Freienbach

Freienbach

Coat of arms
Freienbach
Coordinates: 47°12′N 8°45′E / 47.200°N 8.750°E / 47.200; 8.750Coordinates: 47°12′N 8°45′E / 47.200°N 8.750°E / 47.200; 8.750
Country Switzerland
Canton Schwyz
District Höfe
Government
 • Executive Gemeinderat
with 9 members
Area[1]
 • Total 13.78 km2 (5.32 sq mi)
Elevation 418 m (1,371 ft)
Population (Dec 2014[2])
 • Total 15,981
 • Density 1,200/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
Postal code 8807
SFOS number 1322
Localities Bäch, Freienbach, Hurden, Pfäffikon, Wilen
Surrounded by Altendorf, Einsiedeln, Feusisberg, Hombrechtikon (ZH), Jona (SG), Rapperswil (SG), Richterswil (ZH), Stäfa (ZH), Wollerau
Website www.freienbach.ch
SFSO statistics

Freienbach is a municipality in Höfe District in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.

History

Freienbach is first mentioned in 972 as Friginbach.[3]

Geography

Freienbach and Etzel (mountain) in the background

Freienbach has an area, as of 2006, of 13.8 km2 (5.3 sq mi). Of this area, 40.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 23.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 31% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (4.5%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[4]

The municipality is located on Lake Zurich and stretches from the lake (elevation 406 m (1,332 ft) to the Etzel mountain (ele. 1,098 m (3,602 ft). It consists of the villages of Freienbach, Pfäffikon (not to be confused with Pfäffikon in the canton of Zurich), Wilen, Bäch, Hurden (located on the Seedamm) and the two islands of Lützelau and Ufenau (Ufnau).

Demographics

Freienbach has a population (as of 31 December 2014) of 15,981.[2] As of 2007, 23.2% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.[5] Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 23.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (87.9%), with Italian being second most common ( 2.3%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 2.0%).[4]

As of 2000 the gender distribution of the population was 50.6% male and 49.4% female. The age distribution, as of 2008, in Freienbach is; 2,963 people or 22.7% of the population is between 0 and 19. 4,174 people or 32.0% are 20 to 39, and 4,432 people or 33.9% are 40 to 64. The senior population distribution is 977 people or 7.5% are 65 to 74. There are 407 people or 3.1% who are 70 to 79 and 102 people or 0.78% of the population who are over 80.[5]

As of 2000 there are 5,558 households, of which 1,653 households (or about 29.7%) contain only a single individual. 274 or about 4.9% are large households, with at least five members.[5]

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 44.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (19%), the SPS (16.3%) and the CVP (15%).[4]

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Freienbach about 74.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).[4]

Freienbach has an unemployment rate of 1.7%. As of 2005, there were 184 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 53 businesses involved in this sector. 2,718 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 216 businesses in this sector. 7,174 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 1,029 businesses in this sector.[4]

Roman Catholic church in Freienbach

From the 2000 census, 7,641 or 58.5% are Roman Catholic, while 2,915 or 22.3% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there are 6 individuals (or about 0.05% of the population) who belong to the Christian Catholic faith, there are 202 individuals (or about 1.55% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 18 individuals (or about 0.14% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 12 individuals (or about 0.09% of the population) who are Jewish, and 633 (or about 4.85% of the population) who are Islamic. There are 92 individuals (or about 0.70% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 1,151 (or about 8.82% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 385 individuals (or about 2.95% of the population) did not answer the question.[5]

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

year population
1743 1,198
1850 2,058
1900 2,270
1950 3,950
1970 8,429
1980 9,874
1990 11,237
2000 13,157
2005 14,597
2007 15,261

Transport

The municipality of Freienbach is served by six railway stations. Of these, Pfäffikon SZ is the most important, being served by both long distance and Zurich S-Bahn trains. The remaining stations each serve a subset of the S-Bahn trains:

Heritage sites of national significance

The prehistoric lakeside settlement at Hurden/Seedamm and Ufnau, the parish church of St. Peter and Paul with Martin's Chapel, the Seedamm Cultural Center of Pfäffikon, the castle tower and moat are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.[6] The prehistoric settlements at Hurden Rosshorn and Hurden Seefeld are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen
  2. 1 2 Swiss Federal Statistics Office – STAT-TAB Ständige und Nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Region, Geschlecht, Nationalität und Alter (German) accessed 31 August 2015
  3. 1 2 Freienbach in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 02-Sep-2009
  5. 1 2 3 4 Canton Schwyz Statistics (German) accessed 27 August 2009
  6. ↑ "KGS-Inventar". KGS Inventar (in German). Federal Office of Civil Protection. 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2010. External link in |work= (help)
  7. ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Site - Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps

External links

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