Boniswil facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Boniswil
Coat of arms
Boniswil Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Boniswil Location in Canton of Aargau Show map of Canton of Aargau
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Aargau
District	Lenzburg
Area
• Total	2.41 km2 (0.93 sq mi)
Elevation	477 m (1,565 ft)
Population  (Dec 2020 )
• Total	1,520
• Density	631/km2 (1,634/sq mi)
Postal code	5706
Surrounded by	Birrwil, Hallwil, Leutwil, Seengen

Boniswil is a small town, also called a municipality, located in the Lenzburg district. It is part of the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.

History of Boniswil

Boniswil was first mentioned in old writings around the years 1217–1222. Back then, it was known as Bonoltswile. The village was ruled by powerful families over time. First, it was controlled by the Counts of Lenzburg. Then, the counts from the Kyburg family took over. After them, the Habsburgs ruled the area. Finally, in 1415, the city of Bern gained control of Boniswil.

Some local rights, like handling smaller legal matters, were held by the lords of Rinach in the 1200s. These rights later went to the lords of Hallwyl in 1486 and then to Bern in 1616. A large monastery called Einsiedeln Abbey also collected rent from much of the land in the village.

For religious matters, Boniswil was part of the Seengen parish (a church district) until 1842. After that, it joined the Leutwil parish.

In the 1700s, the main ways people made money in Boniswil were farming and making cotton. They would spin and weave cotton right in their homes. In the 1800s, the cotton industry changed to the straw industry, where people made things from braided straw.

A big change happened in 1883 when the Seetalbahn train line was built. This helped the economy grow and brought new businesses, like tobacco and box factories. Since the 1950s, many new buildings have been added to Boniswil. By 1990, only a small part of the jobs (6%) were in farming. Most jobs (about 53%) were in service industries, like shops or offices. Today, many people (73%) who live in Boniswil travel to other towns for work. Also, about half of the jobs in Boniswil are filled by people who travel in from other places.

Geography of Boniswil

Boniswil is located in a beautiful area called the Seetal valley. It sits right on the edge of Lake Hallwil. The main road, called the Seetalstrasse, also runs through the town.

The municipality includes the main village of Boniswil and a smaller area called Alliswil. Alliswil became part of Boniswil in 1898. The total area of Boniswil is about 2.41 square kilometers (which is about 0.93 square miles).

A lot of the land in Boniswil is used for farming, about 57.3%. Forests cover about 7.9% of the area. Buildings and roads take up about 19.9% of the land. A small part, 0.4%, is made up of rivers or lakes. The remaining 12.0% is land that can't be used for farming or building, like rocky areas or wild plants.

What is the Boniswil Coat of Arms?

The blazon (official description) of Boniswil's municipal coat of arms is: Gules a Snipe proper statant on a Mount Vert. This means the coat of arms shows a snipe (a type of bird) standing on a green hill, all on a red background.

Population and People in Boniswil

Boniswil has a population of about 1,400 people. Around 14.3% of the people living in Boniswil are from other countries. Most people in Boniswil (92.0%) speak German. Italian is the second most common language (1.7%), followed by Albanian (1.4%).

Looking at the ages of people in Boniswil:

• About 9.7% of the population are children aged 0 to 9 years old.
• Around 13.6% are teenagers aged 10 to 19.
• Adults aged 20 to 59 make up about 53.4% of the population.
• People aged 60 and older make up about 19.4% of the population.

In 2000, about 65.7% of homes in Boniswil were owned by the people living in them. The average home had about 2.5 people living in it. In 2008, more than half of the homes (58.0%) were single-family houses.

Most people in Switzerland are well-educated. In Boniswil, about 79% of adults (aged 25 to 64) have finished high school or gone on to higher education, like university. In the 2008/2009 school year, there were 94 students attending primary school in Boniswil.

Here's how the population of Boniswil has changed over time:

Economy and Jobs in Boniswil

In 2007, the unemployment rate in Boniswil was very low, at 1.08%. This means almost everyone who wanted a job had one.

Jobs in Boniswil can be divided into three main types:

• Primary sector: This includes jobs related to natural resources, like farming. In 2005, about 14 people worked in this sector in Boniswil.
• Secondary sector: These are jobs in manufacturing, like making things in factories. About 122 people worked in this sector.
• Tertiary sector: This includes service jobs, like working in shops, offices, or healthcare. About 123 people worked in this sector.

Many people who live in Boniswil travel outside the town for work. In 2000, about 80% of residents worked in other places. However, Boniswil also has jobs for people who travel into the town. About 10.4% of working people used public transportation to get to work, and 61.5% used a private car.

Religion in Boniswil

Based on a census from 2000, about 22.9% of people in Boniswil were Roman Catholic. A larger group, about 60.6%, belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. A very small number of people (0.30%) were part of the Christian Catholic faith.

Images for kids

• 

  Aerial view of Boniswil in 1962

• 

  The Aabach River in Boniswil

See also

In Spanish: Boniswil para niños