Maschwanden

Maschwanden is a village in the district of Affoltern in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.

Maschwanden
Municipality in Switzerland
Coat of arms
Location of Maschwanden
Maschwanden Maschwanden
Coordinates: 47°14′N 8°26′E
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Zurich
District	Affoltern
Area [1]
• Total	4.67 km^2 (1.80 sq mi)
Elevation	398 m (1,306 ft)
Population  (2018-12-31)[2]
• Total	656
• Density	140/km^2 (360/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)	8933
SFOS number	0008
Surrounded by	Cham (ZG), Hünenberg (ZG), Knonau, Mettmenstetten, Obfelden
Website	www.maschwanden.ch SFSO statistics

History

Aerial view (1947)

Maschwanden is first mentioned in 1189 as Maswondon.[3] The Baron of Eschenbach owned a castle and the village, near the current municipality, at that time. However, in 1308 Walter von Eschenbach was present at the regicide of King Albert I of Germany near Windisch. In response to the murder, in 1309 the castle and village were both destroyed and never rebuilt. The ruins were located on a hill south-west of the modern village, which mostly consisted of gravel and was carried off during the 19th and 20th century.[4]

Geography

Maschwanden has an area of 4.7 km² (1.8 sq mi). Of this area, 61.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 24.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 8.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (6%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[5]

The municipality is located on the east banks of the Reuss River near the confluence of the Lorze River into the Reuss.

Demographics

Maschwanden has a population (as of 31 December 2019) of 645.[6] As of 2007, 4.5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 12.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (97.8%), with Portuguese being second most common ( 0.7%) and Italian being third ( 0.5%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 45% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (21.4%), the CSP (14.6%) and the Green Party (7.2%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 27.5% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.2%. About 81.4% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Maschwanden has an unemployment rate of 0.36%. As of 2005, there were 61 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 24 businesses involved in this sector. 12 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 4 businesses in this sector. 49 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 19 businesses in this sector.[5] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]

year	population
1470	c. 120
1634	339
1786	507
1850	578
1900	493
1920	424
1950	470
1970	400
2000	553

References

1. "Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeinden nach 4 Hauptbereichen". Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
2. "Ständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeitskategorie Geschlecht und Gemeinde; Provisorische Jahresergebnisse; 2018". Federal Statistical Office. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
3. Maschwanden in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
4. Maschwanden website-History (in German) accessed 26 May 2010
5. Swiss Federal Statistical Office Archived 2016-01-05 at the Wayback Machine accessed 24-Jul-2009
6. "Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit". bfs.admin.ch (in German). Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2020.

External links

• Official website (in German)
• Maschwanden in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.