Gerlafingen

Look at the direction of the steel mill

Geography

Gerlafingen located on the eastern Emmeufer the 1889 corrected Emme. The neighboring communities of north clockwise are starting Biberist, Derendingen, War Stetten, Obergerlafingenstrasse, Zielebach and Bätterkinden.

Population

The strong superstructure which extends practically over the entire municipality, means that Gerlafingen is the most densely populated municipality in the district water office.

Origin - Nationality

Traditionally employs the steelworks many foreigners, particularly from Italy and Turkey. 40.4 % (2008 ) of the population are foreigners. This high proportion Gerlafingen is one of the communities that have the highest proportion of foreigners in Switzerland. 73.8 % of the population speak German, 12.76 % Serbo- Croatian ( Yugoslavian ), 8.02% and 5.42% Italian Turkish. Recently, however, people from the Balkans are increasingly migrated to work.

Religions - faiths

In Gerlafingen there are three churches respectively. Parishes:

• Evangelical Reformed Congregation
• Roman Catholic parish
• United Methodist Church

All three have a church or parish house.

Economy

The community is strongly linked to the fate of the local steel Gerlafingen. The steel plant and rolling mill annually processes approximately 1 million tons of scrap metal to 650,000 tons of concrete reinforcement products, primarily rebar. Currently, about 550 people are employed in the steel plant, making it the largest employer in Gerlafingen.

Policy

• SP: 4
• CVP: 1
• FDP: 3
• SVP: 3

Source:

In 2009, the council was reduced from 17 to 11 council seats. 2013 abolished the Christian Democratic Party, the first time in 12 years again to be elected to the council. Hinge Type the Liberal Green Party nominee also remained without a seat.

Traffic

Since 1876 Gerlafingen has a station on the line Solothurn- Burgdorf. Due to the neighboring community Kriegstetten you reach the motorway junction to the A1. For some years there is a bus to Solothurn, Solothurn and operated by the bus operation environment.

History

The present town was called until 1959 officially Gerlafingen Gerlafingen low, in terms of a twin to the community located further south Obergerlafingenstrasse. Simple, unmarked Gerlafingen thought until the 19th century both towns. First mentioned the place in 1278 is as Nidergerolvingen. This means that with the members of the Gerolf.

The long history of steel plant ( it extends into the preindustrial Switzerland, back ) is also the story of the village Gerlafingen which strongly depended on the prosperity and dependent. In 1818, Ludwig von Roll in the premises of a bankrupt textile company an iron ( blacksmith). 1836 was followed by a rolling mill, and in 1918, when the import of iron ore and was problematic because of the chaos of war, an actual steel plant. At peak times of the 1960s, the steel mill employed 5,000 employees, nearly ten times as many as today. The production, however, was at that time due to lower productivity still significantly lower.

In a heavy, threatening the existence of economic crisis in 1996 sold by rolling the steel plant at the Lucerne von Moos Holding. This led ultimately it together with their own steel mill activities and changed his name to Swiss Steel. After several years of restructuring, the Gerlafinger steelworks (new steel Gerlafingen ) now works again in the black. At that time, however, even temporarily threatened the closure of Gerlafinger work.

Witnesses of the time of the industrial town are many older facades, which were blackened by dust emitted. The Emme has been contaminated to the 1990s from the process water of the rolling mill. Today filter for exhaust air and wastewater prevent such pollution. Between 1997 and 2007 some 37 million Swiss francs have been invested in environmental protection measures.

2003 Swiss Steel and therefore the Gerlafinger plant was sold a majority stake in the German Schmolz & Bickenbach AG and Gebuka. It proved to be a job retention, friendly takeover. 2006 was then again a change of ownership by the majority shareholding of 65 % of the steel Gerlafingen to the Italian AFV Beltrame SpA Acciaerie passed. Currently, modernization and diversification of investments of about 170 million francs be realized; the work running smoothly and profitably.

Attractions

• In Gerlafingen still exist numerous workers and employees of the former homes of roll workforce. They originate mainly from the 19th century and still give interesting neighborhood ensembles.

• The steel mill complex impresses by its size. It can be visited on a Emme walk also from the back. Available on the site is laid out by the company " duck pond ", which is also visited by rare water birds.

Coat of arms

Blazon