Arlesheim
Encyclopedia
Arlesheim is a municipality
in the district of Arlesheim
in the canton
of Basel-Country
in Switzerland
. Its cathedral chapter
seat, bishop's residence and cathedral (1681 / 1761) are listed as a heritage site of national significance
.
The cathedral has a Baroque organ built by the German builder Johann Andreas Silbermann, based in Alsace, in 1761. The instrument was restored by Metzler in 1959-62, and is an example of the fusion of French and German organ building styles. It has been used in several recordings, including Lionel Rogg
's recording of the complete organ works of J. S. Bach, for Harmonia Mundi France in 1970.
Magdalenian
culture items from around 10,000 BC were discovered in the Birseck-Ermitage and Hollenberg 3 caves. Birseck-Ermitage was discovered in 1910 by Fritz Sartorius-Preiswerk, and Hollenberg 3 was discovered in 1950 by Martin Herkert. The caves contained traces of fires, spear points carved from reindeer antler
and pendents from snail and mussel shells. From the end of the Palaeolithic era, Birseck-Ermitage cave contains galets colori, red-stripe like painted limestone pebbles, and flint
tools. From the Mesolithic
period (ca. 6000-5000 BC), flint tools have been discovered at the Abri overhang at Hohlefels, excavated in 1905 by Fritz Sarasin, and in the Birseck-Hermitage cave. Some funerary objects from the largely unexplored transitional period between the Mesolithic to Neolithic
period (around 5200 BC) were also discovered. Several Neolithic ax blades were discovered across the municipal area, with a concentration at Dachsenhöhle and Kleinen Höhle am Hohlefels which were excavated in 1952-54 by Martin Herkert, Bernhard Hesse and Andreas Schwabe. In the Kleinen Höhle skeletal remains of children with grave goods as well as a typological flint spear points were also found. Horgen culture
(around 3000 BC.) ceramic vessels have also been found. From the Bronze Age
, only a few, mostly are generic items have been discovered. So far, no items from the Iron Age
have been found.
Monastery in Alsace
starting in the 8th Century. It was sold in 1239 to the Bishop of Basel Lüthold von Rötteln. In 1245, the Frohburg family withdrew their claims on the land, which left the Bishop with an uncontested title to the land. In 1273 he pledged the village to the Lords of Ramstein in exchange for a loan. The Bishops of Basel didn't get the village back until 1435. After that Arlesheim belonged to Bishop's Herrschaft
of Birseck.
The inhabitants were initially part of the parish
of Pfeffingen
. However, by 1341 they possessed a parish church
and in 1396 their own pastor
. This parish church, the church of St. Odilia, was rebuilt in the late 17th century and demolished in 1816.
through the counts of Birseck, it never entered into a Burgrecht
treaty with the city. Despite Arlesheim's loose connection with Basel, it converted to the new Protestant
faith in 1528 when Basel converted. About half a century later, in 1582, the Bishop of Basel, Jakob Christoph Blarer von Wartensee
, succeeded in spreading the Counter-Reformation
in Arlesheim.
In the Thirty Years War the surrounding countryside was damaged by looting and pillaging. Arlesheim, however, was off the main roads and was relatively untouched. It had developed as a small, rather out of the way wine-growing village with the Bishop's estates and wine-press. As a result, when the Basel cathedral council and priests moved from Freiburg im Breisgau in 1678, they went to Arlesheim. An administrative center and impressive, early baroque
residences were built in the town. Under the artistic concept and initially led by Franz Demess, the cathedral was built in 1679-81. This was followed by the magnificent Domherrenhäuser which was built between 1680-87. These new buildings made Arlesheim an attractive place for nobles, high clergy, diplomats, artists and craftsmen. The court life of the canons
also promoted indigenous craftsmen. In 1726 a mint opened in town. Then, in 1763 the seat of the Bailiwick
of Birseck moved from Birseck Castle to the Andlauer Hof in Arlesheim. In 1785, Balbina von Andlau and Canon Heinrich von Ligerz created the Eremitage (Hermitage in English), the largest english garden
in Switzerland, which was known throughout Europe and attracted many travelers.
