Berikon

Berikon ( in local dialect: [ b̥ɛɾkχə ] ) is a municipality in the district in Bremgarten Swiss canton of Aargau. It lies immediately south of the Mutschellen - pass at the border with the Canton of Zurich.

Geography

The territory of Berikon extends from Mutschellen pass at the foot of the mountain hare in a southeasterly direction on the ridge Holzbirrliberg above Reusstal from. The approximately two -kilometer village consists ( from the northwest to southeast) of the districts Mutschellen, Unterberikon and Oberberikon that have grown together in recent decades, but also with the neighboring communities Rudolfstetten- Friedlisberg, Widen and Zufikon. In Oberberikon the hype creek that empties into the Reppisch after three kilometers in the municipality of Dietikon springs.

The area of the municipality is 538 hectares, of which 173 hectares are covered by forest and built over 119 hectares. The highest point is 670 meters in the Allmend on the eastern boundary of the municipality, the deepest at 522 meters in the Schlossmatt on the southern boundary of the municipality.

Neighboring municipalities are Rudolfstetten- Friedlisberg in the north, Birmensdorf in the east, Oberwil- Lieli in the south, the west and Zufikon Widen the northwest.

History

Individual findings point to a settlement during the Neolithic period. Berikon is around the middle of the 12th century several times as Percheim / Bercheim attested in documents. The place name probably comes from the Old High German * Bergheim, identifies the location as increased lying dwelling. He transformed himself over the years about Berchein and Berkein to the 14th century occupied Berken and appears finally as Berekhen 1675.

The village was used in medieval times as a place of judgment of the Habsburgs in the open office Affoltern, the gallows stood in the area Mattenhof. In the 14th century Berikon was a fief of the Counts of Habsburg- run castle, which lent it to the Lords of Schönenwerd in Dietikon. 1374, the city acquired Bremgarten the lower courts and set up a sub- bailiff, until 1798 had stock.

At the conquest of the Aargau by the Confederates in 1415 Berikon first came under the territorial sovereignty of Zurich and was then divided in 1471. Oberberikon came to the basement office while Unterberikon was assigned to the Office Rohrsdorf the county Baden. In March 1798, the French invaded Switzerland and proclaimed the Helvetic Republic. Both communities came to the short-lived Canton of Baden. At the foundation of the canton of Aargau in 1803 the inhabitants municipalities were reunited, but the separation into two local boroughs had until 1906 inventory.

On May 1, 1902 Berikon received after the opening of Bremgarten -Dietikon train with a stop on the Mutschellen connection to the railway network. By the end of the 1950s Berikon remained a modest farming village with only a slight rise in population. But then continued, favored by its proximity to Zurich, an unprecedented construction boom in. Between 1960 and today, the population quadrupled. Berikon grew together with the neighboring communities and is now part of the agglomeration of Zurich.

Attractions

A chapel dedicated to Saint Maurice has existed since at least 1420. Berikon By 1860, belonged to the parish Oberwil. South of the old chapel was built in 1856 according to plans by Joseph Caspar Jeuch the parish church of St. Mauritius. The inauguration of this hall church in the Gothic Revival style was 1862. Due to the danger of collapse of the bell tower had to be 1903/ 04 fully renovated, at the same time extended to the nave and choir and sacristy built new. In the area Gunzenbühl a geology trail is to be found.

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is: ". Pedunculated in white green shamrock » This coat of arms first appeared in 1811 on the official church seal. According to a report from the year 1872 to be the shamrock refer to three courtyards, who joined forces and thus laid the foundation for today's church.

Population

Population development:

On December 31, 2013 4494 people lived in Berikon, the proportion of foreigners was 16.1 %. At the 2000 census, 46.6 % were Roman Catholic, reformed 35.4% and 1.8 % Muslim; 1.4% belonged to other faiths. 92.6 % identified German as their main language, 1.6 % speak Italian, 1.0% French, 0.7 % Albanian, 0.6% each English and Spanish.

Politics and Law

The Assembly of the voters, the municipal assembly, shall exercise the legislative power. Executive authority is the five-member council. His term of office is four years and he was elected in Majorzverfahren ( majority voting procedure) by the people. He leads and represents the community. To this end, he implements the decisions of the municipal assembly and the tasks that were assigned to him by the cantonal and federal.

For litigation, the District Court Bremgarten is responsible. Berikon part of the Justice of the Peace District Bremgarten.

Economy

Slightly more than 250 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs ) offer Berikon according to Census 2008, approximately 1,200 jobs, of which 4% in agriculture, 12 % in industry and 84 % in services. The majority of the working population, however, works in the city or in nearby Zurich Limmat.

Traffic

The station Berikon - Widen the Bremgarten - Dietikon railway is on the Mutschellen - pass. From there, run postbuses to Baden and Zurich - Wiedikon, also a BDWM - express bus from Staretschwil about Berikon and the Uetliberg tunnel to Zurich -Enge train station. The main road 1 ( Wohlensee Bremgarten - Dietikon ) that crosses the Mutschellen, is one of the major highways and roads of Switzerland. The Zurich western bypass the A4 motorway was opened in the summer of 2009, the port at Birmensdorf is around 3 km away. The increasing traffic through Berikon tries to counter with flanking measures such as the expansion of Sädelstrasse ( Bremgarten - Oberwil ).

Education

The municipality has four kindergartens and three school houses in which all levels of compulsory elementary school are taught (primary school, secondary school, secondary school, school district ). The nearest district school (high school ) is located in Wohlen.

Personalities

Rainer Huber ( born 1948 ), the Aargau cantonal government, mayor for 15 years, freeman

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