Rothrist
Encyclopedia
Rothrist is a municipality
in the district of Zofingen
in the canton
of Aargau
in Switzerland
.
settlement, the modern village of Rothrist is first mentioned in 1263 as Routris. The Herschaft
rights were held by the Count
s of Frohburg until 1299, when they transferred to the Habsburgs. Following the conquest of the Aargau in 1415, it became part of Bern. Under both the Habsburgs and Bern, it was part of the court of Aarburg
. From 1798 until 1802 it was part of the Canton of Bern, and in 1803, it came to the newly created Canton of Aargau as part of the Zofingen district. In 1706 the municipality built its first schoolhouse on the Hölzli. In 1917 a district school opened. The municipal museum (Heimatmuseum) was built in 1970.
Throughout the Middle Ages
it was part of the church parish
of Zofingen kirchgenössig. Between 1667-1714 it was under the ecclesiastical court
of Oftringen. In 1714 the Reformed
parish of Rothrist was established with its own church. The village's Catholic
church was built in 1971.
In the 18th Century agriculture and the home weaving industry dominated in Rothrist. Along the rivers in the lower Pfaffner and Wigger valleys, small businesses opened in the 19th Century. Because of the economic crisis on 1855, 300 residents of the village were forced to emigrate to America. Five years after connecting to the Olten
-Bern railway line in 1857, the first large factory was built on the west boundary of the municipality. This factory, a spinning mill
, used the water power of the Rotkanal. A strong push toward industrialization began after 1930. Then, in 1952 the soft drink company Rivella
was founded. Due to the motorway junction, a number of companies and factories settled along the access roads in the municipality. The number of jobs in the municipality rose from 1,429 in 1950 to 3,952 in 2005.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 5.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 14.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 7.8%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.9% of the area Out of the forested land, 30.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.9% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 21.7% is used for growing crops and 11.0% is pastures, while 1.1% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Zofingen district, along a bend in the Aare river. It is located west of the confluence
of the Pfaffnern and Wigger
rivers. It consists of the village of Rothrist and a number of scattered the hamlets
.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Gules a Ploughshare Argent between in chief two Mullets of Five of the same and Coupeaux Vert.
(87.4%), with Serbo-Croatian
being second most common ( 3.2%) and Italian
being third ( 3.1%).
The age distribution, , in Rothrist is; 731 children or 9.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 855 teenagers or 11.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 1,019 people or 13.4% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,077 people or 14.2% are between 30 and 39, 1,208 people or 15.9% are between 40 and 49, and 1,035 people or 13.6% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 821 people or 10.8% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 507 people or 6.7% are between 70 and 79, there are 286 people or 3.8% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 52 people or 0.7% 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 51.8% 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 243 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 1,439 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 1,017 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 2,748 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. there were 1,315 single family homes (or 38.8% of the total) out of a total of 3,385 homes and apartments. There were a total of 8 empty apartments for a 0.2% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.8 new units per 1000 residents.
In the 2007 federal election
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 38.06% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
(18.37%), the FDP
(13.4%) and the EVP Party
(7.71%). In the federal election, a total of 2,081 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 41.2%.
The historical population is given in the following table:
there were 3,616 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 2,245 or about 62.1% of the residents worked outside Rothrist while 2,151 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 3,522 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 9.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 53.3% used a private car.
faith.
). Of the school age population , there are 532 students attending primary school, there are 208 students attending secondary school, there are 158 students attending tertiary or university level schooling in the municipality.
Rothrist is home to the Schul-u.Gde.Bibliothek Rothrist (school and municipal library of Rothrist). The library has 7,095 books or other media, and loaned out 16,365 items in the same year. It was open a total of 213 days with average of 8 hours per week during that year.
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 Zofingen
Zofingen (district)
Zofingen District is a district in the Swiss canton of Aargau. It is located in the southwest corner of the Canton. The seat is Zofingen. The largest municipality in population is Oftringen, the smallest is Wiliberg. 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
Originally an AlamanniAlamanni
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...
settlement, the modern village of Rothrist is first mentioned in 1263 as Routris. The Herschaft
Herrschaft (territory)
In the German feudal system, a Herrschaft or Herrlichkeit was the fiefdom of a lord, who in this area exercised his full feudal rights...
rights were held 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...
s of Frohburg until 1299, when they transferred to the Habsburgs. Following the conquest of the Aargau in 1415, it became part of Bern. Under both the Habsburgs and Bern, it was part of the court of Aarburg
Aarburg
Aarburg is a municipality in the district of Zofingen in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.The small town lies in the southwest Aargau at an Engnis Aare in the lower Wiggertal. It lies in the intersection of the most important traffic routes of Switzerland...
. From 1798 until 1802 it was part of the Canton of Bern, and in 1803, it came to the newly created Canton of Aargau as part of the Zofingen district. In 1706 the municipality built its first schoolhouse on the Hölzli. In 1917 a district school opened. The municipal museum (Heimatmuseum) was built in 1970.