The right to appoint Arlesheim's pastor was held by the Bishop of Basel until 1678, after which it went to the council of Basel's Cathedral
. At the beginning of the 17th Century the parish of Arlesheim was briefly united briefly with the parish of Reinach (in Basel-Country)
into a single parish.
(1792–93), the village was under French rule from 1793 to 1814. Between 1793-1800 it was part of the Département of Mont-Terrible
and then in 1800-1814 it was part of the Département of Haut-Rhin
. Under the revolutionary forces, the Cathedral and the Domherrenhäuser were nationalized. Courageous citizens bought the cathedral and prevented it from being demolished. Later, the parish acquired the building and the cathedral became a parish church. In 1814-15, it was the seat of the coalition
Governor General of the diocese of Basel. In 1815, the Canton of Basel was recreated. Arlesheim was part of the Canton of Basel until it split into two half-cantons in 1832. Arlesheim joined Basel-Country and became the capital of a district.
During the invasion of revolutionary France, the cathedral canons fled the city. The flight of the canons led to an economic depression in the village in the years following the French invasion. In 1830, Johann Siegmund Alioth moved from Basel to Arlesheim and set up the first mechanical silk-factory in Switzerland along the Birs. The factory operated for nearly a century and a half, until it closed in 1976. For his Reformed
workers, Daniel August Alioth built a Reformed chapel in his garden in 1856. This Reformed church served the needs of just a few Reformed families throughout the entire Birseck. A Reformed parish was established in 1882 in Arlesheim.
In 1875, the Jura–Simplon Railway
opened a line into Arlesheim, which was followed in 1902 by the Birseckbahn Basel-Arlesheim-Dornach tram line. In 1976, it was purchased by Baselland Transport. These two train lines gave further impetus to the industrial and service sectors including; the Alioth electric equipment supply company in 1892, the anthroposophist
Ita Wegman
Clinic in 1921 and the Weleda remedies company.
Arlesheim has a mild climate and sunny vineyards, which made it a popular location for vacation villas. In 1880 the first housing estate was built in New-Arlesheim. The many workers who moved into Arlesheim fostered a sectarian shift in what was once a very Catholic village. The construction of the Reformed church in 1911-12 encouraged more Reformed workers to follow. In 1990, about 41% of the population was Catholic, while 38% were Reformed. After 1960, Arlesheim developed into a residential community
for the agglomeration
of Basel. In 1990, over two-thirds of the workers were commuters, and 77% of the jobs were in the services sector. The ensuing infrastructure problems, including overbuilding, led to a town planning ordinance of 1971 and redevelopment of the village square in 1987 and 1991.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 5.1% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 23.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 6.8%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.2%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 1.9% is used for growing crops and 4.8% is pastures, while 2.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is the capital of the district of the same name. It is located in the located in the Birseck or the lower Birs
valley. Originally a village along the river, it has grown to become part of the Agglomeration of Basel.
Most of the population speaks German
(7,428 or 86.1%), with Italian language
being second most common (283 or 3.3%) and French
being third (167 or 1.9%). There are 16 people who speak Romansh.
, the gender distribution of the population was 46.5% male and 53.5% female. The population was made up of 7,232 Swiss citizens (80.8% of the population), and 1,722 non-Swiss residents (19.2%) Of the population in the municipality 1,686 or about 19.5% were born in Arlesheim and lived there in 2000. There were 1,132 or 13.1% who were born in the same canton, while 3,391 or 39.3% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 2,151 or 24.9% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 51 live births to Swiss citizens and 13 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 59 deaths of Swiss citizens and 13 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 8 while the foreign population remained the same. There were 7 Swiss men and 8 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 13 non-Swiss men and 30 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was a decrease of 13 and the non-Swiss population change was a decrease of 5 people. This represents a population growth rate of -0.2%.
The age distribution, , in Arlesheim is; 559 children or 6.2% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 1,220 teenagers or 13.6% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 798 people or 8.9% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,074 people or 12.0% are between 30 and 39, 1,429 people or 16.0% are between 40 and 49, and 1,840 people or 20.5% are between 50 and 64. The senior population distribution is 1,454 people or 16.2% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 580 people or 6.5% who are over 80.
