The municipality Wetzikon has an area of 16.7 km2 (6.4 sq mi). Of this area, 42.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 17.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 27.9% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (12.1%) is non-productive (streams, lakes and non-productive vegetation).[3] In 1996[update] housing and buildings made up 20% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (7.9%).[4] Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 3.3% of the area. As of 2007[update] 30.5% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.[4]
The Robenhauser Ried wetland is a nature reserve of national importance and is situated between Seegräben, Kempten and Irgenhausen covering an area of about 2 km2 (0.77 sq mi).
Demographics
Wetzikon has a population (as of 31 December 2020) of 25,056.[5] As of 2007[update], 22.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. As of 2008[update], the gender distribution of the population was 49.2% male and 50.8% female. Over the last 10 years, the population has grown at a rate of 18.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (83.8%), with Italian being second most common ( 5.7%) and Albanian being third ( 1.9%).
In the 2007 election, the most popular party was the SVP which received 37.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (16.1%), the CSP (12.2%) and the Green Party (10.5%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 23.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15%.[3] There are 7929 households in Wetzikon.[4]
Protestant Church of Wetzikon
As of 2008[update] there were 6385 Catholics and 7772 Protestants in Wetzikon. In the 2000 census[update], religion was broken down into several smaller categories. From the 2000 census, 45% were some type of Protestant, with 40.3% belonging to the Swiss Reformed Church and 4.7% belonging to other Protestant churches. 31.3% of the population were Catholic. Of the rest of the population, 6.5% were Muslim, 8.7% belonged to another religion (not listed), 3.6% did not give a religion, and 10.6% were atheist or agnostic.[4]
Economics and education
The Kantonschule Zürcher Oberland (KZO),[8] or the "Kanti" as the gymnasium level learning institution is known in Swiss German, is based in Wetzikon due to its central location in the Zürich Oberland, as well as the Zürcher Oberländer newspaper and the annual ZOMtrade fair.[9]
The regional hospital, the Gesundheitsversorgung Zürcher Oberland[10] is also located there.
Wetzikon has an unemployment rate of 2.9%. As of 2005[update], there were 134 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 41 businesses involved in this sector. 3486 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 255 businesses in this sector. 7054 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 838 businesses in this sector.[3] As of 2007[update] 43.8% of the working population were employed full-time, and 56.2% were employed part-time.[4]
In Wetzikon about 69.4% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).[3]
The oldest surviving document about the name Wetzikon is from the year 1044, where three nobles of "Wezzinchova" are mentioned; before that the village and castle were known by the name Ratpoldskilch.[12] Older history is known from excavations of prehistoric pile dwellings in Robenhausen and a Roman villa rustica in Kempten.[13]
Sights
The local museum (Ortsmuseum) documents the cultural history from the Neolithic Age until the 21st century [14]
^Altdorfer, Werner (1987). Rund um den Bachtel - Heimatkundliches aus dem Zürcher Oberland (in German). Wetzikon: Buchverlang der Druckerei Wetzikon AG. ISBN3-85981-138-X.
^Horisberger, Beat; Hedinger, Bettina; Hoek, Florian; Büsser, Roger (2007). Römisches Landleben im Zürcher Oberland - Die Römer in Wetzikon (in German). Frauenfeld, Stuttgart, Wien: Verlag Huber. ISBN978-3-7193-1441-5.
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