Koblenz, Switzerland
Encyclopedia
Koblenz is a municipality
in the district of Zurzach
in the canton
of Aargau
in Switzerland
.
of the Aare and Rhine rivers. In 1265 it was mentioned as Cobilz. In the Roman era
a goods yard and watchtowers existed along the Rhine at this place. The remaining late Roman watchtower is listed as a heritage site of national significance
. The town has been settled since the Middle Ages
. The Koblenz boatmen had a monopoly
over transport of goods from the then important market town of Zurzach downstream along dangerous currents of the Rhine towards Basel
. With the arrival of the railway
in the 19th century Koblenz and Zurzach lost this important source of income.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.7% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 9.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 7.8%. Out of the forested land, 26.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 35.5% is used for growing crops and 5.6% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, and .
The municipality is located in the Zurzach district, between the Aare and Rhine rivers. It lies opposite Waldshut
in Baden-Württemberg
, Germany
. It consists of the haufendorf village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Koblenz.
The village of Koblenz is known locally as the "Vier-Brücken-Dorf" (literally: village of four bridges). Two road and railway bridges each cross the Aar and the Rhine.
The like-named town Koblenz
also lies on a confluence of the Rhine, with the river Mosel
in Germany
.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Or a Bar wavy Azure in chief a boat with an oar Sable and in base a bendlet wavy of the second.
(82.4%), with Albanian
being second most common ( 4.3%) and Serbo-Croatian
being third ( 3.7%).
, the gender distribution of the population was 53.9% male and 46.1% female. The population was made up of 544 Swiss men (34.6% of the population), and 304 (19.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 470 Swiss women (29.9%), and 256 (16.3%) non-Swiss women. In there were 8 live births to Swiss citizens and 11 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 14 deaths of Swiss citizens and 3 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 6 while the foreign population increased by 8. There were 22 non-Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland to another country and 14 non-Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country. The total Swiss population change in 2008 was a decrease of 26 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 35 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.6%.
The age distribution, , in Koblenz is; 142 children or 9.0% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 218 teenagers or 13.8% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 203 people or 12.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 195 people or 12.3% are between 30 and 39, 302 people or 19.1% are between 40 and 49, and 200 people or 12.6% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 151 people or 9.5% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 123 people or 7.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 44 people or 2.8% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 6 people or 0.4% who are 90 and older.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.6 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 43% 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 53 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 329 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 204 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 607 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. there were 264 single family homes (or 39.5% of the total) out of a total of 669 homes and apartments. There were a total of 9 empty apartments for a 1.3% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.6 new units per 1000 residents.
In the 2007 federal election
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 44.84% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
(21.39%), the CVP
(15.01%) and the FDP
(8.83%). In the federal election, a total of 386 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 44.7%.
The historical population is given in the following table:
), the Koblenz–Waldshut railroad bridge and the Kleiner Laufen, a portion of the Roman Rhine fortifications are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.
there were 821 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 624 or about 76.0% of the residents worked outside Koblenz while 369 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 566 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 14.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 51% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 7 individuals (or about 0.43% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic
faith.
). Of the school age population , there are 121 students attending primary school in the 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 the district of Zurzach
Zurzach (district)
Zurzach District is a district in the Swiss Canton of Aargau with the administrative capital of Zurzach. It covers the Studenlands and is located in the northeastern part of the canton. The district capital is Bad Zurzach. The main valleys are the Surb and the Aare. It has a population of ...
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
Koblenz is first mentioned in 10th or 11th Century as Confluentia, for the confluenceConfluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the Aare and Rhine rivers. In 1265 it was mentioned as Cobilz. In the 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...
a goods yard and watchtowers existed along the Rhine at this place. The remaining late Roman watchtower is listed as a 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 town has been settled since 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...
. The Koblenz boatmen had a monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
over transport of goods from the then important market town of Zurzach downstream along dangerous currents of the Rhine towards 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...
. With the arrival of the railway
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
in the 19th century Koblenz and Zurzach lost this important source of income.
