Olten District facts for kids

Olten District, canton of Solothurn

Municipalities of Olten District

The Olten District is a special area in Switzerland. It's one of ten districts in the Solothurn canton, which is like a state or region. This district is located around the city of Olten. It's also part of a larger area called the Olten-Gösgen electoral district. As of 31 December 2020, about 56,109 people live here.

Towns and Villages in Olten District

The Olten District is made up of several towns and villages, which are called municipalities in Switzerland. Here's a list of them:

Coat of arms	Municipality	Population (31 December 2020)	Area, km²
	Boningen	793	2.82
	Däniken	2,891	5.37
	Dulliken	5,083	6.02
	Eppenberg-Wöschnau	311	1.89
	Fulenbach	1,772	4.47
	Gretzenbach	2,772	5.79
	Gunzgen	1,689	3.91
	Hägendorf	5,177	13.87
	Kappel	3,278	5.09
	Olten	18,496	11.50
	Rickenbach	1,055	2.80
	Schönenwerd	5,057	3.77
	Starrkirch-Wil	1,753	1.83
	Walterswil	743	4.53
	Wangen bei Olten	5,239	6.94
	Total	56,109	80.60

Changes to Municipalities

In 1973, a smaller town called Grod joined with the municipality of Gretzenbach. This is how towns sometimes combine to form larger communities.

Geography of Olten District

The Olten District covers an area of about 80.55 square kilometers (or 31.1 square miles). Imagine a square that's about 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) on each side – that's roughly the size!

Most of the land is covered by forests, making up about 42.7% of the total area. This means nearly half of the district is green and full of trees. Another big part, about 30.9%, is used for farming. This land helps grow food and support animals.

About 24.5% of the district is developed, meaning it has buildings, roads, and other things built by people. A small part, 1.7%, includes rivers and lakes. The rest is land that isn't used for much, like rocky areas.

What the Land is Used For

• Forests: Most of the forests are dense, covering 41.2% of the land. A small part (1.5%) has orchards or small groups of trees.
• Farming: About 29.1% of the farmable land is used for growing crops. A tiny bit (1.3%) is for fruit trees or grapevines.
• Buildings and Roads: About 11.2% of the developed land has homes and other buildings. Roads and transportation areas make up 6.4%. Industrial buildings are about 3.3%. There are also areas for power, water, parks, and sports fields.
• Water: All the water in the district is from flowing rivers.

The Olten District Coat of Arms

A coat of arms is like a special symbol or emblem for a place. The coat of arms for the Olten District shows three green fir trees. These trees have red trunks and grow from three red hills. All of this is on a silver (or white) background.

People of Olten District

The Olten District has a population of about 56,109 people.

Languages Spoken

Most people in the district speak German, which is about 86.1% of the population. The next most common language is Italian, spoken by about 4.3% of the people. After that, Albanian is spoken by about 1.7%. A smaller number of people speak French or Romansh.

Population Changes

In 2008, there were more births than deaths in the district. Also, more people moved into the district from other countries than moved out. This means the population of the Olten District grew slightly in 2008, by about 0.3%.

Historical Population

Here's a chart showing how the population of the Olten District has changed over many years:

Politics in Olten District

In the 2007 federal election, which is when people vote for their national leaders, the most popular political party in Olten District was the SVP. They received about 29% of all the votes. Other popular parties included the SP, the CVP, and the FDP. Over half of the people who could vote, about 51.3%, participated in this election.

Religions in Olten District

Based on information from 2000, many different religions are practiced in the Olten District:

• About 43.9% of the people were Roman Catholic.
• Around 27.4% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.
• About 6.69% of the population followed Islam.
• Smaller groups included members of Orthodox churches, the Christian Catholic Church, and other Christian churches.
• There were also people who were Buddhist, Hindu, or Jewish.
• About 12.74% of the people said they did not belong to any church or religion.

Education in Olten District

Education is important in Olten. About 38.5% of the people have finished what's called "upper secondary education." This is like finishing high school. Also, about 11.2% of the population has gone on to get even more education, either at a university or a specialized college.

See also

In Spanish: Distrito de Olten para niños