Mettmenstetten

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Mettmenstetten (Swiss German: Mättmischtette or Mättmi, in the local dialect pronunciation Mäpmischtette or Mäpmi ) is a municipality in the district Affoltern the canton of Zurich in Switzerland. The municipality was created in 1895 formed from the civil parishes upper and Untermettmenstetten and the hamlets Rossau, Dachlissen and Herferswil.

Geography

Mettmenstetten located in the southwest of the Canton of Zurich and is equipped with 13,11 km2 to Hausen am Albis but before Stallikon and Affoltern am Albis is the second largest municipality in the district Affoltern. The village is in Mettmenstetten 17 km air distance from Zurich and 12 kilometers from the train. To the community includes the hamlets Dachlissen, Eigi, Grossholz, Herferswil, prettier, Rossau and knowledge Bach. The largest number of residents is occupied by agricultural lands, which comprise 67.9 percent. Another 19 percent is forest, 7.8 percent and 5.3 percent settlement area traffic area.

In the north of the district capital lies at the Albis Affoltern. Against the Albis go higher up are the communities Aeugst am Albis in the northeast and east Rifferswil and Kappel. To the south lies Knonau, in the west Maschwanden and Obfelden.

Geology

In geological terms Mettmenstetten is in the molasse basin in the Swiss Plateau. The basin was filled in during the course of the Tertiary with the detritus of the resulting Alps, where the sediments can be divided into different layers. Sediments under marine conditions are referred to as Meeresmolasse, under such conditions as fluvial Freshwater Molasse. The community is located west of the Albis mountain range in an opening facing the Reuss level moraine.

The key scenic overprint received Affoltern and the region by the foray of the Reuss glacier during the various ice ages. Due to the existing glacier valleys new valleys have been deepened and extended, and created.

Climate

Mettmenstetten ranges temperate zone. Characteristic of the climate on the one hand, the winds from westerly directions, which often introduce precipitation, on the other hand, the Bise ( east or north-east wind ), which is usually associated with high pressure levels, but in all seasons brings cooler weather phases would be expected than in the middle. The important in the alpine valleys and on the edge of the Alps hair shows normally no special climatic effects on Mettmenstetten. The nearest climate stations of MeteoSwiss located in Lucerne and Zurich -Affoltern in 13 or 27 kilometers away. Both stations provide approximately equal values ​​. This results in approximately Mettmenstetten for a mean annual temperature of 8.7 ° C. The coldest month is January with -0.4 ° ​​C, the warmest is July with 21.0 ° C. The rainfall is about 1100 mm per year, are being measured, especially during the three summer months due to the convective rainfall amounts higher than in winter.

Flora and Fauna

The flora of Mettmenstetten and surrounding communities includes about 1100 species of plants; without algae, fungi, lichens and mosses. In Affoltern are deciduous forests, especially the woodruff-beech forest spread. On soils that are moist due to higher clay content or its location at the foot of the slope or at trough edges, the beech is gradually being replaced by sycamore and ash. Ramsons hallways determine their understory. In all lime-rich mixed deciduous forests of the Turk's cap is common. In the region there are mainly birds and snakes. Have increased, the stocks of Black Redstart, Fieldfare, jays and gray herons, however, have taken Redstart and the cuckoo. The Red Kite is the largest bird of prey in the region.

Name

The first documented still existing name name is confirmed as 1116 Metemunstat. Name as Mettmonstetten ( 1240), Metamonstetten or Methemonstettin ( 1255 ) suggested suspect that it might have been in the place name to the croft of Alemannic settler named Metamon or Metemun.

Another explanation is that the settlement with the 998 mentioned church has been designated as a place midway between two other places. Which places, however, is unclear. It could well have been local settlements, such as the middle of three Alemannic courtyards, the central place between the hamlets Rossau and Dachlissen or between Kappel am Albis and Maschwanden.

Contemporaries found the explanation Mettmenstetten have long existed as a means of site and horse-changing station between the cities of Zurich and Lucerne.

Scientifically, can not confirm any of these versions.

Coat of arms

" Argent, two grown together, facing away from black unicorn hulls. "

The first mention dates back to 1285, when Mettmenstetten was still to a larger part in the dominion of the Barons von Eschenbach, whose emblem - an anchor cross on a yellow background - was taken over by subsequent vacancy Office and the District Affoltern today. After the decline of the Eschenbach received in 1309 the nobles of Hünenberg their ownership throughout Mettmenstetten. They carried in their coat of arms a the unicorn heads. As this knights disappeared, whose emblem remained as Mettmenstetter crest. As the oldest evidence of the coat of arms of the municipality or parish the Unicorn hulls are to be listed in the middle of the wooden ceiling, which the train table maker Jakob Winkler 1521 carved for the church Mettmenstetten.

Population

In Mettmenstetten 4'414 people live (as of end of 2012). 13.5 percent reported in Mettmenstetten inhabitants, or 594 people, do not have a Swiss passport. 2012 were 16.4 percent of the population younger than 15 years and 6.3 percent of the population were aged between 15 and 19 years. Between 20 and 64 years, approximately 62.9 percent of the population. Older than 64 years were 14.3 percent of the population.

The official and common language German, which is mainly spoken in everyday life as Zurich German.

Today the Evangelical Reformed with 53.1 percent, the largest religious group in second place followed by the Roman Catholic Church with 27.8 percent. More and more people in Mettmenstetten describe themselves as religious affiliation; the proportion of non-religious ( 11.3 percent ) and those without specifying a denomination (3.2 percent) in 2000 together with 14.5 percent.

In October 2012, according to the Statistical Office of the Canton of Zurich 57 people were registered as unemployed in Mettmenstetten. This corresponds to an unemployment rate of 1.9 percent. The proportion of women in Mettmenstetten is 49.5 percent in 2012.

Policy

Mayor René Kälin (independent) (as of 2010 ).

Traffic

Through the community Mettmenstetten leads in 1864 opened by the Zurich -Lucerne - train - track railway line Zurich - train; it is served by the lines S9 and S15 of the Zurich S-Bahn.

Attractions

Sons and daughters of the town

• Ernst Brunner (1901-1979), Photographer