Möriken-Wildegg
Encyclopedia
Möriken-Wildegg 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 Lenzburg
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:...

 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 area was settled in the Late Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

. The hilltop settlement on the Kestenberg had at least two phases (approximately 1050 to 1000 BC and 850 BC.). In the more recent settlement, the buildings were built with logs and traces of constructions and traces of bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...

 casting were discovered. 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...

 wall at the Lehmgrube river indicates that there was a Roman farm in the area. Möriken-Wildegg is first mentioned in 1283 as de Moerinchon. In the High Middle Ages
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....

 the village belonged to the Lords of Holderbank and then later to the Twingherrschaft
Zwing und Bann
Zwing und Bann is a Swiss feudal set of rules and regulations governing justice and punishment in a village or villages. Zwing and Twing are different spellings based on the local Swiss German dialect. The magistrate or Zwingherr had legally binding rules and regulations in the exercise of low...

of Wildegg.

Religiously, into the 16th Century the inhabitants of Möriken-Wildegg belonged to 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 Staufberg. In 1565 they became part of the Holderbank
Holderbank, Aargau
Holderbank is a municipality in the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:Archeological discoveries indicate that the area around Holderbank has been occupied since the Neolithic era. Discoveries include; individual items from both the Neolithic and Bronze Ages,...

 parish. A chapel dedicated to Saint Antonius was mentioned in the 13th Century. It was demolished in 1949 and replaced by a new building. A temporary 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...

 church was consecrated in 1951, and a new building was finished in 1967.

Economically, the village was dependent on agriculture and wine production. In the 17th Century, a local noble family started a livestock operation. In the 18th Century home cotton processing started in the village, and a cotton printing company was founded in 1775 by Johann Rudolf Dolder. However, this company collapsed in 1850. A cement factory was built in 1890, and in 1912 employed a maximum of 850 people. A copper wire factory (founded 1920) employed about 200 people in 1992.

An important factor to the growth of Möriken-Wildegg was a that a railroad station on the Aarau
Aarau
Aarau is the capital of the northern Swiss canton of Aargau. The city is also the capital of the district of Aarau. It is German-speaking and predominantly Protestant. Aarau is situated on the Swiss plateau, in the valley of the Aar, on the river's right bank, and at the southern foot of the Jura...

-Brugg
Brugg
Brugg or Brügg may refer to the following places:* In Switzerland:** Brugg, Aargau, in the Canton of Aargau*** FC Brugg, a Swiss football club, from the town of Brugg in Canton Aargau...

 line opened in the village in 1858. In 1895 it also connected to the Seetalbahn
Seetalbahn
The Seetalbahn is a railway of the Swiss Federal Railways between Lenzburg and Lucerne in Switzerland. The track, when created, was originally named the Swiss Lake Valley Railway Company and was owned by British investors. The passengers included tourists from Lucerne doing sightseeing tours to...

 rail line. Though this connection was replaced with bus service in 1984.

Starting in 1890 successful operettas were held in Möriken-Wildegg. In 1959, the town hall was built with 600 seats.

Geography

Möriken-Wildegg has an area, , of 6.6 square kilometres (2.5 sq mi). Of this area, 2.48 km² (0.957533353309487 sq mi) or 37.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.32 km² (0.895757007934681 sq mi) or 35.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.66 km² (0.640929583263608 sq mi) or 25.2% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.12 km² (29.7 acre) or 1.8% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.3% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 5.5% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 13.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.2%. Out of the forested land, 33.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 28.0% is used for growing crops and 7.9% is pastures, while 1.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.

The municipality is located in the Lenzburg district. It consists of the village of Möriken, Wildegg Castle, the village section of Wildegg (founded in the 18th Century), the settlement of Hard and the ferry over the Aare river (replaced in 1870 by a bridge).

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
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 Or Moor's Head guardant proper.

Demographics

Möriken-Wildegg has a population of , 19.2% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 8.9%. Most of the population speaks German (90.6%), with Italian being second most common ( 2.8%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 1.7%).

The age distribution, , in Möriken-Wildegg is; 384 children or 9.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 486 teenagers or 12.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 522 people or 13.1% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 493 people or 12.4% are between 30 and 39, 674 people or 17.0% are between 40 and 49, and 569 people or 14.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 420 people or 10.6% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 238 people or 6.0% are between 70 and 79, there are 164 people or 4.1% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 21 people or 0.5% who are 90 and older.

the average number of residents per living room was 0.54 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 59.6% 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 105 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 623 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 607 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 1,384 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. there were 800 single family homes (or 44.9% of the total) out of a total of 1,780 homes and apartments. There were a total of 23 empty apartments for a 1.3% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 17.3 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 40.8% 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....

 (18.2%), 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....

 (15.7%) 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...

 (6.7%).

The historical population is given in the following table:
year population
1764 426
1850 821
1900 1,161
1950 2,134
2000 3,413

Heritage sites of national significance

Wildegg Castle, the Kestenberg (a Bronze Age hilltop settlement), the Gasthof Bären at Bruggerstrasse 19, Wildegg's Catholic Church of St. Antonius and the houses at Effingerweg 5, 6, 8 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 entire village of Wildegg 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

, Möriken-Wildegg had an unemployment rate of 1.72%. , there were 42 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 12 businesses involved in this sector. 332 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 38 businesses in this sector. 750 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 121 businesses in this sector.

there were 1,709 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 1,262 or about 73.8% of the residents worked outside Möriken-Wildegg while 675 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 1,122 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 14.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 51.1% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 856 or 25.1% were Roman Catholic, while 1,943 or 56.9% 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 5 individuals (or about 0.15% 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 Möriken-Wildegg about 76% 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 284 students attending primary school, there are 132 students attending secondary school, there are 181 students attending tertiary or university level schooling in the municipality.

Famous citizen of Möriken-Wildegg

The famous U.S. actor Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...

, (July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985) was a (Swiss) citizen of Möriken-Wildegg, Aarau. His Swiss heritage is from his father (Boris Julievich Bryner) and grandfather (Jules Bryner). Jules Bryner was born close to Geneva from a Swiss German background. He died three months before his grandson Yul Brynner was born.
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