Wetzikon

Wetzikon

Coat of arms
Wetzikon
Wetzikon
Coordinates: 47°19′N 8°48′E / 47.317°N 8.800°E / 47.317; 8.800Coordinates: 47°19′N 8°48′E / 47.317°N 8.800°E / 47.317; 8.800
Country Switzerland
Canton Zurich
District Hinwil
Government
 • Executive Gemeinderat
with 7 members
 • Mayor Gemeindepräsident
Urs Fischer FDP/PRD
(as of March 2014)
 • Parliament Grosser Gemeinderat
with 36 members
Area[1]
 • Total 16.75 km2 (6.47 sq mi)
Elevation 535 m (1,755 ft)
Population (Dec 2016[2])
 • Total 24,564
 • Density 1,500/km2 (3,800/sq mi)
Postal code 8620
SFOS number 0121
Localities Ettenhausen, Kempten, Medikon, Oberwetzikon, Robenhausen, Unterwetzikon
Surrounded by Bäretswil, Gossau, Hinwil, Mönchaltorf, Pfäffikon, Seegräben
Twin towns Melnik (Czech Republic)
Website www.wetzikon.ch
SFSO statistics

Wetzikon is a small town in the Zurich Highlands (Zürcher Oberland) area of Switzerland, in the district of Hinwil in the canton of Zürich.

Geography

Wetzikon as seen from Bachtel Tower. Pfäffikersee in the middle, Greifensee to the left.

The municipality Wetzikon has an area of 16.7 km2 (6.4 sq mi). Of this area, 42.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 17.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 27.9% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (12.1%) is non-productive (streams, lakes and non-productive vegetation).[3] In 1996 housing and buildings made up 20% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (7.9%).[4] Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 3.3% of the area. As of 2007 30.5% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.[4]

It is located near Lake Pfäffikon in the Zürcher Oberland, between Uster and Rapperswil-Jona.

The Robenhauser Ried wetland is a nature reserve of national importance and is situated between Seegräben, Kempten and Irgenhausen covering an area of about two square kilometers.

Demographics

Wetzikon has a population (as of 31 December 2016) of 24,564.[2] As of 2007, 22.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. As of 2008 the gender distribution of the population was 49.2% male and 50.8% female. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 18.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (83.8%), with Italian being second most common ( 5.7%) and Albanian being third ( 1.9%).

Nationalities in Wetzikon End of 2010[5] End of 2011[6]
  Switzerland 76,8 %76,5 %
 Italy 5,5 % 5,2 %
 Germany 3,9 % 3,9 %
 Portugal 2,4 % 2,6 %
 Turkey 1,7 % 1,7 %
Serbia 1,8 % 1,7 %
Kosovo1,2 % 1,4 %
 Macedonia 1,1 % 1,1 %

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 37.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (16.1%), the CSP (12.2%) and the Green Party (10.5%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15%.[3] There are 7929 households in Wetzikon.[4]

Protestant Church of Wetzikon

As of 2008 there were 6385 Catholics and 7772 Protestants in Wetzikon. In the 2000 census, religion was broken down into several smaller categories. From the 2000 census, 45% were some type of Protestant, with 40.3% belonging to the Swiss Reformed Church and 4.7% belonging to other Protestant churches. 31.3% of the population were Catholic. Of the rest of the population, 6.5% were Muslim, 8.7% belonged to another religion (not listed), 3.6% did not give a religion, and 10.6% were atheist or agnostic.[4]

Economics and education

The Kantonschule Zürcher Oberland (KZO),[7] or the "Kanti" as the gymnasium level learning institution is known in Swiss German, is based in Wetzikon due to its central location in the Zürich Oberland, as well as the Zürcher Oberländer newspaper and the annual ZOM trade fair.[8]

The regional hospital, the Gesundheitsversorgung Zürcher Oberland [9] is also located there.

Wetzikon has an unemployment rate of 2.9%. As of 2005, there were 134 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 41 businesses involved in this sector. 3486 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 255 businesses in this sector. 7054 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 838 businesses in this sector.[3] As of 2007 43.8% of the working population were employed full-time, and 56.2% were employed part-time.[4]

In Wetzikon about 69.4% 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]

World heritage site

The prehistoric settlement Wetzikon–Robenhausen at the Robenhausen wetland which was discovered and researched by Jakob Messikommer is part of the serial site Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps, an UNESCO World Heritage Site.[10]

Transportation

There are two railway stations within the municipality. Wetzikon railway station is a node of the Zürich S-Bahn on the lines S3, S14, S15 and S5. Kempten railway station is on the S3 line only. The town is a 20-minute (S5) ride from Zürich Hauptbahnhof.

History

The oldest surviving document about the name Wetzikon is from the year 1044, where three nobles of "Wezzinchova" are mentioned; before that the village and castle were known by the name Ratpoldskilch.[11] Older history is known from excavations of prehistoric pile dwellings in Robenhausen and a Roman villa rustica in Kempten.[12]

Sights

Notable persons (chronological)

References

  1. ↑ Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen
  2. 1 2 Canton of Zurich Statistical Office (in German) accessed 15 June 2017
  3. 1 2 3 4 Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 06-Aug-2009
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Statistics Zurich (in German) accessed 4 August 2009
  5. ↑ http://www.wetzikon.ch/Verwaltung/Einwohnerdienste/bevoelkerungsstatistiken/Statistik%202008.pdf/at_download/file (Retrieved 27 February 2012).
  6. ↑ http://www.wetzikon.ch/Verwaltung/Einwohnerdienste/bevoelkerungsstatistiken/Jahresstatistik%20Homepage.pdf/at_download/file (Retrieved 5 March 2012).
  7. ↑ Kantonschule Zürcher Oberland (KZO) (in German)
  8. ↑ Zürcher Oberland Messe (in Swiss-German "Züri Oberland Mäss") (in German)
  9. ↑ Gesundheitsversorgung Zürcher Oberland (in German)
  10. ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Site - Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps
  11. ↑ Altdorfer, Werner (1987). Rund um den Bachtel - Heimatkundliches aus dem Zürcher Oberland (in German). Wetzikon: Buchverlang der Druckerei Wetzikon AG. ISBN 3-85981-138-X.
  12. ↑ Horisberger, Beat; Hedinger, Bettina; Hoek, Florian; Büsser, Roger (2007). Römisches Landleben im Zürcher Oberland - Die Römer in Wetzikon (in German). Frauenfeld, Stuttgart, Wien: Verlag Huber. ISBN 978-3-7193-1441-5.
  13. ↑ Museum Wetzikon (in German)
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