Oftringen
Encyclopedia
Oftringen is a municipality
in the district of Zofingen
in the canton
of Aargau
in Switzerland
.
era finds. A Roman era
farm at the intersection of two roads and scattered Alamanni
settlements have also been found. The modern municipality of Oftringen is first mentioned in 924 as Ofteringa. The village was under the Herschaft
of the Counts of Frohburg
from the Middle Ages
until 1299, when they came under Habsburg authority. Following the Bernese conquest of the Aargau in 1415 it belonged to the Amt or township
of Aarburg
. It remained part of Bern until 1798. Under the guidance of Bern, in 1528 the Protestant Reformation
entered the village. In 1667 an ecclesiastical court
was set up in the village. In 1663 the first schoolhouse was built, and in 1740 a second one was added in the hamlet of Küngoldingen. The district school was built in 1969-70.
It was part of the parish
of Zofingen
until 1920 when its own parish was formed. The parish church
was built in 1933-34.
Since the expansion of Bernese road networks in the 18th Century the Bern-Zurich and Basel
-Lucerne
roads cross in Oftringen. In addition, since 1856 the town is on the Olten
-Lucerne railway, though the station is located in Aarburg. The Aarau-Zofingen railway line was built in 1875-77 by the Swiss Federal Railways. In 1914 a station at Küngoldingen was added.
The center of the settlement shifted to around the intersection of the Bern-Zurich and Basel-Lucerne roads as various businesses sprang up to take advantage of the increased traffic. Industrialization began in 1825 with the establishment of a paper mill, which was followed by textile plants along the river. In the 20th Century the chemical and metal industries entered the village. In 1920 about 65% of the workers worked in industry. After the construction of the national motorway junction (A1 and A2 motorways) in Oftringen in 1967 and 1980, several shopping centers and other service businesses settled in the municipality. The number of jobs increased between 1950-90 from 1,430 to 3,233. At the beginning of the 21st Century, agriculture only provided 4% of the jobs, while services provided over 60%. Between 1945-70 the population grew so quickly that in the 1970s Oftringen had the highest population in the Zofingen agglomeration.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 5.0% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 15.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 6.1%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.9% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.3%. Out of the forested land, 32.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 19.1% is used for growing crops and 13.5% is pastures, while 3.0% is used for orchards or vine crops.
The municipality is located in the Zofingen district, on the eastern side of the lower Wigger river valley. It consists of the village of Oftringen and several hamlets
and individual houses scattered throughout side valleys. The ruins of Alt-Wartburg castle are located in the northern most part of the municipality.
of the municipal coat of arms
is Azure three Crescents Argent.
(81.4%), with Italian
being second most common ( 5.4%) and Serbo-Croatian
being third ( 3.7%).
The age distribution, , in Oftringen is; 1,146 children or 9.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,293 teenagers or 11.0% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 1,754 people or 14.9% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,720 people or 14.6% are between 30 and 39, 1,940 people or 16.5% are between 40 and 49, and 1,567 people or 13.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 1,145 people or 9.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 782 people or 6.6% are between 70 and 79, there are 374 people or 3.2% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 61 people or 0.5% who are 90 and older.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.59 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 36.3% 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 564 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 2,571 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 1,152 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 4,364 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. there were 1,438 single family homes (or 25.9% of the total) out of a total of 5,548 homes and apartments. There were a total of 159 empty apartments for a 2.9% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 18.1 new units per 1000 residents.
In the 2007 federal election
the most popular party was the SVP
which received 37.49% of the vote. The next two most popular parties were the SP
(20.01%), and the FDP
(12.9%) . In the federal election, a total of 2,448 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
was 37.2%.
The historical population is given in the following table:
.
. Of the rest of the population, there were 19 individuals (or about 0.18% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic
faith.
). Of the school age population , there are 790 students attending primary school, there are 358 students attending secondary school, there are 137 students attending tertiary or university level schooling in the municipality.
Oftringen is home to the Gemeindebibliothek (municipal library of Oftringen). The library has 12,038 books or other media, and loaned out 37,384 items in the same year. It was open a total of 200 days with average of 15 hours per week during that year.
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 Zofingen
Zofingen (district)
Zofingen District is a district in the Swiss canton of Aargau. It is located in the southwest corner of the Canton. The seat is Zofingen. The largest municipality in population is Oftringen, the smallest is Wiliberg. It has 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 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....
.
History
The earliest trace of human habitation near Oftringen is scattered mesolithicMesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
era finds. A Roman era
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...
farm at the intersection of two roads and scattered 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...
settlements have also been found. The modern municipality of Oftringen is first mentioned in 924 as Ofteringa. The village was under the Herschaft
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 the Counts of Frohburg
Frohburg
Frohburg is a town in the Leipzig district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated 11 km northeast of Altenburg, and 34 km southeast of Leipzig. It includes the village of Flößberg.- History :...
from 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...
until 1299, when they came under Habsburg authority. Following the Bernese conquest of the Aargau in 1415 it belonged to the Amt or township
Township
The word township is used to refer to different kinds of settlements in different countries. Township is generally associated with an urban area. However there are many exceptions to this rule. In Australia, the United States, and Canada, they may be settlements too small to be considered urban...
of Aarburg
Aarburg
Aarburg is a municipality in the district of Zofingen in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.The small town lies in the southwest Aargau at an Engnis Aare in the lower Wiggertal. It lies in the intersection of the most important traffic routes of Switzerland...
