Parish mergers in Switzerland

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As community fusion in which is Switzerland , the fusion of two or more mutually independent until now political communities designated. The fusion can be used as incorporation take place in a greater association with the name of the smaller town (s) goes down. For comparable partners, an alliance name or a new name can be chosen.

The canton of Thurgau carried out large-scale merger projects in the 1990s. The canton of Friborg has the largest number of municipality mergers of all cantons, with a reduction in its number of municipalities by almost 120. If one only looks at the time since 2000, most of the municipalities have been merged in the Canton of Ticino . In terms of proportions, the amalgamation of the originally 27 to only three municipalities in the canton of Glarus represents the most drastic regional reform. Considerable numbers of municipal mergers were also carried out in the cantons of Graubünden , Lucerne and Bern . Individual mergers took place in the cantons of Aargau , Schaffhausen , Solothurn , St. Gallen , Waadt , Wallis and Zurich .

Overall, the number of municipalities fell from 2899 to 2255 from 2000 to spring 2017.

history

In Switzerland, the municipalities form the first and most important of the three levels of democracy that support the state. The Swiss citizenship is awarded at the community level.

Decrease in the number of municipalities: the considerable decline from 1994/95 can be clearly seen

In 1850, two years after the founding of the Swiss federal state, Switzerland had 3,203 municipalities, in 2003 it had 2842. Over the course of 153 years, Switzerland lost an average of only two municipalities per year. Even in a European comparison, there were few parish mergers in Switzerland. From 1953 to 2003, the number of municipalities only decreased by 7%, while in Germany it decreased by 59% and in Austria by 42%. The reasons are seen in the great autonomy of the Swiss municipalities and in the responsibility for a large part of tasks. In ten out of 26 cantons, a municipality merger requires the consent of the municipalities concerned. Since 1990, municipal mergers have increased sharply, particularly in the cantons of Thurgau and Friborg. Nevertheless, the intensification of inter-municipal cooperation is still the most common reform in Swiss municipalities.

Based on the European Spatial Development Concept ESDP, which provides for a concentration of the population and economic activities in larger centers ( metropolitan regions ) and agglomerations on the main European traffic axes, the federal government reoriented its regional policy in 1996. The sharp increase in municipal mergers since 2000 is primarily due to the federal government's new regional policy and targeted support by the cantons with legal initiatives (reform of the cantonal constitution) and financial incentives, and only occasionally due to initiatives at the municipal level.

The problem of forced mergers

In Switzerland, the amalgamation of municipalities is generally only possible if the residents of all municipalities involved agree. There are, however, a number of parishes that have merged against their stated will. The most recent example (2005) is Ausserbinn , which defended itself against the forced merger ordered by the State Council of the canton of Valais and was only defeated before the federal court . Forced mergers are highly controversial, especially because communal autonomy in Switzerland is the basis of direct democracy . In principle, the federal constitution does not protect the municipalities from forced mergers: Art. 50 (1) BV guarantees municipal autonomy solely in accordance with cantonal law. In the above-mentioned Ausserbinn case, the Federal Supreme Court ruled that the cantonal law should only be used with regard to the guarantee of existence (BGE 131 I 91 E. 2, p. 94). In contrast to the canton of Valais affected here, more than half of the cantons (16) have an unrestricted guarantee of existence in favor of the individual municipalities (cf., for example, Art. 108 Cantonal Constitution of Bern - a forced merger is now possible there under certain circumstances).

Current situation in the cantons

Aargau

Development of the number of municipalities in the canton of Aargau and corresponding development of the municipality size

In the course of measures to optimize the fulfillment of tasks in the canton of Aargau , the government council plans to reduce the large number of Aargau communities. The main aim is to strengthen the urban centers of the canton, which in 2004 did not have a single city with at least 20,000 inhabitants despite a population of 568,000. In addition to the political unification of the agglomerations of Aarau and Baden , the incorporation of further local centers is being pursued. Furthermore, mergers are to be started in the countryside. The municipalities should primarily be encouraged through contributions to form associations. In symbolic reference to the Volkstag in Wohlenschwil in 1830, community representatives from 110 of the 229 communities in the canton of Aargau met in Wohlenschwil on February 20, 2008 at the invitation of the committee “For community autonomy and a solidarity-based Aargau”. Of the 110 participating communities, 103 signed the Wohlenschwil resolution , which campaigns for community autonomy and against the government council's plans for community reform "from above". However, since then there have been no further actions by these communities.

Bern

Development of the number of municipalities in the canton of Bern since the canton of Jura was split off (1979) and the corresponding development in the size of the municipality

The canton of Bern generously supports municipal mergers with financial contributions. With the constituency reform that has already been carried out from 27 to 8 constituencies, the larger municipalities are given more weight. The district reform that came into effect on January 1, 2010 has reduced the 26 administrative districts to five administrative regions or ten administrative districts . In this way, undesired municipal mergers can be avoided, but the feared negative effects such as the dismantling of municipal autonomy, less proximity to the citizens and more central bureaucracy are the same. In mid-August 2010, the government council of the canton of Bern decided to strive for constitutional and legislative amendments which should allow municipalities to merge against the will of a municipality, “if municipal, regional or cantonal interests so require”. A forced merger is envisaged if a municipality is no longer able to carry out its tasks independently on a long-term basis , as well as in the case of a merger of several municipalities, if the majority of the municipalities involved and the voters have agreed to the merger. In addition, the government council should be given the opportunity to remove payments from the cantonal financial equalization scheme for financially weak municipalities if they reject a merger that the canton considers to be economically viable.

