Leuggern
Encyclopedia
Leuggern is a municipality
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 Zurzach
Zurzach (district)
Zurzach District is a district in the Swiss Canton of Aargau with the administrative capital of Zurzach. It covers the Studenlands and is located in the northeastern part of the canton. The district capital is Bad Zurzach. The main valleys are the Surb and the Aare. 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 remains of 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...

 Rhine fortifications watchtower have been discovered in Felsenau. The modern municipality of Leuggern is first mentioned in 1231 as Lutgern. In the 13th Century it was part of the Habsburgs Waldshut
Waldshut-Tiengen
Waldshut-Tiengen is a city in southwestern Baden-Württemberg right at the Swiss border. It is the district seat and at the same time the biggest city in Waldshut district and a "middle centre" in the area of the "high centre" Lörrach/Weil am Rhein to whose middle area most towns and communities in...

 district. Starting in the 14th Century, it was a district under the Habsburg Vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...

 of Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....

. After the conquest of Aargau in 1415 it was part of the Swiss Confederation
Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....

 controlled County of Baden. The major landholders were the Freiherr
Freiherr
The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...

 of Böttstein
Böttstein
Böttstein is a municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:Some scattered La Tène culture items have been discovered near Böttstein. The modern village of Böttstein is first mentioned in 1087 as Botistein. During the 11th to 13th Centuries it was the...

 and the Freiherr of Bernau
Bernau
Bernau may refer to:*Bernau bei Berlin, a town in Brandenburg, Germany*Bernau am Chiemsee, a municipality in the district of Rosenheim in Bavaria, Germany*Bernau im Schwarzwald, a municipality in Baden-Württemberg, Germany...

. The Freiherr of Bernau granted the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

 extensive property, which became the Commandry
Commandry (feudalism)
Commandry , or commandery , was the smallest division of the European landed estate or manor under the control of a commendator, or commander, of an order of knights...

 of Leuggern in 1248.

The village church is first mentioned in 1231 when it was in the possession of the knights. They also possessed other properties that they, Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

 Rudolf von Habsburg
Rudolph I of Germany
Rudolph I was King of the Romans from 1273 until his death. He played a vital role in raising the Habsburg dynasty to a leading position among the Imperial feudal dynasties...

 and, after 1239, Ulrich of Klingen were unsuccessfully fighting over. Initially their Commandry was based on Bubikon but began moving to Leuggern in 1248. By 1251, a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 had been built. In 1257 seven monks are mentioned as living there. In 1268 the Commander moved his seat from Klingnau and managed both Commandry together until 1415 from there. It had extensive landholdings and was one of the best endowed Commandry in Upper Germany. The Grand Master merged the two Commandry together into a single unit, though each house had its own prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...

. The house at Leuggern was located in the diocese of Basel, while Klingnau was in the diocese of Constance.

The conquest of Aargau in 1415 brought the two religious houses under the vogt of the Acht Orte of the Swiss Confederation. Among the important priors in Leuggern was Franz von Sonnenberg of 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...

, who's 1678 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...

 adorns the gatehouse. Leuggern remained in the possession of the Order until 1806. At that time the Commandry building and property went to the Canton of Aargau. The building came into private hands in 1819 and in 1895 it served as a hospital for the elderly and sick. It was a forerunner of the District Hospital which opened in 1897.

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 Leuggern was essentially identical with the Amt of Leuggern and until 1816 with the municipality of Greater Leuggern. In 1816 the village of Böttstein and Oberleibstadt
Leibstadt
Leibstadt is a municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:Leibstadt is first mentioned about 1240 as Leibesteit. In the 13th and 14th Centuries it was ruled by the Habsburgs. In 1323 two mills are mentioned in Leibstadt...

 separated from Greater Leuggern to form independent municipalities. However, the Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 parish remained the same size until 1880, when the parish of Oberleibstadt separated. The neo-classical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

-gothic revival village church was built in 1851–53 by Caspar Joseph Jeuch. built. Until 1971, within the political municipality of Leuggern, there were five different Bürgergemeinde
Bürgergemeinde
The Bürgergemeinde is a statutory corporation in public law in Switzerland...

n
that held separate meetings over their infrastructure tasks. The district school was built in 1864.

The Aare river often overran its banks and flooded the village of Gippingen and the adjacent farmland until 1887–1904 when the Aara river correction changed its course. Between 1931–35 a dam was built over the Aare between Leuggern and Klingnau
Klingnau
Klingnau is a municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:Klingnau is first mentioned in 1239 as Chlingenowe. Ulrich of Klingen acquired land from the monastery of St. Blaise in 1239 to found the city. He and the abbot reached an agreement over which of...

 for the hydroelectric power plant at Klingnau. The ferries in Kleindöttingen and Felsenau were replaced by bridges in 1892 and 1935. In 1926, a Postauto route was set up to Döttingen.

