Unterkulm
Encyclopedia
Unterkulm 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 Kulm
Kulm (district)
Kulm District is a district in the canton of Aargau, Switzerland. It is located west of Lake Hallwil and covers parts of the Wyna and Suhre valleys. The principal town is Unterkulm; the largest municipality is Reinach. The district contains 17 municipalities, is 101.35 km² in area and has a...

 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

Both Roman
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...

 ruins near the church and late-Roman coins at Sonnenhof indicate that the area near Unterkulm was settled during the Roman era. However, Unterkulm is first mentioned in 1045 as Chulenbare though this is for both Unterkulm and Oberkulm
Oberkulm
Oberkulm is a municipality in the district of Kulm, in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:Oberkulm is first mentioned in 1045 as Chulenbare, though this is for both Oberkulm and Unterkulm. In 1295 Oberkulm, individually, was mentioned as Obern Chulnbe. The earliest evidence of a...

. In 1303 it was mentioned as ze Nideren-Kulme which is the first mention of Unterkulm individually. Until 1566 Unter- and Oberkulm formed a tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...

 district , though their political separation was probably earlier. In the 12th and 13th Centuries the area was ruled by the Lenzburg family, then the Kyburg
House of Kyburg
The House of Kyburg was family of Grafen or counts from Zürich in Switzerland. The family was one of the three most powerful noble families in the Swiss plateau beside the Habsburg and the House of Savoy during the 11th and 12th Centuries...

s and finally the Habsburgs. By 1300 parts of the village were also owned by the monasteries of Schänis
Schänis
Schänis is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-History:Schänis is first mentioned in 972 as Schennines. Until 1798 it was the capital of the Herrschaft of Gaster and until 1831 it was the capital of the District.-Geography:Schänis has an area,...

, Beromünster
Beromünster
Beromünster is a municipality in the district of Sursee in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. On 1 January 2009 Gunzwil became part of Beromünster.-History:...

 and Engelberg
Engelberg Abbey
Engelberg Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Engelberg, Canton of Obwalden, Switzerland. It was formerly in the Diocese of Constance, but now in the Diocese of Chur...

 as well as local aristocratic families and the Dukes of Austria. In the 14th and 15th Centuries 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...

 houses at 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...

 and Biberstein
Biberstein
Biberstein is a municipality in the district of Aarau of the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-Geography:Biberstein is located on the north bank of the Aar River near Aarau. The town is a 17 minute bus ride from downtown Aarau. The neighboring communities are Auenstein to the east, Küttigen to the...

, and the collegiate church
Collegiate church
In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...

 at 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:...

 also became landholders in Unterkulm. After the conquest by Bern in 1415, Unterkulm remained part of the Court on Kulm in the District of Lenzburg until 1798. During the Helvetic Republic
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...

 (1798–1803) it was a district capital.

The village church was built around 1045 and was dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...

. A major fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...

 cycle was added in the early 14th century. Its tower houses the oldest clock tower in service (1530), built by the Winterthur
Winterthur
Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has the country's sixth largest population with an estimate of more than 100,000 people. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti...

 watchmaker Laurentz Liechti. 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...

 was introduced 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 Kulm. The parish consisted of Unterkulm, Oberkulm, Teufenthal
Teufenthal
Teufenthal is a municipality in the district of Kulm in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-Geography:The street lies in the lower part of a tight, three-kilometer long side of Wyna, in an easterly direction to the plateau of Dürrenäsch. It is bounded to the north by the foothills of the Surberg...

 and Dürrenäsch
Dürrenäsch
Dürrenäsch is a municipality in the district of Kulm in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:While Dürrenäsch is first mentioned in 924 as Aske inferior, there are traces of earlier, nearby settlements. Several, individual Hallstatt era items were found on the castle hill...

, though Dürrenäsch left the parish in 1614. The catholic chapel of Unterkulm is part of the parish of Menziken-Reinach and since 1957 has its own church.

In 1565 a school is first mentioned in the village. Towards the middle of the 18th Century, in addition to agriculture, cotton spinning and weaving began in the Unterkulm. In the 1780s, out of about 1,000 residents, about 280 people worked in cotton processing. Starting around 1800 the traditional three-field agriculture began to decline, though the dairy industry replaced crop production. In 1893 a dairy company was established in the village. In 1854, a ribbon factory opened and in 1874 a music box factory opened, though that was replaced in 1897 by a now major fittings factory.

Geography

Unterkulm has an area, , of 8.89 square kilometres (3.4 sq mi). Of this area, 4.15 square kilometres (1.6 sq mi) or 46.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.49 square kilometres (1.3 sq mi) or 39.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.26 square kilometre (0.486488719826594 sq mi) or 14.2% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes.

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 7.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.2%. 37.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 19.9% is used for growing crops and 23.8% is pastures, while 2.9% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.

The municipality is the capital of the Kulm district and is located in the mid-Wynental (Wyna river valley). Since 1818 it has also been a market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...

. It consists of three former 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 Wannenhof, Zinsental and Kabishof (formerly Wolfsbüel).

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 Tierced per fess Sable Argent and Azure.

Demographics

Unterkulm has a population of , 25.6% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 5.1%. Most of the population speaks German (84.2%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 5.5%) and Turkish being third ( 5.0%).

The age distribution, , in Unterkulm is; 270 children or 9.3% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 407 teenagers or 14.0% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 365 people or 12.6% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 344 people or 11.8% are between 30 and 39, 466 people or 16.1% are between 40 and 49, and 419 people or 14.4% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 322 people or 11.1% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 198 people or 6.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 95 people or 3.3% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 17 people or 0.6% who are 90 and older.

the average number of residents per living room was 0.57 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 58.6% 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 60 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 529 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 429 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. The average number of people per household was 2.54 individuals. , there were 1,050 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. there were 505 single family homes (or 42.0% of the total) out of a total of 1,202 homes and apartments. There were a total of 14 empty apartments for a 1.2% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 0.7 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 44% 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....

 (15.6%), 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....

 (14.4%) and the Green Party
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...

 (6.3%).

In Unterkulm about 61.9% 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 213 students attending primary school, there are 75 students attending secondary school, there are 189 students attending tertiary or university level schooling, and there are 12 students who are seeking a job after school in the municipality.

The historical population is given in the following table:
year population
1764 811
1850 1,730
1888 1,424
1900 1,448
1950 2,164
1990 2,565

Heritage sites of national significance

The Reformed
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...

 Church on Hauptstrasse is listed as a Swiss heritage site 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...

.

Economy

, Unterkulm had an unemployment rate of 2.6%. , there were 119 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 44 businesses involved in this sector. 585 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 28 businesses in this sector. 426 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 80 businesses in this sector.

there were 1,382 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 992 or about 71.8% of the residents worked outside Unterkulm while 639 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 1,029 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 15.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 45.4% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 444 or 16.5% were Roman Catholic, while 1,440 or 53.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 2 individuals (or about 0.07% 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.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK