Weiach

Coat of arms

Weiach

Location of Weiach

Coordinates: 47°33′N 8°26′E / 47.550°N 8.433°ECoordinates: 47°33′N 8°26′E / 47.550°N 8.433°E

Country

Area

• Total

9.56 km² (3.69 sq mi)

Elevation

390 m (1,280 ft)

Highest elevation (Haggenberg (Stadlerberg))

615 m (2,018 ft)

Lowest elevation (Rhine)

332 m (1,089 ft)

Population (Dec 2015)

• Total

1,377

• Density

140/km² (370/sq mi)

Postal code

8187

SFOS number

0102

Surrounded by

Fisibach (AG), Kaiserstuhl (AG), Hohentengen am Hochrhein (D), Glattfelden, Stadel bei Niederglatt, Bachs

Website

www.weiach.ch
SFSO statistics

Weiach is a municipality in the district of Dielsdorf in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.

Weiach is first mentioned in 1271. It has belonged to Swiss Confederation since 1424. Since 1962 there has been a gravel industry located in Weiach.

Weiach has an area of 9.5 square kilometers (3.7 sq mi). Of this area, 36.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 49.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 11.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.9%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

Weiach (dialect: «Weych») is situated at approximately 390 metres above sea level in the northwestern corner of the Zürich Lowlands («Zuercher Unterland»), at the cantonal boundary between Zürich and Aargau. The River Rhine, flows some 100 meters north of the village and forms the natural border line to Germany, marking the lowest spot in the canton of Zürich (332 meters above sea level).

The Zürich Tax Records (Zürcher Steuerbücher) of 1470 only contains a record of the manor of Weiach. At the time, the village comprised 16 households, with 48 inhabitants over the age of 15 liable to pay tax. Between 1634 and 1760, having been requested to do so by the Zürich authorities, the priests kept detailed records of population size, albeit with sporadic intervals. Later figures have been taken from the following sources: 1790 Werdmüller's Memorabilia Tigurina, 1799 Priests' Inquiry of the Helvetian Government, 1820 Erni's Memorabilia Tigurina, 1827 Lutz's Vollständige Beschreibung des Schweizerlandes. The figure for 1836 is based on the Zürich cantonal census. Figures from 1850 onwards have been taken from the Confederational Census. (The criteria for recording population data have changed considerably over the centuries. Each interpretation can cause the figures to vary considerably. The figures are taken from different sources. For the years 1710 to 1820, data are hardly available.)

Over the centuries, the population size has been closely linked to the profitability of the land, since exports were rare. The resident population oscillated between 500 and 750 persons, making Weiach the largest parish in Neuamt. From the end of the 17th Century onwards, many began to look for work outside Weiach, resulting in emigration. This emigration was often to the United States. Many of the forefathers of Americans with the surname Baumgardner were originally from Weiach.

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Wikipedia