Freiburg

Development of the number of municipalities in the canton of Friborg and corresponding development of the size of the municipality

The Canton of Friborg promotes with its agglomeration policy "quasi-mergers" with majority voting. The State Council establishes provisional territorial perimeters that encompass a number of municipalities. These perimeters can only be changed with the consent of two thirds of the agglomeration councils. In a planned perimeter there are a total of 39 agglomeration councils from various German and French-speaking communities. Since the only German-speaking communities in Düdingen could only delegate four and Tafers only three representatives to the assembly, the chances of these communities getting out of the founding process are negligible, as their independence is not protected by the Federal Supreme Court.

Glarus

The canton of Glarus had also announced a tough course. According to the business newspaper Cash from September 15, 2005, the cantonal government is tired of grappling with the complicated network of special-purpose associations. She therefore wanted comprehensive regional reforms that would reduce the number of independent municipalities from 27 to just ten. Communities unwilling to merge will have the money turned off.

The Landsgemeinde in May 2006 surprisingly accepted an application from an individual to reduce the number of communes in the canton to three. These should be congruent with the planning regions. The decision of the Landsgemeinde meant a forced merger for the 25 local parishes concerned, because the voters of the individual parishes could not vote on whether they want to retain their centuries-old autonomy or want a merger. In the opinion of some constitutional lawyers, the merger decision violated Article 23, Paragraph 3 of the Federal Constitution , which also protects the freedom of municipalities, because no one (including municipalities) can be forced to unite. A fortiori nobody can be forced to give up his existence. The question was not resolved by the highest court, however, as none of the municipalities involved lodged a complaint against the merger decision.

Grisons

Development of the number of municipalities in the canton of Graubünden and corresponding development of the size of the municipality

Up to 1851 Graubünden was divided into 48 judicial communities, which had almost the entire domestic political power. This structure had to be given up in the course of the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848 and the current structure with communities, districts, districts and the canton was created. The original number of 230 municipalities fell in the period that followed, but the decline was minimal. A first step towards a reorganization took place with the new municipal legislation of the canton of 1974. As a result, there was a reduction from 220 to 215 municipalities within ten years compared to a reduction of ten municipalities in over 120 years earlier.

The wave of mergers that began in Switzerland in the 1990s initially had no impact on the Canton of Graubünden. In 2000 there were still 212 municipalities, 35% of them with fewer than 200 inhabitants. The average community size was 875 inhabitants, a third of the total for Switzerland. The canton therefore decided to introduce various measures to accelerate the consolidation of the communities in Graubünden:

  • Community mergers are to be promoted with considerably larger financial grants in the future. Depending on the level of indebtedness of the parties involved, the size of the municipality and the amount of any lower cantonal contributions (e.g. from the financial equalization fund), these funding contributions can vary. In the mergers that have taken place since 2000, the amounts have mostly fluctuated in the seven-digit range.
  • Small communities that do not want to merge can - unlike in other cantons - be reduced in cantonal funding. For communities with less than 100 inhabitants, this can result in reductions of up to 50%. Indirectly, the new financial equalization (NFA / Bündner NFA) would have further increased the financial pressure on the smallest communities. However, after the NFA was rejected by the people, it is unclear to what extent the relaunch of the NFA in 2012 will affect the communities.
  • In principle, forced mergers are also possible. This is particularly the case if, in the case of a merger of several municipalities, only one of them refuses. However, the cantonal government takes the position that mergers can only be successful if they are supported from below. Therefore, this agent has never been used before.

This measure as well as existing problems of the many small Graubünden communities such as high debt, high community tax rate (often the maximum 130% of the cantonal tax rate permitted by the canton) and problems with the appointment of offices led to a large number of mergers. From 2000 to 2008 there was a reduction of nine municipalities, 13 municipalities disappeared on January 1, 2009 alone and ten more on January 1, 2010. With one to four parish mergers in the years 2010 to 2014, the number of mergers decreased somewhat, but more parishes were involved per merger, so that as of January 1, 2014, only 146 parishes were counted. On September 23, 2012, the electorate also approved a constitutional revision that provides for comprehensive territorial reform. The number of municipalities should “not significantly exceed 50”.

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In the canton of Jura , large-scale merger projects only started in the 21st century. As of January 1, 2009, seven merger projects were implemented. The dwarf community of Montfavergier decided on June 12, 2007 with 10 against 9 votes to join Montfaucon. The merger took effect on January 1, 2009. At the same time, the small communities Goumois JU and Les Pommerats merged with Saignelégier . There was another merger project in the Freiberge district and a total of four in the Pruntrut district.

Lucerne

The development of the number of municipalities in the area of ​​the canton's capital is of great importance in the canton of Lucerne : On June 17, 2007, the voters decided to merge the municipalities of Lucerne and Littau in 2010. This made Lucerne the seventh-largest city with almost 75,000 inhabitants Switzerland. Further mergers with the city of Lucerne were planned. In the long term, the merger of the agglomeration ( Emmen , Kriens , Adligenswil and Ebikon ) was intended to create a single municipality with around 180,000 inhabitants. Ebikon and Aligenswil finally rejected the project and in November 2012 Emmen and Kriens rejected the drafting of a merger agreement with 55% and 65% no votes in a historic referendum. On November 25, 2007, the voters of the Canton of Lucerne also refused to support the Lucerne-Littau merger with a contribution of CHF 20 million. Against the efforts to create a Greater Lucerne , the Verein Gegen GrossLuzern was formed at the beginning of 2008, which fights a “united urban region” by merging all agglomeration communities with the city of Lucerne.

Neuchâtel

In the canton of Neuchâtel , the population voted on June 17, 2007 on the merger of all eleven municipalities in the Val-de-Travers district . Since two municipalities spoke out against it, the merger did not materialize. On April 3, the local parliaments unanimously decided to merge. It was planned that the creation of the new municipality of Val-de-Travers would be supported by the canton with CHF 20 million. On February 24, 2008, the merger of the nine consenting municipalities (excluding La Côte-aux-Fées and Les Verrières) came about. It is the most extensive merger ever decided in Switzerland in rural areas.

