Auenstein, Switzerland

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Auenstein

Canton	Aargau
District	Brugg
Coordinates	47°25′N 8°08′E
Population	1421 (December 2005)
Area	5.68 km²
Elevation	376 m
Postal code	5105
SFOS number	4091
Website	www.auenstein.ch
Twin towns	Ilsfeld (Germany)
Auenstein

Auenstein is a municipality in the district of Brugg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.

It is located about 3 km north west of Lenzburg.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Sights
4 Population
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Geography

The village lies between the north bank of the Aare river and the south slope of the Mount Gislifluh (elev. 772 m), a southern part of the Jura mountains. The partially very steep slope is mostly forested, but exhibits numerous forest meadows.

The area of the municipality is 5.68 square kilometres, of which 2.63 km² is forested and 1 km² is are developed.

Neighboring municipalities are Oberflachs and Veltheim to the north, Möriken-Wildegg to the east, Rupperswil to the south, Biberstein to the west, and Thalheim to the northwest.

[edit] History

The village was mentioned for the first time in 1212 as "Gowenstein." The name probably comes from the small Castle Auenstein on the river Aare, which was built in about 1200 (probably by the lords of Gowenstein). The castle, which was in the possession of the Lords of Rinach until the early 14th century, was burnt down by the Bernese in 1389 as part of the war between the Old Swiss Confederacy and the Habsburgs. The Swiss Confederacy conquered Aargau in 1415. Auenstein belonged to the Bern region (the so-called Bernese Aargau), but the town did not belong to the city itself, rather to some wealthy Bernese families. The reformation occurred in 1528, after which time the owner of the village changed often.

[edit] Sights

Castle Auenstein is located on a small cliff on the banks of the Aare. The Castle was destroyed in 1389. The ruins were owned by the canton until 1803, but were later bought privately. The castle was rebuilt to be habitable in 1858, and made into its current shape by 1929. The parish church, first mentioned in 1302, is built in the Gothic and Late Gothic styles, but has decorative elements of the Romanesque style of the 11th century.

[edit] Population

Population Growth
Year	Population
1764	309
1803	447
1850	752
1900	719
1930	743
1950	864
1960	896
1970	1165
1980	1166
1990	1176
2000	1359
2005	1421

In December 2005, 1421 people lived in Auenstein, of whom 8% were foreigners. As of the 2000 census, 65% were Protestants, 16.9% Catholics, 3.4% orthodox Christians, and 1.9% belonged to other faiths. 93.4% noted German as their main language, 1.8% Albanian, and .7% English.