, there were 3,388 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 4,192 married individuals, 537 widows or widowers and 511 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.53 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.56 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 35.9% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 3,830 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.2 persons per household. There were 1,354 households that consist of only one person and 180 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 3,918 households that answered this question, 34.6% were households made up of just one person and 30 were adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 1,192 married couples without children, 977 married couples with children There were 215 single parents with a child or children. There were 62 households that were made up unrelated people and 88 households that were made some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 1,039 single family homes (or 59.2% of the total) out of a total of 1,756 inhabited buildings. There were 368 multi-family buildings (21.0%), along with 226 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (12.9%) and 123 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (7.0%). Of the single family homes 104 were built before 1919, while 136 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (225) were built between 1946 and 1960.
there were 4,108 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 1,198. There were 211 single room apartments and 1,177 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 3,721 apartments (90.6% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 265 apartments (6.5%) were seasonally occupied and 122 apartments (3.0%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 1.2 new units per 1000 residents. the average price to rent a two room apartment was about 911.00 CHF (US$730, £410, €580), a three room apartment was about 1153.00 CHF (US$920, £520, €740) and a four room apartment cost an average of 1454.00 CHF (US$1160, £650, €930). The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.7%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Church, the Hermitage
site which includes the ruins of Birseck Castle, as well as paleolithic
cave dwellings, an early cult
site and Neolithic
graves and Reichenstein Castle are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance
. The entire village of Arlesheim is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
.
the most popular party was the SP
which received 24.42% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Green Party
(22.1%), the FDP
(20.17%) and the SVP
(17.8%). In the federal election, a total of 3,186 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 53.1%.
the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 4,213. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 9, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 743, of which 479 or (64.5%) were in manufacturing and 236 (31.8%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 3,461. In the tertiary sector; 1,121 or 32.4% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 469 or 13.6% were in the movement and storage of goods, 94 or 2.7% were in a hotel or restaurant, 68 or 2.0% were in the information industry, 77 or 2.2% were the insurance or financial industry, 256 or 7.4% were technical professionals or scientists, 136 or 3.9% were in education and 835 or 24.1% were in health care.
, there were 3,548 workers who commuted into the municipality and 3,045 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.2 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 11.8% of the workforce coming into Arlesheim are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.3% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 31.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 35.9% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 76 members of an Orthodox church
(or about 0.88% of the population), there were 34 individuals (or about 0.39% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
, and there were 310 individuals (or about 3.59% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 13 individuals (or about 0.15% of the population) who were Jewish
, and 282 (or about 3.27% of the population) who were Islam
ic. There were 11 individuals who were Buddhist
, 38 individuals who were Hindu
and 9 individuals who belonged to another church. 1,553 (or about 18.00% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
or atheist
, and 325 individuals (or about 3.77% of the population) did not answer the question.
). Of the 1,950 who completed tertiary schooling, 52.5% were Swiss men, 27.3% were Swiss women, 10.9% were non-Swiss men and 9.3% were non-Swiss women. , there were 186 students in Arlesheim who came from another municipality, while 458 residents attended schools outside the municipality.
Municipalities of Switzerland
Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...
in the district of Arlesheim
Arlesheim (district)
Arlesheim District is one of the five districts of the largely German-speaking canton of Basel-Country, Switzerland. Its capital is the town of Arlesheim. It has a population of .-Geography:...
in the canton
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Basel-Country
Basel-Country
Basel-Landschaft , is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. The capital is Liestal...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Its cathedral chapter
Chapter (religion)
Chapter designates certain corporate ecclesiastical bodies in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches....
seat, bishop's residence and cathedral (1681 / 1761) are listed as a heritage site of national significance
Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...
.
The cathedral has a Baroque organ built by the German builder Johann Andreas Silbermann, based in Alsace, in 1761. The instrument was restored by Metzler in 1959-62, and is an example of the fusion of French and German organ building styles. It has been used in several recordings, including Lionel Rogg
Lionel Rogg
Lionel Rogg is a Swiss organist, composer and teacher of musical theory. Among many other distinctions, he has recorded the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach three times....
's recording of the complete organ works of J. S. Bach, for Harmonia Mundi France in 1970.