St. Gallen

Municipalities in the canton of St. Gallen

The canton of St. Gallen has been promoting municipal mergers in 2007 with four post types. The aim is to remove obstacles such as B. to eliminate widely differing indebtedness. Since then, 23 political communities in the Linth area and Toggenburg have merged into ten larger communities.

The school communities , there was a decrease in inventories already in the 1970s. The reason for the abolition was often the merger of denominationally separated school communities that existed until the 1980s. Most of the disbanded school communities were incorporated into the political community to form a unified community. With the implementation of the Municipal Association Act in 2007, there was another wave of the formation of unified municipalities. While at the end of 2006 only 18 of 89 political municipalities were so-called unitary municipalities, in 2019 55 of the 77 political municipalities were.

The number of local civil parishes and corporations also decreased. At the beginning of the 21st century, over 20 local civil parishes were abolished for economic reasons, and the number of local corporations decreased significantly by around 30. The main reason was the desire to operate the water and electricity supply more economically.

Ticino

Development of the number of municipalities in the canton of Ticino and corresponding development of the size of the municipality

In October 2006, in Canton Ticino with Bignasco and Aquila , the number of held by the Grand Council to a forced merger communities on four rose.

The federal court called the no in the referendum of the municipality of Sala Capriasca (1999) a mere « consultative vote » and declared irrelevant.

In the merger Media Valle di Blenio (2002), the municipality of Dongio was forcibly merged. In April 2006, the Federal Supreme Court also ruled against the municipalities leading the objection in the Alta Blenio (5 municipalities, 2004) and Media Maggia (3 municipalities, 2002) merger projects . The forced integration of Aquila into the new municipality of Blenio and of Bignasco into the new municipality of Cevio is thus definitive (BGer judgments 1P.242 / 2005 and 1P.265 / 2005).

Against the forced merger of Muggio into the new municipality of Breggia decided by the cantonal parliament, this municipality has lodged a complaint with the federal court.

The municipality of Cadro , which rejected the merger with Lugano , was not forced to merge despite the fact that without Cadro the consenting municipality of Villa Luganese became an exclave. Achieving a contiguous territory would be one of the prerequisites for a forced merger under Ticino law.

Vaud

Development of the number of municipalities in the canton of Vaud since 1960, the wave of mergers in 2011/2012 stands out, corresponding development of municipality size

There have been isolated mergers in the canton of Vaud, but the dynamism in the canton of Friborg, for example, did not begin in Vaud for a long time. This was despite the fact that the canton, which at that time had almost 400 municipalities with around 700,000 inhabitants - 70% of the municipalities had fewer than 1,000 and 50% of the municipalities had fewer than 500 inhabitants - was organized on a small scale.

The legal prerequisites for a fundamental reform of the municipal structure were created on the one hand with the new cantonal constitution of 2003, on the other hand with the municipal merger law of 2004 based on it. Article 151 of the canton constitution stipulates that the canton must welcome municipal mergers and support them financially, but also that no merger may be carried out without the consent of the voting population of the municipalities involved. In addition, Articles 152 to 154 state that the initiative for municipal mergers can come from the affected municipalities, from a municipal association or from the canton itself.

The new legal situation brought more and more movement to the municipality of Vaud, as can be seen in the graphic on the right.

A wave of mergers on July 1, 2011 and January 1, 2012, where the number of parishes was reduced from 375 to 326 in six months, is particularly outstanding.

Zurich

At the beginning of November 2007, the government council of the Canton of Zurich presented the results of the "Territorial Reform" project and submitted 24 guidelines for reforming the municipal structures for consultation. The core idea is that the communities should be able to organize their core tasks independently. This is not the case for municipalities with less than 2,000 inhabitants, since they will find it difficult to find enough qualified members of the authorities and to finance large infrastructure projects in the long term. Efficient communities could "counteract the trend towards creeping centralization and the erosion of community autonomy". The focus of the planned territorial reform should be on the 34 least populous political communities with 1000 inhabitants and less. A new financial equalization scheme without structure-maintaining elements is intended to force small communities to merge.

Similar structural reforms are being sought in the school communities. If they have enough students they should join their political community to form a unified community. If they are too small, consider merging with neighboring school communities.

In the first statements by municipal authorities in the local press, the proposal met with a majority of rejection, because they wanted to maintain municipal autonomy and because pending problems are already being solved with special-purpose associations .

List of municipal mergers by cantons since 2000

Legally executed municipal mergers published in the Federal Gazette (since 2000) in accordance with the supplements to the official register of Swiss municipalities of the Federal Statistical Office:

Aargau

Kanton Aargau

In the canton of Aargau on January 1, 2002:

as of January 1, 2006:

as of January 1, 2010:

as of January 1, 2012:

as of January 1, 2013:

as of January 1, 2014:

as of January 1, 2018:

as of January 1, 2019:

as of January 1, 2020:

Bern

Canton Bern

In the canton of Bern have as of 1 January 2004:

as of January 1, 2007:

as of January 1, 2008:

as of January 1, 2009:

as of January 1, 2010:

as of January 1, 2011:

as of January 1, 2012:

as of January 1, 2013:

as of January 1, 2014:

as of January 1, 2015:

as of January 1, 2016:

as of January 1, 2017:

as of January 1, 2018:

as of January 1, 2019:

as of January 1, 2020:

