Kaisten, Switzerland
Encyclopedia
Kaisten is a municipality
in the district of Laufenburg
in the canton
of Aargau
in Switzerland
. On 1 January 2010 the municipality of Ittenthal
merged into the municipality of Kaisten.
burial mound
of the Hallstatt period
, and a Roman
watchtower and brick kiln. Kaisten is first mentioned in 1282 as Keiston. Ittenthal was first mentioned in 1297 as Utendal though this comes from a 15th Century copy of the original. Ittenthal was also mentioned in 1318 as ze Uttendal. Kaisten castle was built in the 12th-13th Centuries and was part of the territory of Säckingen. After the 13th Century, it was part of the Austrian Habsburgs land, until 1797. After the annexation of the Fricktal by the Canton of Aargau in the 1803 Act of Mediation
it became a municipality.
The Church of St. Michael, founded by Säckingen, was first mentioned in 1443. Until 1804 it was a filial church
of the Laufenburg church. The present building dates of 1717. Before 1812 Kaisten and Ittenthal formed a parish
.
Economically, vineyards played an important role into the mid-19th Century. Throughout the Middle Ages
and the early modern
age, smelting of iron was also important. In the 20th Century, a brick factory was built in Kaisten. Until 1960 Kaisten was mostly a farming village, but it then moved to the chemicals industry.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.3% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 4.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.5%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.8% of the area Out of the forested land, 43.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 24.5% is used for growing crops and 15.2% is pastures, while 1.6% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.
The municipality is located in the Laufenburg district in the upper Fricktal
(Frick river valley). It consists of the haufendorf village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Kaisten and the hamlets
of Oberkaisten as well as the former municipality of Ittenthal.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Or a Vine Leaf Gules slipped.
The age distribution, , in Kaisten is; 248 children or 10.8% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 322 teenagers or 14.0% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 232 people or 10.1% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 310 people or 13.5% are between 30 and 39, 427 people or 18.6% are between 40 and 49, and 296 people or 12.9% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 243 people or 10.6% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 155 people or 6.7% are between 70 and 79, there are 57 people or 2.5% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 10 people or 0.4% who are 90 and older.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.57 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.57 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 62% 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 34 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 288 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 412 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 771 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. there were 471 single family homes (or 54.0% of the total) out of a total of 872 homes and apartments. There were a total of 8 empty apartments for a 0.9% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents.
In the 2007 federal election
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 27.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP
(23.9%), the SP
(19.7%) and the FDP
(14.6%).
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Kaisten about 73% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
). Of the school age population , there are 188 students attending primary school, there are 117 students attending secondary school in the municipality.
The historical population is given in the following table:
.
there were 1,015 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 724 or about 71.3% of the residents worked outside Kaisten while 344 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 635 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 16.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 48% used a private car.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 10 individuals (or about 0.49% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic
faith.
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 Laufenburg
Laufenburg (district)
Laufenburg District is a district of the canton of Aargau, Switzerland, essentially consisting of the upper Fricktal valley in the Aargau Jura south of the Rhine. Its capital is the town of Laufenburg. 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 Aargau
Aargau
Aargau is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. It comprises the lower course of the river Aare, which is why the canton is called Aar-gau .-History:...
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....
. On 1 January 2010 the municipality of Ittenthal
Ittenthal
Ittenthal was a municipality in the district of Laufenburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010, Ittenthal merged into the municipality of Kaisten.The historical population is given in the following table:...
merged into the municipality of Kaisten.
History
Archeological finds in Kaisten include a Bronze AgeBronze 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...
burial mound
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
of the Hallstatt period
Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Central European culture from the 8th to 6th centuries BC , developing out of the Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC and followed in much of Central Europe by the La Tène culture.By the 6th century BC, the Hallstatt culture extended for some...
, and a Roman
Switzerland in the Roman era
The history of Switzerland in the Roman era encompasses the roughly six centuries during which the territory of modern Switzerland was a part of the Roman Republic and Empire...
watchtower and brick kiln. Kaisten is first mentioned in 1282 as Keiston. Ittenthal was first mentioned in 1297 as Utendal though this comes from a 15th Century copy of the original. Ittenthal was also mentioned in 1318 as ze Uttendal. Kaisten castle was built in the 12th-13th Centuries and was part of the territory of Säckingen. After the 13th Century, it was part of the Austrian Habsburgs land, until 1797. After the annexation of the Fricktal by the Canton of Aargau in the 1803 Act of Mediation
Act of Mediation
The Act of Mediation was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte on 19 February 1803 establishing the Swiss Confederation. The act also abolished the previous Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion of Switzerland by French troops in 1798. After the withdrawal of French troops in July 1802,...
it became a municipality.
