View source for Rüfenach

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox Swiss town
| subject_name		= Rüfenach
| image_photo          = Rein Kirche 139.jpg
| municipality_type	= municipality
| imagepath_coa	= Wappen Rüfenach AG.svg|pixel_coa=
| canton		= Aargau
| iso-code-region 	= CH-AG
| district		= [[Brugg (district)|Brugg]]
|coordinates = {{coord|47|31|N|8|13|E|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code		= 5235
| municipality_code	= 4112
| area			= 4.17
| elevation		= 374|elevation_description=
| population		= {{Swiss populations NC|CH-AG|4112}} |populationof = {{Swiss populations YM|CH-AG}} | popofyear = {{Swiss populations Y|CH-AG}}
| website		= ruefenach.ch
| mayor		= |mayor_asof=|mayor_party=
| mayor_title	= |list_of_mayors	=
| places		= Rüfenach, Hinterrein, Vorderrein
| demonym		=
| neighboring_municipalities= [[Brugg]], [[Remigen]], [[Riniken]], [[Villigen]]
| twintowns		=
|}}
[[File:Karte Gemeinde Rüfenach 2010.png|thumb|Rüfenach]]
'''Rüfenach''' is a [[Municipalities of Switzerland|municipality]] in the district of [[Brugg (district)|Brugg]] in the [[Cantons of Switzerland|canton]] of [[Aargau]] in [[Switzerland]].
==Geography==
The municipality lies at the foot of the [[Bruggerberg]] and the [[Reinerberg]], the southeast foothills of the [[Jura Mountains]].
It consists of three villages, Rüfenach, Hinterrein, and Vorderrein. The latter two were part of an independent municipality called Rein until 1898.. Rüfenach lies furthest west in the middle of a flat plain. Hinterrein is slightly higher and lies in the middle. Vorderrein is to the east on a marked hill. The east side of this hill falls sharply to the [[Aare]]. The difference in altitude is about {{convert|70|m|ft|abbr=on}}.
Rüfenach has an area, {{as of|2009|lc=on}}, of {{convert|4.17|km2|sqmi|sp=us}}.  Of this area, {{convert|1.98|km2|sqmi|sp=us}} or 47.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while {{convert|1.7|km2|sqmi|sp=us}} or 40.8% is forested.   Of the rest of the land, {{convert|0.48|km2|sqmi|sp=us}} or 11.5% is settled (buildings or roads), {{convert|0.02|km2|acre|abbr=on}} or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes.<ref name=BFS_land>[http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/02/03/blank/data/gemeindedaten.html Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics] 2009 data {{in lang|de}} accessed 25 March 2010</ref>
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.8%.  40.0% of the total land area is heavily forested.  Of the agricultural land, 35.7% is used for growing crops and 8.2% is pastures, while 3.6% is used for orchards or vine crops.  All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.<ref name=BFS_land/> The highest point, the Reinerberg, lies at {{convert|522|m|ft|abbr=on}} in altitude, and the lowest in Vorderrein on the Aare at {{convert|325|m|ft|abbr=on}}.
Neighboring municipalities are [[Villigen]] to the north and northeast, [[Brugg]] to the southeast, [[Riniken]] to the southwest, and [[Remigen]] to the northwest.
==History==
Since the 8th century, Rein was the center of a court, that belonged to the cloister of [[Murbach Abbey|Murbach]] in [[Alsace]]. It also included Rüfenach, Lauffohr, Remigen, Stilli, and Villigen.  Rüfenach is first mentioned around 1227-34 as ''Rufinach''.<ref name=HDS/>
In the 13th century, the [[Habsburg]]s exerted their power in the region. King [[Rudolph I of Habsburg]] bought Rein in 1291. In 1345, Queen [[Agnes of Austria (1281–1364)|Agnes of Hungary]] gave Rein to the cloister of [[Wittichen im Kinzigtal]] in the [[Black Forest]].
When the city of [[Bern]] conquered the area west of the Aare in 1460, the rights of the cloister were not affected. However, the arrival of the [[Reformation]] in 1528 did have a great effect. In 1544, the cloister sold Rein to Count [[Hartmann von Hallwyl]]. Between 1588 and 1599, the city of Brugg gained control of two thirds of the territory, and the city of Bern the other third.
In March 1798, conquered Switzerland and declared the ''[[Helvetic Republic]]''. Rein became part of the new canton of Aargau. In 1799, the front line between the two coalitions in the [[Napoleonic Wars]] ran right down the center of the valley of the Aare. There were many French military camps in the region. The villagers suffered greatly from requisitions and plundering.
In 1803, Rein was dissolved, and the single villages were made independent municipalities. About a hundred years later, the canton actively promoted a policy of fusion, and Rein was combined with Rüfenach. The people of Rein resisted, but with no success. Although they took the case to the highest court, the two municipalities were united on 1 January 1898.
Until well into the 20th century, Rüfenach and Rein remained agricultural villages. In the 1960s, much construction was undertaken, and the population more than doubled.
==Coat of arms==
The [[blazon]] of the municipal [[coat of arms]] is ''Azure a Garb Or.''<ref>[http://www.fotw.us/flags/ch-ag085.html Flags of the World.com] accessed 9 April 2010</ref>
==Architecture==
The church that was once the central point of the municipality dates from the 9th century and has [[Romanesque architecture|romanesque]] and [[Gothic architecture|gothic]] elements. It had to be razed in 1863 because it was no longer safe. In its place, a new church was built in 1864 designed by the [[Zürich]] architect, [[Johann Kaspar Wolf]].
