Lenzburg
Encyclopedia
Lenzburg is a town in the central region of the Swiss
canton
Aargau
and is the capital of the district of the same name
. The town, founded in the Middle Ages
, lies in the Seetal
valley, about 3 kilometres south of the Aare river. Lenzburg and the neighbouring municipalities of Niederlenz
and Staufen
have grown together in an agglomeration.
Lenzburg lies 30 km west of Zurich
. There is a fast public transport connection through Lenzburg from Zurich to Basel
. Many people commute to Zurich or its airport at Kloten
each day.
The oldest excavations originate from Neolithic
times, some over 5,000 years old. A Roman
theatre
was uncovered when a motorway was built in 1964. It was part of a small settlement with 500 inhabitants that existed for approximately 200 years. The settlement was abandoned in the 3rd century. In the 5th and 6th centuries, an Alamanni
settlement existed. Lenzburg is first mentioned in 924 as de Lencis.
In 1036, Schloss Lenzburg
was used for the first time as seat for the count of Lenzburg, then an important lord. The house however died out in 1173, and the castle was then transferred to emperor Frederick Barbarossa
. In the following period, it was mainly used by the Kyburger house. The Habsburg
s took over the castle in 1273. City rights were granted in 1306.
Lenzburg was conquered by Bern in 1415, along with the western part of current Aargau, though Bern did not take away its city rights. In 1433, the city of Bern bought the castle and used it to govern the region from 1444 to 1798. A major fire devastated the town in 1491, sparing only fifteen houses. The Reformation
was carried out simultanuously with the rest of the region in 1528, and the economy started to transform slowly from an agrarian
to a more industrial one in the 16th century. A textile factory
was founded in 1732.
In 1798, the Helvetian Republic was proclaimed and the lords from Bern were ousted. The canton of Aargau was founded and Lenzburg became the capital of the district in 1803. The canton gained the castle in 1804. Lenzburg transformed into the economic centre of the region in the 19th century. Many people in the area worked for the "Wool lords" .
In 1830, a series of meetings were held in Lenzberg to discuss changing the cantonal constitution. When peaceful negotiation with the cantonal authorities in Aarau failed to produce results, Johann Heinrich Fischer from Merenschwand
called for a rebel militia from the Freiämter to force the government to change, in what was known as the Freiämtersturm
. On 6 December 1830, his rebel troops marched toward Lenzberg on their way to Aarau. At Lenzberg, about 100 government soldiers formed to resist the militia, and brought their guns in position. The Freiämter milita ran toward the militia with wild battle cries, and the government soldiers broke and ran without firing a shot. By 6pm the militia entered Aarau and the commander of government troops surrendered without any resistance.
On 23 June 1874, Lenzburg was connected to the Aargauische Südbahn railway. On 6 September 1877 the Schweizerische Nationalbahn opened a line from Wettingen
to Zofingen
as part of a plan to connect Singen
, Germany
and Lake Geneva
in competition with the established railway companies. The line went bankrupt in 1878 and was taken over by the Schweizerische Nordostbahn. The bankruptcy of the Nationalbahn brought Lenzburg to the brink of economic ruin, as the city itself was heavily involved in financing it. Paying back the city's debt took half a century.
The castle changed hands several times in the 19th and 20th century. In 1860, it was bought by Frank Wedekind
, a poet
from Germany. In 1893, it was purchased by Americans and renovated. Finally, in 1956, it was bought by the canton and since been used to house a museum.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 4.9% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 12.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 7.4%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.9% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.7%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 15.2% is used for growing crops and 6.0% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.
The municipality is the capital of the Lenzburg district. It is located at a hub of the Swiss rail and motorway networks.
The age distribution, , in Lenzburg is; 731 children or 9.1% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 845 teenagers or 10.5% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 1,235 people or 15.4% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,131 people or 14.1% are between 30 and 39, 1,245 people or 15.5% are between 40 and 49, and 1,016 people or 12.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 777 people or 9.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 611 people or 7.6% are between 70 and 79, there are 345 people or 4.3% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 78 people or 1.0% who are 90 and older.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.56 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 36.2% 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 495 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 1,788 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 921 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 3,251 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.2 persons per household. there were 935 single family homes (or 23.4% of the total) out of a total of 4,003 homes and apartments. There were a total of 19 empty apartments for a 0.5% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.7 new units per 1000 residents.
