Weggis
Encyclopedia
Weggis 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 the district of Lucerne
Lucerne (district)
Lucerne District is an Amt of the Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. It has a population of and consists of 18 municipalities, of which the city of Lucerne is the largest and the district capital:-Mergers:...

 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 Lucerne 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....

.

It forms part of the northern shore of Lake Lucerne
Lake Lucerne
Lake Lucerne is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country.The lake has a complicated shape, with bends and arms reaching from the city of Lucerne into the mountains. It has a total area of 114 km² , an elevation of 434 m , and a maximum depth of 214 m . Its volume is 11.8...

. The official language is 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....

.

History

In about 800 the monastery of Pfäfers acquired the court of Wattawis. The municipality had been settled even earlier, however, because the name Weggis comes from the Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...

 and meant Place of the Ferrymen. The freedom-loving inhabitants were subordinates of rule of the Habsburgs at some times. For both the monks and the Habsburgs the Lords of Hertenstein exercised regency. By 1332 Weggis and Gersau were free republics and allies of the neighboring early Switzerland. This was confirmed in a treaty between them in 1359. Thereafter, the Lords of Hertenstein sold their rights to Lucerne in 1380. They administered Weggis until 1798 as part of the Landvogtei of Weggis. The citizens of Weggis resisted the Lords of Lucerne through multiple rebellions before 1588. In the peasant war of 1653 they sided with the rule of Lucerne for once. The municipality belonged to the district of Lucerne from 1798 until 1803, and thereafter to the newly formed Lucerne Authority. In 1798 the community of Vitznau was separated from Weggis and formed into an independent municipality. In 2005, the project of combining the three municipalities around Mount Rigi in Canton Lucerne was delayed indefinitely.

Geography

Weggis lies on a projection into Lake Lucerne at the southwest base of Rigi
Rigi
- Mt. Rigi in Art:Mt. Rigi has been featured in many works of art, including both paintings and literary publications. Perhaps the most famous paintings of the Rigi were by JMW Turner, including "The Blue Rigi, Lake of Lucerne, Sunrise"...

, a mountain; such projections are named Weggiserbuchts for the one on which Weggis lies. The town has a famously mild climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...

 and is well known for the numerous southern plants (chestnut
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...

 trees, palms
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...

, grapes and orchids) that thrive there.
The town of Weggis lies on a south-facing plain on the shore of Lake Lucerne. Formerly, the town consisted of only two communities, Unterdorf in the west and Oberdorf in the east. Because of development in the last decades, new communities have developed: Hinterdorf (east of Oberdorf), Rain and Laugneri (near Hinterdorf), Baumen and Dörfli near Unterdorf, as well as Tischital and Rigiblick on the slope above Oberdorf. The community of Hertenstein (2.3 km (1.4 mi) south-west of the town, on the lake shore) lies in the extreme south-west corner of the municipality, on a peninsula. On the municipal border with Vitznau
Vitznau
Vitznau is a municipality in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland.-History:Vitznau was first mentioned in 998. In the 19th century it became a popular destination for tourism, especially from England; the imposing Park Hotel Vitznau west of town dates from the...

, 1.9 km (1.2 mi) south-east of the town, another quasi-community has developed. From the lake shore at elevation 436 m (1,430.4 ft) to an elevation of 794 m (2,605 ft), several hamlets have grown together. They are: Riedsort (on the lake shore), Bannholz (elev. 667 m (2,188.3 ft)), Bodenberg (elev. 642 m (2,106.3 ft)), and Sentiberg (elev. 794 m (2,605 ft)). High up the slope, accessible by cog railway and aerial tramway, lies the community of Rigi Kaltbad (2.8 km (1.7 mi) north-east of the town, elev. c. 1450 m (4,757.2 ft)). Many other neighborhoods and single farmsteads belong to the municipality.