Prehistoric settlements
The protected location on the western foot of the Gempen Plateau encouraged an early settlement of the area. PaleolithicPaleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
Magdalenian
Magdalenian
The Magdalenian , refers to one of the later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic in western Europe, dating from around 17,000 BP to 9,000 BP...
culture items from around 10,000 BC were discovered in the Birseck-Ermitage and Hollenberg 3 caves. Birseck-Ermitage was discovered in 1910 by Fritz Sartorius-Preiswerk, and Hollenberg 3 was discovered in 1950 by Martin Herkert. The caves contained traces of fires, spear points carved from reindeer antler
Antler
Antlers are the usually large, branching bony appendages on the heads of most deer species.-Etymology:Antler originally meant the lowest tine, the "brow tine"...
and pendents from snail and mussel shells. From the end of the Palaeolithic era, Birseck-Ermitage cave contains galets colori, red-stripe like painted limestone pebbles, and flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
tools. From the Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
period (ca. 6000-5000 BC), flint tools have been discovered at the Abri overhang at Hohlefels, excavated in 1905 by Fritz Sarasin, and in the Birseck-Hermitage cave. Some funerary objects from the largely unexplored transitional period between the Mesolithic to Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
period (around 5200 BC) were also discovered. Several Neolithic ax blades were discovered across the municipal area, with a concentration at Dachsenhöhle and Kleinen Höhle am Hohlefels which were excavated in 1952-54 by Martin Herkert, Bernhard Hesse and Andreas Schwabe. In the Kleinen Höhle skeletal remains of children with grave goods as well as a typological flint spear points were also found. Horgen culture
Horgen culture
The Horgen culture is one of several archaeological cultures belonging to the Neolithic period of Switzerland. The Horgen culture may derive from the Pfyn culture and early Horgen pottery is similar to the earlier Cortaillod culture pottery of Twann, Switzerland...
(around 3000 BC.) ceramic vessels have also been found. From the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, only a few, mostly are generic items have been discovered. So far, no items from the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
have been found.
Medieval settlement
The farm complex of Arlesheim was owned by Mont Sainte-OdileMont Sainte-Odile
Mont Sainte-Odile is a 760 m peak of the Vosges Mountains in Alsace in France. The mountain is named for Saint Odile...
Monastery in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
starting in the 8th Century. It was sold in 1239 to the Bishop of Basel Lüthold von Rötteln. In 1245, the Frohburg family withdrew their claims on the land, which left the Bishop with an uncontested title to the land. In 1273 he pledged the village to the Lords of Ramstein in exchange for a loan. The Bishops of Basel didn't get the village back until 1435. After that Arlesheim belonged to Bishop's Herrschaft
Herrschaft (territory)
In the German feudal system, a Herrschaft or Herrlichkeit was the fiefdom of a lord, who in this area exercised his full feudal rights...
of Birseck.
The inhabitants were initially part of the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Pfeffingen
Pfeffingen
Pfeffingen is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland.-Geography:Pfeffingen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 32.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 52.7% is forested...
. However, by 1341 they possessed a parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
and in 1396 their own pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
. This parish church, the church of St. Odilia, was rebuilt in the late 17th century and demolished in 1816.
The Reformation to the Early Modern Period
While Arlesheim was probably under the influence of BaselBasel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
through the counts of Birseck, it never entered into a Burgrecht
Burgrecht
A Burgrecht was a medieval agreement, most commonly in southern Germany and northern German-speaking Switzerland. It came to refer to an agreement between a town and surrounding settlements or to include the specific rights held by a city or town.The word Burgrecht is first used by the St...
treaty with the city. Despite Arlesheim's loose connection with Basel, it converted to the new Protestant
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
faith in 1528 when Basel converted. About half a century later, in 1582, the Bishop of Basel, Jakob Christoph Blarer von Wartensee
Jakob Christoph Blarer von Wartensee
Jakob Christoph Blarer von Wartensee was a Bishop of Basel and a leader in the Counter-Reformation in the region around Basel.-Early history:...
, succeeded in spreading the Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
in Arlesheim.
