Benken, Zürich

Benken is a municipality in the district of Andelfingen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.

For the municipality in St. Gallen, Switzerland, see Benken, St. Gallen.
Benken
Municipality in Switzerland
Coat of arms
Location of Benken
Benken
Benken
Coordinates: 47°39′N 8°39′E
CountrySwitzerland
CantonZurich
DistrictAndelfingen
Area
 • Total5.66 km2 (2.19 sq mi)
Elevation
420 m (1,380 ft)
Population
 (2018-12-31)[2]
 • Total855
 • Density150/km2 (390/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)
8463
SFOS number0022
Surrounded byDachsen, Laufen-Uhwiesen, Marthalen, Rheinau, Trüllikon
Websitewww.benken-zh.ch
SFSO statistics

History

Benken is first mentioned in 858 as Pecchinhova.[3]

Geography

Benken has an area of 5.7 km2 (2.2 sq mi). Of this area, 59% is used for agricultural purposes, while 33.6% is forested. The rest of the land, (7.4%) is settled.[4]

The municipality is surrounded by vineyards and is located at the south-west foot of Cholfirst mountain.

Aerial view by Walter Mittelholzer (1919)

Demographics

Benken has a population (as of 31 December 2019) of 845.[5] As of 2007, 7.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -0.5%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (93.8%), with French being second most common ( 1.4%) and Spanish being third ( 0.7%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 55.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (14.3%), the Green Party (9%) and the FDP (5.8%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 29.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 58% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 12.8%. In Benken about 83.2% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Benken has an unemployment rate of 1.91%. As of 2005, there were 83 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 24 businesses involved in this sector. 34 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 10 businesses in this sector. 85 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 24 businesses in this sector.[4] The historical population is given in the following table:[3]

year population
1467 18 Households
1634 256
1778 475
1850 590
1900 547
1950 492
2000 704

References
  1. "Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeinden nach 4 Hauptbereichen". Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  2. "Ständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeitskategorie Geschlecht und Gemeinde; Provisorische Jahresergebnisse; 2018". Federal Statistical Office. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  3. Benken in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  4. Swiss Federal Statistical Office Archived January 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine accessed 27-Jul-2009
  5. "Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit". bfs.admin.ch (in German). Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
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