Birr, Aargau

Birr is a municipality in the district of Brugg in the canton of Aargau. The village is located halfway between Lenzburg and Brugg. Birr is known as one of the places where the reform pedagogue Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi.

Geography

The municipality is located on the western edge of the Birrfelds, a vast plain between the Aare River in the west and the river Reuss in the east. The plain is mostly flat, and is farmed intensively and is covered in the southeast of the municipal district of a forest. South of the village rises the steep forested northern slope of Mount Chest in height, up to a 647 meter high foothills of the Jura Mountains east of the Aare River, which separates the Birrfeld from Bünztal. Birr is conjoined with Lupfig, the boundaries between the once separate villages are no longer make out in the landscape.

The area of the municipality is 505 hectares of which 176 hectares are forested and built over 151 hectares. The highest point is on the Chestenberg to 645 meters, the deepest at 390 meters in the plane.

Neighboring municipalities are Lupfig the west and north, Birrhard in the east, in the southeast and Brunegg Möriken -Wildegg in the southwest.

History

The first mention of Bire was in 1270 in a purchase contract, which confirmed the purchase of land in this little place by the monastery Wettingen. The village name comes from the Old High German (ze ) birchun and means " with birch ". Birr was the self- Office, the oldest possessions of the Counts of Habsburg, whose headquarters is located three kilometers north- west of the village in the Middle Ages part. 1397 came Elementary and court rule over Birr as a gift in the possession of the monastery Königsfelden in Windisch.

After the conquest of the Aargau by the Confederates in 1415 the city of Bern took over the rule, the own office was now part of the subject territories in the Bernese Aargau. 1528 led to the Reformation and Bernese solved the monastery Königsfelden on. They converted the Eigenamt into the bailiwick Königsfelden and then practiced all rights.

1771 drew the educational reformer Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi on the Neuhof, where he first tried his hand as agricultural entrepreneurs. He wanted to give the partially depleted peasantry an example of how they could improve their situation through the introduction of new crops and new fertilization methods. After this company had failed, he and his wife Anna Pestalozzi took about 40 children and linked industrial activities such as spinning and weaving with education and moral education. For economic reasons, the institution had to be closed in 1780.

In March 1798, the French marched into Switzerland, the disempowered " Gracious gentlemen " of Bern and proclaimed the Helvetic Republic. Birr has since been to the Canton of Aargau. The connection to the railway network took place on June 1, 1882 through the opening of the line Brugg- Aargau Hendschiken the Southern Railway. Until the mid- 1950s Birr remained a small modest farming village. But then a large manufacturing operation, the BBC ( ABB and Alstom today ) was built. For the many ( mostly foreign ) employees of the BBC, the settlement Wyde was built with 500 apartments. In just ten years, the population increased fivefold. Growth has slowed significantly since 1970, the trend has remained positive.

Attractions

At least since the 14th century there was a chapel in the parish of Windisch. With the introduction of the Reformation it was the parish church in 1662 and replaced by a new building of Abraham Dünz.

At the southern edge of the village is the Neuhof, where 1773-1779 is the workplace of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. In 1770 built house tenants lived Pestalozzi's family, the mansion was built 1821/22. After the tenant house was burnt down in 1858, it was rebuilt as faithfully as possible, again using the old walls. As of 1914, the Neuhof was used as a reformatory and transformed over time into a Berufsbildungsheim. Housed in a former farmhouse Village Museum presents home decor and agricultural implements of earlier centuries.

In Alstom premises the world's first market-ready industrial gas turbine is issued since 2006, which was developed by Adolf Meyer and 1939-2002 in Neuchâtel was in operation.

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is: " Azure, a yellow pear on green leafy branch ." It is a so-called speaking crest. However, the appearance of the coat of arms is based on a volksetymologischen misinterpretation of the place name. The name comes not from pear, but on Birch ( Betula).

Population

Population development:

On December 31, 2013 4285 people lived in Birr, the proportion of foreigners with 45.4 % approximately twice as high as in the cantonal average. At the 2000 census, 35.2 % were Roman Catholic, reformed 29.6%, 9.0 % Orthodox Christian and 12.0 % Muslim; 1.1% belonged to other faiths. 71.2 % identified German as their main language, 7.2 % speak Italian, Serbo-Croatian 6.7%, Albanian 5.2%, 1.6% Turkish, 1.3% French, 1.0% Spanish, 0.6 % Portuguese.

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 Brugg is responsible. Birr is part of the justice of the peace circle Windisch.

Economy

The economy was essentially in Birr in the industry. Here are among other establishments of ABB and Alstom. There are other industries as well as numerous commercial and service companies. Overall, about 2,900 jobs will be offered according to Census 2008, of which 0.1 % in agriculture, 72 % in industry and 27 % in services.

Traffic

The main road from Lenzburg to Brugg runs to the east of the village through the industrial zone. The village is situated about two kilometers south of the motorway junction of the A3 Brugg and therefore benefits from its excellent location between the major cities of Zurich and Basel. Since 1995 Birr has a railway station on the SBB line Lenzburg -Brugg. A post bus line runs to Brugg railway station.

Education

In the academic center of the village primary school, secondary school and secondary school are conducted. The school district can be visited in Windisch or Brugg. The nearest Canton schools ( high schools ) are located in Aarau and Baden. In Berufsbildungsheim Neuhof delinquent youths and those from disadvantaged backgrounds can complete a craft or agricultural apprenticeship.