Freiburg

Canton of Friborg

As of January 1, 2000, in the canton of Friborg :

as of January 1, 2001:

as of January 1, 2002:

as of January 1, 2003:

as of January 1, 2004:

as of January 1, 2005:

as of January 1, 2006:

as of January 1, 2011:

as of January 1, 2012:

as of January 1, 2013:

as of January 1, 2014:

as of January 1, 2016:

as of January 1, 2017:

as of January 1, 2020:

Glarus

Canton of Glarus

In the canton of Glarus have as of 1 January 2004:

as of July 1, 2006:

as of January 1, 2011 (as part of the Glarus community reform ):

Grisons

canton of Grisons

In the canton of Graubünden on January 1, 2002:

as of January 1, 2003:

  • the communities Donat and Patzen-Fardün merged to form the community Donat . The place name Donath became Donat , the place name Patzen zu Pazen and the place name Fardün became Farden .

as of January 1, 2006:

as of January 1, 2007:

as of January 1, 2008:

as of January 1, 2009:

as of January 1, 2010:

as of January 1, 2011:

as of January 1, 2012:

as of January 1, 2013:

as of January 1, 2014:

as of January 1, 2015:

as of January 1, 2016:

as of January 1, 2017:

as of January 1, 2018:

as of January 1, 2019:

as of January 1, 2020:

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Canton of Jura

In the canton of Jura have on 1 January 2009:

as of January 1, 2013:

as of January 1, 2018:

as of January 1, 2019:

Lucerne

Canton lucerne

In the canton of Lucerne on September 1, 2004:

as of January 1, 2005:

as of January 1, 2006:

as of January 1, 2007:

as of January 1, 2009:

as of January 1, 2010:

as of January 1, 2013:

as of January 1, 2020:

Neuchâtel

Canton of Neuchâtel

In the canton of Neuchâtel have on 1 January 2009:

as of January 1, 2013:

as of January 1, 2016:

as of January 1, 2018:

Schaffhausen

Canton of Schaffhausen

In the canton of Schaffhausen on January 1, 2004:

as of January 1, 2005:

as of January 1, 2009:

as of January 1, 2013:

Solothurn

Canton of Solothurn

In the canton of Solothurn on January 1, 2003:

as of January 1, 2006:

as of January 1, 2010:

as of January 1, 2011:

as of January 1, 2012:

as of January 1, 2013:

as of January 1, 2014:

St. Gallen

Canton of St. Gallen

In the canton of St. Gallen on January 1, 2005:

as of January 1, 2007:

as of January 1, 2009:

as of January 1, 2010:

as of January 1, 2013:

Ticino

Canton of Ticino

As of April 13, 2001, in the canton of Ticino :

as of October 18, 2001:

as of April 4, 2004:

as of March 13, 2005:

as of January 29, 2006:

  • the municipalities of Calonico , Chiggiogna , Faido and Rossura were merged to form the municipality of Faido. (Legally binding according to the “Announced changes since the 2005 changes notifications” - edition of May 16, 2006 published by the Federal Statistical Office). The municipalities Cavagnago (84 Ew.), Mairengo (513 Ew.), Calpiogna (43 Ew.), Campello (59 Ew.), Anzonico (106 Ew.), Sobrio (85 Ew.) And Osco (125 Ew.) rejected the merger - a forced merger in the foreseeable future cannot be ruled out, as some of the municipalities have hardly any resources. Some of them are completely dependent on the canton.

as of October 22, 2006:

  • the municipalities of Aquila , Campo (Blenio) , Ghirone , Olivone and Torre merged to form the new municipality of Blenio . The population of Aquila had rejected the merger. In April 2006, the Aquila municipality's complaint against the forced merger was rejected by the federal court .
  • the municipalities of Bignasco , Cavergno and Cevio merged to form the new municipality of Cevio. The people of Bignasco had rejected the merger. In April 2006, the Bignasco municipality's complaint against the forced merger was dismissed by the federal court.

as of April 20, 2008:

as of April 5, 2009:

as of October 25, 2009:

as of April 25, 2010:

as of November 21, 2010:

as of April 1, 2012:

as of April 14, 2013:

as of April 10, 2016:

as of April 2, 2017:

Vaud

Canton of Vaud

In the canton of Vaud on January 1, 2002:

as of January 1, 2003:

as of January 1, 2005:

as of July 1, 2006:

as of January 1, 2008:

as of January 1, 2009:

as of July 1, 2011:

as of January 1, 2012:

as of January 1, 2013:

as of July 1, 2016:

as of January 1, 2017:

Valais

Canton of Valais

In the canton of Valais on January 1, 1973:

as of October 1, 2000:

as of November 1, 2003:

as of October 1, 2004

as of January 1, 2009

as of January 1, 2011

as of January 1, 2013:

as of January 1, 2014:

as of January 1, 2017:

Zurich

Canton Zurich

In the canton of Zurich have on 1 January 2014:

as of January 1, 2015:

as of January 1, 2016:

as of January 1, 2018:

as of January 1, 2019:

List of announced mergers by canton

The following list contains all merger projects according to the supplements to the official register of Swiss municipalities of the Federal Statistical Office.

The following nomenclature applies:

  • Initial informal investigations for which a formal merger project has not yet been initiated are not included in the list of the Federal Office.
  • In clarification means that a merger project has been initialized and more detailed clarifications are ongoing. The entry in the list is optional (only if reported to the FSO)
  • Applied for means that preparations for the merger are in progress, but the vote or the decision of the municipalities is still pending. Such projects must be entered in the official list of the (including new name if known).
  • Resolved means that the merger has been approved, but approval at cantonal or federal level is still pending. A BFS community number is assigned , provided the new name is known.
  • Approved means that all procedures at canton and federal level have been completed, the publication in the Federal Gazette (municipality name) takes place and the entry in the official municipality register has been prepared.