In the 2007 federal election
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 27.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
(22.7%), the FDP
(17.5%) and the CVP
(9%).
The historical population is given in the following table:
There are nine sites in Lenzburg that are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance
. Above the city is the Burghalde at Schlossgasse 21 and Lenzburg castle (which is over a prehistoric settlement and contains the Cantonal Museum). Two other ancient sites, Goffersberg (a neolithic graveyard) and Lindfeld (a Roman Vicus
, theatre and burial ground), are included in the list. The other sites in the town include; Müllerhaus at Bleicherain 7, the Town Council Hall at Rathausgasse 16, Sonnenberg at Schlossgasse 50, the prison at Ziegeleiweg 13 and Villa Malaga at Schützenmattstrasse 7.
The undisputed landmark of the city is the Lenzburg castle, built in the 11th century and since enlarged on several occasions. Lenzburg ranks among the oldest and most important high-castles in Switzerland. The castle is located on a hill and towers about 100 meters above the city level. The old part of the town at the foot of the hill is U-shaped and in very good condition, consisting of a main road with two parallel alleys and another lane. Only parts of the city wall have been preserved and are now under monument protection.
Some notable buildings in the old town include:
bracket, but a number of international companies are established in Lenzburg, such as the multinational ABB
and the meat processing plant Traitafina. Lenzburg has a total workforce of around 6,000.
, Lenzburg had an unemployment rate of 2.43%. , there were 74 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 16 businesses involved in this sector. 2,160 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 95 businesses in this sector. 4,014 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 453 businesses in this sector.
there were 3,956 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 2,546 or about 64.4% of the residents worked outside Lenzburg while 4,768 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 6,178 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 19.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 39.6% used a private car.
, with close access to the A1, Switzerland's most important east-west road connection. A partially underground road named "Kerntangente" was constructed to draw through-traffic away from the city centre.
Express trains of the Jurasüdfuss and Zürich-Aarau-Basel lines pass through Lenzburg, with urther lines leading to Brugg
, Lucerne
, Zofingen
and Zug. Lenzburg is a stop of the S-Bahn Zürich on the line S3
.
Zurich International Airport is within close reach (around 1 hour by train).
The local transit Regionalbus Lenzburg leads to Brunegg
, Dintikon
, Möriken-Wildegg
, Schafisheim
and Seengen
. The town is also served by an urban bus route.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 7 individuals (or about 0.09% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic
faith.
). Of the school age population , there are 491 students attending primary school, there are 187 students attending secondary school, there are 353 students attending tertiary or university level schooling, and there are 12 students who are seeking a job after school in the municipality.
Lenzburg is home to the Stadtbibliothek Lenzburg (City Library of Lenzburg). The library has 31,478 books or other media, and loaned out 93,441 items in the same year. The library was open a total of 244 days with average of 24 hours per week during that year.
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...
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:...
and is the capital of the district of the same name
Lenzburg (district)
Lenzburg District is a district of the Canton of Aargau in Switzerland, lying at the center of the canton. The district capital is the town of Lenzburg. It has a population of .-Geography:...
. The town, founded in 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...
, lies in the Seetal
SEETAL
SEETAL is an invitational art show and competition organised bi-annually by Kunst Forum International and held in Meisterschwanden, Switzerland....
valley, about 3 kilometres south of the Aare river. Lenzburg and the neighbouring municipalities of Niederlenz
Niederlenz
Niederlenz is a municipality in the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:The center of the village comes from a middle Bronze Age settlement and a later Roman era farm. However, the modern village of Niederlenz is first mentioned in 924 as de Lencis. In 1261-64 it...
and Staufen
Staufen, Switzerland
Staufen is a municipality in the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-Geography:Staufen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 40.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 31.7% is forested...
have grown together in an agglomeration.
