Muri
Encyclopedia
Muri, Formerly known as Muri (Freiamt
Freiamt
Freiamt is a town in the district of Emmendingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....

) , is a municipality in southeastern Swiss Canton 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:...

 and is the capital of same district. The present municipality of Muri was created in 1816 from the merging of the four municipalities Langdorf
Langdorf
Langdorf is a municipality in the district of Regen in Bavaria in Germany. It was formerly known as Dorfmuri....

, Egg
Egg, Switzerland
Egg is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-Geography:Egg has an area of . Of this area, 58.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 23.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 18.1% is settled and the remainder is non-productive...

, Hasli and Wey.

Geography

The community consists of three districts. Immediately west of the monastery lies the community of Wey, slightly more than a kilometer south of the district Langdorf (formerly known as Dorfmuri). East of the railway line, at a distance of half a kilometer of the village is Egg. There are also several hamlets: Hasli is located one kilometer north of the monastery, Vili one kilometer in a northwesterly direction, and Langenmatt one kilometer to the west. Türmelen, a hamlet, which lies directly on the eastern boundary of the municipality, is now merged with Egg. There are also numerous isolated farms scattered throughout the area.

Muri is located in the upper end of the Bünztal at the foot of Lindenberg, Covering all districts, with one exception lie in a plane at an altitude from 450 to 480 m (1,476.4 to 1,574.8 ft). In the west the slope rises evenly, where Langenmatt lies at an altitude of 570 metres (1,870.1 ft). Toward the south, the terrain is undulating and is divided by two river valleys. The Sörikerbach flows through Wey, and the Rüeribach by Langdorf and Egg.

Muri has an area, , of 12.34 square kilometres (4.8 sq mi). Of this area, 7.17 km² (2.8 sq mi) or 58.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.57 km² (0.992282547582815 sq mi) or 20.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.49 km² (0.961394374895412 sq mi) or 20.2% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.04 km² (9.9 acre) or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes and 0.03 km² (7.4 acre) or 0.2% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 2.6% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 11.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.4%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.3%. Out of the forested land, 19.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 39.5% is used for growing crops and 16.1% is pastures, while 2.4% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.

The highest point is located at 635 metres (2,083.3 ft) above the ravine on Sörikerbach, the lowest point lies at 432 metres (1,417.3 ft) in Büelmoos on the eastern boundary of the municipality.

The neighboring communities are Aristau
Aristau
Aristau is a municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:The first traces of human settlement around Aristau are scattered La Tène culture artifacts. The modern municipality of Aristau is made up of three separate sections or villages...

 in the Northeast, Merenschwand
Merenschwand
Merenschwand is a municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:The earliest evidence of human settlement is a lake side village from the Late Bronze Age. The lake has since silted up and is now part of the Rütiweid meadow...

 in the east, Benzenschwil
Benzenschwil
Benzenschwil is a municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:Benzenschwil is first mentioned in 1189 as Penziswile. In the Middle Ages, the major landholders included the Lords of Hünenberg and the Frauenthal and Muri monasteries...

 in the southeast, Geltwil
Geltwil
Geltwil is a municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:The earliest trace of human settlement near Geltwil is a Roman era villa. The modern municipality of Geltwil is first mentioned in 1160 as Geltwile. The history of Geltwil was always closely...

 in the southwest, Buttwil in the west and Boswil in the northwest.

History

Several findings suggest that colonisation of the area happened during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. Close to Hallstatt Era is one Mound, which was discovered in 1929 near the southern boundary of the municipality. From the 1st century AD, smaller Roman settlements existed, but these were destroyed by the Alamanni
Alamanni
The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...

 by 260. This allowed them to settle here in the 8th or 9th century, calling their settlement Murah, from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 murus after the many Roman low walls they found. It was first mentioned in 924 as Murahe.

The history is closely linked to that of the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

s of Muri. Radbot, Count of Habsburg
Radbot, Count of Habsburg
Radbot, Count of Habsburg , also known as Radbot of Klettgau, was Graf of the county of Klettgau on the High Rhine in Swabia....

 and Ida of Lorraine
Ida of Lorraine
Ida of Lorraine was a saint and noblewoman.She was the daughter of Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine and his wife, Doda. Ida's grandfather was Gothelo I, Duke of Lorraine and Ida's brother was Godfrey IV, Duke of Lower Lorraine.-Family:In 1057, she married Eustace II of Boulogne...

 founded the Muri Abbey in 1027. With the backing of the 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...

s, it became more powerful over time, and acquired an extensive estate in the Swiss plateau
Swiss plateau
The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau constitutes one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland alongside the Jura mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of the Swiss surface...

 before rising to become an important spiritual and cultural center. In the 12th century, today's municipality was split in to the vicus superior and the vicus inferior, which included the monastery domain. From parts of that domain arose around 1082 the other settlements and isolated farms. Egg
Egg, Switzerland
Egg is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-Geography:Egg has an area of . Of this area, 58.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 23.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 18.1% is settled and the remainder is non-productive...