Intercantonal mergers

Swiss Confederation

It is decided on an as yet unknown date:

  • the union of Clavaleyres (Canton Bern) and Murten (Canton Friborg) to form the municipality of Murten.

Aargau

Kanton Aargau

The following merger projects are ongoing in the canton of Aargau :

The following were decided on January 1, 2022:

In clarification on a not yet determined time is:

Appenzell Innerrhoden

Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden

The following merger project is ongoing in the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden :

Applied for a date that has not yet been determined:

Bern

Canton Bern

The following merger projects are ongoing in the canton of Bern :

The decision as of January 1, 2021 is:

Applied for as of January 1, 2021:

The application for January 1, 2022 is:

To be clarified on January 1, 2025:

Freiburg

Canton of Friborg

The following merger projects are ongoing in the canton of Friborg :

The following are decided on January 1, 2021:

To be clarified on January 1, 2022:

  • the amalgamation of the municipalities of Galmiz , Gempenach and Murten to form the municipality of Murten.

In clarification for a date that has not yet been determined are:

Grisons

canton of Grisons

The following merger projects are ongoing in the canton of Graubünden :

The decision on January 1, 2021 is:

  • the merger of the municipalities of Chur and Haldenstein to form the municipality of Chur.

In clarification for a date that has not yet been determined are:

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Canton of Jura

The following merger projects are ongoing in the canton of Jura :

The following is decided on January 1, 2023:

In clarification for a date that has not yet been determined are:

Lucerne

Canton lucerne

The following merger projects are ongoing in the canton of Lucerne :

Applied for a date that has not yet been determined:

  • the merger of the municipalities of Altwis and Hitzkirch to form the municipality of Hitzkirch.
  • the merger of the communities of Gettnau and Willisau to form the community of Willisau.

Neuchâtel

Canton of Neuchâtel

The following merger projects are ongoing in the canton of Neuchâtel :

The decision on January 1, 2021 is:

The application for January 1, 2021 is:

  • the merger of the municipalities of Les Brenets and Le Locle to form the municipality of Le Locle.

In clarification on a not yet determined time is:

Solothurn

Canton of Solothurn

The following merger projects are ongoing in the canton of Solothurn :

The decision on January 1, 2021 is:

  • the merger of the communities of Rohr and Stüsslingen to form the community of Stüsslingen.

The application for January 1, 2021 is:

St. Gallen

Canton of St. Gallen

The following merger project is ongoing in the canton of St. Gallen :

The following has been applied for at a time that has not yet been determined:

Ticino

Canton of Ticino

The following merger projects are ongoing in the canton of Ticino :

Approved on April 5, 2021:

Applied for a date that has not yet been determined:

In clarification for a date that has not yet been determined are:

Uri

Canton of Uri

The following merger project is currently underway in the canton of Uri :

Approved on January 1, 2021:

  • the merger of the communities of Bauen and Seedorf to form the community of Seedorf.

Vaud

Canton of Vaud

The following merger projects are currently underway in the canton of Vaud :

The decision on January 1, 2021 is:

  • the merger of the municipalities of Aubonne and Montherod to form the municipality of Aubonne.

The following are decided on July 1, 2021:

To be clarified by July 1, 2022:

In clarification for a date that has not yet been determined are:

Valais

Canton of Valais

The following merger projects are currently underway in the canton of Valais :

The following are decided on January 1, 2021:

Zurich

Canton Zurich

The following merger project is currently underway in the canton of Zurich :

In clarification for a date that has not yet been determined are:

List of failed mergers

Intercantonal mergers

Swiss Confederation

Mergers between municipalities in different cantons are also rarely considered. So far, however, they have all fizzled out.

  • the unification of Meierskappel (canton Lucerne) and Risch (canton Zug) failed because of the no of the Rischer and the resistance of the canton of Lucerne.
  • the unification of Pfeffikon (Canton Lucerne) and Reinach (Canton Aargau) was also not pursued.

Aargau

Kanton Aargau

Was rejected

Bern

Canton Bern

Was rejected

Freiburg

Canton of Friborg

Was rejected

Grisons

canton of Grisons
  • The planned amalgamation of all the communities in the Surses district in Oberhalbstein in Graubünden , which with an area of ​​325 square kilometers would have become the largest community in Switzerland, failed due to popular will. It was rejected at five out of nine ward meetings on March 10, 2006. Only in Bivio , Mulegns , Riom-Parsonz and Savognin did the proposal find a majority. The strongest supporter community was Savognin with an 86% yes share. Although the largest community very clearly agreed, the quorum of 85 percent in the population of Oberhalbstein was clearly missed. It was planned to merge the communities of Bivio, Cunter , Marmorera , Mulegns, Riom-Parsonz, Salouf , Savognin, Sur and Tinizong-Rona under the name of Surses . The Graubünden government had strongly advocated the first-time merger of an entire district and would have supported the merged municipality with a "merger gift" of 9.25 million francs from the cantonal treasury.
  • On February 24, 2008, the large community of Domleschg failed , which would have included the entire Domleschg district with twelve communities. In 2006 five municipalities had already spoken out against a major merger.
  • Talks about a merger of the municipalities in the Albula valley initially remained concrete results, which ultimately led to the merger of the municipality of Wiesen with the Davos region and, six years later, to the merger of the municipalities of Alvaneu , Alvaschein , Brienz / Brinzauls , Mon , Stierva , Surava and Tiefencastel into a joint Albula / Alvra municipality.
  • The merger of the communities of Andiast , Waltensburg / Vuorz and Breil / Brigels is reported as rejected.
  • The planned merger of the parishes of Guarda , Lavin , Susch and Zernez to form the parish of Zernez did not materialize after the parish meetings of Guarda and Zernez on June 22, 2012 narrowly rejected it.
  • The merger of the municipalities of Hinterrhein , Nufenen , Splügen and Sufers to form the municipality of Rheinwald failed in 2016.

