Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf
Encyclopedia
Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf 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 Weinfelden District 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 Thurgau
Thurgau
Thurgau is a northeast canton of Switzerland. The population, , is . In 2007, there were a total of 47,390 who were resident foreigners. The capital is Frauenfeld.-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....

.

Geography

Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf has an area, , of 12.2 square kilometres (4.7 sq mi). Of this area, 8.98 km² (3.5 sq mi) or 73.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.94 km² (0.749038187669518 sq mi) or 15.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.12 km² (0.432434417623639 sq mi) or 9.2% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.14 km² (34.6 acre) or 1.1% is either rivers or lakes and 0.01 km² (2.5 acre) or 0.1% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 4.4% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 0.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.2%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 3.2%. Out of the forested land, 13.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 60.9% is used for growing crops, while 12.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.

Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf was formed in 1997 through the merger of Zihlschlacht with Sitterdorf.

Demographics

Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf has a population of , 10.5% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 4.9%. 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....

(92.7%), with Albanian
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...

 being second most common ( 1.6%) and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

 being third ( 1.5%).

, the gender distribution of the population was 52.5% male and 47.5% female. The population was made up of 962 Swiss men (46.9% of the population), and 115 (5.6%) non-Swiss men. There were 874 Swiss women (42.6%), and 100 (4.9%) non-Swiss women.

In there were 15 live births to Swiss citizens and births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 18 deaths of Swiss citizens. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens decreased by 3 while the foreign population remained the same. There was 1 Swiss man, 1 Swiss woman who emigrated from Switzerland to another country, 13 non-Swiss men who emigrated from Switzerland to another country and 5 non-Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland to another country. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources) was an increase of 8 and the non-Swiss population change was an increase of 8 people. This represents a population growth rate of 0.8%.

The age distribution, , in Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf is; 207 children or 10.1% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 319 teenagers or 15.6% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 265 people or 13.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 247 people or 12.1% are between 30 and 39, 351 people or 17.2% are between 40 and 49, and 277 people or 13.6% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 191 people or 9.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 112 people or 5.5% are between 70 and 79, there are 65 people or 3.2% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 8 people or 0.4% who are 90 and older.

the average number of residents per living room was 0.56 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.56 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 56.4% 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 708 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.7 persons per household. there were 348 single family homes (or 84.3% of the total) out of a total of 413 inhabited buildings. There were 28 two family buildings (6.8%), 16 three family buildings (3.9%) and 21 multi-family buildings (or 5.1%). There were 392 (or 20.2%) persons who were part of a couple without children, and 1,189 (or 61.2%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 100 (or 5.1%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 14 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 4 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 19 who lived in a household made up of unrelated persons, and 40 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing.

The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.83%. , the construction rate of new housing units was 4.9 new units per 1000 residents. there were 793 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was the 6 room apartment of which there were 201. There were 20 single room apartments and 201 apartments with six or more rooms. the average price to rent an average apartment in Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf was 991.74 Swiss franc
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...

s (CHF) per month (US$790, £450, €630 approx. exchange rate from 2000). The average rate for a one room apartment was 489.44 CHF (US$390, £220, €310), a two room apartment was about 697.81 CHF (US$560, £310, €450), a three room apartment was about 814.07 CHF (US$650, £370, €520) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1591.38 CHF (US$1270, £720, €1020). The average apartment price in Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf was 88.9% of the national average of 1116 CHF.

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 51.13% 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...

 (12.65%), the EDU Party
Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland
The Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland is a political party in Switzerland....

 (10.12%) 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....

 (8.77%). In the federal election, a total of 648 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 46.1%.

The historical population is given in the following table:
year population
1950 1,468
1960 1,462
1980 1,405
1990 1,727
2000 1,942

Heritage sites of national significance

The Gardens of Bildegg Castle
Bildegg Castle
Bildegg Castle is a castle in the municipality of Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf of the Canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.-References:...

 and the Chapel of St Nikolaus and St Magdalena are listed as 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...

. The entire village of Zihlschlacht and the Blidegg – Degenau region are listed 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

, Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf had an unemployment rate of 1.59%. , there were 134 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 48 businesses involved in this sector. 295 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 34 businesses in this sector. 524 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 47 businesses in this sector.

there were 1,357 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 617 or about 45.5% of the residents worked outside Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf while 508 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 1,248 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality. Of the working population, 7% used public transportation to get to work, and 47.9% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 638 or 32.9% were Roman Catholic, while 898 or 46.2% 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 2 Old Catholics (or about 0.10% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
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...

  there are 18 individuals (or about 0.93% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 110 individuals (or about 5.66% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There were 78 (or about 4.02% of the population) who are Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

ic. There are 2 individuals (or about 0.10% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 118 (or about 6.08% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....

 or atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...

, and 78 individuals (or about 4.02% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

In Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf about 71% 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...

).
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