Lenzburg lies 30 km west 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...
. There is a fast public transport connection through Lenzburg from Zurich to Basel
Basel
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...
. Many people commute to Zurich or its airport at Kloten
Zürich International Airport
Zurich Airport also called Kloten Airport, is located in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, and managed by Flughafen Zürich AG. It is Switzerland's largest international flight gateway and hub to Swiss International Air Lines. It is partially in Kloten, Rümlang, Oberglatt, Winkel and Opfikon...
each day.
History
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...
times, some over 5,000 years old. A Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
was uncovered when a motorway was built in 1964. It was part of a small settlement with 500 inhabitants that existed for approximately 200 years. The settlement was abandoned in the 3rd century. In the 5th and 6th centuries, an Alamanni
Alamanni
The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...
settlement existed. Lenzburg is first mentioned in 924 as de Lencis.
In 1036, Schloss Lenzburg
Schloss Lenzburg
Lenzburg Castle is a castle located above the old part of the town of Lenzburg in the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland. It ranks among the oldest and most important of Switzerland. The castle stands on the almost circular castle hill , which rises approximately 100 m over the surrounding plain...
was used for the first time as seat for the count of Lenzburg, then an important lord. The house however died out in 1173, and the castle was then transferred to emperor Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
. In the following period, it was mainly used by the Kyburger house. The Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
s took over the castle in 1273. City rights were granted in 1306.
Lenzburg was conquered by Bern in 1415, along with the western part of current Aargau, though Bern did not take away its city rights. In 1433, the city of Bern bought the castle and used it to govern the region from 1444 to 1798. A major fire devastated the town in 1491, sparing only fifteen houses. The Reformation
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...
was carried out simultanuously with the rest of the region in 1528, and the economy started to transform slowly from an agrarian
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
to a more industrial one in the 16th century. A textile factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
was founded in 1732.
In 1798, the Helvetian Republic was proclaimed and the lords from Bern were ousted. The canton of Aargau was founded and Lenzburg became the capital of the district in 1803. The canton gained the castle in 1804. Lenzburg transformed into the economic centre of the region in the 19th century. Many people in the area worked for the "Wool lords" .
In 1830, a series of meetings were held in Lenzberg to discuss changing the cantonal constitution. When peaceful negotiation with the cantonal authorities in Aarau failed to produce results, Johann Heinrich Fischer from Merenschwand
Merenschwand
Merenschwand is a municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:The earliest evidence of human settlement is a lake side village from the Late Bronze Age. The lake has since silted up and is now part of the Rütiweid meadow...
called for a rebel militia from the Freiämter to force the government to change, in what was known as the Freiämtersturm
Freiämtersturm
The Freiämtersturm in December 1830 was a bloodless revolution in the Swiss canton of Aargau. The dissatisfied rural population of the Freie Ämter region in Aargau marched on the cantonal capital of Aarau to demand changes in the cantonal constitution...
. On 6 December 1830, his rebel troops marched toward Lenzberg on their way to Aarau. At Lenzberg, about 100 government soldiers formed to resist the militia, and brought their guns in position. The Freiämter milita ran toward the militia with wild battle cries, and the government soldiers broke and ran without firing a shot. By 6pm the militia entered Aarau and the commander of government troops surrendered without any resistance.
On 23 June 1874, Lenzburg was connected to the Aargauische Südbahn railway. On 6 September 1877 the Schweizerische Nationalbahn opened a line from Wettingen
Wettingen
Wettingen is a residential community in the district of Baden in the Swiss canton of Aargau. With a population about 20,000, Wettingen is the largest municipality in the canton.-Geography:...
to Zofingen
Zofingen
Zofingen is a city in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. It is the capital of the district of Zofingen. Zofingen is a walled city and home of an ancient monastic settlement.-Geography:...
as part of a plan to connect Singen
Singen
Singen is an industrial city in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and just north of the German-Swiss border.-Location:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...
in competition with the established railway companies. The line went bankrupt in 1878 and was taken over by the Schweizerische Nordostbahn. The bankruptcy of the Nationalbahn brought Lenzburg to the brink of economic ruin, as the city itself was heavily involved in financing it. Paying back the city's debt took half a century.
