Gersau
Gersau | |
---|---|
Gersau | |
Area | |
• Total | 23.70 km2 (9.15 sq mi) |
Elevation | 435 m (1,427 ft) |
Population | |
• Total | 2,319 |
• Density | 98/km2 (250/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (Central European Time) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time) |
Postal code(s) | 6442 |
SFOS number | 1311 |
ISO 3166 code | CH-SZ |
Surrounded by | Arth, Beckenried (NW), Buochs (NW), Emmetten (NW), Ennetbürgen (NW), Ingenbohl, Lauerz, Vitznau (LU) |
Website | www SFSO statistics |
Free State and Republic of Gersau Freistaat und Republik Gersau | |||||||||||||
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1433–1798 1814–1818 | |||||||||||||
Status | Reichsfreiheit | 1433 | |||||||||||
• Annexed to Helv. Rep. | 1798 | ||||||||||||
February 19, 1803 | |||||||||||||
• Regained independence | 1814 | ||||||||||||
• Annexed by Switzerland | 1818 | ||||||||||||
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Gersau is a
History
Gersau is first mentioned in 1064 as Gersouwe.
Republic of Gersau
The Republic of Gersau (called "altfrye Republik Gersau", literal "old-free Republik Gersau", in early modern times) was an independent small state in the area of today's Canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. It was created in 1390 when the residents of the village of Gersau bought themselves free from the rule by bailiffs from Lucerne and from then on exercised their rights themselves. In 1433 they were officially granted the status of a direct imperial free state in the Holy Roman Empire by Emperor Sigismund. After that, Gersau took care of its internal affairs for over three and a half centuries. Within the Confederation, the republic was a place that turned towards it and was under the protection and patronage of the four forest sites (Luzern, Schwyz, Uri and Unterwalden).
With the French invasion of 1798, the republic fell and was assigned to the canton of Waldstätten during the time of the Helvetic Republic. The mediation constitution decreed by Napoleon Bonaparte attached the village to the canton of Schwyz. After the end of Napoleon's rule, the inhabitants again proclaimed the Republic of Gersau in 1814, which was recognized by the old umbrella towns. Based on the provisions of the Congress of Vienna and the Federal Treaty of 1815, the canton of Schwyz strove to incorporate the 23.7 square kilometer republic located between the southern slope of the Rigi and the northern shore of Lake Lucerne. This was achieved in 1817 with the approval of the Diet. On January 1, 1818, the republic was dissolved; their area today forms the Gersau district.
Gersau purchased its liberty from the counts of Habsburg in 1390 for the sum of 690
During the
In 1817, the Tagsatzung decided, on the basis of the Congress of Vienna and the first article of the Federal Treaty that Gersau should be united with the canton of Schwyz, which took effect the following year, against its wishes, becoming the sixth and last district of the canton of Schwyz.
Geography
Gersau is in a self-contained location, nestled in a sunny recess in the lee of the south face of
Gersau has an area, as of 2006[update], of 14.4 km2 (5.6 sq mi). Of this area, 40.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 52.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 5.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.7%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[5]
Until the mid 19th Century Gersau could only be reached by water or over the Gätterli pass from Lauerz. Since 1817 it has been the only municipality in the District of Gersau.
The
Demographics
year | population[4] |
---|---|
1774 | ca. 1,000 |
1850 | 1,585 |
1870 | 2,270 |
1880 | 1,775[a] |
1900 | 1,887 |
1910 | 2,263[b] |
1950 | 1,890 |
1960 | 1,754 |
1970 | 1,753 |
1980 | 1,813 |
1985 | 1,801 |
1990 | 1,851 |
2000 | 1,965 |
2005 | 1,972 |
2007 | 1,970 |
Gersau has a population (as of 31 December 2020) of 2,364.[6] As of 2007[update], 17.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.[7] Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of −0.1%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (90.6%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 2.0%) and Italian being third ( 1.7%).[5]
As of 2000[update] the gender distribution of the population was 50.5% male and 49.5% female. The age distribution, as of 2008[update], in Gersau is; 464 people or 24.0% of the population is between 0 and 19. 481 people or 24.9% are 20 to 39, and 657 people or 34.0% are 40 to 64. The senior population distribution is 180 people or 9.3% are 65 to 74. There are 105 people or 5.4% who are 70 to 79 and 47 people or 2.43% of the population who are over 80.[7]
As of 2000[update] there are 799 households, of which 258 households (or about 32.3%) contain only a single individual. 41 or about 5.1% are large households, with at least five members.[7]
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 39.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (28.9%), the FDP (14.9%) and the SPS (12.5%).[5]
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Gersau about 66.8% 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]
From the 2000 census[update], 1,494 or 77.2% are
Heritage sites of national significance
The
Economy
Historically, silk
Gersau has an unemployment rate of 1.62%. As of 2005[update], there were 105 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 43 businesses involved in this sector. 129 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 25 businesses in this sector. 350 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 71 businesses in this sector.[5]
Cuisine
Culinary specialties of Gersau include salty cheesecake and a dessert called Rahmschinken.
Famous people
Born in Gersau
- Walter Nigg (1903–1988), Theologian
- Josef Maria Camenzind (1904–1984), Catholicpriest and writer
- Benno Ammann (1904–1986), conductor and composer
- Oskar Camenzind (1971– ), former professional road racing cyclist, 1998 road cycling world champion
Notes
References
- ^ a b "Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeinden nach 4 Hauptbereichen". Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
- ^ "Ständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeitskategorie Geschlecht und Gemeinde; Provisorische Jahresergebnisse; 2018". Federal Statistical Office. April 9, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
- ^ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
- ^ a b Gersau in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ a b c d e Swiss Federal Statistical Office Archived January 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine accessed August 31, 2009
- ^ "Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit". bfs.admin.ch (in German). Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB. December 31, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Canton Schwyz Statistics Archived June 9, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (in German) accessed August 27, 2009
- ^ "Kantonsliste A-Objekte". KGS Inventar (in German). Federal Office of Civil Protection. 2009. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
Further reading
Jackson, Thomas (1873). "The Smallest Republic in the World". The Quiver. viii. Cassell, Petter & Galpin: 685–686. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
External links
- Gersau in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.