, Hasli, and Wey evolved over time into independent communities.

The parish included not only the present day Muri, but also Aristau, Buttwil
Buttwil
Buttwil is a municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.The village is west of Muri.-History:Buttwil is first mentioned in 1160 as Butwile. From its founding the Benedictine Muri Abbey possessed extensive real estate in the village...

 and Geltwil. The monastery also encompassed parts of Beinwil
Beinwil (Freiamt)
Beinwil is a municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:The earliest evidence of human settlement are scattered Roman era items. The modern municipality of Beinwil is first mentioned in 1153 as Beinwilare. Until 1950 it was known as Beinwil bei Muri. ...

 and Besenbüren
Besenbüren
Besenbüren is a municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:The first indication of human settlement near Besenbüren are paleo- and mesolithic items that were discovered in the Forenmoos...

. The provincial government and the right of high justice
High Justice
High Justice is a 1974 collection of science fiction short stories by Jerry Pournelle. It was republished in a omnibus edition with Exiles to Glory in 2009 as Exile -- and Glory....

 were held by the counts of Habsburg. A large minority of the population of Muri became Protestants in 1529, but were re-Catholicised after the Second War of Kappel
Second war of Kappel
The second war of Kappel was an armed conflict in 1531 between the Protestant and the Catholic cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy during the Reformation in Switzerland.-Cause:...

 (1531). The monastery became increasingly important after 1701, and was for many years the wealthiest in Switzerland.

Religious riots broke out in early January 1841 in the Freiamt
Freie Ämter
The Freiamt or Freie Ämter is a region in Switzerland and is located in the southeast of Canton of Aargau. It comprises the area between the Lindenberg and Heitersberg and from the terminal moraine at Othmarsingen to Reuss river in Dietwil. Today the area of the Bremgarten and Muri Districts are...

, directed against the state government. The conflict, which was brought under control within a few days, served the district as an excuse on 13 January to decide that the monastery of Muri would be stripped of its power; the last monks left the monastery on 27 January. This hit the town by surprise, since they now had to take on tasks which had previously been settled by the monastery, such as education. The buildings were subsequently put to a variety of purposes.

In March 1798, Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

 abolished the Old Swiss Confederacy
Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....

 and proclaimed the Helvetic Republic
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...

. Muri was the administrative seat of a district of the canton of Baden
Canton of Baden
The Canton of Baden was a canton of the Helvetic Republic . Its capital was the town of Baden....

. The current municipality of Muri was created in 1816 after the dissolution of the district municipality and the merger of Egg, Hasli, Langdorf, and Wey; the community of Hasli had meanwhile been driven to bankruptcy. On 21 August 1889, part of the monastery burned down, and the complete restoration of the east wing was completed only in 1989. Since 1960, a small group of monks have been living in a wing of the monastery. The remaining rooms now belong to the county and municipality, as well as some classrooms.

On 1 June 1875, the town became connected to the railway network when the Wohlen–Muri section of the Aargau Southern Railway was opened. The continuation after Red Cross (with connection to the Gotthardbahn) was delayed for financial reasons and only took place on 1 December 1881. For a while there was much tourism because from 1868 to 1917 there was a spa and bathhouse.

Heritage sites of national significance

The former Benedictine Muri Abbey, the Leontiusbrunnen (fountain) at Leontiusplatz, the so-called Klosterscheune near the Abbey at Klosterhof 197 and the granary at Hasli 233 are all listed as Swiss heritage sites 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 entire hamlet
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 Hasli is designated as 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:...

.

Muri Abbey

The dominant landmark of Muri is the Muri Abbey
Muri Abbey
Muri Abbey was a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. It flourished for over eight centuries at Muri, in the Canton of Aargau, near Basle in Switzerland...

. This is a nearly 1000 years old Benedictine. Its centerpiece is an in Baroque constructed, octagonal central building (Octagon) from the 17th Century. The central building is enclosed by one from the 11th -Century Romance Church. Even elements of the Gothic Architectural style are represented. The church is rich with Frescoes and carvings.

In the Cloister with the valuable Glass painting cycle of the 16th Century is the Habsburg crypt. It contains the hearts of the last rulers of the Austrian Monarchy Emperor Charles I and Empress Zita of Bourbon-Parma
Zita of Bourbon-Parma
Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma was the wife of Emperor Charles of Austria...

 and the hearts of other members of the Habsburg family. The bodies of the couple's sons Randolph and Felix
Archduke Felix of Austria
Archduke Felix of Austria was the last surviving child of the last Austrian Emperor Charles I and a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine...

 are buried here.

The monastery museum houses valuable treasures of the monastery. There is also a permanent exhibition of the painter Caspar Wolf. The monastery church owns five organs.