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Canton of Jura

Lucerne

Canton lucerne

The following merger projects failed in the canton of Lucerne :

  • In 2003 the amalgamation of the communities of Malters , Werthenstein and Wolhusen did not materialize.
  • Neudorf rejected the merger with Beromünster and Gunzwil .
  • On May 21, 2006, the merger of the 10 communities of Aesch , Altwis , Ermensee , Gelfingen , Hämikon , Hitzkirch , Mosen , Müswangen , Retschwil , Schongau , Sulz to form a community called Hitzkirch was rejected by the voters. Without Schongau, Altwis and Ermensee, the merger came about on November 25, 2007.
  • In November 2006 the unification of Egolzwil and Wauwil to Egolzwil-Wauwil , which was planned for the beginning of 2008, failed due to the resistance of the voters of Egolzwil.
  • On June 13, 2010, the voters rejected the merger of Entlebuch , Flühli , Hasle and Schüpfheim to form the Entlebuch municipality.
  • In June 2011, the merger project between Beromünster , Neudorf , Pfeffikon and Rickenbach was canceled by the Beromünster municipal council due to concerns about the financial consequences. Two mergers of two (Beromünster / Neudorf and Pfeffikon / Rickenbach) were accepted by the voters on March 11, 2012.
  • On January 19, 2012, the investigation project in Geuensee , Knutwil , Mauensee and Sursee was canceled by the community executives.
  • Another attempt to unite Egolzwil and Wauwil to form the municipality of Wauwil-Egolzwil was canceled in 2015.

Neuchâtel

Canton of Neuchâtel

Schaffhausen

Canton of Schaffhausen
  • In the canton of Schaffhausen, the planned constitutional amendment to merge the 34 municipalities into 7 unified municipalities with the sh. Auf project failed as early as the consultation in spring 2005 due to the clearly negative reaction of the municipal councils.
  • In the SWUK project (Association for Structural and Economic Development Unterer Klettgau ), to which the five municipalities of Hallau , Neunkirch , Oberhallau , Trasadingen and Wilchingen in the Unterer Klettgau district were selected, Hallau and Unterhallau withdrew from the project in 2005 due to negative municipal assembly resolutions back.
  • The remaining three municipalities were reorganized in the Chläggi merger project , which was to be voted on on April 9, 2008 at the three municipal assemblies. On February 27, 2008, however, the municipal councils of the three municipalities recommended that the population reject the merger project in newspaper advertisements.
  • The merger of the municipalities of Büttenhardt , Lohn and Stetten to form the planned municipality of "Oberer Reiat" failed in 2018.

Solothurn

Canton of Solothurn

The following mergers have been rejected in the canton of Solothurn:

St. Gallen

Canton of St. Gallen

The ballot box failed in the canton of St. Gallen

Ticino

Canton of Ticino

The following were rejected:

  • The merger of Origlio and Ponte Capriasca to form the municipality of Ponte Origlio.
  • The “Associazione ticinese per l'autonomia dei Comuni” (ATAC) leads the failure of the planned mergers “Terre di Pedemonte” (3 municipalities, 2002), “Comune Nuovo” (3 municipalities, 2004), “Grande Verzasca” (9 municipalities , 2004), “Medio Malcantone” (5 parishes, 2004), and “ Media Leventina ” (11 parishes, 2004) allude to popular resistance. The latter project was reissued.
  • On September 30, 2007 the voters of the municipality of Cadro rejected the incorporation into the city of Lugano with 585 against 542 votes. Therefore, the consenting Villa Luganese has become an exclave of the city of Lugano with the incorporation.
  • On November 25, 2007 a merger proposal failed in the municipalities of Chiasso , Morbio Inferiore and Vacallo .
  • Fusion of the municipality of Faido , merged with Rossura , Chiggiogna and Calonico , also with the municipalities of Cavagnago , Mairengo , Calpiogna , Campello , Osco , Anzonico and Sobrio . The latter had previously refused - but some of them are under compulsory administration by the canton; the merger of all these is to be expected.
  • The merger of Giubiasco and Pianezzo to form the municipality of Giubiasco, applied for on April 1, 2012, was rejected.
  • The planned merger between Manno and Alto Malcantone to form the municipality of Manno was rejected in the first half of 2011.
  • The merger of Pollegio , Biasca and Iragna to form the municipality of Biasca was approved by Biasca in the consultative vote on June 5, 2011, but rejected by Iragna and Pollegio. So the project failed.
  • In the referendum on September 24, 2011, a merger of the municipalities of Locarno , Muralto , Minusio , Orselina , Brione sopra Minusio , Mergoscia and Tenero-Contra fails . Only in Locarno itself and in Mergoscia, which is not spatially adjacent to Locarno, was there an approving majority.
  • The merger of Ascona , Brissago , Losone and Ronco sopra Ascona was rejected.
  • The merger of Brione (Verzasca) , Corippo , Frasco (the field Lavertezzo Valle of the community Lavertezzo ) Sonogno , Vogorno (the area Gerra Valle the municipality Cugnasco-Gerra ) to the municipality Verzasca was rejected 2016th
  • The merger of Aranno , Bioggio and Cademario to form the municipality of Bioggio was rejected in 2016.
  • The merger of Muzzano and Collina d'Oro to form the municipality of Collina d'Oro was rejected in 2019.

Thurgau

Canton of Thurgau

Was rejected:

  • the amalgamation of the communities of Romanshorn and Salmsach to form the community of Romanshorn by the voters of Salmsach.