In the Thirty Years War the surrounding countryside was damaged by looting and pillaging. Arlesheim, however, was off the main roads and was relatively untouched. It had developed as a small, rather out of the way wine-growing village with the Bishop's estates and wine-press. As a result, when the Basel cathedral council and priests moved from Freiburg im Breisgau in 1678, they went to Arlesheim. An administrative center and impressive, early baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
residences were built in the town. Under the artistic concept and initially led by Franz Demess, the cathedral was built in 1679-81. This was followed by the magnificent Domherrenhäuser which was built between 1680-87. These new buildings made Arlesheim an attractive place for nobles, high clergy, diplomats, artists and craftsmen. The court life of the canons
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
also promoted indigenous craftsmen. In 1726 a mint opened in town. Then, in 1763 the seat of the Bailiwick
Bailiwick
A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and may also apply to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of...
of Birseck moved from Birseck Castle to the Andlauer Hof in Arlesheim. In 1785, Balbina von Andlau and Canon Heinrich von Ligerz created the Eremitage (Hermitage in English), the largest english garden
English garden
The English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...
in Switzerland, which was known throughout Europe and attracted many travelers.
The right to appoint Arlesheim's pastor was held by the Bishop of Basel until 1678, after which it went to the council of Basel's Cathedral
Basel Münster
The Basel Münster is one of the main landmarks and tourist attractions of the Swiss city of Basel. It adds definition to the cityscape with its red sandstone architecture and coloured roof tiles, its two slim towers and the cross-shaped intersection of the main roof...
. At the beginning of the 17th Century the parish of Arlesheim was briefly united briefly with the parish of Reinach (in Basel-Country)
Reinach, Basel-Country
Reinach is a municipality in the district Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland.-Geography:Reinach has an area, , of . Of this area, or 26.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 16.6% is forested...
into a single parish.
French Revolution to Modern Arlesheim
After the short-lived Rauracian RepublicRauracian Republic
The Rauracian Republic was a state that included parts of modern France and Switzerland around the Jura mountains. It was created from the northern portion of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire....
(1792–93), the village was under French rule from 1793 to 1814. Between 1793-1800 it was part of the Département of Mont-Terrible
Mont-Terrible
Mont-Terrible was one of the 130 départements of Napoleonic France, with its capital at Porrentruy.The Mont Terrible for which the département was named is now known as mont Terri, a peak of 804 m near Courgenay, now in the canton of Jura, Switzerland.The département was created in 1793 with the...
and then in 1800-1814 it was part of the Département of Haut-Rhin
Haut-Rhin
Haut-Rhin is a département of the Alsace region of France, named after the Rhine river. Its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less populated of the two departements of Alsace, although is still densely populated compared to the rest of France.-Subdivisions:The department...
. Under the revolutionary forces, the Cathedral and the Domherrenhäuser were nationalized. Courageous citizens bought the cathedral and prevented it from being demolished. Later, the parish acquired the building and the cathedral became a parish church. In 1814-15, it was the seat of the coalition
War of the Sixth Coalition
In the War of the Sixth Coalition , a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and a number of German States finally defeated France and drove Napoleon Bonaparte into exile on Elba. After Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, the continental powers...
Governor General of the diocese of Basel. In 1815, the Canton of Basel was recreated. Arlesheim was part of the Canton of Basel until it split into two half-cantons in 1832. Arlesheim joined Basel-Country and became the capital of a district.
During the invasion of revolutionary France, the cathedral canons fled the city. The flight of the canons led to an economic depression in the village in the years following the French invasion. In 1830, Johann Siegmund Alioth moved from Basel to Arlesheim and set up the first mechanical silk-factory in Switzerland along the Birs. The factory operated for nearly a century and a half, until it closed in 1976. For his Reformed
Swiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
workers, Daniel August Alioth built a Reformed chapel in his garden in 1856. This Reformed church served the needs of just a few Reformed families throughout the entire Birseck. A Reformed parish was established in 1882 in Arlesheim.
In 1875, the Jura–Simplon Railway
Jura–Simplon Railway
The Jura–Simplon Railway , was a former Swiss rail company, formed in 1890 and absorbed into the Swiss Federal Railways in 1903.-History:...
opened a line into Arlesheim, which was followed in 1902 by the Birseckbahn Basel-Arlesheim-Dornach tram line. In 1976, it was purchased by Baselland Transport. These two train lines gave further impetus to the industrial and service sectors including; the Alioth electric equipment supply company in 1892, the anthroposophist
Anthroposophical Medicine
Anthroposophical medicine is a complementary approach to medicine that integrates the theories and practices of modern medicine with homeopathic medicines, physical and artistic therapies and biographical counseling...
