| Silenen | ||||||||||
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| Population | 2,240 (Dec 2010)[1] | |||||||||
| - Density | 15 /km2 (40 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 144.77 km2 (55.90 sq mi)[2] | |||||||||
| Elevation | 510 m (1,673 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 6473 Silenen 6474 Amsteg 6475 Bristen |
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| SFOS number | 1216 | |||||||||
| Localities | Bristen, Amsteg | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Disentis/Mustér (GR), Erstfeld, Gurtnellen, Linthal (GL), Schattdorf, Spiringen, Tujetsch (GR), Unterschächen | |||||||||
| Website | www.silenen.ch SFSO statistics |
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Silenen
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Map of Silenen
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Silenen is a municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland.
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Silenen has an area, as of 2006[update], of 144.8 km2 (55.9 sq mi). Of this area, 12.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 18.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (68.1%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[3] In the 1997 land survey[update], 12.6% of the total land area was heavily forested, while 3.8% is covered in small trees and shrubbery. Of the agricultural land, 0.1% is used for farming or pastures, while 2.8% is used for orchards or vine crops and 10.0% is used for alpine pastures. Of the settled areas, 0.3% is covered with buildings, and 0.3% is transportation infrastructure. Of the unproductive areas, 0.2% is unproductive standing water (ponds or lakes), 0.7% is unproductive flowing water (rivers), 52.1% is too rocky for vegatation, and 15.1% is other unproductive land.[4]
The villages of Amsteg, Halteli, Acherli and Maderanerthal are part of the municipality.
Arnisee can be reached by gondola lift from Amsteg.
Silenen has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 2,240.[1] As of 2007[update], 11.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 4.5%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (98.1%), with Italian being second most common ( 0.2%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 0.2%).[3] As of 2007[update] the gender distribution of the population was 55.3% male and 44.7% female.[5]
In the 2007 federal election the FDP party received 87.4% of the vote.[3]
In Silenen about 52.8% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).[3]
Silenen has an unemployment rate of 1.22%. As of 2005[update], there were 141 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 60 businesses involved in this sector. 117 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 16 businesses in this sector. 241 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 50 businesses in this sector.[3]
The historical population is given in the following table:[6]
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1970 | 2,338 |
| 1980 | 2,115 |
| 1990 | 2,054 |
| 2000 | 2,068 |
| 2005 | 2,282 |
| 2007 | 2,232 |
Zwing Uri is the name of a ruined medieval castle north of Amsteg, today in the territory of Silenen municipality. The castle is notable for its role in Swiss historiography as the first fortress destroyed in the Burgenbruch at the beginning of the Swiss Confederacy. The slighting of Zwing Uri (Twing Üren) is mentioned in the White Book of Sarnen, a Swiss chronicle of 1470. The event is placed in the year 1307 by the Chronicon Helveticum (1570).
Archaeological excavations of the ruin performed in 1978 have cast doubt on these traditions. It was established that the site had been occupied since the Bronze Age. By 1150, there had been a farmstead with three buildings. By the early 13th century, the dwelling was replaced by a defensive tower. During the period of 1310 to 1320, the tower was still standing, and there are traces of a planned expansion into a full castle with a ring wall and a moat. This expansion was interrupted at about six weeks into the construction work, and the site was abandoned in ca. 1320. The site remained unoccupied until 1868, when a restaurant was built, using stones from the ruin.[7]
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