Gränichen

View over the village

Graenichen (Swiss German: older ɡrɛ ː niχə, younger ɡræ ː nəχə ) is a municipality in the district of Aarau of the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. Graenichen is the lowest village in Wynental and with more than 17 square kilometers in area the sixth-largest municipality in the canton.

Geography

The Wyna flows first north, then in a north-westerly direction, the valley is on average five hundred meters wide. Strongly articulated rolling hills are seen on both sides with steep slopes and small plateaus, the projecting hills are separated by short side valleys. The landform is strongly reminiscent of the Tabular Jura, although the area geographically and geologically part of the Central Plateau.

The hill on the left side of the valley are (from north to south) the Manzenberg (524 m above sea level. M. ), the Wällenen (559 m), the moss mountain ( 550 m), the Heidberg ( 566 m above sea level. M. ) and the Pfendel (615 m above sea level. M. ). These five hills are offshoots of the Schornig ( 596 m above sea level. M. ), which forms the transition to Suhrental. The hill on the right side of the valley hot Fuden (570 m above sea level. M. ), Räckholderen ( 566 m above sea level. M. ), width mountain ( 551 m above sea level. M. ) and Surberg (607 m above sea level. M. ). The width of the mountain in front of the nearly elliptical Schulthess (513 m above sea level. M. ). The Surberg upstream are the Dossen (532 m above sea level. M. ) and the high plateau of Liebegg.

(M. 585 m above sea level. ) (M. 430 m above sea level. ) Ruetihof on the plateau at the western end of the moor mountain, sinkers in the valley and Refental: Near the southern boundary of the municipality, at an average distance of two and a half kilometers, there are three small hamlets (490 m) in the valley between mountain width, Dossen and Surberg.

The area of the municipality is 1723 hectares, of which 990 hectares are forested and built over 236 hectares. The highest point is located on 615 meters on the Pfendel, the deepest at 402 meters at the Wyna.

Neighboring municipalities are Suhr in the northwest, Hunzenschwil in the north, Schafisheim in the northeast, Seon in the east, Teufenthal the southeast, Unterkulm in the south, mooing in the southwest and deer valley in the west. The southeastern border point is the Siebenzwingstein.

History

The area around the present village was already inhabited during the Neolithic period. On the Burghaldenstrasse, a small prominent hill immediately to the village center, there was a refuge of the Helvetii. There are remains of the Roman settlement at various points. The most important find is a farm in the area Muracher / church field, which was excavated in 1854 ( one of the earliest arranged by the cantonal government archaeological investigations ). The plant, which had a hypocaust, was inhabited from the early 1st to late 3rd century.

The first mention of Cranechon place in the year 1184th The village name comes from the Latin granica and means " granary ". Hence the Old High German grenichon developed. In the Middle Ages the village belonged to the monastery of Engelberg, as a fief of the Counts of Lenzburg, later the counts of Kyburg. The Counts of Habsburg- Laufenburg ( a branch of the Habsburgs ) leaving 1270 the fief lords of Liebegg, after which the Liebegg castle is named. From 1306 the main line of the Habsburgs possessed the low and high justice.

1415 conquered the Swiss Aargau; Graenichen now belonged to the subject territory of Berne, the so-called Bernese Aargau. The village was part of the Office of Lenzburg and was the seat of a sub Vogts and of a separate court. The Berner led the Reformation in 1528. 1596 acquired the Ortsbürgergemeinde of the lovers Egger castle's the biggest part of the forest, today it is the third largest forest owner in the canton. 1798, the French marched into Switzerland, the disempowered " Gracious gentlemen " of Bern and proclaimed the Helvetic Republic. Graenichen since then is the canton of Aargau.

The Gränicher farms were rather small, the village was a typical Taunersiedlung. For this reason, the pre-industrial trade held early collection. Middle of the 19th century was Graenichen to Aarau and Zofingen the most populous municipality in the canton of Aargau. The Wynentalbahn was opened on 5 March 1904. This allowed the increased dispersal of industries. Graenichen transformed over time into a Agglomeratonsgemeinde of Aarau, since 1900 the population has increased by almost two and half times.

Attractions

On a hill ahead three kilometers south-southeast of the village center, just two hundred meters from the edge of the village of Teufenthal away is the Liebegg castle. Dating from the 11th century and was first mentioned in 1241 in the castle is owned by the canton, and now serves as a conference and cultural center.

In the village center is the built in 1695 choir house that looks with the attached turrets like a small castle. It served until 1798 as a granary and then stood for half a century long empty. Later on the first school was set up, then while more than a hundred years, the municipal administration. Since 1995, it is the site of the Village Museum.

The Reformed Church, which was built from 1661 to 1663 in place of the collapsed earlier building, replaced a dilapidated predecessor elsewhere dating from 1473; construction management had Werkmeister Abraham Dünz held. The rectangular, built in the late Gothic style building is the main work of the Protestant church building in Aargau. The former charnel house, a two-storey building of the wall was built around 1470. Also worth seeing is the listed sub ​​Vogthaus.

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is: " Three times left diagonally divided by yellow and blue. » The coat of arms for the first time in 1811 shown on the municipal seal is modeled on that of the lords of Grenchen, although historically there is no connection.

Population

Population development:

On December 31, 2013 7186 people lived in Graenichen, the proportion of foreigners was 20.8 %. At the 2000 census, 59.2 % were reformed. 22.4 % Roman Catholic, 4.3 % Muslim and 1.1% Christian Orthodox; 1.0% belonged to other faiths. 90.2 % identified German as their main language, 4.1 % speak Italian, 1.5% Albanian, Serbo-Croatian 1.1%, 0.7 % Turkish.

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. Mayor Rolf Arber.

For litigation, the District Court has jurisdiction Aarau. Graenichen part of the justice of the peace circle clock.

Economy

In Graenichen there according to Census 2008, approximately 2400 jobs, of which 4% in agriculture, 50 % in industry and 46 % in the service sector. Here is the Iowa, a company of Migros, one of the largest metropolitan bakeries Switzerland. There is also a leading radiator manufacturer ( Zehnder ), a Transportfima (three ), a gravel plant and several medium and small enterprises. However, most workers are commuters and work in Aarau and environment.

Traffic

Graenichen is on the main road 23, which runs from Aarau on Beromunster to Sursee. A side road leads to Seon in the valley, another about the Ruetihof by mooing in Suhrental. The access to public transport is carried out by the Wynentalbahn between Aarau and Menziken. In addition to the Graenichen station there are three stops Töndler, Oberndorf and sinkers. By 1985 the railway line was right next to the main road, but was then postponed by about a hundred yards and leads today on the banks of Wyna along.

Education

The municipality has five kindergartens and four school houses in which all levels of compulsory elementary school are taught (primary school, secondary school, secondary school, school district ). Next to the castle there is Liebegg which opened in 1958 cantonal agricultural vocational school. The nearest district school (Gymnasium) in Aarau.

Personalities

• Werner Arber ( born 1929 ), Nobel Laureate Medicine 1978
• Urs Bitterli ( b. 1935 ), historian
• Läuppi Adolf (1906-1974), cyclist
• Bernhard Lehner ( born 1953 ), editor and cameraman
• Freddy Nock (born 1964 ), high -wire artist
• Richner Adolf (1908-1982), politician
• Hans Schaffner (1908-2004), the Federal Council 1961-1969
• Franz Suter (1890-1914), cyclist
• Heiri Suter (1899-1978), cyclist
• Hugo Suter (1943-2013), artist
• Paul Suter (1892-1966), cyclist
• Max Suter (1895-1936), cyclist
• Max Widmer (1910-1991), painter