Dornach is also a quarter of the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 city of Mulhouse

Mulhouse

Mulhouse |mill]] hamlet) is a city and commune in eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. With a population of 110,514 and 278,206 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2006, it is the largest city in the Haut-Rhin département, and the second largest in the Alsace region after...

, and Dòrnach is the Gaelic name for Dornoch

Dornoch

Dornoch is a town and seaside resort, and former Royal burgh in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray Firth to the east...

 in the Scottish Highlands.

Dornach is a 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 Dorneck

Dorneck (district)

Dorneck District is one of the ten districts of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, situated to the north of the canton. Together with Thierstein District, it forms the Amtei of Dorneck-Thierstein. Ithas a population of...

 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 Solothurn 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....

.

History

Dornach is first mentioned in 1223 as de Tornacho. In 1307 it was mentioned as zu Dornach. It has been settled since at least 1223 when a local lay priest

Laity

In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...

 was known as Johannes de Tornacho (thought to mean "from the estate of Turnus

Turnus

In Virgil's Aeneid, Turnus was the King of the Rutuli, and the chief antagonist of the hero Aeneas.-Biography:Prior to Aeneas' arrival in Italy, Turnus was the primary potential suitor of Lavinia, daughter of Latinus, King of the Latin people. Upon Aeneas' arrival, however, Lavinia is promised to...

").

The site was the location of the decisive 1499 Battle of Dornach

Battle of Dornach

The Battle of Dornach was a battle fought on 22 July 1499 between the troops of Emperor Maximilian I and the Old Swiss Confederacy close to the Swiss village of Dornach....

, which ended the Swabian War

Swabian War

The Swabian War of 1499 was the last major armed conflict between the Old Swiss Confederacy and the House of Habsburg...

 and effectively ensured the independence of the Old Swiss Confederacy

Old Swiss Confederacy

The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....

 from the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

. The battle is memorialized in a 1949 relief wall.

Today Dornach is famous for the Goetheanum

Goetheanum

The Goetheanum, located in Dornach , Switzerland, is the world center for the anthroposophical movement. Named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the center includes two performance halls , gallery and lecture spaces, a library, a bookstore, and administrative spaces for the Anthroposophical...

 and is home to the international headquarters of the Anthroposophical movement

Anthroposophy

Anthroposophy, a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development...

 founded by Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. He gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher...

.

Geography

Dornach has an area, , of 5.77 square kilometres (2.2 sq mi). Of this area, 1 km² (0.386102158592535 sq mi) or 17.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.67 km² (1 sq mi) or 46.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 2.05 km² (0.791509425114697 sq mi) or 35.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes and 0.01 km² (2.5 acre) or 0.2% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3.6% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 22.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 6.8%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.3%. Out of the forested land, 44.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 6.1% is used for growing crops and 8.0% is pastures, while 3.3% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.

The municipality is located in the Dorneck district. It consists of the village of Dornach which is made up of two villages, Dornachdorf (also known as Oberdornach) and Dornachbrugg. Until the last quarter of the 19th Century the two villages were completely separate.

Coat of arms

The blazon

Blazon

In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...

 of the municipal coat of arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 is Argent two Fish-hooks inverted and addorsed Sable.

Demographics

Dornach has a population of . , 23.8% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1999–2009 ) the population has changed at a rate of 4.2%.

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....

 (5,212 or 88.5%), with Italian

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 (137 or 2.3%) 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 (91 or 1.5%). There are 6 people who speak Romansh.

, the gender distribution of the population was 47.7% male and 52.3% female. The population was made up of 2,221 Swiss men (35.4% of the population) and 771 (12.3%) non-Swiss men. There were 2,463 Swiss women (39.3%) and 819 (13.1%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 1,343 or about 22.8% were born in Dornach and lived there in 2000. There were 304 or 5.2% who were born in the same canton, while 2,464 or 41.9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 1,544 or 26.2% were born outside of Switzerland.

In there were 41 live births to Swiss citizens and 15 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 36 deaths of Swiss citizens and 5 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 5 while the foreign population increased by 10. There were 4 Swiss men who immigrated back to Switzerland and 12 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 51 non-Swiss men and 25 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 33 and the non-Swiss population increased by 50 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.3%.

