Altreu

State :

Switzerland

Canton :

Solothurn (SO)

District :

Livers

Residential municipality :

Selzach

Postal code :

2545 (Selzach)

Coordinates :

601 284 / 228291 coordinates: 47 ° 12 '20 " N , 7 ° 27' 20" O ; CH1903: six hundred and one thousand two hundred and eighty-four / 228291

Height :

429 m above sea level M.

Altreu, with Hasenmatt in the background

map

Altreu is a village in the district of Lebern in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, belonging to the political municipality of Selzach .

geography

Altreu lies at 429 m above sea level. M. , 7 km west-southwest of the canton capital Solothurn (linear distance). The village extends on the north bank of the Aare and at the confluence of the Haagbach and Selzacherbach, just before the confluence with the Aare. It is located in the Selzacherwiti, the almost 3 km wide Aare lowlands in the western Solothurn plateau .

economy

Since Altreu lies in the Aare plain, which is used intensively for agriculture, many residents still live from agriculture today . A larger company for machining technology is located on the northern edge of the village. Quite a few villagers commute to work in the nearby towns of Solothurn and Grenchen .

leisure

Altreu is a destination for hikes and bike tours along the winding course of the Aare. It is also known beyond the Swiss borders for its attempts to colonize storks . The first stork settlement was founded in 1948; In 2008 the place was named a European stork village . There is a campsite in Altreu. The “Romandie” passenger ship connects Altreu with Biel and Solothurn several times a day.

traffic

The village is off the main thoroughfares, but is easily accessible from Selzach. Altreu has a connection to the bus network from Grenchen train station. Selzach train station on the Solothurn-Biel line is about 1 km from the town center. The Aare can be crossed with the Leuzigen – Altreu ferry . Altreu is also a stopping point for passenger shipping on the Aare between Solothurn and Biel.

history

The first written mention of the place took place in 1280 under the name Altrua ; The name Altrüwe has been handed down from 1330 . Around 1260, the Counts of Neuchâtel-Strassberg founded the medieval town of Altreu, which was fortified by walls, moats and a castle. At that time, a wooden bridge was also built over the Aare. The town had a floor plan of around 120 × 180 m. It initially belonged to the Strassberg lordship. When the part of this lordship north of the Aare broke away in 1309, it became the center of the new Altreu lordship, which also included Selzach, Bettlach and the western part of Lommiswil . In 1340 the Altreu dominion was bought by the Counts of Neuchâtel-Nidau .

The little town of Altreu, which existed for a little over a century, was destroyed by the Guglers in 1375 , who also set the Aare bridge on fire. As a result, it was no longer rebuilt because the Aare increasingly threatened the urban area through erosion and river shifts. The rule of Altreu continued to exist and was acquired in 1377 by the Solothurn citizen Rudolf Sefrid von Erlach. In 1389 it came under the direct administration of the city of Solothurn and in 1393 was assigned to the Vogtei Lebern.

In the area of the former town, a hamlet was formed that always belonged to the neighboring town of Selzach, but had a certain autonomy until 1831. After the collapse of the Ancien Régime (1798), Altreu belonged to the Solothurn administrative district during the Helvetic Republic and to the Lebern district from 1803.

Attractions

The Mariahilf chapel was built in 1819 and renovated for the last time in 1973.

Storks near Altreu
Mariahilf Chapel
Motor ship Siesta on Altreusteg
Green monkey restaurant
Ettershof
Farmhouse
Aare-Inseli near Altreu (1955)

Web links

Hans Sigrist: Altreu. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Witi Altreu information center
Photos Altreu CC by nc