Bassersdorf
Encyclopedia
Bassersdorf is a municipality
in the Swiss
canton
of Zurich, located in the district of Bülach
, and belongs to the Glatt Valley
(German: Glattal).
consisting of dorf, a widespread constituent in alemannic
placenames meaning ‚hamlet, farm, village, estate‘, and the genitive form of an anthroponym, probably OHG
*Bazzilo (or its feminine Bacila, documented in the Abbey of St. Gall
). The Alemannic settlement dates to the 8th or 9th century. Due to its position halfway between the towns of Zurich
and Winterthur
, the village gained some importance as a relay during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Under the Helvetic Republic
(1798–1803), it was the district capital.
The municipality is located on the edge of the mid-Glatt Valley
. Since 1931, the village of Baltenswil has been part of the municipality.
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP
which received 37.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS
(19.6%), the FDP
(12.4%) and the CSP
(10.3%).
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 65.2% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 11.4%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Bassersdorf about 75.5% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule
).
The historical population is given in the following table:
at one point operated its Switzerland offices in Bassersdorf.
Bassersdorf has an unemployment rate of 3.46%. , there were 53 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 17 businesses involved in this sector. 617 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 67 businesses in this sector. 2380 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 267 businesses in this sector.
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 Swiss
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....
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 Zurich, located in the district of Bülach
Bülach (district)
Bülach District is one of 12 districts of the Canton of Zürich in Switzerland, with some 117,000 inhabitants the third largest in the canton. Its administrative capital is Bülach, the largest municipality is Kloten, the location of Zurich Airport...
, and belongs to the Glatt Valley
Glatt Valley
The Glatt Valley is a region and a river valley in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.- Geography :The River Glatt is a tributary of the River Rhine in the Zürcher Unterland area of the Canton of Zurich...
(German: Glattal).
History
The name, mentionend in 1155 as Bazzelstorf and maybe yet in the early 11th century as Basselstorff, is a compoundCompound (linguistics)
In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme that consists of more than one stem. Compounding or composition is the word formation that creates compound lexemes...
consisting of dorf, a widespread constituent in alemannic
Alemannic German
Alemannic is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, France and Italy...
placenames meaning ‚hamlet, farm, village, estate‘, and the genitive form of an anthroponym, probably OHG
Old High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
*Bazzilo (or its feminine Bacila, documented in the Abbey of St. Gall
Abbey of St. Gall
The Abbey of Saint Gall is a religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in present-day Switzerland. The Carolingian-era Abbey has existed since 719 and became an independent principality during the 13th century, and was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe. It was...
). The Alemannic settlement dates to the 8th or 9th century. Due to its position halfway between the towns of Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and Winterthur
Winterthur
Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has the country's sixth largest population with an estimate of more than 100,000 people. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti...
, the village gained some importance as a relay during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Under the Helvetic Republic
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...
(1798–1803), it was the district capital.
Geography
Bassersdorf has an area of 9 square kilometres (3.5 sq mi). Of this area, 42.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 26.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.3%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).The municipality is located on the edge of the mid-Glatt Valley
Glatt Valley
The Glatt Valley is a region and a river valley in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.- Geography :The River Glatt is a tributary of the River Rhine in the Zürcher Unterland area of the Canton of Zurich...
. Since 1931, the village of Baltenswil has been part of the municipality.
Demographics
Bassersdorf has a population (as of ) of . , 21.2% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 50.5%. Most of the population speaks German (85.8%), with Italian being second most common ( 3.8%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 1.7%).In the 2007 election the most popular party was 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...
which received 37.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(19.6%), the FDP
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....
(12.4%) and the CSP
Christian Social Party (Switzerland)
The Christian Social Party is a political party in Switzerland. The CSP is more social democratic than the CVP. With the moderate Christian left as its background, the CSP commits itself to social democratic and environmentalist political solutions...
(10.3%).
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 65.2% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 11.4%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Bassersdorf about 75.5% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
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...
).
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1420 | 39 Households |
| 1634 | 310 |
| 1710 | 718 |
| 1836 | 825 |
| 1850 | 959 |
| 1900 | 1,092 |
| 1950 | 2,143 |
| 1970 | 5,590 |
| 2000 | 7,515 |
Economy
CompaqCompaq
Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard....
at one point operated its Switzerland offices in Bassersdorf.
Bassersdorf has an unemployment rate of 3.46%. , there were 53 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 17 businesses involved in this sector. 617 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 67 businesses in this sector. 2380 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 267 businesses in this sector.