Oberägeri

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Oberägeri
Oberaegeri-ZG.jpg
Oberägeri is located in Switzerland
Oberägeri
Oberägeri
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Location of Oberägeri
Karte Gemeinde Oberägeri 2007.png
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Country Switzerland
Canton Zug
District n.a.
Government
 • Mayor Pius Meier
Area[1]
 • Total 30.03 km2 (11.59 sq mi)
Elevation 737 m (2,418 ft)
Population (Dec 2014[2])
 • Total 5,950
 • Density 200/km2 (510/sq mi)
Postal code 6315
SFOS number 1706
Surrounded by Einsiedeln (SZ), Feusisberg (SZ), Hütten (ZH), Menzingen, Rothenthurm (SZ), Sattel (SZ), Unterägeri
Website www.oberaegeri.ch
SFSO statistics

Oberägeri, until 1798 simply known as Ägeri, is a municipality in the canton of Zug in Switzerland.

History

Monument to the Battle of Morgarten

Oberägeri is first mentioned in 1150 as Agregia. In 1538 it was mentioned as Ober Egere.[3]

The first church in the valley was built in 876. After 1100, the land belonged to the monastery on Einsiedeln, and was influenced by the Battle of Morgarten.

The Battle of Morgarten occurred on 15 November 1315 at Morgarten (now part of Oberägeri) and near neighboring Sattel. It began when a Swiss Confederation force of 1,500 infantry archers ambushed a group of Austrian soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire near the Morgarten Pass. The Swiss, led by Werner Stauffacher, thoroughly defeated the Austrians, who were under the command of Duke Leopold I of Austria.

The Confederates prepared a road-block and an ambush at a point between Lake Aegeri and Morgarten pass where the small path led between the steep slope and a swamp. When about 1500 men attacked from above with rocks, logs and halberds, the knights had no room to defend themselves and suffered a crushing defeat, while the foot soldiers in the rear fled back to the city of Zug. A chronicler described the Confederates, unfamiliar with the customs of battles between knights, as brutally butchering everything that moved and everyone unable to flee. This founded the reputation of the Confederates as barbaric, yet fierce and respectable fighters.

Within a month of the battle, in December 1315, the Confederates renewed the oath of alliance made in 1291, initiating the phase of growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy. Within forty years, cities including Lucerne, Zug, Zürich and Bern had joined the confederation.

The victory of the Confederates left them in their virtual autonomy and gave them a breathing-space of some sixty years before the next Habsburg attack resulted in the Battle of Sempach (1386).

The municipality came into existence in the 15th century. Around 1500, several chapels and the first government building were built in Oberägeri. In 1669 the municipality gained the right to elect its own priest. In 1726 the church was burgled. In 1766 the governments of Oberägeri and Unterägeri (at the time known as Wilägeri) became involved in an open fight during local parliamentary sessions, and the two municipalities split in 1798.

In 1838 the city of Zurich stopped collecting interests they had had a right to since medieval times. In the same year the first school building in the municipality was built. The second school was not built until 1956.

Water supplies were established in 1890 by a local pub landlord.

Geography

Winter in Oberägeri

Oberägeri has an area, as of 2009, of 36.2 km2 (14.0 sq mi). Of this area, 0.3 km2 (0.12 sq mi) or about 0.8% is occupied with buildings and 1.04 km2 (0.40 sq mi) or about 2.9% is roads or transportation infrastructure. About a third or 12.24 km2 (4.73 sq mi) is used for agriculture, while 0.71 km2 (0.27 sq mi) or about 2.0% is used for small gardens. Forests or other wooded areas cover 13.53 km2 (5.22 sq mi) or about 37.4% of the municipality. Of the rest, 6.33 km2 (2.44 sq mi) or about 17.5% is covered with water, including the Ägerisee, and 2.07 km2 (0.80 sq mi) or about 5.7% is marsh or moorland.[4]

The municipality is located in the eastern pre-alpine, high valley on the northern shores of the Ägerisee at an elevation of about 724 m (2,375 ft). It consists of the village of Oberägeri and the hamlets of Morgarten/Hauptsee and Alosen (at an elevation of 897 m (2,943 ft)) as well as scattered farm houses.

Demographics

Oberägeri has a population (as of 31 December 2014) of 5,950.[2] As of 2007, 19.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 14.1%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (90.2%), with English being second most common ( 2.6%) and Dutch being third ( 1.1%).[5]

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 33% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (32.3%), the FDP (18.1%) and the Green Party (12%).[5]

In Oberägeri about 76.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).[5]

Oberägeri has an unemployment rate of 1.14%. As of 2005, there were 251 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 90 businesses involved in this sector. 355 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 44 businesses in this sector. 1,049 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 198 businesses in this sector.[5]

The historical population is given in the following table:[3]

year population
1660 789a
1743 871a
1798 1332a
1850 1,807
1900 1,891
1950 2,453
2000 4,740
^a population for the entire municipality of Ägeri 1660 (1'413); 1743 (1'519); 1798 (2'238).

References

  1. Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen
  2. 2.0 2.1 Swiss Federal Statistics Office – STAT-TAB Ständige und Nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Region, Geschlecht, Nationalität und Alter (German) accessed 31 August 2015
  3. 3.0 3.1 Oberägeri in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  4. Oberägeri numbers (German) accessed 21 September 2009
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 21-Sep-2009