. It remained part of Bern until 1798. Under the guidance of Bern, in 1528 the Protestant 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...
entered the village. In 1667 an ecclesiastical court
Ecclesiastical court
An ecclesiastical court is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages in many areas of Europe these courts had much wider powers than before the development of nation states...
was set up in the village. In 1663 the first schoolhouse was built, and in 1740 a second one was added in the hamlet of Küngoldingen. The district school was built in 1969-70.
It was 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 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:...
until 1920 when its own parish was formed. The 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....
was built in 1933-34.
Since the expansion of Bernese road networks in the 18th Century the Bern-Zurich and 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...
-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...
roads cross in Oftringen. In addition, since 1856 the town is on the Olten
Olten
Olten is a town in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland and capital of the district of the same name.Olten's railway station is within 30 minutes of Zurich, Bern, Basel, and Lucerne by train, and is a rail hub of Switzerland.-History:...
-Lucerne railway, though the station is located in Aarburg. The Aarau-Zofingen railway line was built in 1875-77 by the Swiss Federal Railways. In 1914 a station at Küngoldingen was added.
The center of the settlement shifted to around the intersection of the Bern-Zurich and Basel-Lucerne roads as various businesses sprang up to take advantage of the increased traffic. Industrialization began in 1825 with the establishment of a paper mill, which was followed by textile plants along the river. In the 20th Century the chemical and metal industries entered the village. In 1920 about 65% of the workers worked in industry. After the construction of the national motorway junction (A1 and A2 motorways) in Oftringen in 1967 and 1980, several shopping centers and other service businesses settled in the municipality. The number of jobs increased between 1950-90 from 1,430 to 3,233. At the beginning of the 21st Century, agriculture only provided 4% of the jobs, while services provided over 60%. Between 1945-70 the population grew so quickly that in the 1970s Oftringen had the highest population in the Zofingen agglomeration.
Geography
Oftringen has an area, , of 12.85 square kilometres (5 sq mi). Of this area, 4.57 km² (1.8 sq mi) or 35.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 4.35 km² (1.7 sq mi) or 33.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.94 km² (1.5 sq mi) or 30.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and 0.01 km² (2.5 acre) or 0.1% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 5.0% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 15.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 6.1%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.9% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.3%. Out of the forested land, 32.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 19.1% is used for growing crops and 13.5% is pastures, while 3.0% is used for orchards or vine crops.
The municipality is located in the Zofingen district, on the eastern side of the lower Wigger river valley. It consists of the village of Oftringen and several 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...
and individual houses scattered throughout side valleys. The ruins of Alt-Wartburg castle are located in the northern most part of the municipality.
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 Azure three Crescents Argent.
Demographics
Oftringen has a population of , 30.9% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 12.4%. Most of the population speaks GermanGerman 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....
(81.4%), 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 ( 5.4%) and Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian language
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
being third ( 3.7%).
The age distribution, , in Oftringen is; 1,146 children or 9.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,293 teenagers or 11.0% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 1,754 people or 14.9% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,720 people or 14.6% are between 30 and 39, 1,940 people or 16.5% are between 40 and 49, and 1,567 people or 13.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 1,145 people or 9.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 782 people or 6.6% are between 70 and 79, there are 374 people or 3.2% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 61 people or 0.5% who are 90 and older.
the average number of residents per living room was 0.59 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 36.3% 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 564 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 2,571 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 1,152 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 4,364 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.3 persons per household. there were 1,438 single family homes (or 25.9% of the total) out of a total of 5,548 homes and apartments. There were a total of 159 empty apartments for a 2.9% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 18.1 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 37.49% of the vote. The next two 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....
(20.01%), 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....
(12.9%) . In the federal election, a total of 2,448 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 37.2%.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1653 | c. 480 |
| 1764 | 884 |
| 1850 | 2,584 |
| 1900 | 3,247 |
| 1950 | 5,350 |
| 1970 | 9,189 |
| 2000 | 10,305 |
Heritage sites of national significance
The ruins of Alt-Wartburg castle are listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significanceSwiss 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...
.
Economy
, Oftringen had an unemployment rate of 3.52%. , there were 139 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 39 businesses involved in this sector. 1,529 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 97 businesses in this sector. 2,336 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 297 businesses in this sector. there were 5,433 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 4,124 or about 75.9% of the residents worked outside Oftringen while 2,037 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 3,346 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 10.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 52.2% used a private car.Religion
From the , 2,984 or 29.0% were Roman Catholic, while 4,665 or 45.3% 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 19 individuals (or about 0.18% 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
In Oftringen about 61.8% 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 790 students attending primary school, there are 358 students attending secondary school, there are 137 students attending tertiary or university level schooling in the municipality.
Oftringen is home to the Gemeindebibliothek (municipal library of Oftringen). The library has 12,038 books or other media, and loaned out 37,384 items in the same year. It was open a total of 200 days with average of 15 hours per week during that year.