Bellikon

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Bellikon

Canton	Aargau
District	Baden
Coordinates	47°23′N 8°21′E
Population	1451 (December 2004)
Area	4.94 km²
Elevation	597 m
Postal code	5454
SFOS number	4022
Website	www.bellikon.ch
Bellikon

Bellikon is a municipality in the district of Baden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.

It is located on the southwest slope of the Heitersberg, separated by the Reuss and Limmat valleys. Bellikon has a rehab hospital which has over 200 beds, a school, and a secondary school that also serves 3 other municipalities. Bellikon students attend a school in Oberrohrdorf. The nearest Kantonsschulen are in Baden and Wettingen.

1 History
- 1.1 Historical Population
2 Sites of interest
3 Coat of arms
4 Administration
5 Economics
6 Transportation
7 External links

[edit] History

The area was settled during Roman times. The Roman road between Vindonissa (Windisch) and Turicum (Zurich) ran through here. In 1934, bricks were found which on examination proved to belong to a villa, which was excavated and documented in 1941, and afterwards covered up again with the help of interned Polish soldiers. Articles found on the site indicate a construction date at the end of the 1st century. In the middle of the 6th century, the Alamanni settled here and cleared the forest, destroying the Roman settlement.

Bellikon was first documented on October 11, 1064, in the foundation charter of Muri Abbey. Bellikon and Hausen at first paid tithes to Murbach Abbey in Alsace, but was later part of the Habsburg territories. In 1415, the Aargau was conquered and thereafter Bellikon belonged to the village of Rohrdorf in the County of Baden. In 1798, Bellikon became part of the Canton of Baden in the Helvetic Republic. Bellikon was merged with Hausen in 1803 and became part of Aargau Canton.

At the beginning of the 20th century Bellikon was a farming village with a population of 377; fifty years later it reached 434. Bellikon's beautiful location was discovered and the village went through a rapid development. The number of inhabitants rose to over 1,400 in the early 21st century. In 1974, the SUVA insurance agency and healthcare provider opened its premises here. In the same year, a new school was built. The 19th century church was replaced by a modern building in 1977.

[edit] Historical Population

1799: 180 (Bellikon) /125 (Hausen)
1850: 440
1900: 377
1950: 434
2000: 1,303
2003: 1,436

[edit] Sites of interest

Schloss Bellikon (Bellikon Castle), which features in the municipal coat of arms, is a small castle that was built in the 13th century by the Habsburgs and was known as Rotten Hus. From 1314 to 1640, the patrician Krieg family of Zurich owned the castle. It was later auctioned twice, most recently at the end of September 1999.

[edit] Coat of arms

The arms are blasoned: Azure, a castle with a stepped gable and to the sinister a round tower with a roof, all argent. In a chronicle of 1548 and the map of the Canton of Zurich of 1667, the vilage is mistakenly assigned the arms of the lords of Bellikon (now Bad Bellingen in the Breisgau) (Or, a fess sable). Since 1827 the community has used arms depicting Schloss Bellikon. The present form was established in 1965.

[edit] Administration

The community meeting of the enfranchised voters exercises legislative power. The implementing authority is the local council. The term of office is four years. It leads and represents the municipality. In addition it carries out the resolutions of the municipality meeting and the tasks assigned by the canton and the Swiss Federation.

[edit] Economics

The largest business (and taxpayer) in the village is SUVA, which is a rehab clinic operating with over 200 beds. There are not many businesses, and the majority are small. There are 350 jobs, of which many are employed in the agglomerations of Baden and Zurich.

[edit] Transportation

Bellikon's busiest street is Hauptstrasse (Main Street) running between Baden and Mutschellen Passhoehe. Between these two municipalities, the Postautolinie operates. Baden is connected to the national express train network, the Swiss Federal Railways, at Mutschellen at the station named Berikon Widen on the Bremgarten-Dietikon-Bahn.