Other Structures

The parish church of St. Goar is from the period around 1030th to about 1335 and parts have survived from this period, however, only the foundations of the church tower remain. In 1583, the tower was rebuilt. From 1640 to 1644, it was rebuilt in the baroque style from scratch. In 1677 the choir altar was taken away, and was replaced 1837/38. The last major renovation took place 1987/88. North of the parish is the parish house which was built in 1747.

Halfway between the parish and monastery church is the courthouse. It was built in 1660 and was initially commissioned by the monastery as a guesthouse. Today it is used by the district court.

Crest

The blazon
Blazon
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 Gules a Wall Argent embattled or "In red double-breasted, black Grooved white wall with three towers." In 1930, they adopted the arms of the former monastery, which the abbot John Feierabend imposed in 1508. The wall was first three rows, but since 1972 it has only two rows. The District crest, however, remained unchanged.

Demographics

Muri has a population of , 20.8% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 11%. 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....

(86.4%), 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 ( 4.2%) and 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 third (2.7%) Serbo-Croatian was fourth with 2.2%, and fifth at 1.1% was Portuguese.

The age distribution, , in Muri is; 788 children or 11.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 853 teenagers or 12.6% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 946 people or 14.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 909 people or 13.4% are between 30 and 39, 1,085 people or 16.0% are between 40 and 49, and 849 people or 12.5% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 698 people or 10.3% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 413 people or 6.1% are between 70 and 79, there are 213 people or 3.1% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 24 people or 0.4% who are 90 and older.

the average number of residents per living room was 0.59 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 45.3% 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 279 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 1,218 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 871 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 2,436 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. there were 934 single family homes (or 32.6% of the total) out of a total of 2,865 homes and apartments. There were a total of 13 empty apartments for a 0.5% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 7.2 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 34.6% 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...

 (24.5%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

 (16.1%) 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 historical population is given in the following table:
year population
1755 1,966
1799 1,397
1850 1,966
1900 2,073
1950 3,680
1970 4,853
2000 6,545

Religion

From the , 4,172 or 63.7% were Roman Catholic, while 1,088 or 16.6% 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 individuals (or about 0.12% 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. In the same census, 6.9% of the population was Muslim and 1.0% belonged to other faiths.

Politics and Law

The Congregational assembly of electors exercises the legislative power. The executive body is the five-member Municipal. His term of office is four years and he is elected by the people with a majority vote. He leads and represents the community. In addition, he implements the decisions of the municipal assembly and the tasks that were assigned to him by the canton and the Confederation. Mayor of the term 2006-2009 is Joseph Etterlin (CVP).

Muri is the seat of the District Court and the Peace of the district Muri.

Economy

, Muri had an unemployment rate of 2.22%. , there were 176 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 47 businesses involved in this sector. 1,645 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 92 businesses in this sector. 2,209 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 271 businesses in this sector.

there were 3,453 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 1,905 or about 55.2% of the residents worked outside Muri while 1,918 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 3,466 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 10.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 49.6% used a private car.

The main manufacturing sectors are metal processing, chemicals, plastics processing, production of fruit juices, and the manufacture of appliances, precision instruments and electronic devices.

Muri houses the District Hospital for the Freiamt. This regional hospital is for the whole region of Freiamt jurisdiction and covers a catchment area from more than 100,000 inhabitants.

Education

In Muri about 67.9% 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 518 students attending primary school, there are 303 students attending secondary school, there are 349 students attending tertiary or university level schooling, and there are 14 students who are seeking a job after school in the municipality.

There are five educational centers in Muri (Bachmatten, Badweiher, the monastery, and Rösslimattstrasse). Some classes of Primary school are housed in a wing of the monastery. The closest School District (High School) is located in Wohlen.

Notable people

  • Conrad of Mure
    Conrad of Mure
    Conrad of Mure, also often referred to as Conrad of Muri , was rector of the diocesan school attached to the Zurich Minster and author of a number of important treatises on rhetoric and poetry. His Summa de arte prosandi is one of the most learned introductions to the art of letter writing in the...

     (c. 1210-1281), author of Latin didactic
  • John Feierabend (c. 1440-1508), John II as Abbot of Muri 1500-1508
  • Caspar Wolf
    Caspar Wolf
    Caspar Wolf was a Swiss painter, known mostly for his dramatic paintings of Alps. He was strongly influenced by Albrecht von Hallers poem on the Alps, and the Sturm und Drang movement. After 1773 Wolf mostly painted glaciers, caves, waterfalls and gorges.Wolf was the son of a furniture maker, who...

     (1735–1783), painter
  • Theodore Wolf (1770–1818), painter
  • Roland Koch
    Roland Koch
    Roland Koch is a German jurist and former conservative politician. He was Minister-President of Hesse from April 7, 1999, immediately becoming President of the Bundesrat, completing the term begun by his predecessor as Minister President, Hans Eichel, until his resignation on August 31, 2010...

    (* 1959), actor
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