The Church of St. Michael, founded by Säckingen, was first mentioned in 1443. Until 1804 it was a filial church
Filial church
A filial church, in the Roman Catholic Church, is a church to which is annexed the cure of souls, but which remains dependent on another church. The term comes from the Latin filialis, from filia, daughter....
of the Laufenburg church. The present building dates of 1717. Before 1812 Kaisten and Ittenthal formed a 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...
.
Economically, vineyards played an important role into the mid-19th Century. Throughout the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and the early modern
Early Modern Switzerland
The early modern history of the Old Swiss Confederacy , lasting from formal independence in 1648 to the French invasion of 1798 came to be referred as Ancien Régime retrospectively, in post-Napoleonic Switzerland.The early modern period was characterized by an increasingly...
age, smelting of iron was also important. In the 20th Century, a brick factory was built in Kaisten. Until 1960 Kaisten was mostly a farming village, but it then moved to the chemicals industry.
Geography
Kaisten has an area, , of 14.19 square kilometres (5.5 sq mi). Of this area, 5.86 km² (2.3 sq mi) or 41.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 6.38 km² (2.5 sq mi) or 45.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.62 km² (0.625485496919907 sq mi) or 11.4% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.3 km² (0.115830647577761 sq mi) or 2.1% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.1% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.3% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 4.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.5%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.8% of the area Out of the forested land, 43.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 24.5% is used for growing crops and 15.2% is pastures, while 1.6% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.
The municipality is located in the Laufenburg district in the upper Fricktal
Fricktal
The Fricktal region is the northwest finger extending from the Swiss canton of Aargau. It is situated in Northwestern Switzerland east of Basel, between the High Rhine forming the border with Germany in the north and the Jura Mountains in the south. The Fricktal contains the districts of...
(Frick river valley). It consists of the haufendorf village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Kaisten and the hamlets
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Oberkaisten as well as the former municipality of Ittenthal.
Coat of arms
The blazonBlazon
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 Or a Vine Leaf Gules slipped.
Demographics
Kaisten has a population of , 14.7% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 14.1%. Most of the population speaks German (93.0%), with Italian being second most common ( 1.5%) and Albanian being third ( 1.5%).The age distribution, , in Kaisten is; 248 children or 10.8% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 322 teenagers or 14.0% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 232 people or 10.1% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 310 people or 13.5% are between 30 and 39, 427 people or 18.6% are between 40 and 49, and 296 people or 12.9% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 243 people or 10.6% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 155 people or 6.7% are between 70 and 79, there are 57 people or 2.5% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 10 people or 0.4% who are 90 and older.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.57 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.57 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 62% 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 34 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 288 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 412 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 771 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.6 persons per household. there were 471 single family homes (or 54.0% of the total) out of a total of 872 homes and apartments. There were a total of 8 empty apartments for a 0.9% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0 new units per 1000 residents.
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 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 27.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...
(23.9%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(19.7%) and 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....
(14.6%).
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Kaisten about 73% 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...
). Of the school age population , there are 188 students attending primary school, there are 117 students attending secondary school in the municipality.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population (Kaisten) |
population (Ittenthal) |
|---|---|---|
| 1803 | 875 | 171 |
| 1850 | 1,189 | 265 |
| 1900 | 994 | 217 |
| 1950 | 1,160 | 221 |
| 2000 | 2,054 | 222 |
Sights
The village of Ittenthal is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage SitesInventory 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:...
.
Economy
, Kaisten had an unemployment rate of 1.96%. , there were 94 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 30 businesses involved in this sector. 516 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 19 businesses in this sector. 176 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 45 businesses in this sector.there were 1,015 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 724 or about 71.3% of the residents worked outside Kaisten while 344 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 635 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 16.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 48% used a private car.
Religion
From the , 1,298 or 63.2% were Roman Catholic, while 395 or 19.2% 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 10 individuals (or about 0.49% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic
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...
faith.