Altdorf, Uri

For other places with the same name, see Altdorf (disambiguation).
Altdorf

Coat of arms
Altdorf
Coordinates: 46°52′N 8°38′E / 46.867°N 8.633°E / 46.867; 8.633Coordinates: 46°52′N 8°38′E / 46.867°N 8.633°E / 46.867; 8.633
Country Switzerland
Canton Uri
District n.a.
Government
 • Executive Gemeinderat
with 7 members
 • Mayor Gemeindepräsident/in
Urs Kälin SPS/PSS
 • Parliament none (Gemeindeversammlung)
Area[1]
 • Total 10.21 km2 (3.94 sq mi)
Elevation (Church St. Martin) 458 m (1,503 ft)
Highest elevation (Eggberge) 1,720 m (5,640 ft)
Lowest elevation (Wildried) 432 m (1,417 ft)
Population (Dec 2015[2])
 • Total 9,203
 • Density 900/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Demonym(s) German: Altdorfer(in)
Postal code 6460
SFOS number 1201
Surrounded by Attinghausen, Bürglen, Flüelen, Seedorf
Twin towns Altdorf b. Nürnberg (Germany)
Website www.altdorf.ch
SFSO statistics

Altdorf (sometimes written as Altdorf UR in order to distinguish it from the other "Altdorfs"; German for "old village") is a historic and statistic town and a municipality in the canton of Uri. It is also the capital of Uri.

The municipality covers an area of 10.21 square kilometres (3.94 sq mi) and is located just about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of the mouth of the Reuss, which flows into the Lake Lucerne, here called the Urnersee. The town Altdorf lies at an altitude of 458 metres (1,503 ft) above sea level on the right, eastern bank of the Reuss, a flat, alluvial land of up to 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) diameter between otherwise steep and high Alpine mountains of around 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) elevation, but the municipality also covers the Alpine pasture landscape of Eggbergen about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above Altdorf.

It is also the junction towards to the two passes Saint Gotthard to the south, a major north-south axis through the Alps, and the Klausen Pass to the east. Altdorf sits on the Gotthard line and is the last railway station before the entrance into the new Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world's longest railway tunnel.

The official language of Altdorf is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.

Geography

Altdorf consists of the town proper on the flat alluvial plain by the Reuss, between the right bank of the Reuss and the steep hillside of the Rossstock (2,461 m (8,074 ft)) to the east. Halfway up (about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft)) the scattered hamlets of Eggberge on a high terrace above the town also belongs to the municipality. Altdorf adjoins the municipalites of Attinghausen und Seedorf across the Reuss to the west, Flüelen, the port village at the Urnersee to the north, Bürglen in the Schächental to the east and south, and Schattdorf to the south.

The municipality has an area, as of 2006, of 10.2 km2 (3.9 sq mi). Of this area, 35.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 39.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 23% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.9%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[3] In the 1993/97 land survey, 37.2% of the total land area was forested. Of the agricultural land, 0.7% is used for farming or pastures, while 35.2% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the settled areas, 11.3% is covered with buildings, 2.6% is industrial, 0.8% is classed as special developments, 1.5% is listed as parks and greenbelts and 6.7% is transportation infrastructure. Of the unproductive areas, 1.1% is unproductive flowing water (rivers), there is 0.6% that is too rocky for vegetation, and 0.2% is other unproductive land.[4]

History

Wilhelm Tell memorial in Altdorf, circa 1900.

The earliest evidence of a settlement in Altdorf are several La Tène era bronze ax-heads and iron tools from the 3rd century BC. The people that settled in this region initially settled in the forest, and expanded toward the banks of the Reuss. When the Reuss periodically flooded, the low lying settlements were destroyed and the inhabitants were driven back to the "old town", a possible source of the name Altdorf.[5]

Following the collapse of the Roman Empire the local Gallo-Roman population of Altdorf began to mix with the Germanic Alamanni during the 7th century. The earliest evidence of this is the grave (dated to 670–680) of an armed horseman located in the local St Martin's Church.[6]

The current town was first mentioned in 1223 as Alttorf. During the 16 to 19th centuries it was known simply as Uri.[7]

Altdorf is best known as the place where, according to the legend, William Tell shot the apple from his son's head. This act by tradition happened on the market-place, where in 1895, at the foot of an old tower (with rude frescoes commemorating the feat), there was set up a fine bronze statue (by Richard Kissling of Zürich) of Tell and his son. In 1899 a theatre was opened close to the town's center for the purpose of performing Schiller's play of Wilhelm Tell.

The same year a new carriage-road was opened from Altdorf through the Schächental and over the Klausen Pass (1,948 metres (6,391 ft)) to the village of Linthal (46 kilometres (29 mi)) and so to Glarus.

In 1906, the Altdorf–Flüelen tramway was constructed to connect the centre of Altdorf with Fluelen railway station. The electric tramway operated until 1951, when it was replaced by a bus service.[8]

Demographics

Altdorf, 1900.