Ita Wegman
Ita Wegman
Ita Wegman, MD is known as the co-founder of Anthroposophical Medicine with Rudolf Steiner. In 1921, she founded the first anthroposophical medical clinic in Arlesheim, now known as the Ita Wegman Clinic...
Clinic in 1921 and the Weleda remedies company.
Arlesheim has a mild climate and sunny vineyards, which made it a popular location for vacation villas. In 1880 the first housing estate was built in New-Arlesheim. The many workers who moved into Arlesheim fostered a sectarian shift in what was once a very Catholic village. The construction of the Reformed church in 1911-12 encouraged more Reformed workers to follow. In 1990, about 41% of the population was Catholic, while 38% were Reformed. After 1960, Arlesheim developed into a residential community
Residential community
A residential community is a community, usually a small town or city, that is composed mostly of residents, as opposed to commercial businesses and/or industrial facilities, all three of which are considered to be the three main types of occupants of the typical community.Residential communities...
for the agglomeration
Agglomeration
In the study of human settlements, an urban agglomeration is an extended city or town area comprising the built-up area of a central place and any suburbs linked by continuous urban area. In France, INSEE the French Statistical Institute, translate it as "Unité urbaine" which means continuous...
of Basel. In 1990, over two-thirds of the workers were commuters, and 77% of the jobs were in the services sector. The ensuing infrastructure problems, including overbuilding, led to a town planning ordinance of 1971 and redevelopment of the village square in 1987 and 1991.
Geography
Arlesheim has an area, , of 6.93 square kilometres (2.7 sq mi). Of this area, 0.65 km² (0.250966403085148 sq mi) or 9.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.64 km² (1.4 sq mi) or 52.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.65 km² (1 sq mi) or 38.2% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.03 km² (7.4 acre) or 0.4% is either rivers or lakes.Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 5.1% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 23.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 6.8%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.2%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 1.9% is used for growing crops and 4.8% is pastures, while 2.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
The municipality is the capital of the district of the same name. It is located in the located in the Birseck or the lower Birs
Birs
The Birs is a 73-km long river in Switzerland that flows through the Jura region and ends as a tributary to the Rhine between Basel and Birsfelden.- Picture gallery :...
valley. Originally a village along the river, it has grown to become part of the Agglomeration of Basel.
Demographics
Arlesheim has a population of . , 18.8% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 6.2%.Most of the population speaks German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(7,428 or 86.1%), with Italian language
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
being second most common (283 or 3.3%) and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
being third (167 or 1.9%). There are 16 people who speak Romansh.
, the gender distribution of the population was 46.5% male and 53.5% female. The population was made up of 7,232 Swiss citizens (80.8% of the population), and 1,722 non-Swiss residents (19.2%) Of the population in the municipality 1,686 or about 19.5% were born in Arlesheim and lived there in 2000. There were 1,132 or 13.1% who were born in the same canton, while 3,391 or 39.3% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 2,151 or 24.9% were born outside of Switzerland.
In there were 51 live births to Swiss citizens and 13 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 59 deaths of Swiss citizens and 13 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 8 while the foreign population remained the same. There were 7 Swiss men and 8 Swiss women who immigrated back to Switzerland. At the same time, there were 13 non-Swiss men and 30 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was a decrease of 13 and the non-Swiss population change was a decrease of 5 people. This represents a population growth rate of -0.2%.
The age distribution, , in Arlesheim is; 559 children or 6.2% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 1,220 teenagers or 13.6% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 798 people or 8.9% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,074 people or 12.0% are between 30 and 39, 1,429 people or 16.0% are between 40 and 49, and 1,840 people or 20.5% are between 50 and 64. The senior population distribution is 1,454 people or 16.2% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 580 people or 6.5% who are over 80.
, there were 3,388 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 4,192 married individuals, 537 widows or widowers and 511 individuals who are divorced.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.53 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.56 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least 4 m² (43.1 sq ft) as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 35.9% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
or a rent-to-own agreement).
