Altdorf, Switzerland

Altdorf
Country Switzerland Canton Uri District n.a. 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
Population	8,577 (December 2007[update])
- Density	838 /km2 (2,171 /sq mi)
Area	10.23 km2 (3.95 sq mi)
Elevation	458 m (1,503 ft)
- Highest	1720 m - Eggberge
- Lowest	432 m - Wildried
Postal code	6460
SFOS number	1201
Mayor	Barbara Bär-Hellmüller
Surrounded by (view map)	Attinghausen, Bürglen, Flüelen, Seedorf
Twin towns	Altdorf b. Nürnberg (Germany)
Website	www.altdorf.ch SFSO statistics
Altdorf [zoom]

Altdorf

Altdorf (German for "old village") is the capital of the Swiss canton of Uri. The municipality covers an area of 10.23 square kilometers (3.9 sq mi). It is built at a height of 462 meters (1,516 ft) above sea-level, a little above the right bank of the Reuss, not far above the point where this river is joined on the right by the Schächen torrent.

The name is sometimes written as Altdorf UR, to distinguish it from Altdorf SH, a small village in the canton of Schaffhausen.

Location

Gotthard rail line and tunnel, vertical profile. Altdorf is the 11th stop on the right hand side of the diagram

Altdorf is 55 kilometers (34 mi) from Lucerne by the St Gotthard railway and 28 kilometers (17 mi) from Göschenen. Its port on the Lake of Lucerne, Flüelen, is 2 miles (3 km) miles distant. There is a stately parish church, while above the little town is the oldest Capuchin convent in Switzerland (1581).

The municipality is located south of the Lake of Lucerne, and along the eastern side of the Reuss River. Additionally it is located on the major transportation line through the Gotthard Pass and along the Gotthard rail line.

Geography

Altdorf has an area, as of 2006^[update], of 10.2 square kilometers (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).^[1] In the 1993/97 land survey^[update], 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 vegatation, and 0.2% is other unproductive land.^[2]

It consists of the village of Altdorf along the lake and the scattered hamlets of Eggberge on a high terrace above the town.

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 3^rd Century BC. The people that settled in this region initially settled in the forest, and expanded toward the banks of the Reuss river. 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^[3].

Following the collapse of the Roman Empire the local Gallo-Roman population of Altdorf began to mix with the Germanic Alamanni during the 7^th 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^[4].

The current town was first mentioned in 1223 as Alttorf. During the 16 to 19th Centuries it was known simply as Uri.^[5]

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 Zurich) 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 meters (6,391 ft)) to the village of Linthal (46 kilometers (29 mi)) and so to Glarus. 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from Altdorf by the Klausen road is the village of Bürglen, where by tradition Tell was born; while he is also said to have lost his life, while saving that of a child, in the Schächen torrent that flows past the village. On the left bank of the Reuss, immediately opposite Altdorf, is Attinghausen, where the ruined castle (which belonged to one of the real founders of the Swiss Confederation) now houses the cantonal museum of antiquities.

Demographics

Altdorf by night.

Altdorf has a population (as of 2007^[update]) of 8,577, of which 13.5% are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -0.4%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (88.3%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 4.2%) and Italian being third ( 2.5%).^[1] As of 2007^[update] the gender distribution of the population was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.^[6]

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. 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).^[1]

Altdorf has an unemployment rate of 1.45%. As of 2005^[update], 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.^[1]

Historical population

source:^[5]

Historisches Museum

In 1905 a Museum was opened 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.

Weather

Altdorf has an average of 133.7 days of rain per year and on average receives 1,099 mm (43.3 in) of precipitation. The wettest month is August during which time Altdorf receives an average of 135 mm (5.3 in) of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.2 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is June, with an average of 14.4, but with only 127 mm (5 in) of precipitation. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 66 mm (2.6 in) of precipitation over 13.2 days.^[7]

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Altdorf is twinned with:

• Altdorf bei Nürnberg, Germany (since 1971)

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

External links

• Altdorf (German) Official site
• Media related to Altdorf at Wikimedia Commons
• Altdorf (UR) in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

v • d • e Municipalities in the Canton of Uri, Switzerland Altdorf · Andermatt · Attinghausen · Bauen · Bürglen · Erstfeld · Flüelen · Göschenen · Gurtnellen · Hospental · Isenthal · Realp · Schattdorf · Seedorf · Seelisberg · Silenen · Sisikon · Spiringen · Unterschächen · Wassen Canton of Uri · Municipalities of the canton of Uri