Knonau

Knonau

Coat of arms
Knonau
Coordinates: 47°14′N 8°27′E / 47.233°N 8.450°E / 47.233; 8.450Coordinates: 47°14′N 8°27′E / 47.233°N 8.450°E / 47.233; 8.450
Country Switzerland
Canton Zurich
District Affoltern
Area[1]
  Total 6.47 km2 (2.50 sq mi)
Elevation 431 m (1,414 ft)
Population (Dec 2014[2])
  Total 2,033
  Density 310/km2 (810/sq mi)
Postal code 8934
SFOS number 0007
Surrounded by Cham (ZG), Kappel am Albis, Maschwanden, Mettmenstetten, Steinhausen (ZG)
Website www.knonau.ch
SFSO statistics
Castle of Knonau by David Herrliberger (1740)

Knonau is a municipality in the district of Affoltern in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.

History

Knonau is first mentioned in 1045 as Chnonowa. In 1223 it was mentioned as Knonowe.[3]

Geography

Knonau has an area of 6.5 km2 (2.5 sq mi). Of this area, 64.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 17.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 16% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.8%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[4]

The municipality includes the hamlets of Baregg and Uttenberg. It is located on the border with the Canton of Zug.

Demographics

Knonau has a population (as of 31 December 2014) of 2,033.[2] As of 2007, 9.3% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 34.6%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (92.9%), with Italian being second most common ( 2.6%) and English being third ( 1.1%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 36.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CSP (16.1%), the SPS (15.5%) and the FDP (11%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 28.2% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 61% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 10.9%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Knonau about 81.8% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Knonau has an unemployment rate of 2.21%. As of 2005, there were 70 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 28 businesses involved in this sector. 85 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 16 businesses in this sector. 217 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 38 businesses in this sector.[4] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]

year population
1450 c. 110
1634 226
1750 359
1850 594
1900 529
1950 649
2000 1,445

Transport

Knonau railway station is a stop of the Zürich S-Bahn on the line S9. It is a 39 minute ride from Zürich Hauptbahnhof.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Knonau.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, September 21, 2013. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.