By 1900, viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...

 had disappeared completely from the municipality. In 1899 a gypsum
Gypsum
Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...

 factory and mine were established in Felsenau. The factory produced plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...

 until 1960 and gypsum plasterboard until 1989. The largest employer at the beginning of the 21st century, the hospital district, opened in 1897 (and since 1971 has been a Regional Hospital). In 2000, the services sector, provided almost two thirds of jobs in the community.

Geography

The municipality is located in the Zurzach district, on the western side of the Aare river. It consists of the villages of Leuggern, Gippingen, Hettenschwil and Etzwiland as well as 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 Felsenau, Hagenfirst, Fehrental and Schlatt.

Leuggern has an area, , of 13.76 square kilometres (5.3 sq mi). Of this area, 6.51 km² (2.5 sq mi) or 47.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 5.1 km² (2 sq mi) or 37.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.25 km² (0.482627698240669 sq mi) or 9.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.84 km² (0.324325813217729 sq mi) or 6.1% is either rivers or lakes and 0.03 km² (7.4 acre) or 0.2% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.3%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 32.4% is used for growing crops and 10.6% is pastures, while 4.3% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the water in the municipality, 3.9% is in lakes and 2.3% is in rivers and streams.

Coat of arms

The blazon
Blazon
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 is Gules a Maltese Cross throughout Argent over an Annulet of the same. The community uses the badge of the Knights Hospitaller in a red field as its arms, in memory of the commandery which is mentioned in records from 1236. The officiating pastor of Leuggern is, by virtue of his office, a chaplain of magistral grace of the Order of Malta.

Demographics

Leuggern has a population of , 44.2% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of -4.6%. Most of the population speaks German
German 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....

(93.6%), 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 ( 1.8%) 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 ( 1.6%).

, the gender distribution of the population was 49.6% male and 50.4% female. The population was made up of 874 Swiss men (42.7% of the population), and 141 (6.9%) non-Swiss men. There were 922 Swiss women (45.1%), and 108 (5.3%) non-Swiss women. In there were 6 live births to Swiss citizens and 4 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 18 deaths of Swiss citizens and 1 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 12 while the foreign population increased by 3. There were 2 Swiss men who immigrated from another country back to Switzerland, 2 Swiss women who immigrated from another country back to Switzerland, 14 non-Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland to another country and 6 non-Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country. The total Swiss population change in 2008 was a decrease of 27 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 16 people. This represents a population growth rate of -0.5%.

The age distribution, , in Leuggern is; 172 children or 8.3% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 286 teenagers or 13.8% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 221 people or 10.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 239 people or 11.6% are between 30 and 39, 364 people or 17.6% are between 40 and 49, and 348 people or 16.9% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 248 people or 12.0% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 119 people or 5.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 58 people or 2.8% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 10 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 68.3% 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 43 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 321 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 392 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 775 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.7 persons per household. there were 415 single family homes (or 47.8% of the total) out of a total of 869 homes and apartments. There were a total of 23 empty apartments for a 2.6% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0.5 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 52.59% 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...

 (22.45%), the SP
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....

 (8.78%) 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....

 (8.18%). In the federal election, a total of 756 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 51.5%.

The historical population is given in the following table:
year population
1850 1,193
1900 1,013
1950 1,374
1980 1,672
1990 1,981
2000 2,192

Heritage sites of national significance

The railroad bridge Koblenz
Koblenz, Switzerland
Koblenz is a municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:Koblenz is first mentioned in 10th or 11th Century as Confluentia, for the confluence of the Aare and Rhine rivers. In 1265 it was mentioned as Cobilz. In the Roman era a goods yard and...

-Felsenau (which is shared with Koblenz) and the ruined Roman watchtower over the Rhine at Im Sand-Felsenau are listed as Swiss 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...

. The hamlet of Hettenschwil is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites
Inventory 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

, Leuggern had an unemployment rate of 1.61%. , there were 164 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 54 businesses involved in this sector. 253 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 32 businesses in this sector. 489 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 70 businesses in this sector.

there were 1,186 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 859 or about 72.4% of the residents worked outside Leuggern while 397 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 724 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 9.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 56.4% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 1,439 or 65.6% were Roman Catholic, while 471 or 21.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
Swiss 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 4 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

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Leuggern about 74.8% 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...

). Of the school age population , there are 144 students attending primary school, there are 140 students attending tertiary or university level schooling in the municipality.
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