The castle changed hands several times in the 19th and 20th century. In 1860, it was bought by Frank Wedekind
Frank Wedekind
Benjamin Franklin Wedekind , usually known as Frank Wedekind, was a German playwright...
, a poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
from Germany. In 1893, it was purchased by Americans and renovated. Finally, in 1956, it was bought by the canton and since been used to house a museum.
Geography
Lenzburg has an area, , of 11.33 square kilometres (4.4 sq mi). Of this area, 2.47 km² (0.953672331723561 sq mi) or 21.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 5.62 km² (2.2 sq mi) or 49.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.2 km² (1.2 sq mi) or 28.2% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.06 km² (14.8 acre) or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes.Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 4.9% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 12.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 7.4%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.9% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.7%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 15.2% is used for growing crops and 6.0% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.
The municipality is the capital of the Lenzburg district. It is located at a hub of the Swiss rail and motorway networks.
Demographics
Lenzburg has a population of , 27.6% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 6.3%. Most of the population speaks German (78.0%), with Italian being second most common ( 8.7%) and Albanian being third ( 2.1%).The age distribution, , in Lenzburg is; 731 children or 9.1% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 845 teenagers or 10.5% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 1,235 people or 15.4% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,131 people or 14.1% are between 30 and 39, 1,245 people or 15.5% are between 40 and 49, and 1,016 people or 12.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 777 people or 9.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 611 people or 7.6% are between 70 and 79, there are 345 people or 4.3% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 78 people or 1.0% who are 90 and older.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.56 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 36.2% 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 495 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 1,788 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 921 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 3,251 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.2 persons per household. there were 935 single family homes (or 23.4% of the total) out of a total of 4,003 homes and apartments. There were a total of 19 empty apartments for a 0.5% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 5.7 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 27.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
(22.7%), 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....
(17.5%) and 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...
(9%).
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1850 | 1,957 |
| 1900 | 2,588 |
| 1950 | 4,949 |
| 2000 | 7,568 |
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...
. Above the city is the Burghalde at Schlossgasse 21 and Lenzburg castle (which is over a prehistoric settlement and contains the Cantonal Museum). Two other ancient sites, Goffersberg (a neolithic graveyard) and Lindfeld (a Roman Vicus
Vicus (Rome)
In ancient Rome, the vicus was a neighborhood. During the Republican era, the four regiones of the city of Rome were subdivided into vici. In the 1st century BC, Augustus reorganized the city for administrative purposes into 14 regions, comprising 265 vici. Each vicus had its own board of...
, theatre and burial ground), are included in the list. The other sites in the town include; Müllerhaus at Bleicherain 7, the Town Council Hall at Rathausgasse 16, Sonnenberg at Schlossgasse 50, the prison at Ziegeleiweg 13 and Villa Malaga at Schützenmattstrasse 7.
The undisputed landmark of the city is the Lenzburg castle, built in the 11th century and since enlarged on several occasions. Lenzburg ranks among the oldest and most important high-castles in Switzerland. The castle is located on a hill and towers about 100 meters above the city level. The old part of the town at the foot of the hill is U-shaped and in very good condition, consisting of a main road with two parallel alleys and another lane. Only parts of the city wall have been preserved and are now under monument protection.
Some notable buildings in the old town include:
- Town church, built 1667
- City hall at Rathausgasse 31
- Old Burghalde, built in 1628
- New Burghalde, built in 1794: with symmetrical Early-Classical building with an outdoor staircase and a gate.
- Library
- The Museum Burghalde
- Roman theatre, from the 1st century A.D.
