries during which the territory of modern Switzerland was a part of the Roman Republic and Empire...
buildings and a farm house from the 1st to 4th Centuries. The modern village of Gipf is first mentioned in 1259 as Cubibe. In 1276 it was mentioned as Gipff, and in 1278 as Guffpha. In 1288 Oberfrick was mentioned as Obiren Vrieche. At one time the castle of Alt-Thierstein was above the village on the Tiersteinberg. The castle is now a ruin. Before 1232 the village was owned by the count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
of Homberg-Thierstein. After 1232 it came under the authority of the lords of Frick, a Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
. In 1406 the Lords of Eptingen
Eptingen
Eptingen is a municipality in the district of Waldenburg in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland.-Geography:Eptingen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 47.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 47.6% is forested...
acquired the village and then later it came to the city of Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
. In 1534 the rights to the village fell back to Austria and it became part of the district of Fricktal. It remained under Habsburgs until 1797. Frick, Oberfrick and Gipf formed a municipal court (bailiwick
Bailiwick
A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and may also apply to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of...
). This court had the authority over Zwing und Bann
Zwing und Bann
Zwing und Bann is a Swiss feudal set of rules and regulations governing justice and punishment in a village or villages. Zwing and Twing are different spellings based on the local Swiss German dialect. The magistrate or Zwingherr had legally binding rules and regulations in the exercise of low...
within the three villages, making the bailiwick self-governing on minor issues. The area suffered great destruction in the Thirty Years War. After the Act of Mediation
Act of Mediation
The Act of Mediation was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte on 19 February 1803 establishing the Swiss Confederation. The act also abolished the previous Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion of Switzerland by French troops in 1798. After the withdrawal of French troops in July 1802,...
in 1803, the Confederation of Fricktal joined the Swiss Confederation. At that time, the former bailiwick was divided into the municipalities of Frick
Frick, Switzerland
Frick is a municipality in the district of Laufenburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. A dinosaur graveyard containing more than 100 Plateosaurus was found there in August 2007.-History:...
and Gipf-Oberfrick.
Gipf and Frick were united in one 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...
, until 1953, when an independent Gipf-Oberfrick parish was created. St. Wendelin's chapel was built in 1708, and a parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
was built in 1968-70.
Geography
Gipf-Oberfrick has an area, , of 10.18 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi). Of this area, 5 km² (1.9 sq mi) or 49.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 4.14 km² (1.6 sq mi) or 40.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.03 km² (0.397685223350311 sq mi) or 10.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.03 km² (7.4 acre) or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 6.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.7%. 38.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 24.8% is used for growing crops and 18.9% is pastures, while 5.5% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.
The municipality is located in the Laufenburg district, in the upper Fricktal
Fricktal
The Fricktal region is the northwest finger extending from the Swiss canton of Aargau. It is situated in Northwestern Switzerland east of Basel, between the High Rhine forming the border with Germany in the north and the Jura Mountains in the south. The Fricktal contains the districts of...
(Frick river valley). It consists of the villages of Gipf and Oberfrick.
Coat of arms
The blazonBlazon
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...
of the municipal coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
is Or a Doe Gules stantant on Coupeaux Vert
Demographics
Gipf-Oberfrick has a population of , 10.6% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 21.8%. Most of the population speaks German (93.9%), with Albanian being second most common ( 1.1%) and Italian being third ( 0.9%).The age distribution, , in Gipf-Oberfrick is; 340 children or 10.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 420 teenagers or 13.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 412 people or 12.9% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 415 people or 13.0% are between 30 and 39, 603 people or 18.9% are between 40 and 49, and 438 people or 13.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 320 people or 10.0% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 151 people or 4.7% are between 70 and 79, there are 77 people or 2.4% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 12 people or 0.4% who are 90 and older.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.57 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 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 63% 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 79 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 459 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 497 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 1,074 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. there were 590 single family homes (or 45.1% of the total) out of a total of 1,308 homes and apartments. There were a total of 73 empty apartments for a 5.6% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.1 new units per 1000 residents.
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 30.4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(21.1%), 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...
(17.9%) and 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....
(10.3%).
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Gipf-Oberfrick about 82.1% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
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...
). Of the school age population , there are 262 students attending primary school, there are 164 students attending secondary school in the municipality.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1768 | 588 |
| 1850 | 1,050 |
| 1900 | 851 |
| 1950 | 954 |
| 2000 | 2,808 |
Heritage sites of national significance
The ruins of Alt-Thierstein castle is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significanceSwiss 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...
.
Economy
, Gipf-Oberfrick had an unemployment rate of 1.83%. , there were 129 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 38 businesses involved in this sector. 141 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 18 businesses in this sector. 341 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 74 businesses in this sector.there were 1,498 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 1,204 or about 80.4% of the residents worked outside Gipf-Oberfrick while 251 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 545 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 20% used public transportation to get to work, and 47.8% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 1,528 or 54.4% were Roman Catholic, while 823 or 29.3% belonged to the Swiss Reformed ChurchSwiss 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 15 individuals (or about 0.53% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic
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...
faith.