Vaud

Canton of Vaud

The following merger projects were rejected:

Valais

Canton of Valais

The following merger project was rejected:

Zurich

Canton Zurich

The following attempts have failed:

See also

literature

  • Ursin Fetz, Daniel Bühler: Guide to church mergers . HTW, Chur 2005, ISBN 3-9522147-1-X .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Community mergers - the saving effect does not materialize , NZZ, March 14, 2017
  2. ↑ Reto Steiner: In 155 years 361 fewer parishes - parish mergers are no longer taboo in Switzerland. In: New Public Management. University of Bern, June 2003, archived from the original on May 4, 2014 ; Retrieved December 28, 2012 .
  3. ↑ Fabian Schäfer: Forced amalgamation of Bern communities is possible. Berner Zeitung, August 14, 2010, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  4. ↑ Aargauer Zeitung of February 21, 2008 .
  5. ↑ Amendment of the canton's constitution and the municipal law - additional impetus for municipal mergers. Justice, Community and Church Directorate of the Canton of Bern, August 13, 2010, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  6. ↑ Graubünden municipalities after 2000. (PDF; 279 kB) In: GInfo. Canton of Graubünden, 2000, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  7. ^ Municipal and territorial reform. Canton of Graubünden, November 27, 2012, archived from the original on November 14, 2012 ; Retrieved December 28, 2012 .
  8. ↑ a b c d Number of municipalities. On the website of the canton of St. Gallen, May 17, 2019
  9. ^ Canton de Vaud, Fusions de communes , accessed December 31, 2011.
  10. ↑ canton constitution. (PDF) Canton of Vaud, 2003, accessed on December 31, 2011 (French).
  11. ^ Loi sur les fusions de communes. (PDF) Canton of Vaud, 2004, accessed on December 31, 2011 (French).
  12. ↑ New Bülacher Tagblatt from November 10, 2007.
  13. ↑ Zürichsee-Zeitung , left bank, from November 9, 2007.
  14. ↑ a b c d e f g h Notification of changes in 2009. In: Official municipality directory of Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, January 9, 2013, archived from the original on January 8, 2017 ; accessed on January 8, 2017 .
  15. ↑ a b c d e f g Changes notifications 2011. In: Official municipality register of Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, December 2011, archived from the original on January 8, 2017 ; accessed on January 8, 2017 .
  16. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m notifications of changes in 2012. In: Official municipality register of Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, December 11, 2012, archived from the original on January 8, 2017 ; accessed on January 8, 2017 .
  17. ↑ a b c d e f g h Notification of changes in 2013. In: Official municipality register of Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, December 12, 2013, archived from the original on January 8, 2017 ; accessed on January 8, 2017 .
  18. ↑ a b c d e f Change notifications 2018. In: Official municipality register of Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, December 13, 2017, accessed on December 31, 2017 .
  19. ↑ a b c d e f Changes announced in 2019. In: Official register of municipalities in Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, December 18, 2018, accessed on January 1, 2019 .
  20. ↑ a b c d e Changes announced in 2020. In: Official register of municipalities in Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, December 18, 2019, accessed on January 1, 2020 .
  21. ↑ a b c d Change notifications 2006. In: Official municipality register of Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, December 17, 2014, archived from the original on January 8, 2017 ; accessed on January 8, 2017 .
  22. ↑ a b c Mutation reports 2007. In: Official municipality directory of Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, January 9, 2013, archived from the original on January 8, 2017 ; accessed on January 8, 2017 .
  23. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Change notifications 2008. In: Official municipality register of Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, January 9, 2013, archived from the original on January 8, 2017 ; accessed on January 8, 2017 .
  24. ↑ a b c d e f g Changes notifications 2010. In: Official municipality directory of Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, December 16, 2010, archived from the original on January 8, 2017 ; accessed on January 8, 2017 .
  25. ↑ a b c Changes notifications 2014. In: Official municipality register of Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, December 17, 2014, archived from the original on January 8, 2017 ; accessed on January 8, 2017 .
  26. ↑ a b c d e Notification of changes in 2015. In: Official municipality directory of Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, December 17, 2015, archived from the original on January 8, 2017 ; accessed on January 8, 2017 .
  27. ↑ a b c d e f g Changes notifications 2016. In: Official municipality register of Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, December 21, 2016, accessed on January 8, 2017 .
  28. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Changes announced in 2020. In: Official municipality register of Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, March 19, 2020, accessed on June 11, 2020 .
  29. ↑ The merger of Clavaleyres and Murten is an important step on the long way. In: Freiburger Nachrichten . Freiburger Nachrichten, January 15, 2015, accessed on January 2, 2016 .
  30. ^ "Only" eight municipalities merge in the Zurzibiet. Swiss Radio and Television , September 8, 2019, accessed on December 4, 2019 .
  31. ↑ Marco Fischer: Community merger Böztal receives a yes in all four communities. Aargauer Zeitung , November 24, 2019, accessed on December 4, 2019 .
  32. ^ AGR employee: Merger projects in the canton of Bern (PDF; 294 kB) (as of June 30, 2017). Office for Municipalities and Regional Planning of the Canton of Bern , June 30, 2017, p. 12 , accessed on September 14, 2017 .
  33. ^ Deux communes sur sept disent non. Radui Jura bernois, September 24, 2017, accessed September 26, 2017 (French).