- Aquatinta
Economics
Lenzburg is an important economic centre, containing over 800 enterprises, of which about 80% in the service sector. The majority of businesses are in the small and medium enterpriseSmall and medium enterprise
Small and medium enterprises or small and medium-sized enterprises are companies whose headcount or turnover falls below certain limits.The abbreviation "SME" occurs commonly...
bracket, but a number of international companies are established in Lenzburg, such as the multinational ABB
Asea Brown Boveri
ABB is a Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, and best known for its robotics. ABB operates mainly in the power and automation technology areas. It ranked 143rd in Forbes Ranking ....
and the meat processing plant Traitafina. Lenzburg has a total workforce of around 6,000.
, Lenzburg had an unemployment rate of 2.43%. , there were 74 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 16 businesses involved in this sector. 2,160 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 95 businesses in this sector. 4,014 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 453 businesses in this sector.
there were 3,956 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 2,546 or about 64.4% of the residents worked outside Lenzburg while 4,768 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 6,178 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 19.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 39.6% used a private car.
Transportation
Lenzburg is an important transportation hub and is only 25 km from ZurichZürich
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...
, with close access to the A1, Switzerland's most important east-west road connection. A partially underground road named "Kerntangente" was constructed to draw through-traffic away from the city centre.
Express trains of the Jurasüdfuss and Zürich-Aarau-Basel lines pass through Lenzburg, with urther lines leading to Brugg
Brugg, Switzerland
Brugg is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Aargau and is the seat of the district of the same name. The city is located at the confluence of the Reuss, Aare, and Limmat Rivers, with the Aare flowing through the city’s old town...
, Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
, Zofingen
Zofingen
Zofingen is a city in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. It is the capital of the district of Zofingen. Zofingen is a walled city and home of an ancient monastic settlement.-Geography:...
and Zug. Lenzburg is a stop of the S-Bahn Zürich on the line S3
S3 (ZVV)
The S3 is a regional railway line of the S-Bahn Zürich on the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund , Zürich transportation network, and is one of the network's lines connecting the cantons of Zürich and Aargau.- Route :...
.
Zurich International Airport is within close reach (around 1 hour by train).
The local transit Regionalbus Lenzburg leads to Brunegg
Brunegg
Brunegg is a municipality in the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:Brunegg is first mentioned in first half of the 12th Century as Bruneco. In 1273 it was mentioned as Brunegge. Brunegg castle was built on a hill at the edge of the Jura mountains in the 13th...
, Dintikon
Dintikon
Dintikon is a municipality in the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.The small village is located near Lenzburg and Wohlen.-Geography:...
, Möriken-Wildegg
Möriken-Wildegg
Möriken-Wildegg is a municipality in the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:The area was settled in the Late Bronze Age. The hilltop settlement on the Kestenberg had at least two phases...
, Schafisheim
Schafisheim
Schafisheim is a municipality in the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:Evidence of earlier settlements near Schafisheim include urn graves of the Hallstatt period and a Roman era farm. The modern village of Schafisheim is first mentioned around 1261-64 as...
and Seengen
Seengen
Seengen is a municipality in the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-Geography:Seengen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 51.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 32.3% is forested...
. The town is also served by an urban bus route.
Religion
From the , 2,611 or 34.5% were Roman Catholic, while 3,189 or 42.1% 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 7 individuals (or about 0.09% 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.
Education
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Lenzburg about 66.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or 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 school age population , there are 491 students attending primary school, there are 187 students attending secondary school, there are 353 students attending tertiary or university level schooling, and there are 12 students who are seeking a job after school in the municipality.
Lenzburg is home to the Stadtbibliothek Lenzburg (City Library of Lenzburg). The library has 31,478 books or other media, and loaned out 93,441 items in the same year. The library was open a total of 244 days with average of 24 hours per week during that year.
Events
- For over 400 years the youth celebration is the largest event in Lenzburg, taking place every year on the second Friday of July.
- In August the Gauklerfestival takes place in the streets of the old part of town with international delicacies.
Literature
- Fritz Stuber, Jürg Lang et al., Stadtbilduntersuchung Altstadt Lenzburg (Townscape Investigation of the Historic Part of Lenzburg), Urbanistics, Zurich 1976, ISBN 3 85957 001 3, 168 p., 234 ill.