Throughout 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...
it was part of the church 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 Zofingen kirchgenössig. Between 1667-1714 it was under the ecclesiastical court
Ecclesiastical court
An ecclesiastical court is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages in many areas of Europe these courts had much wider powers than before the development of nation states...
of Oftringen. In 1714 the Reformed
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...
parish of Rothrist was established with its own church. The village's Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
church was built in 1971.
In the 18th Century agriculture and the home weaving industry dominated in Rothrist. Along the rivers in the lower Pfaffner and Wigger valleys, small businesses opened in the 19th Century. Because of the economic crisis on 1855, 300 residents of the village were forced to emigrate to America. Five years after connecting to the Olten
Olten
Olten is a town in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland and capital of the district of the same name.Olten's railway station is within 30 minutes of Zurich, Bern, Basel, and Lucerne by train, and is a rail hub of Switzerland.-History:...
-Bern railway line in 1857, the first large factory was built on the west boundary of the municipality. This factory, a spinning mill
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
, used the water power of the Rotkanal. A strong push toward industrialization began after 1930. Then, in 1952 the soft drink company Rivella
Rivella
Rivella is a soft drink from Switzerland, created by Robert Barth in 1952, which is produced from milk whey, and therefore includes ingredients such as lactose, lactic acid and minerals...
was founded. Due to the motorway junction, a number of companies and factories settled along the access roads in the municipality. The number of jobs in the municipality rose from 1,429 in 1950 to 3,952 in 2005.
Geography
Rothrist has an area, , of 11.84 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi). Of this area, 4 km² (1.5 sq mi) or 33.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.88 km² (1.5 sq mi) or 32.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.62 km² (1.4 sq mi) or 30.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.24 km² (0.0926645180622084 sq mi) or 2.0% is either rivers or lakes and 0.03 km² (7.4 acre) or 0.3% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 5.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 14.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 7.8%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.9% of the area Out of the forested land, 30.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.9% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 21.7% is used for growing crops and 11.0% is pastures, while 1.1% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is located in the Zofingen district, along a bend in the Aare river. It is located west of the confluence
Confluence
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 Pfaffnern and Wigger
Wigger (river)
The Wigger is a river in the Swiss cantons of Lucerne and Aargau. It is an important tributary of the river Aar. The Wigger is around 41 kilometers long and flows from south to north for most of its length...
rivers. It consists of the village of Rothrist and a number of scattered 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...
.
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 Gules a Ploughshare Argent between in chief two Mullets of Five of the same and Coupeaux Vert.
Demographics
Rothrist has a population of , 19.1% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 7%. 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....
(87.4%), with 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 second most common ( 3.2%) 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 ( 3.1%).
The age distribution, , in Rothrist is; 731 children or 9.6% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 855 teenagers or 11.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 1,019 people or 13.4% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,077 people or 14.2% are between 30 and 39, 1,208 people or 15.9% are between 40 and 49, and 1,035 people or 13.6% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 821 people or 10.8% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 507 people or 6.7% are between 70 and 79, there are 286 people or 3.8% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 52 people or 0.7% 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 51.8% 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 243 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 1,439 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 1,017 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 2,748 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. there were 1,315 single family homes (or 38.8% of the total) out of a total of 3,385 homes and apartments. There were a total of 8 empty apartments for a 0.2% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.8 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 38.06% 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....
(18.37%), 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....
(13.4%) and the EVP Party
Evangelical People's Party of Switzerland
The Evangelical People's Party of Switzerland is a political party in Switzerland.In questions of redistribution, education, environmentalism, immigration policy, the EVP stands rather center-left. In questions of euthanasia, abortion, and registered partnership and other typically Christian...
(7.71%). In the federal election, a total of 2,081 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 41.2%.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1653 | c. 600 |
| 1764 | 1121 |
| 1850 | 2,620 |
| 1900 | 2,846 |
| 1950 | 4,219 |
| 2000 | 6,869 |
Economy
, Rothrist had an unemployment rate of 2.33%. , there were 58 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 28 businesses involved in this sector. 1,754 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 89 businesses in this sector. 2,140 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 238 businesses in this sector.there were 3,616 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 2,245 or about 62.1% of the residents worked outside Rothrist while 2,151 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 3,522 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 9.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 53.3% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 1,674 or 24.4% were Roman Catholic, while 3,757 or 54.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 16 individuals (or about 0.23% of the population) who belonged to the Christian CatholicChristian 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
In Rothrist about 67.8% 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 532 students attending primary school, there are 208 students attending secondary school, there are 158 students attending tertiary or university level schooling in the municipality.
Rothrist is home to the Schul-u.Gde.Bibliothek Rothrist (school and municipal library of Rothrist). The library has 7,095 books or other media, and loaned out 16,365 items in the same year. It was open a total of 213 days with average of 8 hours per week during that year.