Aristau facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Aristau
Coat of arms
Aristau Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Aristau Location in Canton of Aargau Show map of Canton of Aargau
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Aargau
District	Muri
Area
• Total	8.64 km2 (3.34 sq mi)
Elevation	401 m (1,316 ft)
Population  (Dec 2020 )
• Total	1,512
• Density	175.00/km2 (453.2/sq mi)
Postal code	5628
Surrounded by	Besenbüren, Boswil, Jonen, Merenschwand, Muri, Ottenbach (ZH), Rottenschwil

Aristau is a small town, also called a municipality, located in the Muri district of the Aargau region in Switzerland. It's a quiet place with a rich history and beautiful natural surroundings.

History of Aristau

Aristau from the air in 1950

The very first signs of people living in the Aristau area come from the La Tène culture. This was an ancient Iron Age culture in Europe. The modern town of Aristau is actually made up of three smaller villages. These three parts were first mentioned in old writings in 1153. Their names were Arnestowo, Althusern and Birchi.

Aristau was once home to a vassal, a person who served a lord, from the powerful Lanzburg family. Later, during the Late Middle Ages, the lords of Baar and Muri Abbey owned parts of the area. After 1285, the Abbey also gained the right to hold courts. They could also collect tithes, which were like taxes paid to the church.

In 1351, a woman named Catherine of Baar sold her rights in Aristau. She sold them to Hartmann Heidegg. In 1386, his tower was destroyed by soldiers from Lucerne and Zurich. After this, the land around the tower was sold to the Hermetschwil monastery. The rest of the property went to Muri Abbey. There are old stories about a place called Werd Castle. It might have been the home of the lords of Aristau, but no clear records exist.

In 1750, Aristau started collecting a local tax. This tax helped create the community we know today in 1816. However, the town councils of the three villages did not officially join together until 1912.

Until 1942, Aristau was part of the parish (a church district) of Muri. In 1943, the Wendelin Church was finished. This made Aristau the center of a new, independent church district. This new district was called Reusstalpfarrei, which means the Reuss valley parish. Plans for this parish had been around since 1845.

The Chapel of St. John the Baptist and the Evangelist is in the village center. It was first mentioned around 1360 or 1370. It was a filial church, meaning it was a smaller church connected to the main parish church in Muri. The chapel was completely rebuilt in 1521. It was made bigger in 1734 and fixed up again in 1972.

Geography of Aristau

Birri village in Aristau

Aristau covers an area of about 8.64 square kilometers (3.34 square miles). A large part of this land, about 69.2%, is used for farming. Forests cover about 15.3% of the area.

About 9.3% of Aristau is covered by buildings and roads. Rivers and lakes make up about 2.9% of the land. The remaining 4.2% is land that cannot be used for farming or building.

Most of the built-up area is for houses and other buildings (5.4%). Roads and other transport areas make up 3.2%. All the forested land is covered with thick forests. For farming, 58.6% of the land grows crops. Another 9.1% is used for pastures where animals graze. A small part, 1.5%, is for orchards or vineyards. All the water in Aristau is found in its rivers and streams.

Aristau is located in the Muri district. It sits on the eastern side of the Wagenrain hills. These hills are above the beautiful Reuss river valley. The municipality includes the villages of Aristau, Birri, and Althäusern.

Aristau's Coat of Arms

A coat of arms is a special design that represents a town or family. Aristau's coat of arms shows a silver tower. This tower has battlements (the top part of a castle wall). It rises from a green hill. On either side of the tower are two silver stars. The background color is red.

People and Population

Aristau has a population of about 1,500 people. As of June 2009, about 12.8% of the people living in Aristau were from other countries. Over the past ten years, the population has grown by about 10.3%.

Most people in Aristau speak German (94.7%). Portuguese is the second most common language (1.1%), followed by French (0.9%).

Let's look at the age groups in Aristau (as of 2008):

• Children aged 0-9 years: 9.4%
• Teenagers aged 10-19 years: 14.9%
• Young adults aged 20-29 years: 11.5%
• Adults aged 30-39 years: 11.7%
• Adults aged 40-49 years: 22.4%
• Adults aged 50-59 years: 15.6%
• Seniors aged 60-69 years: 7.7%
• Seniors aged 70-79 years: 5.0%
• Seniors aged 80-89 years: 1.7%
• Seniors aged 90 and older: less than 1%

In 2000, the average home had 0.6 people per living room. About 61% of homes were owned by the people living in them. This means they did not pay rent.

In 2000, there were 430 homes and apartments in Aristau. On average, there were 2.7 people living in each home. In 2008, 45.6% of all homes were single-family houses. There were 15 empty apartments, which means a 2.9% vacancy rate. In 2007, 11.8 new homes were built for every 1000 residents.

In the 2007 national election, the most popular political party was the SVP. They received 33.7% of the votes. Other popular parties were the CVP (22.5%), the FDP (12.8%), and the SP (12.7%).

The table below shows how Aristau's population has changed over time:

Economy of Aristau

The Gasthaus (Restaurant and hotel) Krone in Birri village

In 2007, the unemployment rate in Aristau was 1.67%. This means only a small number of people who wanted jobs could not find them.

In 2005, 119 people worked in the primary economic sector. This sector includes jobs like farming and forestry. There were 37 businesses in this area. The secondary sector had 26 workers and 11 businesses. This sector includes manufacturing and construction. The tertiary sector had 79 workers and 29 businesses. This sector includes services like shops, restaurants, and offices.

In 2000, 648 people who lived in Aristau had jobs. Most of them (80.7%) worked outside of Aristau. However, 38 people traveled into Aristau for work. There were a total of 163 jobs in the town. Of the people who worked, 9.2% used public transportation. A larger group, 59.5%, used a private car to get to work.

Religion in Aristau

The Roman Catholic church in Aristau

According to the 2000 census, most people in Aristau are Christian. About 56.6% were Roman Catholic. Another 25.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

Education in Aristau

Switzerland is known for its good education system. In Aristau, about 76.8% of adults (aged 25-64) have completed higher education. This means they finished either non-mandatory upper secondary education or went to a university or a Fachhochschule (a type of professional university). In the 2008/2009 school year, 106 students attended primary school in Aristau.

Notable people

• Ines Torelli (born 1931), a famous comedian, radio personality, and actress.

See also

In Spanish: Aristau para niños