Gunzwil facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gunzwil
Former municipality of Switzerland
Coat of arms
Gunzwil Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Gunzwil Location in Canton of Lucerne Show map of Canton of Lucerne
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Lucerne
District	Sursee
Area
• Total	23.17 km2 (8.95 sq mi)
Elevation	665 m (2,182 ft)
Population
• Total	1,875
• Density	80.92/km2 (209.59/sq mi)
Postal code	6222
Surrounded by	Beromünster, Eich, Ermensee, Geuensee, Menziken (AG), Neudorf, Rickenbach, Römerswil, Schenkon

Gunzwil was once a small town, also known as a municipality, in the canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. It was part of the Sursee district. On January 1, 2009, Gunzwil joined with the nearby town of Beromünster. Now, Gunzwil is a village within the larger municipality of Beromünster.

History of Gunzwil

Gunzwil was first mentioned in old writings in the year 1036. Back then, it was called Gunczwilare. However, the oldest document we have that mentions this is actually a copy from the 14th century. Later, in 1173, it was referred to as in Gunzewile.

Geography of Gunzwil

Gunzwil covered an area of about 23.2 square kilometers (about 9 square miles). A large part of this land, about 78.5%, was used for farming. Forests covered about 15% of the area. The remaining land, about 6.3%, had buildings or roads. A very small part (0.1%) was non-productive, meaning it was made up of things like rivers or mountains.

The municipality was located between two valleys, the Suren- and Seetal valleys. It included the main village of Gunzwil and many smaller settlements called hamlets. Since January 1, 2009, Gunzwil has been part of Beromünster. The combined area of the new Beromünster municipality is about 29.35 square kilometers (about 11.3 square miles). It has a population of 4,588 people, and about 10.1% of them are from other countries.

People and Population

In 2007, Gunzwil had a population of 1,875 people. About 5.6% of these people were from other countries. Over the ten years before 2007, the population slowly decreased.

Most people in Gunzwil (about 94.9% in 2000) spoke German. Albanian was the second most common language (2.2%), followed by Italian (0.5%).

In the 2007 election, the most popular political group was the CVP. They received 41.9% of the votes. A political party is a group of people who share similar ideas about how the country should be run. The next most popular parties were the SVP (30.4%), the FDP (16.5%), and the Green Party (5.5%).

Looking at the age of the people in Gunzwil in 2000:

• Children and teenagers (0–19 years old) made up 30% of the population.
• Adults (20–64 years old) made up 59%.
• Seniors (over 64 years old) made up 11%.

Most people in Switzerland are well-educated. In Gunzwil, about 71.3% of adults (between 25 and 64 years old) had finished high school or gone on to higher education, like a university.

In 2005, many people in Gunzwil worked in different types of jobs:

• Primary sector: 339 people worked in jobs related to farming, like growing crops or raising animals. There were 112 businesses in this area.
• Secondary sector: 169 people worked in manufacturing or construction. There were 26 businesses in this area.
• Tertiary sector: 228 people worked in services, like shops, banks, or schools. There were 42 businesses in this area.

Historical Population

Here's how the population of Gunzwil changed over many years:

Images for kids

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  An aerial view of Gunzwil in 1964.