Wädenswil

Wädenswil
Coat of arms
Wädenswil
Location of Wädenswil
Coordinates: 47°14′N 8°40′E / 47.233°N 8.667°E / 47.233; 8.667Coordinates: 47°14′N 8°40′E / 47.233°N 8.667°E / 47.233; 8.667
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Zürich
District	Horgen
Government
• Executive	Stadtrat with 7 members
• Mayor	Stadtpräsident (list) Philipp Kutter (as of October 2014)
• Parliament	Gemeinderat with 35 members
Area[1]
• Total	17.39 km2 (6.71 sq mi)
Elevation	407 m (1,335 ft)
Population (Dec 2014[2])
• Total	21,189
• Density	1,200/km2 (3,200/sq mi)
Postal code	8820
SFOS number	0142
Surrounded by	Au, Zürich, Hirzel, Horgen, Männedorf, Meilen, Richterswil, Schönenberg, Stäfa, Uetikon am See
Website	www.waedenswil.ch SFSO statistics

Wädenswil, locally often called Wädi or Wädischwil, is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. The population (as of 2013) was about 21,000.^[3]

Geography

Wädenswil as seen from Lake Zürich (June 2009)

Wädenswil and Lake Zürich (1794)

Wädenswil has an area of 17.4 km² (6.7 sq mi). Of this area, 59.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 9.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 29.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.3%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).^[4] In 1996 housing and buildings made up 20.8% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (9%).^[5] Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 0.4% of the area. As of 2007 24.5% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.^[5]

Demographics

Wädenswil has a population (as of 31 December 2014) of 21,189.^[2] As of 2007, 20.5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. As of 2008 the gender distribution of the population was 48.6% male and 51.4% female. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 2.1%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (85.0%), with Italian being second most common ( 3.9%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 1.9%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 35.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (17.6%), the FDP (13%) and the CSP (11.3%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 64.2% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.9%. In Wädenswil about 76.7% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). There are 8796 households in Wädenswil.^[5]

Wädenswil has an unemployment rate of 2.94%. As of 2005, there were 268 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 84 businesses involved in this sector. 2020 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 195 businesses in this sector. 5169 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 725 businesses in this sector.^[4] As of 2007 44.8% of the working population were employed full-time, and 55.2% were employed part-time.^[5]

As of 2008 there were 6128 Catholics and 7507 Protestants in Wädenswil. In the 2000 census, religion was broken down into several smaller categories. From the census, 43.5% were some type of Protestant, with 40.5% belonging to the Swiss Reformed Church and 3% belonging to other Protestant churches. 32.2% of the population were Catholic. Of the rest of the population, 5% were Muslim, 7.5% belonged to another religion (not listed), 4% did not give a religion, and 11.9% were atheist or agnostic.^[5]

Cultural heritage

Located on Zürichsee lakeshore, Wädenswil–Vorder Au is part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO Worl Heritage Site Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps,^[6] and the settlement is also listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as a Class object.^[7]

Schloss Au on the Au peninsula

The Schloss Au on the Au Peninsula, its auxiliary buildings and the park are listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as a Class B object of regional importance.^[8]

Transportation

Motor ship Glärnisch serving as Restaurant at Wädenswil harbour

Lake of Zürich as seen from the pier at Wädenswil

The municipality is located on the A3 motorway.

Wädenswil railway station is served by Zürich S-Bahn services S2 and S8 on the lakeside line to Zürich, and is the terminus of the S13 service to Einsiedeln. It is also served by an hourly long distance service, generally an InterRegio service between Basel and Chur, but sometimes a EuroCity between Hamburg or Brussels and Chur. It is a 29-minute ride from Zürich Hauptbahnhof by the S8.^[9]

The Zimmerberg bus line (Zimmerbergbus), provided by the Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn (SZU), connects the Zimmerberg region and parts of the Sihl valley.

