Oeschgen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Oeschgen
Coat of arms
Oeschgen Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Oeschgen Location in Canton of Aargau Show map of Canton of Aargau
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Aargau
District	Laufenburg
Area
• Total	4.38 km2 (1.69 sq mi)
Elevation	342 m (1,122 ft)
Population  (Dec 2020 )
• Total	1,049
• Density	239.5/km2 (620.3/sq mi)
Postal code	5072
Surrounded by	Eiken, Frick, Kaisten

Oeschgen is a small town, also known as a municipality, in Switzerland. It is located in the Laufenburg area, which is part of the canton of Aargau.

History of Oeschgen

An aerial view of Oeschgen from 1954.

People have lived in the Oeschgen area for a very long time. We know this from old tools and items found from the Stone Age and Bronze Age. There is also proof of settlements from the Roman times.

The name Oeschgen was first written down in 1234 as Escecon. A few years later, in 1242, it was called Eschincon.

Early Owners of Oeschgen

From the 1200s to the 1400s, a group of important people called the Lords of Eschkon owned the village. They were like helpers or supporters, known as vassals, to the rulers of Rheinfelden and sometimes to the Habsburgs. The Habsburgs were a very powerful family in Europe.

From the mid-1300s until 1797, Oeschgen was part of an area controlled by the Austrian-Habsburgs called the District of Laufenburg. In 1803, Oeschgen became part of the Canton of Fricktal, which then joined the new Canton of Aargau.

Justice and Important Buildings

The right to handle smaller legal matters, called low justice, belonged to the Lords of Grünenberg. Later, from 1475 to 1797, this right was held by the Lords of Schönau.

In 1597-98, the Lords of Schönau built a large, fancy house called a manor house in the village. This manor house later became the building where the town's government works. It was updated between 1971 and 1975. During the Second World War, a camp for Polish soldiers was built near Oeschgen.

The Lords of Schönau also had control over the church of St. Cosmas and St. Damian. This church was likely built in the late 1100s. A new church building was constructed in 1912.

Oeschgen's Economy Over Time

For a long time, until the 1800s, most people in Oeschgen made their living by growing grapes for wine and farming grain.

By the early 2000s, Oeschgen had changed a lot. It became a place where many people live, with some small businesses. Most people who live in Oeschgen travel to work in the larger city area of Basel or in the nearby town of Frick.

Geography of Oeschgen

Oeschgen covers an area of about 4.38 square kilometers (1.69 square miles).

Land Use in Oeschgen

• About 67.4% of the land is used for farming.
• Around 18.3% of the land is covered by forests.
• About 14.2% of the land has buildings or roads on it.
• A small part, 0.7%, is made up of rivers or lakes.
• Only 0.2% of the land is not useful for anything.

Looking closer at the built-up areas:

• 6.2% is for houses and other buildings.
• 6.8% is for roads and other ways to get around.

In the forested areas:

• 17.1% is dense forest.
• 1.1% has orchards or small groups of trees.

For farming land:

• 37.7% is used for growing crops.
• 25.6% is used for pastures where animals graze.
• 4.1% is used for orchards or vineyards.

All the water in Oeschgen is found in its rivers and streams.

Location and Village Type

Oeschgen is located in the Laufenburg district, in the upper part of the Fricktal (Frick river valley). It sits along the Sisselnbach stream and is near the A3 motorway. The village itself is a haufendorf, which means it's an old, unplanned village with buildings packed closely together around a central area.

Oeschgen's Coat of Arms

A coat of arms is like a special symbol or logo for a town or family. Oeschgen's coat of arms is described as Per fess Sable and Or three Annulets counterchanged. This means it has two main parts: the top part is black (Sable), and the bottom part is gold (Or). On this background, there are three rings (Annulets). The rings are colored opposite to the background they are on. So, if a ring is on the black part, it's gold, and if it's on the gold part, it's black.

People and Population (Demographics)

Oeschgen has a population of about 867 people (as of December 2006).

Population Changes and Languages

As of June 2009, about 12.2% of the people living in Oeschgen were from other countries. Over ten years, from 1997 to 2007, the population grew by about 10.8%.

Most people in Oeschgen speak German (93.4%). The next most common languages are Italian (2.3%) and Albanian (1.5%).

Age Groups in Oeschgen

Here's a look at the different age groups in Oeschgen (as of 2008):

• Children (0-9 years old): 106 people (11.6%)
• Teenagers (10-19 years old): 117 people (12.8%)
• Young adults (20-29 years old): 99 people (10.8%)
• Adults (30-39 years old): 122 people (13.3%)
• Adults (40-49 years old): 170 people (18.6%)
• Adults (50-59 years old): 116 people (12.7%)
• Seniors (60-69 years old): 104 people (11.4%)
• Seniors (70-79 years old): 51 people (5.6%)
• Seniors (80-89 years old): 21 people (2.3%)
• Seniors (90 and older): 8 people (0.9%)

Homes and Households

In 2000, the average number of people per living room was 0.57. This is similar to the average for the whole canton. A "room" here means a space in a home that is at least 4 square meters (about 43 square feet), like bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchens.

About 66.2% of homes were owned by the people living in them. This means they didn't pay rent, though they might have a loan for the house.

In 2000, there were:

• 19 homes with 1 or 2 people.
• 124 homes with 3 or 4 people.
• 144 homes with 5 or more people.

Overall, there were 305 homes and apartments in Oeschgen, with an average of 2.6 people per home. In 2008, 57.5% of all homes were single-family houses. Only 0.6% of apartments were empty. In 2007, about 1.2 new homes were built for every 1000 residents.

Politics and Education

In the 2007 national election, the most popular political party in Oeschgen was the SVP, which got 41.2% of the votes. The next most popular parties were the CVP (24.5%), the SP (11.5%), and the FDP (6.7%).

In Oeschgen, about 71.8% of adults (aged 25–64) have finished either advanced high school education or gone on to college or a special technical school (a Fachhochschule). In the 2008/2009 school year, 76 students attended primary school in Oeschgen.

Historical Population Growth

Here's how Oeschgen's population has changed over the years:

Economy of Oeschgen

In 2007, Oeschgen had a low unemployment rate of 1.03%. This means very few people who wanted to work couldn't find a job.

Jobs in Oeschgen

In 2005, jobs in Oeschgen were divided into three main types:

• Primary Sector: This includes jobs related to farming, like growing crops or raising animals. There were 58 people working in this sector, with 19 businesses.
• Secondary Sector: These are jobs in manufacturing, like making things in factories or construction. There were 31 people working in this sector, with 11 businesses.
• Tertiary Sector: This covers jobs in services, like shops, offices, or healthcare. There were 127 people working in this sector, with 30 businesses.

In 2000, 416 people who lived in Oeschgen had jobs. Most of them (about 81.3%) traveled outside Oeschgen for work. Only 35 people came into Oeschgen to work. There were a total of 113 jobs in the municipality that were at least 6 hours per week.

To get to work, 8.9% of people used public transportation, and 52.7% used a private car.

Religion in Oeschgen

Based on a survey from 2000:

• 516 people (64.7%) were Roman Catholic.
• 165 people (20.7%) belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.
• 3 people (about 0.38%) belonged to the Christian Catholic faith.

See also

In Spanish: Oeschgen para niños