Safenwil

Safenwil (Swiss German ˌ ʓɑɣəʋi ː ʊ ) is a municipality in the district of Zofingen in the canton of Aargau. It lies between the Uerkental and the Wiggertal and borders the Canton of Solothurn.

Geography

The municipality is located in a depression at the junction of the valleys of the Wigger and Uerke. To the south of this trough, the 644 meter high Hochwacht and the 626 -meter-high piles rise. Safenwil is a scattered settlement and consists of several districts, which have grown together loose in the second half of the 20th century. This highway and railway line form a distinctive dividing line. South of the main traffic arteries are the districts Striegel, village and Dorfli the north, the districts Fritz, hardware and wood. The municipal area is drained to the east by the Mülibach, which opens into the Uerke.

The area of the municipality is 599 hectares, of which 275 hectares are forested and built over 161 hectares. The highest point is located on 644 meters on the Hochwacht, the deepest at 450 meters on the eastern boundary of the municipality.

Neighboring municipalities are Kölliken in the east, in the southeast Uerkheim, Zofingen in the south, Oftringen in the West as well as the Solothurn communities Walterswil and Gretzenbach in the north.

History

The area around Safenwil was already inhabited during the Roman period. On mule track between the Wiggertal and the Legion camp in Vindonissa was a manor house. The Alemanni settled in the 7th or 8th century. In the year 893 was the first documentary mention of Sabenewilare in a toboggan interest of the woman Minster in Zurich. The place name is derived from the Old High German Sabininwilari and means " farm estate of Sabino ".

In the Middle Ages, the village was in the territory of the Counts of Lenzburg, from 1173 in that the counts of Kyburg. After these had died out, the Habsburgs, the new sovereign and owner of the high courts were in 1264. At that time was on the Sodhubel the small castle Scherenberg, of which only the foundations remain. 1361 took over the men of the Bailiwick Ifenthal Safenwil together with the lower courts of the barons of Belp.

1415 conquered the Swiss Aargau; Safenwil now belonged to the subject territory of Berne, the so-called Bernese Aargau. The city of Solothurn in 1458 acquired the lower jurisdiction over the area to Gösgen, including over Safenwil. Bern felt compelled, all rights on its territory to unite in one hand, what then happened in 1460. As a result Safenwil formed a judicial district within the Office of Lenzburg. 1528 resulted in the Bernese the Reformation. In March 1798, the French conquered Switzerland, the disempowered " Gracious gentlemen " of Bern and proclaimed the Helvetic Republic. Since then Safenwil belongs to the canton of Aargau. In 1866 Safenwil received its own Reformed Church.

Commercial, industrial and commercial repressed early agriculture, due to the expansion of the road Zurich -Bern in the 1770s and the opening of the railway line Zofingen Wettingen the National Railway on 6 September 1877. Since 1900 the population has increased by almost two and half times. The opening of the motorway in 1967 led to rapid economic growth, but the community has since been divided into two and suffers from severe noise.

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is: ". In blue white boar's head, surmounted by sechsstrahligem yellow star " The coat of arms image, which first appeared in 1811 on the municipal seal, there was due to a misunderstanding. The medieval spelling Savenwil was incorrectly interpreted as Sauenwil. 1963 were replaced the five-pointed white star with a yellow star with six rays.

Attractions

Population

Population development:

On December 31, 2013 3595 people lived in Safenwil, the proportion of foreigners was 18.1 %. At the 2000 census, 60.7 % were reformed, 20.5 % Roman Catholic, 3.0% Muslim and 1.1% Christian Orthodox; 1.0% belonged to other faiths. 92.1 % identified German as their main language, 1.6 % speak Italian, 1.5% Albanian, Serbo-Croatian 1.2%, 0.5% French.

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 has jurisdiction Zofingen. Safenwil part of the justice of the peace circle Kölliken.

Economy

In Safenwil there according to the census of 2008, around 1500 jobs, of which 3% in agriculture, 14 % in industry and 83 % in the service sector. The best known and by far the most important company is the Emil Frey AG. It is in the import and trade in automobiles worked (among Toyota, Subaru, Jaguar, Suzuki), is the largest company of its kind in Switzerland. Many working population commuters and work in the region Zofingen or in the region of Aarau.

Traffic

By Safenwil Main road 1 ( Zurich -Bern ). The Oftringen connection to the A1 motorway, a few kilometers west of the village. The access to public transport is carried out by the SBB rail line Lenzburg - Zofingen ( with the Safenwil and the station Walterswil - harrow station).

Education

The municipality has a kindergarten and three school houses in which the primary school, secondary school and the secondary school can be completed. The school district can be visited in Kölliken. A special feature is that the pupils of the Solothurn neighboring community Walterswil visit the upper stages here and there is a common cross-border school administration. The nearest Canton schools ( high schools ) are located in Zofingen, and Aarau.

Personalities

The renowned Protestant theologian Karl Barth was from 1911 to 1921 pastor of Safenwil. Was born in Safenwil National Walter Hilfiker ( 1897-1945 ).

Pictures

Cemetery and church of Safenwil

View of the village from the church (west)

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