Silenen
Encyclopedia
Silenen is a municipality
in the canton
of Uri
in Switzerland
.
Silenen has an area, , of 144.8 km² (55.9 sq mi). Of this area, 12.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 18.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (68.1%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). , 12.6% of the total land area was heavily forested, while 3.8% is covered in small trees and shrubbery. Of the agricultural land, 0.1% is used for farming or pastures, while 2.8% is used for orchards or vine crops and 10.0% is used for alpine pastures. Of the settled areas, 0.3% is covered with buildings, and 0.3% is transportation infrastructure. Of the unproductive areas, 0.2% is unproductive standing water (ponds or lakes), 0.7% is unproductive flowing water (rivers), 52.1% is too rocky for vegatation, and 15.1% is other unproductive land.
The villages of Amsteg, Halteli
, Acherli and Maderanerthal are part of the municipality.
Arnisee
can be reached by gondola lift
from Amsteg.
In the 2007 federal election
the FDP
party received 87.4% of the vote.
In Silenen about 52.8% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
).
Silenen has an unemployment rate of 1.22%. , there were 141 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 60 businesses involved in this sector. 117 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 16 businesses in this sector. 241 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 50 businesses in this sector.
The historical population is given in the following table:
of Zwing Uri (Twing Üren) is mentioned in the White Book of Sarnen
, a Swiss chronicle of 1470. The event is placed in the year 1307 by the Chronicon Helveticum
(1570).
Archaeological excavations of the ruin performed in 1978 have cast doubt on these traditions.
It was established that the site had been occupied since the Bronze Age. By 1150, there had been a farmstead with three buildings. By the early 13th century, the dwelling was replaced by a defensive tower. During the period of 1310 to 1320, the tower was still standing, and there are traces of a planned expansion into a full castle with a ring wall and a moat. This expansion was interrupted at about six weeks into the construction work, and the site was abandoned in ca. 1320. The site remained unoccupied until 1868, when a restaurant was built, using stones from the ruin.
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 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 Uri
Canton of Uri
Uri is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and a founding member of the Swiss Confederation. It is located in Central Switzerland. The canton's territory covers the valley of the Reuss River between Lake Lucerne and the St. Gotthard Pass. German is the primary language spoken in Uri...
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....
.
Geography
The villages of Amsteg, Halteli
Halteli
Halteli is a town in the Silenen municipality, Uri, Switzerland....
, Acherli and Maderanerthal are part of the municipality.
Arnisee
Arnisee
Arnisee is a lake in the Canton of Uri, Switzerland. The reservoir can be reached by gondola lift from Amsteg and Intschi....
can be reached by gondola lift
Gondola lift
A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...
from Amsteg.
Demographics
Silenen has a population (as of ) of . , 11.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 4.5%. Most of the population speaks German (98.1%), with Italian being second most common ( 0.2%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 0.2%). the gender distribution of the population was 55.3% male and 44.7% female.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 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....
party received 87.4% of the vote.
In Silenen about 52.8% 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...
).
Silenen has an unemployment rate of 1.22%. , there were 141 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 60 businesses involved in this sector. 117 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 16 businesses in this sector. 241 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 50 businesses in this sector.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1970 | 2,338 |
| 1980 | 2,115 |
| 1990 | 2,054 |
| 2000 | 2,068 |
| 2005 | 2,282 |
| 2007 | 2,232 |
Zwing Uri
Zwing Uri is the name of a ruined medieval castle north of Amsteg, today in the territory of Silenen municipality. The castle is notable for its role in Swiss historiography as the first fortress destroyed in the Burgenbruch at the beginning of the Swiss Confederacy. The slightingSlighting
A slighting is the deliberate destruction, partial or complete, of a fortification without opposition. During the English Civil War this was to render it unusable as a fort.-Middle Ages:...
of Zwing Uri (Twing Üren) is mentioned in the White Book of Sarnen
White Book of Sarnen
The White Book of Sarnen is a collection of medieval manuscripts compiled in the late 15th century by Hans Schriber in the canton of Obwalden. This volume, 258 pages in length, was given its name because of the white parchment in which it is bound...
, a Swiss chronicle of 1470. The event is placed in the year 1307 by the Chronicon Helveticum
Chronicon Helveticum
The Chronicon Helveticum is one of the oldest accounts of the early history of the Swiss Confederation.The rough draft of the Chronicon Helveticum was written by the historian Aegidius Tschudi from Glarus in 1550...
(1570).
Archaeological excavations of the ruin performed in 1978 have cast doubt on these traditions.
It was established that the site had been occupied since the Bronze Age. By 1150, there had been a farmstead with three buildings. By the early 13th century, the dwelling was replaced by a defensive tower. During the period of 1310 to 1320, the tower was still standing, and there are traces of a planned expansion into a full castle with a ring wall and a moat. This expansion was interrupted at about six weeks into the construction work, and the site was abandoned in ca. 1320. The site remained unoccupied until 1868, when a restaurant was built, using stones from the ruin.