In 1814 the textile industrialist Johann Heinrich Meyer founded an orphanage and poorhouse. The building, which is in classical style, became part of the cantonal psychiatric hospital in 1947.
==Demographics==
Rüfenach has a population ({{as of|{{Swiss populations YM|CH-AG}}|lc=on}}) of {{Swiss populations|CH-AG|4112}}.{{Swiss populations ref|CH-AG}}  {{as of|2009|June}}, 10.2% of the population are foreign nationals.<ref name=AG_pop>[http://www.ag.ch/staag/ Statistical Department of Canton Aargau -Bereich 01  -Bevölkerung] {{in lang|de}} accessed 20 January 2010</ref> Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 23.6%.  Most of the population ({{as of|2000|lc=on}}) speaks German (94.9%), with Portuguese being second most common ( 1.1%) and Albanian being third ( 1.1%).<ref name=SFSO>[http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/en/index/regionen/02/key.html Swiss Federal Statistical Office] accessed 9 April 2010</ref>
The age distribution, {{as of|2008|lc=on}}, in Rüfenach is; 81 children or 9.3% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 142 teenagers or 16.3% are between 10 and 19.  Of the adult population, 95 people or 10.9% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old.  94 people or 10.8% are between 30 and 39, 171 people or 19.7% are between 40 and 49, and 128 people or 14.7% are between 50 and 59.  The senior population distribution is 99 people or 11.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 39 people or 4.5% are between 70 and 79, there are 17 people or 2.0% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 3 people or 0.3% who are 90 and older.<ref name=structure>[http://www.ag.ch/staag/ Statistical Department of Canton Aargau -Bevölkerungsdaten für den Kanton Aargau und die Gemeinden (Archiv)] {{in lang|de}} accessed 20 January 2010</ref>
{{as of|2000}}, there were 16 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 113 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 122 homes with 5 or more persons in the household.  The average number of people per household was 2.75 individuals.<ref name=zahlen/>  {{as of|2008|alt=In 2008}} there were 210 single family homes (or 62.1% of the total) out of a total of 338 homes and apartments.<ref name=AG_data>[http://www.ag.ch/staag/ Statistical Department of Canton Aargau] {{in lang|de}} accessed 20 January 2010</ref> There were a total of 4 empty apartments for a 1.2% vacancy rate.<ref name="AG_data"/>  {{as of|2007}}, the construction rate of new housing units was 10.7 new units per 1000 residents.<ref name=SFSO/>
In the [[2007 Swiss federal election|2007 federal election]] the most popular party was the [[Swiss People's Party|SVP]] which received 36.7% of the vote.  The next three most popular parties were the [[Social Democratic Party of Switzerland|SP]] (17.2%), the [[Free Democratic Party of Switzerland|FDP]] (13.4%) and the [[Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland|CVP]] (12.4%).<ref name=SFSO/>
In Rüfenach about 81.6% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory [[Education in Switzerland#Secondary|upper secondary education]] or additional higher education (either university or a ''[[Fachhochschule]]'').<ref name=SFSO/> Of the school age population ({{as of|2009|alt=in the 2008/2009 school year}}), there are 90 students attending [[Education in Switzerland#Primary|primary school]], there are 127 students attending secondary school in the municipality.<ref name=zahlen/>
The historical population is given in the following table:<ref name=HDS>{{HDS|1704|Rüfenach}}</ref>
{{Historical populations
|align=left
| 1764
| 124
| 1888
|  276
| 1900
|  266
| 1950
|  272
| 2000
|  727
}}
==Economy==
{{as of|2007|In 2007}}, Rüfenach had an unemployment rate of 1.84%.  {{as of|2005}}, there were 55 people employed in the [[Primary sector of the economy|primary economic sector]] and about 17 businesses involved in this sector.  3 people are employed in the [[Secondary sector of the economy|secondary sector]] and there are 2 businesses in this sector.  105 people are employed in the [[Tertiary sector of the economy|tertiary sector]], with 18 businesses in this sector.<ref name=SFSO/>
{{as of|2000}} there was a total of 386 workers who lived in the municipality.  Of these, 292 or about 75.6% of the residents worked outside Rüfenach while 90 people commuted into the municipality for work.  There were a total of 184 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality.<ref>[http://www.ag.ch/staag/ Statistical Department of Canton Aargau-Bereich 11  Verkehr und Nachrichtenwesen] {{in lang|de}} accessed 21 January 2010</ref> Of the working population, 14.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 49.9% used a private car.<ref name=SFSO/>
==Religion==
From the {{as of|2000|alt=2000 census}}, 210 or 28.9% were [[Roman Catholic]], while 397 or 54.6% belonged to the [[Swiss Reformed Church]].  Of the rest of the population, there were 3 individuals (or about 0.41% of the population) who belonged to the [[Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland|Christian Catholic]] faith.<ref name=zahlen>[http://www.ag.ch/staag/ Statistical Department of Canton Aargau – Aargauer Zahlen 2009] {{in lang|de}} accessed 20 January 2010</ref>
==Transportation==
The main highway from [[Stilli]] to Remigen and [[Laufenburg, Aargau|Laufenburg]] runs about 100 m north of the municipality.  The post bus line from Brugg to [[Mönthal]] provides it with public transportation.
==Notable inhabitants==
* [[Paul Haller]], author (1882–1920)
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Commons category|Rüfenach}}
{{Municipalities of the district of Brugg}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rufenach}}
[[Category:Municipalities of Aargau]]