  34. ↑ La nouvelle commune s'appellera commune de Noble-Contrée. Noble-Contrée fusion website, 2018, accessed December 14, 2018 (French).
  35. ↑ Hubert Keller: Why Baden Neuenhof did not want - the analysis. Aargauer Zeitung, September 14, 2010, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  36. ↑ Peter Belart: Frustration in the upper Fricktal. Aargauer Zeitung , November 30, 2009, accessed on June 9, 2019 .
  37. ↑ Three municipalities agree - only Stein sends the merger bachab. Aargauer Zeitung, September 18, 2015, accessed on January 2, 2016 .
  38. ↑ Helene Soltermann, Luzia Probst: Intercantonal fusion would be a premiere. Berner Zeitung, May 12, 2011, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  39. ↑ Big community merger in Bern is shipwrecked. news.ch, June 1, 2008, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  40. ↑ Stefan von Bergen: How narrow borders does home need? Berner Zeitung, March 6, 2010, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  41. ^ Application for the merger into two communities in the Zulgtal. Berner Zeitung, December 9, 2010, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  42. ↑ Fusion project on Tessenberg plateau failed. Berner Zeitung, March 12, 2012, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  43. ^ Renate Bühler: Rejection for fusion in the former Laupenamt. Der Bund, January 31, 2012, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  44. ↑ Intercommunal working group Rüti, Arch and Leuzigen. Municipalities of Rüti, Arch, Leuzigen, archived from the original on June 16, 2013 ; Retrieved March 4, 2013 .
  45. ↑ Municipal ballot box on November 24, 2013. (PDF; 137 kB) Rüti near Büren, November 24, 2013, accessed on November 25, 2013 .
  46. ↑ The ballot box on Sunday, November 24, 2013. Community of Arch, November 24, 2013, accessed on November 25, 2013 .
  47. ↑ Leuzigen municipality. Leuzigen community, November 24, 2013, accessed on November 25, 2013 .
  48. ^ Community assembly says "yes, but" to the merger. Bieler Tagblatt, May 25, 2012, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  49. ^ Projet de fusion Haut de la Vallée de Tavannes. Fusion HVT, archived from the original on March 23, 2013 ; Retrieved March 4, 2013 .
  50. ^ Merger Trois-Rivières. Trois-Rivières merger, archived from the original on February 21, 2014 ; accessed on February 10, 2014 .
  51. ^ Historique du projet BVT. (No longer available online.) Projet de fusion Bas de la Vallée de Tavennes, December 13, 2012, formerly in the original ; Retrieved December 28, 2012 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.fusion-bvt.ch
  52. ↑ Valbirse: la votation aura lieu en septembre. Radio Jura Bernois, February 15, 2013, accessed March 4, 2013 .
  53. ↑ Valbirse échoue. Radio Jura Bernois, September 22, 2013, accessed on September 22, 2013 .
  54. ↑ A massive no from Gerzensee gives neighbors something to think about. Berner Zeitung, December 1, 2014, accessed on September 10, 2015 .
  55. ↑ a b Changes announced in 2017. In: Official register of municipalities in Switzerland . Federal Statistical Office, December 13, 2017, accessed on December 31, 2017 .
  56. ↑ Merger investigations in Oberaargau Nord will not be continued. (PDF) Merger Investigation Oberaargau Nord, September 24, 2017, accessed on September 26, 2017 .
  57. ^ The Andiast-Breil / Brigels-Waltensburg / Vuorz merger project does not come about. Office for municipalities of the canton of Graubünden, January 23, 2012, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  58. ↑ Guarda-Lavin-Susch and Zernez do not merge! Office for municipalities in the canton of Graubünden, June 22, 2012, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  59. ↑ Vote G4: Entlebuch, Flühli and Hasle reject the merger. presseportal.ch, June 13, 2010, archived from the original on May 4, 2014 ; Retrieved December 28, 2012 .
  60. ↑ Beromünster breaks the merger. Neue Luzerner Zeitung, June 15, 2011, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  61. ↑ Fusion Sursee: Project is canceled. Neue Luzerner Zeitung, January 20, 2012, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  62. ↑ Wauwil rejects the merger with Egolzwil. Neue Luzerner Zeitung, August 25, 2015, accessed on March 27, 2016 .
  63. ^ Echec de la fusion de trois communes neuchâteloises. romandie.com, May 15, 2011, accessed December 28, 2012 .
  64. ↑ Results. Entre deux lacs, June 6, 2016, archived from the original on September 18, 2016 ; Retrieved September 19, 2016 (French).
  65. ^ No merger in the upper Reiat between Stetten, Büttenhardt and Lohn. Schaffhauser Nachrichten, September 18, 2018, accessed on May 5, 2019 .
  66. ↑ Federal Supreme Court: BGE 27 I 324 (PDF; 400 kB) Retrieved on March 27, 2015.
  67. ^ Charles Studer: The story of Kammersrohr . Residential community Kammersrohr, Kammersrohr 1981, p. 38-42 .
  68. ↑ Susi Reinhart: Fusion: Günsberg does not want. Berner Zeitung, June 17, 2009, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  69. ^ Community merger in the Olten region failed: City of Olten does not want a merger. Solothurner Zeitung, June 17, 2012, accessed on December 28, 2012 .
  70. ↑ The merger has failed - Solothurn and Zuchwil both say no. Solothurner Zeitung, February 29, 2016, accessed on March 27, 2016 .
  71. ↑ Abbandono del progetto di Aggregazione tra i Comuni di Biasca, Iragna e Pollegio. (PDF; 124 kB) Canton Ticino, June 17, 2009, accessed on July 12, 2011 (Italian).
  72. ^ Salmsacher against merger with Romanshorn. Thurgauer Zeitung, November 24, 2013, accessed on November 27, 2013 .
  73. ↑ Le projet de fusion du Mont-Aubert ne se réalisera pas. 24 heures, December 20, 2011, accessed December 28, 2012 (French).
  74. ↑ The large Visp merger fails. Walliser Bote, February 13, 2011, archived from the original on May 4, 2014 ; Retrieved December 28, 2012 .
  75. ^ Community merger Andelfingen - Kleinandelfingen postponed. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, November 22, 2002, accessed December 28, 2012 .
  76. ↑ Flaachtaler fusion project fails. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, September 22, 2013, accessed on September 22, 2013 .