Ermatingen

Ermatingen
Ermatingen village
Coat of arms
Ermatingen
Location of Ermatingen
Coordinates: 47°40′N 9°4′E / 47.667°N 9.067°E / 47.667; 9.067Coordinates: 47°40′N 9°4′E / 47.667°N 9.067°E / 47.667; 9.067
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Thurgau
District	Kreuzlingen
Area[1]
• Total	10.44 km2 (4.03 sq mi)
Elevation	400 m (1,300 ft)
Population (Dec 2013[2])
• Total	3,090
• Density	300/km2 (770/sq mi)
Postal code	8272
SFOS number	4646
Surrounded by	Constance (Konstanz) (DE-BW), Gottlieben, Raperswilen, Reichenau (DE-BW), Salenstein, Tägerwilen, Wäldi
Website	www.ermatingen.ch SFSO statistics

Ermatingen is a municipality in the district of Kreuzlingen in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland.

History

The Stone Age Westerfeld and Büge shoreline settlements were discovered in 1861 and studied extensively 1981-83, with finds from the Pfyn, Horgen and Corded Ware cultures (4000-2500 BC.) An Alamanni graveyard has also been found outside the early medieval village.^[3]

The village of Ermatingen is first mentioned in 724 as Erfmotingas.^[3] It was part of the land owned by the monastery of Reichenau, and the abbot was the landlord, judge and appointed the priest for the village. The low court in the village was administered by a monastery appointed Meier. The position of Meier and the associated bailiwick were often used as security for a loan, for example in 1446 to the Lords of Klingenberg. In the 13th century and 1518 openings are occupied.

In the Swabian War of 1499 the village was destroyed. By the 16th century, Ermatingen was on the way to becoming a town, with a high and low council, a court and various privileges. In 1660 the town was granted market rights. After the incorporation of the Abbey of Reichenau into the diocese of Constance in 1540, the lower court rights were held by the Bishop, until 1798.

The parish originally ran by the lake to the Seerücken mountains, and in the High Middle Ages included Mannenbach and Triboltingen. The church of Ermatingen was built in 1359 and was incorporated into the Abbey of Reichenau. In 1528 it turned to the Protestant Reformation. This meant that the Catholic Abbey (and after 1540 the Catholic Bishop of Constance) had the right to appoint the town priest in the mainly Reformed parish. This situation remained until 1804, when the town acquired the right to appoint their own priest. The town church became a shared church in 1546. In 1723/24 Wäldi separated from the Reformed parish, as did Gunterswil and Hohrain Wäldi in 1949.^[3]

In 1756 the community acquired rights to most itself, except for the mills and water rights. In 1763 the guild of master shoemakers opened in Ermatingen. By the end of the 18th century, it possessed the internal customs and navigation rights. In the 19th century fishing, cereals grains, fruit, hemp and viticulture were the basis of the villagers economy. With the expansion of the Seestrasse (Lake Road) (1823), the steamship company on the lake (since 1825) and the railway (1875), the town saw increased traffic. After 1870, tourism became a major industry in Ermatingen. At the end of the 19th century the mechanical embroidery and trans-shipping industries entered the town. In 1848 a carpentry factory moved into the town, and in 1936 it became the Jacques Goldinger AG company. In 1875 a tin can and aluminum products factory (Louis Sauter AG) opened in Ermatingen, followed by several other manufacturing companies. During the 20th century agriculture became increasingly less important. The commercial fisheries have mostly vanished, though some fish breeding and the traditional "Gropp Carnival" remain in town. The UBS Training Center at Schloss Wolfsberg (opened in 1975) and the Entrepreneurs' Forum Lilienberg (since 1989) have turned Ermatingen into a nationally known training site (in 2000 almost two thirds of jobs were in the services sector).^[3]

Geography

Ermatingen has an area, as of 2009, of 10.44 square kilometers (4.03 sq mi). Of this area, 4.32 km² (1.67 sq mi) or 41.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 4.38 km² (1.69 sq mi) or 42.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.4 km² (0.54 sq mi) or 13.4% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.01 km² (2.5 acres) or 0.1% is either rivers or lakes and 0.31 km² (0.12 sq mi) or 3.0% is unproductive land.^[4]

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 7.1% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 1.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.5%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 3.8%. Out of the forested land, 40.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 36.8% is used for growing crops, while 4.6% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.^[4]

The municipality is located in the Kreuzlingen district, on the Untersee section of Lake Constance across from Reichenau Island in Germany. It consists of the villages of Ermatingen and Triboltingen.