Altdorf has a population (as of 31 December 2015) of 9,203.[9] As of 2007, 13.5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of −0.4%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (88.3%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common (4.2%) and Italian being third ( 2.5%).[3] As of 2007 the gender distribution of the population was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.[10]

In Altdorf about 65.2% 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]

Altdorf has an unemployment rate of 1.45%. As of 2005, there were 137 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 49 businesses involved in this sector. 1,748 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 77 businesses in this sector. 3,585 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 403 businesses in this sector.[3]

Historical population

year population Swiss citizens % German Speaking % Roman Catholic
1600 ca. 3,100
1629 ca. 1,500
1650 ca. 3,000
1743 3,025
1799 ca. 2,000
1837 1,903
1850 2,112 2,088
1880 2,906 2,734 97.9% 96.0%
1910 3,854 3,515 94.2% 93.6%
1930 4,240 3,984 94.7% 92.0%
1950 6,576 6,236 94.5% 88.7%
1970 8647 7,659 89.7% 89.4%
1990 8,282 7,158 88.0% 84.3%

source:[7]

Historisches Museum and the Haus für Kunst Uri

In 1905 a Museum was opened on Gottardstrasse just south of the centre of the town that houses a collection of local antiquities, weapons and regional furniture, as well as a collection of portraits of important Uri citizens, including fine ones by the Andermatt-born Felix Maria Diogg (1762–1834). There are several paintings here by the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury (1862–1947) whose family came from Hospental, including portraits of Pope Pius X, Pope Pius XI, Cardinal Merry del Val, the artist's father Alois Muller, his uncle Domherr Josef Muller, and a large allegorical work Alpenrose und Edelweiss. The museum was extended in the 1990s.

Recently the town has established the Haus für Kunst Uri at Herrengasse 2 in a partly converted historic house with a large contemporary extension creating an attractive exhibition space. The work of Swiss and international contemporary artists from Uri is exhibited here, and they sometimes have exhibitions of earlier historical art.

Climate

Between 1961 and 1990 Altdorf had an average of 133.7 days of rain per year and on average received 1,099 mm (43.3 in) of precipitation. The wettest month was August during which time Altdorf received an average of 135 mm (5.3 in) of precipitation. During this month there was precipitation for an average of 13.2 days. The month with the most days of precipitation was June, with an average of 14.4, but with only 127 mm (5.0 in) of precipitation. The driest month of the year was February with an average of 66 mm (2.6 in) of precipitation over 13.2 days.[11] According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Altdorf is classified as Cfb, or Marine West Coast Climate.[12]

Climate data for Altdorf (1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 4.3
(39.7)		 5.7
(42.3)		 10.5
(50.9)		 14.6
(58.3)		 19.5
(67.1)		 22.0
(71.6)		 24.2
(75.6)		 23.4
(74.1)		 19.4
(66.9)		 14.9
(58.8)		 8.8
(47.8)		 5.3
(41.5)		 14.4
(57.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1.1
(34)		 2.0
(35.6)		 5.7
(42.3)		 9.2
(48.6)		 13.8
(56.8)		 16.6
(61.9)		 18.6
(65.5)		 17.9
(64.2)		 14.5
(58.1)		 10.5
(50.9)		 5.2
(41.4)		 2.3
(36.1)		 9.8
(49.6)
Average low °C (°F) −2.1
(28.2)		 −1.7
(28.9)		 1.3
(34.3)		 4.6
(40.3)		 8.8
(47.8)		 11.9
(53.4)		 14.1
(57.4)		 13.8
(56.8)		 10.6
(51.1)		 6.8
(44.2)		 2.1
(35.8)		 −0.8
(30.6)		 5.8
(42.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 68
(2.68)		 65
(2.56)		 78
(3.07)		 84
(3.31)		 113
(4.45)		 132
(5.2)		 145
(5.71)		 149
(5.87)		 109
(4.29)		 77
(3.03)		 86
(3.39)		 79
(3.11)		 1,185
(46.65)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 17.7
(6.97)		 16.9
(6.65)		 6.8
(2.68)		 0.8
(0.31)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0.7
(0.28)		 6.3
(2.48)		 12.6
(4.96)		 61.8
(24.33)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 9.2 8.7 10.8 10.3 12.5 14.0 13.7 12.9 10.2 8.7 9.7 10.1 130.8
Average snowy days (≥ 1.0 cm) 3.9 3.5 2 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.4 2.9 13.8
Average relative humidity (%) 81.9 78.6 73.9 71.2 71.7 73.9 74.9 78.3 79.8 81.5 82.1 83.8 77.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours 44 75 116 132 149 152 169 153 132 106 57 34 1,319
Source: MeteoSwiss [13]

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Altdorf is twinned with:

Transport

Altdorf is served by the Altdorf station, situated within the municipality and on the Gotthard railway.

References

  1. ↑ Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeindedaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen
  2. ↑ Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB, online database – Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit (German) accessed 30 August 2016
  3. 1 2 3 4 Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 8 September 2009
  4. ↑ Canton Uri – Ground use statistics (German) accessed 8 September 2009
  5. ↑ Altdorf website-History-First Settlement accessed 22 November 2008 (German)
  6. ↑ Altdorf (UR) Early History in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  7. 1 2 Altdorf (UR) in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  8. ↑ Jürg Ehrbar. "Altdorf–Flüelen – Rigi–Scheidegg Bahn". eingestellte-bahnen.ch (amateur site) (in German). Zweisimmen, Switzerland: Jürg Ehrbar. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
  9. ↑ Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB, online database – Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit (German) accessed 30 August 2016
  10. ↑ Uri Population statistics (German) accessed 8 September 2009
  11. ↑ "Temperature and Precipitation Average Values-Table, 1961–1990" (in German, French, and Italian). Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology – MeteoSwiss. Retrieved 8 May 2009., the weather station elevation is 438 metres (1,437 ft) above sea level.
  12. ↑ "Altdorf, Switzerland". Great Falls, VI, USA: CantyMedia, Canty and Associates LLC. n.d.
  13. ↑ "Climate Norm Value Tables". Climate diagrams and normals from Swiss measuring stations. Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss). Retrieved 23 January 2013. The weather station elevation is 438 meters above sea level.

External links

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