In summer, Wädenswil is served by regular ship services between Zürich and Rapperswil, run by the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (ZSG) and calling at various lake side towns. A passenger ferry, operated on an hourly basis throughout the year by the same company, links Wädenswil with both Männedorf and Stäfa on the opposite shore of the lake. The ZSG's motor ship Wädenswil is named after the town.^[10][11]

Education

Public schools

The public Primarschule is supervised by the commune's Schulpflege. The board consists of nine elected members.^[12]

The Kindergarten are:

• Kindergarten Seeguet^[13]
• Kindergarten Toblerweg 1 and 2^[14][15]
• Kindergarten Zopf 1 and 2^[16][17]

The Primarschulen are:

• Au^[18]
• Eidmatt^[19]
• Gerberacher-Berg^[20]
• Glärnisch^[21]
• KLEINgruppenschule^[22]
• Untermosen^[23]

The Oberstufenschule Wädenswil (OSW)^[24] is:

• Rotweg^[25]
• Fuhrstrasse^[26]
• Untermosen^[27]
• Steinacher^[28]

The OSW is supervised by the commune's Schulpflege. The board consists of nine elected members.^[29]

• Musikschule Wädenswil-Richterswil^[30]

Vocational schools

• Hotel & Gastro formation Zürich - Ausbildungszentrum WäBi^[31]
• Strickhof/Berufsbildungszentrum (BZW)^[32]
• Regionales Ausbildungszentrum (RAU)^[33]
• Stiftung Bühl - Zentrum für Heilpädagogik und berufliche Eingliederung^[34]

Universities

• ZHAW Wädenswil - Kompetenzzentrum für Life Sciences und Facility Management^[35]

Other private schools

The Zürich International School, an international school with an American curriculum, has its Lower School and Early ZIS campus (for early childhood and primary school) in Wädenswil.^[36] ZIS' Kindergarten and primary school is approved by the bureau for elementary school (Volksschulamt) of the canton of Zürich. However, it does not approve ZIS for its lower and upper secondary education (Sekundarstufe I aka Sekundarschule, and Sekundarstufe II aka Mittelschule). Therefore, its upper secondary school is not approved by the Swiss Federation, neither.^[37][38]

Weather

Between 1961 and 1990 Wädenswil had an average of 141.6 days of rain per year and on average received 1,353 mm (53.3 in) of precipitation. The wettest month was August during which time Wädenswil received an average of 157 mm (6.2 in) of precipitation. During the wettest month, there was precipitation for an average of 13.3 days. The month with the most precipitation days was May, with an average of 13.7 days.^[39]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wädenswil.

• Official website (German)

References

Municipalities in the district of Horgen, Switzerland Adliswil Au, Zurich Hirzel Horgen Hütten Kilchberg Langnau am Albis Oberrieden Richterswil Rüschlikon Sihlbrugg Dorf Schönenberg Thalwil Wädenswil Canton of Zürich Districts of Canton Zürich Municipalities of the canton of Zurich

Lake Zurich (Zürichsee) Switzerland Canton of Zürich Horgen Meilen Zürich Canton of St. Gallen See-Gaster Canton of Schwyz Höfe March Settlements Altendorf Au Bäch Bollingen Erlenbach Feldbach Feldmeilen Freienbach Herrliberg Horgen Hurden Jona Kehlhof Kempraten Kilchberg Küsnacht Lachen Männedorf Meilen Nuolen Oberrieden Pfäffikon Rapperswil Richterswil Rüschlikon Schmerikon Stäfa Thalwil Uerikon Uetikon am See Wädenswil Zollikon Zürich Centum Prata Prehistoric pile dwellings around Zürichsee Turicum Islands Au Peninsula Grosser Hafner Lützelau Saffa Ufenau Rivers Jona Limmat Linth Valleys Küsnachter Tobel Limmattal Sihltal Mountains Adlisberg Buechberg Etzel Pfannenstiel Üetliberg Zimmerberg Zürichberg Landmarks Albis Felsenegg Frauenwinkel Rapperswil–Hurden bridge Lindenhof (Rapperswil) Obersee Quaianlagen Rapperswil Castle Seedamm Transportation Lake Zurich left-bank railway line including S2 (ZVV), S8 (ZVV), S13 (ZVV), S24 (ZVV), S25 (ZVV), S40 (ZVV) S-Bahn Zürich lines Lake Zurich right-bank railway line including S6 (ZVV), S7 (ZVV), S16 (ZVV) S-Bahn Zürich lines LAF aerial tramway Quaibrücke Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland Zimmerberg bus line Zürichsee-Fähre Horgen–Meilen Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (ZSG) People Gerold Späth House of Rapperswil Lydia Escher Obersee Nachrichten Radio Zürisee Zürichsee-Zeitung