The age distribution, , in Dornach is; 413 children or 7.0% of the population are between 0 and 6 years old and 837 teenagers or 14.2% are between 7 and 19. Of the adult population, 240 people or 4.1% of the population are between 20 and 24 years old. 1,795 people or 30.5% are between 25 and 44, and 1,604 people or 27.3% are between 45 and 64. The senior population distribution is 722 people or 12.3% of the population are between 65 and 79 years old and there are 275 people or 4.7% who are over 80.

, there were 2,427 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 2,719 married individuals, 359 widows or widowers and 381 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 41% 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 2,619 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.1 persons per household. There were 998 households that consist of only one person and 151 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 2,710 households that answered this question, 36.8% were households made up of just one person and there were 18 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 745 married couples without children, 659 married couples with children There were 146 single parents with a child or children. There were 53 households that were made up of unrelated people and 91 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.

there were 922 single family homes (or 65.0% of the total) out of a total of 1,418 inhabited buildings. There were 310 multi-family buildings (21.9%), along with 118 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (8.3%) and 68 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (4.8%). Of the single family homes 65 were built before 1919, while 121 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (218) were built between 1971 and 1980.

there were 2,836 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 738. There were 171 single room apartments and 856 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 2,536 apartments (89.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 191 apartments (6.7%) were seasonally occupied and 109 apartments (3.8%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.72%.

The historical population is given in the following chart:

Heritage sites of national significance

The Goetheanum

Goetheanum

The Goetheanum, located in Dornach , Switzerland, is the world center for the anthroposophical movement. Named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the center includes two performance halls , gallery and lecture spaces, a library, a bookstore, and administrative spaces for the Anthroposophical...

 with surrounding buildings, the De Jaager House, the Duldeck House and the ruins of Dorneck Castle

Dorneck Castle

Dorneck Castle is a castle in the municipality of Dornach of the Canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.-References:...

 are listed as Swiss heritage sites 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 Goetheanum site 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 election

Swiss 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 28.33% 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:...

 (22.52%), 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...

 (18.97%) and 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....

 (14.93%). In the federal election, a total of 2,051 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 53.7%.

Economy

, Dornach had an unemployment rate of 3.1%. , there were 24 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 7 businesses involved in this sector. 605 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 51 businesses in this sector. 1,578 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 190 businesses in this sector. There were 2,946 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 46.3% of the workforce.

the total number of full-time equivalent

Full-time equivalent

Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...

 jobs was 1,822. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 17, of which 13 were in agriculture and 4 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 586 of which 504 or (86.0%) were in manufacturing and 80 (13.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 1,219. In the tertiary sector; 264 or 21.7% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 25 or 2.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 102 or 8.4% were in a hotel or restaurant, 43 or 3.5% were in the information industry, 32 or 2.6% were the insurance or financial industry, 66 or 5.4% were technical professionals or scientists, 45 or 3.7% were in education and 368 or 30.2% were in health care.

, there were 1,992 workers who commuted into the municipality and 2,045 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.0 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 21.4% of the workforce coming into Dornach are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.2% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 26.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 43.9% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 2,039 or 34.6% were Roman Catholic, while 1,319 or 22.4% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church

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...

. Of the rest of the population, there were 53 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 0.90% of the population), there were 27 individuals (or about 0.46% 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 375 individuals (or about 6.37% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 160 (or about 2.72% 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...

, 32 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 6 individuals who belonged to another church. 1,551 (or about 26.35% 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 313 individuals (or about 5.32% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

In Dornach about 2,181 or (37.1%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 1,223 or (20.8%) have completed 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...

). Of the 1,223 who completed tertiary schooling, 45.2% were Swiss men, 23.5% were Swiss women, 14.1% were non-Swiss men and 17.1% were non-Swiss women.

During the 2010-2011 school year there were a total of 444 students in the Dornach school system. The education system

Education in Switzerland

The education system in Switzerland is very diverse, because the constitution of Switzerland delegates the authority for the school system mainly to the cantons...

 in the Canton of Solothurn allows young children to attend two years of non-obligatory Kindergarten

Kindergarten

A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

. During that school year, there were 83 children in kindergarten. The canton's school system requires students to attend six years of primary school, with some of the children attending smaller, specialized classes. In the municipality there were 288 students in primary school and 5 students in the special, smaller classes. The secondary school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling, followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. 68 lower secondary students attend school in Dornach.

, there were 40 students in Dornach who came from another municipality, while 457 residents attended schools outside the municipality.