With the exception of the Herrenwald, north of Hertenstein, the western and central portions of the municipality are unforested. The slopes of Mount Rigi to the east of Hinterdorf look completed different, however. This part of the municipality is heavily forested. Large areas of forest include the Kirchenwald on the slope north-east of Hinterdorf, through which the Kienbach river flows on its way to Lake Lucerne, and the Seeboden area, on the eastern border of the municipality.

The municipal border runs north for 1000 meters of elevation gain from west Unterwilen (in Vitznau) on Lake Lucerne, up to Rigi-First (in Canton Schwyz
Schwyz
The town of is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.The Federal Charter of 1291 or Bundesbrief, the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the Bundesbriefmuseum.-History of the toponym:...

). And from there it runs north-westerly to Rotstock (elev. 1659 m). Then it turns to the west and runs south of Greppen
Greppen
Greppen is a municipality in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland.It lies at the base of huge Mount Rigi. The exclave is separated by Lake Lucerne from the rest of the district.-History:...

 back to Lake Lucerne.

Weggis has an area of 11.8 km² (4.6 sq mi). Of this area, 46.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 38.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 14% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.1%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). , 38.75% of the total land area was forested. Of the agricultural land, 39.34% is used for farming or pastures, while 6.68% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the settled areas, 9.14% is covered with buildings, 0.08% is industrial, 0.17% is classed as special developments, 0.85% is parks or greenbelts and 3.81% is transportation infrastructure. Of the unproductive areas, 0.08% is unproductive standing water (ponds or lakes), and 1.1% is other unproductive land.

Neighboring municipalities

Weggis borders Küssnacht
Küssnacht
Küssnacht am Rigi is a district and municipality in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland, consisting of three villages: Küssnacht, Immensee and Merlischachen...

 and Greppen to the north, Arth
Arth
Arth is a municipality in Schwyz District in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.-Geography:Arth has an area, , of . Of this area, 40.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 46.3% is forested...

 in Canton Schwyz to the north-east, Vitznau in the east and south-east, and Lake Lucerne.

Population growth

From 1850 till 1880, with exception of 1870, the number of inhabitants remained constant. From 1880 until 1970 was a period of population growth (of 94.5%), interrupted by two periods of stagnation, 1930–1941 and 1950-1960. In these ninety years the population nearly doubled. The 1970s brought a setback (of -6%). Since then the population has grown very much because of the municipality's good location and the local hotel management school's http://www.isbm-school.com/ high enrollment. One unique population characteristic is the fact that over 200 Chinese (mostly from the Shanghai region) who are studying at the hotel management school
International School of Business Management
International School of Business Management or ISBM Hotel Management School shortly is a private University in Switzerland with two campuses located in Canton of Lucerne. One of the campus is in Littau and the other is in Weggis. It is one of the best hotel management school in the country...

, live in Weggis. Weggis has a population (as of ) of . , 18.4% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 13%.
Population Growth
Year Population
1850 1'279
1870 1'384
1880 1'294
1900 1'522
1950 2'247
1970 2'517
1980 2'367
1990 2'997
2000 3'616
2004 3'927

Language

The population uses a dialect of High Alemannic
Alemannic German
Alemannic is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, France and Italy...

 (or Swiss) German as their everyday language. The dialect of Weggis deviates greatly from that used in Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...

, and is more similar to that used in Canton Schwyz.
  • Example 1:
    • German: ich gehe
    • Lucerne: ech goh
    • Schwyz/Weggis: ich gah
  • Example 2:
    • German: neu
    • Lucerne: nöi
    • Schwyz/Weggis: nüü

At the time of the last census (2000) 84.9% listed German as their primary language, 1.63% listed Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

 and 1.41% listed English. However, the second most common language is Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, which, however, is listed only as an "East Asian Language" in the census.

Religious denominations

Formerly, all citizens were members of the Roman Catholic Church
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...