Geography
Koblenz has an area, , of 4.08 square kilometres (1.6 sq mi). Of this area, 1.69 km² (0.652512648021384 sq mi) or 41.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.19 km² (0.459461568725117 sq mi) or 29.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.8 km² (0.308881726874028 sq mi) or 19.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.36 km² (0.138996777093313 sq mi) or 8.8% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.5% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.7% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 9.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 7.8%. Out of the forested land, 26.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 35.5% is used for growing crops and 5.6% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, and .
The municipality is located in the Zurzach district, between the Aare and Rhine rivers. It lies opposite Waldshut
Waldshut
Waldshut is a district in the south of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Lörrach, Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald and Schwarzwald-Baar; followed in the south by the Swiss cantons of Schaffhausen, Zürich and Aargau.-History:The district dates to the Oberamt Waldshut, which was...
in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It consists of the haufendorf village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Koblenz.
The village of Koblenz is known locally as the "Vier-Brücken-Dorf" (literally: village of four bridges). Two road and railway bridges each cross the Aar and the Rhine.
The like-named town Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
also lies on a confluence of the Rhine, with the river Mosel
Moselle River
The Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg, and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, joining the Rhine at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our....
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
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 Bar wavy Azure in chief a boat with an oar Sable and in base a bendlet wavy of the second.
Demographics
Koblenz has a population of , 29.7% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of -0.3%. Most of the population speaks GermanGerman 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....
(82.4%), with 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 second most common ( 4.3%) and Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian language
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
being third ( 3.7%).
, the gender distribution of the population was 53.9% male and 46.1% female. The population was made up of 544 Swiss men (34.6% of the population), and 304 (19.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 470 Swiss women (29.9%), and 256 (16.3%) non-Swiss women. In there were 8 live births to Swiss citizens and 11 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 14 deaths of Swiss citizens and 3 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 6 while the foreign population increased by 8. There were 22 non-Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland to another country and 14 non-Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country. The total Swiss population change in 2008 was a decrease of 26 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 35 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.6%.
The age distribution, , in Koblenz is; 142 children or 9.0% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 218 teenagers or 13.8% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 203 people or 12.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 195 people or 12.3% are between 30 and 39, 302 people or 19.1% are between 40 and 49, and 200 people or 12.6% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 151 people or 9.5% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 123 people or 7.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 44 people or 2.8% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 6 people or 0.4% who are 90 and older.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.6 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 43% 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 53 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 329 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 204 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 607 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. there were 264 single family homes (or 39.5% of the total) out of a total of 669 homes and apartments. There were a total of 9 empty apartments for a 1.3% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.6 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 44.84% 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....
(21.39%), 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...
(15.01%) 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....
(8.83%). In the federal election, a total of 386 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 44.7%.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1803 | 434 |
| 1850 | 709 |
| 1900 | 554 |
| 1950 | 882 |
| 1990 | 1,550 |
| 2000 | 1,611 |
Heritage sites of national significance
The railroad bridge Koblenz–Felsenau (shared with LeuggernLeuggern
Leuggern is a municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:The remains of a Roman era Rhine fortifications watchtower have been discovered in Felsenau. The modern municipality of Leuggern is first mentioned in 1231 as Lutgern. In the 13th Century it was...
), the Koblenz–Waldshut railroad bridge and the Kleiner Laufen, a portion of the Roman Rhine fortifications are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.
Economy
, Koblenz had an unemployment rate of 2.57%. , there were 16 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 5 businesses involved in this sector. 367 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 23 businesses in this sector. 230 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 47 businesses in this sector.there were 821 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 624 or about 76.0% of the residents worked outside Koblenz while 369 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 566 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 14.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 51% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 720 or 44.7% were Roman Catholic, while 446 or 27.7% 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 7 individuals (or about 0.43% 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.
Education
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Koblenz about 63.6% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a FachhochschuleFachhochschule
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 121 students attending primary school in the municipality.