Demographics

Ermatingen has a population (as of December 2013) of 3,090^[2] As of 2008, 24.3% of the population are foreign nationals.^[5] Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 13.3%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German(92.3%), with Italian being second most common ( 2.1%) and Albanian being third ( 1.1%).^[6]

As of 2008, the gender distribution of the population was 50.4% male and 49.6% female. The population was made up of 1,057 Swiss men (37.3% of the population), and 372 (13.1%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,091 Swiss women (38.5%), and 316 (11.1%) non-Swiss women.^[5]

In 2008 there were 19 live births to Swiss citizens and 5 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 26 deaths of Swiss citizens and 2 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 7 while the foreign population increased by 3. There were 3 Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland to another country, 4 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country, 43 non-Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland to another country and 31 non-Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources) was an increase of 43 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 83 people. This represents a population growth rate of 4.6%.^[5]

The age distribution, as of 2009, in Ermatingen is; 274 children or 9.5% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 297 teenagers or 10.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 317 people or 11.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 324 people or 11.3% are between 30 and 39, 536 people or 18.6% are between 40 and 49, and 418 people or 14.5% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 327 people or 11.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 229 people or 8.0% are between 70 and 79, there are 131 people or 4.6% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 24 people or 0.8% who are 90 and older.^[7]

As of 2000, there were 1,072 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.2 persons per household.^[6] In 2000 there were 431 single family homes (or 75.5% of the total) out of a total of 571 inhabited buildings. There were 65 two family buildings (11.4%), 29 three family buildings (5.1%) and 46 multi-family buildings (or 8.1%).^[8] There were 701 (or 28.9%) persons who were part of a couple without children, and 1,163 (or 47.9%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 132 (or 5.4%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 5 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 8 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 27 who lived in a household made up of unrelated persons, and 22 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing.^[9]

The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2008, was 0.66%. As of 2007, the construction rate of new housing units was 11.8 new units per 1000 residents.^[6] In 2000 there were 1,245 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 4 room apartment of which there were 332. There were 61 single room apartments and 195 apartments with six or more rooms.^[10] As of 2000 the average price to rent an average apartment in Ermatingen was 1058.37 Swiss francs (CHF) per month (US$850, £480, €680 approx. exchange rate from 2000). The average rate for a one room apartment was 457.95 CHF (US$370, £210, €290), a two room apartment was about 769.31 CHF (US$620, £350, €490), a three room apartment was about 899.99 CHF (US$720, £400, €580) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1772.83 CHF (US$1420, £800, €1130). The average apartment price in Ermatingen was 94.8% of the national average of 1116 CHF.^[11]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 43.14% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (16.57%), the CVP (13.53%) and the SP (10.83%). In the federal election, a total of 878 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 49.9%.^[12]

The historical population is given in the following table:^[3][13]

year	population
1850	1,708
1900	1,728
1970	2,089
1980	1,992
1990	2,171
2000	2,427

Heritage sites of national significance

The Gasthaus Adler, the Kehlhof, the Church of St Albin, and the prehistoric shoreline settlement of Westerfeld/Büge are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. The villages of Ermatingen and Triboltingen as well as the Untersee region (including Ermatingen, Gottlieben, Kreuzlingen, Salenstein, Tägerwilen) are all listed as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.^[14]

Economy

As of 2007, Ermatingen had an unemployment rate of 1.65%. As of 2005, there were 95 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 33 businesses involved in this sector. 251 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 43 businesses in this sector. 566 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 112 businesses in this sector.^[6]

In 2000 there were 1,641 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 733 or about 44.7% of the residents worked outside Ermatingen while 457 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 1,365 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality.^[15] Of the working population, 8.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 51% used a private car.^[6]

Religion

From the 2000 census, 728 or 30.0% were Roman Catholic, while 1,311 or 54.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 2 Old Catholics (or about 0.08% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland there are 22 individuals (or about 0.91% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 35 individuals (or about 1.44% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There were 55 (or about 2.27% of the population) who are Islamic. There are 7 individuals (or about 0.29% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 214 (or about 8.82% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 53 individuals (or about 2.18% of the population) did not answer the question.^[16]

Education

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Ermatingen about 77.5% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).^[6]

Ermatingen is home to the Ermatingen primary school district. It is also home to the Ermatingen secondary school district. In the 2008/2009 school year there were 197 students in the primary school district. There were 54 children in the kindergarten, and the average class size was 18 kindergartners. Of the children in kindergarten, 30 or 55.6% were female, 9 or 16.7% were not Swiss citizens and 2 or 3.7% did not speak German natively. The lower and upper primary levels begin at about age 5-6 and last for 6 years. There were 63 children in who were at the lower primary level and 80 children in the upper primary level. The average class size in the primary school was 20.43 students. At the lower primary level, there were 39 children or 61.9% of the total population who were female, 19 or 30.2% were not Swiss citizens and 7 or 11.1% did not speak German natively. In the upper primary level, there were 38 or 47.5% who were female, 15 or 18.8% were not Swiss citizens and 6 or 7.5% did not speak German natively.

There are 100 students in the secondary school district. At the secondary level, students are divided according to performance. The secondary level begins at about age 12 and usually lasts 3 years. There were 68 teenagers who were in the advanced school, of which 35 or 51.5% were female, 18 or 26.5% were not Swiss citizens and 6 or 8.8% did not speak German natively. There were 32 teenagers who were in the standard school, of which 16 or 50.0% were female, 7 or 21.9% were not Swiss citizens and 4 or 12.5% did not speak German natively. The average class size for all classes at the secondary level was 14.29 students.^[17]

References

External links

• Ermatingen in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ermatingen.

Municipalities in the district of Kreuzlingen, Switzerland Altnau Bottighofen Ermatingen Gottlieben Güttingen Kemmental Kreuzlingen Langrickenbach Lengwil Münsterlingen Tägerwilen Wäldi Thurgau Districts of Canton Thurgau Municipalities of the canton of Thurgau