, there were 3,830 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.2 persons per household. There were 1,354 households that consist of only one person and 180 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 3,918 households that answered this question, 34.6% were households made up of just one person and 30 were adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 1,192 married couples without children, 977 married couples with children There were 215 single parents with a child or children. There were 62 households that were made up unrelated people and 88 households that were made some sort of institution or another collective housing.
there were 1,039 single family homes (or 59.2% of the total) out of a total of 1,756 inhabited buildings. There were 368 multi-family buildings (21.0%), along with 226 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (12.9%) and 123 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (7.0%). Of the single family homes 104 were built before 1919, while 136 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (225) were built between 1946 and 1960.
there were 4,108 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 4 rooms of which there were 1,198. There were 211 single room apartments and 1,177 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 3,721 apartments (90.6% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 265 apartments (6.5%) were seasonally occupied and 122 apartments (3.0%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 1.2 new units per 1000 residents. the average price to rent a two room apartment was about 911.00 CHF (US$730, £410, €580), a three room apartment was about 1153.00 CHF (US$920, £520, €740) and a four room apartment cost an average of 1454.00 CHF (US$1160, £650, €930). The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.7%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
The Andlauerhof, the Domherrenhaus at Domstrasse 2, the Domherrenhäuser am Domplatz, the CathedralCathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
Church, the Hermitage
Hermitage (religious retreat)
Although today's meaning is usually a place where a hermit lives in seclusion from the world, hermitage was more commonly used to mean a settlement where a person or a group of people lived religiously, in seclusion.-Western Christian Tradition:...
site which includes the ruins of Birseck Castle, as well as paleolithic
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
cave dwellings, an early cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
site and Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
graves and Reichenstein Castle are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance
Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
The Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance is a register of some 8,300 items of cultural property in Switzerland...
. The entire village of Arlesheim is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
The Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage.-Sites of national importance:-Types:...
.
Politics
In the 2007 federal electionSwiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...
the most popular party was the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
which received 24.42% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Green Party
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
(22.1%), the FDP
FDP.The Liberals
FDP.The Liberals is a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It is the joint-largest party in the Federal Council, third-largest party in the National Council, and second-largest in the Council of States....
(20.17%) and the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
(17.8%). In the federal election, a total of 3,186 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was 53.1%.
Economy
, Arlesheim had an unemployment rate of 1.69%. , there were 71 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 10 businesses involved in this sector. 748 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 67 businesses in this sector. 3,979 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 345 businesses in this sector. There were 4,271 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 47.2% of the workforce.the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 4,213. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 9, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 743, of which 479 or (64.5%) were in manufacturing and 236 (31.8%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 3,461. In the tertiary sector; 1,121 or 32.4% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 469 or 13.6% were in the movement and storage of goods, 94 or 2.7% were in a hotel or restaurant, 68 or 2.0% were in the information industry, 77 or 2.2% were the insurance or financial industry, 256 or 7.4% were technical professionals or scientists, 136 or 3.9% were in education and 835 or 24.1% were in health care.
, there were 3,548 workers who commuted into the municipality and 3,045 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.2 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 11.8% of the workforce coming into Arlesheim are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.3% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 31.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 35.9% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 3,135 or 36.3% were Roman Catholic, while 2,842 or 32.9% belonged to the Swiss Reformed ChurchSwiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 76 members of an Orthodox church
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
(or about 0.88% of the population), there were 34 individuals (or about 0.39% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is the Swiss member church of the Union of Utrecht, also known as Old Catholic Church, originally founded by the jansenists, with a later influx of discontented Catholics following their disappointment with the First Vatican Council. It has 14,000...
, and there were 310 individuals (or about 3.59% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 13 individuals (or about 0.15% of the population) who were Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and 282 (or about 3.27% of the population) who were Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic. There were 11 individuals who were Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, 38 individuals who were Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and 9 individuals who belonged to another church. 1,553 (or about 18.00% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
or atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, and 325 individuals (or about 3.77% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education
In Arlesheim about 3,246 or (37.6%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 1,950 or (22.6%) have completed additional higher education (either University or a FachhochschuleFachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
). Of the 1,950 who completed tertiary schooling, 52.5% were Swiss men, 27.3% were Swiss women, 10.9% were non-Swiss men and 9.3% were non-Swiss women. , there were 186 students in Arlesheim who came from another municipality, while 458 residents attended schools outside the municipality.