. This has been changed by people leaving the church, and by immigration from other parts of Switzerland, and from foreign countries. Today the religious composition of the population is as follows. 59.98% are Roman Catholic, 16.7% are Protestant, and 1.66% are Orthodox Christians; 10.01% are atheist, 1.99% are Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 and 8.96% provided no information about their beliefs. Among the people who provided no data about their beliefs, some were probably Buddhist Chinese. The Chinese also make up the most important part of the atheist group. The Orthodox Christians and Muslims are almost entirely people from the former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

 (Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

, Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

, Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

, and Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

).

Origin-nationality

Of the 3927 inhabitants at the end of 2004, 3141 were Swiss and 786 (or 20%) were foreigners. At the time of the last Census 75.19% (or 80.31% including dual citizens) were Swiss citizens. The largest immigrant groups come from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, 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...

, Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...

 (mostly Albania), Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

.

Demographics

In the 2007 election 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 32.8% 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...

 (24.9%), 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....

 (23.9%) and the Green Party
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...

 (8.2%).

The age distribution in Weggis is; 730 people or 17.9% of the population is 0–19 years old. 927 people or 22.7% are 20–39 years old, and 1,530 people or 37.5% are 40–64 years old. The senior population distribution is 664 people or 16.3% are 65–79 years old, 195 or 4.8% are 80–89 years old and 37 people or 0.9% of the population are 90+ years old.

In Weggis about 72.8% 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...

).

there are 1,412 households, of which 458 households (or about 32.4%) contain only a single individual. 90 or about 6.4% are large households, with at least five members. there were 774 inhabited buildings in the municipality, of which 599 were built only as housing, and 175 were mixed use
Mixed-use development
Mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Since the 1920s, zoning in some countries has required uses to be separated. However, when jobs, housing, and commercial activities are located close together, a community's transportation...

 buildings. There were 364 single family homes, 96 double family homes, and 139 multi-family homes in the municipality. Most homes were either two (276) or three (204) story structures. There were only 36 single story buildings and 83 four or more story buildings.

Weggis has an unemployment rate of 1.9%. , there were 153 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 42 businesses involved in this sector. 281 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 46 businesses in this sector. 1209 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 179 businesses in this sector. 51.4% of the population of the municipality were employed in some capacity. At the same time, females made up 45.8% of the workforce.

Tourism

After Lucerne, Weggis is the second biggest tourist destination in Canton Lucerne. With the aerial tramway one can arrive at Rigi-Kaltbad, in the neighborhood of which is located Viewpoint Känzeli. From Rigi-Kaltbad one can continue his climb up the mountain on the cog railway (Vitznau-Rigi-Bahn). Weggis is also designated the "Riviera of Central Switzerland" because of its "tropical" climate.

Transportation

Weggis is easily reached by public transportation, although it is not on a train line. In fact, it is serviced with ships and buses by the Schiffahrtsgesellschaft Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne Ship Company). The "Riviera" bus line Küssnacht (train station)- Weggis- Gersau- Brunnen (train station)- Schwyz connects the municipalities on the route with the surrounding area. The train station in Küssnacht is on the line from Lucerne to Goldau, and the train station in Brunnen is on the "Gotthard" line (Basel-Chiasso). The ships to and from Lucerne operate mostly hourly.

Weggis is on the road connecting between Küssnacht and Brunnen. The nearest Autobahn exit, for the A4, is 10 km (6.2 mi) away, in Küssnacht.

Miscellaneous

  • The municipality became internationally famous in early 2006 as the Brazilian national football team
    Brazil national football team
    The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...

     prepared for FIFA World Cup in Germany
    2006 FIFA World Cup
    The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

    .
  • Weggis is one of the numerous (so-called) tax havens on Lake Lucerne.
  • In 1919 the first bathing beach in central Switzerland, at which men and women didn't have to bath separately, opened.
  • Swiss progressive rock band Flame Dream formed and rehearsed in Weggis.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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