Greifensee, Zürich

Greifenseeis amunicipalityin the district ofUsterin theCanton of ZurichinSwitzerland.

Greifensee
Municipality
Coat of arms
Location of Greifensee
Greifensee Greifensee
Coordinates:47°22′N8°41′E
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Zürich
District	Uster
Area
• Total	2.30 km2(0.89 sq mi)
Elevation	439 m (1,440 ft)
Population (31 December 2018)
• Total	5,355
• Density	2,300/km2(6,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00(Central European Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00(Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)	8606
SFOS number	0194
ISO 3166 code	CH-ZH
Surrounded by	Fällanden,Maur,Schwerzenbach,Uster,Volketswil
Website	www.greifensee.ch SFSO statistics

History

Castle of Greifensee

Early history

Settlements in Greifensee date back in4000 B.C.In 1975, aNeolithicstilt housevillage located on the northern shore of the Lake Greifen area calledBöschenwas discovered by recreational divers. Initially, they foundceramics,lavishly decorated pots and bowls, and simple, large food tanks. In scientific dives, the remains of a village with 24 huts have been revealed. The excellent condition of the timber relicts allowsdendrochronologicaldating to the year 1051 B.C. Weaving spindles made of clay, tools, needles and fishing hooks from bronze, charred wild apples and cereals have been conserved. Ten years after its construction, the settlement was destroyed by a fire and not rebuilt. For the subsequent years, in the canton of Zürich various archaeological relicts have been found, such as heavy bronze bracelets, glass, mainly bronzefibulasand flint blades probably from the Mediterranean and France. Relicts dating to theRoman periodhave been found in neighbouring municipalities, in Riedikon (Uster), and about nine kilometers away nearPfäffikon ZHlocated atLake Pfäffikon(Irgenhausen Castrum).

Middle Ages

Execution of the defenders of Greifensee during the Old Zurich War, from Schodeler's chronicle,c. 1515.

Probably in the late 12th century, atower house(later Castle of Greifensee) was built at the location of a small village, estimated to be a settlement by theCounts of Rapperswil.On April 29, 1260, «R. et H. minstri de Grifense» are mentioned.

Greifensee was a bailiwick (Landvogtei, Amt), ofRapperswil,ofToggenburgand ofZurich,during 1300–1798. On January 7, 1300, Greifensee was given byElisabeth von Rapperswil-Habsburg-Laufenburg,the sister of Rudolf V,Count of Rapperswil,to the nobleman Hermann II ofLandenberg. His son, Hermann IV (the youngerMarshal), fortified the small town, Greifensee castle and thecity walls.He donated, for his salvation and on his wife's favour, theGallus Chapelaround 1330–1340, Greifensee's former Parish church, too.

In 1369, theAmtof Greifensee was sold to Count Friedrich Donat Diethelmof Toggenburg;in early 1402,Friedrich VIIsold it to the city of Zürich, and beginning in 1419, Greifensee is the first country bailiwick of the city of Zurich.

Wildsberg

Aerial view from 250 m byWalter Mittelholzer(1927)

In May 1444, during theOld Zurich War,theOld Swiss Confederacylaid siege to Greifensee which was held by about 70 defenders, most of them inhabitants of theAmtGreifensee with a fewHabsburgandZurichsoldiers. The town was captured after four weeks, on May 27, and all but two of the surviving 64 defenders were beheaded on the next day, including the leader, Wildhans vonBreitenlandenberg.Breitenlandenberg's body was brought to his family, the bodies of the other surrenders were buried at theUster church.Even in times of war, mass execution was widely considered a cruel and unjust deed. On May 29, the Castle of Greifensee and the city walls were broken.

Early modern and modern history

In the year 1520, Zurich decided to reconstruct the ruins as residence of Zurich’sLandvögteamong them Heinrich Biberli (1403), Gerold Edlibach (1504) andSalomon Landolt(1776).

Thecantingcoat of arms (or, agriffinrampant gules) dates to the 15th century, replacing the olderLandenbergarms of party per cross or and sable. It was adopted as municipal coat of arms in 1930.

Geography

Lake Greifen(Greifensee)

Greifensee has an area of 2.3 km²(0.89 sq mi). Of this area, 37.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 11.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 44.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (6.4%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).In 1996housing and buildings made up 37.8% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (6.5%).Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 0% of the area. As of 200737.5% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.

AltstadtandGallus chapel

It is located on the lakeGreifensee,approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) to the east ofZurich.The town has a historic part complete with a castle and a unique church (Gallus Chapel) which was shaped as a triangle so it could fit into the city walls.

Demographics

Greifensee has a population (as of 31 December 2020) of 5,307.As of 2007,15.2% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. As of 2008the gender distribution of the population was 49.2% male and 50.8% female. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -0.2%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (88.3%), with French being second most common ( 1.7%) and Italian being third ( 1.5%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was theSVPwhich received 25.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were theSPS(21%), theFDP(15%) and theCSP(13%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 65% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 9.7%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Greifensee about 85.5% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatoryupper secondary educationor additional higher education (either university or aFachhochschule).There are 2198 households in Greifensee.

As of 2008there were 1464Catholicsand 2085Protestantsin Greifensee. In the 2000 census, religion was broken down into several smaller categories. From the census,48.1% were some type of Protestant, with 44% belonging to theSwiss Reformed Churchand 4.1% belonging to other Protestant churches. 31.3% of the population were Catholic. Of the rest of the population, 0% were Muslim, 3.9% belonged to another religion (not listed), 3.2% did not give a religion, and 12.7% were atheist or agnostic.

The historical population is given in the following table:

year	population
1634	133
1799	278
1836	406
1850	396
1900	289
1950	279
1960	421
1970	2,674
1980	5,423
2000	5,242

Cultural Heritage

Located onGreifenseelakeshore,Greifensee–Storen–Wildsbergis part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage SitePrehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps,and the settlement is also listed in theSwiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significanceas aClass object.Because the lake has grown in size over time, the original piles are now around 4 metres (13 ft) to 7 metres (23 ft) under the water level of 406 metres (1,332 ft).

Industry

Mettler Toledohas one of its world headquarters in Greifensee and is also the towns biggest employer.

Greifensee has an unemployment rate of 1.92%. As of 2005,there were 21 people employed in theprimary economic sectorand about 7 businesses involved in this sector. 557 people are employed in thesecondary sectorand there are 21 businesses in this sector. 548 people are employed in thetertiary sector,with 99 businesses in this sector.As of 200743.8% of the working population were employed full-time, and 56.3% were employed part-time.

Transport

Nänikon-Greifensee railway stationis a stop of theZurich S-Bahnon the linesS9andS14.It is a 16-minute (S9) ride fromZürich Hauptbahnhof.

Notable people

• Johann Jakob Bodmer(1698 in Greifensee – 1783) a Swiss author, academic, critic and poet
• Sándor Végh(1912–1997) a Hungarian, later French, violinist and conductor; lived in Greifensee from 1971

External links

• Official website
• GreifenseeinGerman,FrenchandItalianin the onlineHistorical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Greifensee Openair
• Media related toGreifensee ZHat Wikimedia Commons
• Media related toGallus chapelat Wikimedia Commons
• Media related toGreifensee castleat Wikimedia Commons