Gossau village
| Gossau village | ||
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| State : |
 Switzerland
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| Canton : |
 Zurich (ZH)
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| District : | Hinwil | |
| Political community : | Gossau ZH | |
| Postal code : | 8625 | |
| former BFS no. : | 0115 | |
| Coordinates : | 698 387 / 239 328 | |
| Height : | 550 m above sea level M. | |
| Residents: | 4600 | |
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Proportion of foreigners : (residents without citizenship ) |
14.4% (December 31, 2018) | |
 Gossau village |
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In terms of population, Gossau-Dorf is the largest watchdog in the municipality of Gossau ( Hinwil district ) in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland. Since 1789 it has also been the seat of the municipal authorities, i.e. the church, school and political authorities.
Coat of arms of Gossau-Dorf
The silver ball with a yellow ribbon on a black background goes back to a noble family, namely the coat of arms of the Schmied family from Wetzikon . Offshoots of this sex are attested from 1204 in Zurich and have since provided mayors, councilors and governors. From 1627 the Schmieds appear as owners of the castle and manor in Kempten (Wetzikon), which means that they also come into the possession of the Helfereipfrund Gossau (the assistant pastors lived in a helper). In this way, members of the family feel at home in Gossau and in the 17th century even rose to become the village's elite.
geography
The center of Gossau-Dorf with the church , known as the «mountain», lies on a large drumlin that drops steeply to the south and borders the Gossauer Riet. To the north, the moraine hill from the last ice age tapers off flat, then merges into another drumlin.
history
middle Ages
The earliest mention of Gossau-Dorf by name, «cozeshouva», can be found in a document that testifies to the existence of a first church in 777. This suggests that the area was completely Christianized in the 8th century and that Gossau-Dorf was a settlement that was given greater importance. The farmers of Cozeshouva were serfs of the St. Gallen monastery , to which the Alemannic Beata Landolt clan had bequeathed the farm. They had enough leasehold land to operate a profitable agriculture. In the course of the Middle Ages and early modern times they were able to achieve a certain level of prosperity thanks to the three-field economy . With this cultivation system, the farmers cultivated their fields together, which was beneficial for the development of a village community. The economic strength of Gossau-Dorf led to the settlement of famous businesses such as taverns , mills, butcher shops, etc. The owners of these businesses had a monopoly position, which often helped them to achieve relative wealth and a privileged position in the village.
Modern times
- 18th and 19th centuries
Towards the end of the 18th century, the farmers in Gossau-Dorf also switched to dairy farming, which from then on was the most important mainstay. The sunny location of their village also allowed them to plant grapevines, a lucrative sideline. Over time, the vineyards and areas became so numerous that the place was considered a winegrowing village in the 19th century. However, viticulture only flourished for a short time: with the construction of the railroad in the middle of the 19th century, better quality wines could be imported at lower prices. In addition, pests like phylloxera could not be brought under control.
During industrialization in the early 19th century, small textile factories were set up in Gossau-Dorf alongside the widespread home work. They were often founded by Ferggern who had previously made considerable fortunes as middlemen between cloth merchants and homeworkers and who had risen to become members of the village elite. A new social structure was created in Gossau-Dorf: the farmers and traders were joined by a middle-class, wealthy stratum and a working class who found their livelihood in the cotton factories. Prosperity continued until the middle of the 19th century, but then Gossau-Dorf lost the connection: The large textile factories in the neighboring communities of Wetzikon and Uster put an end to the local small businesses, and the framework conditions were too poor for such large businesses to settle in the village . Homeworkers and factory workers who lost their previously secure livelihoods emigrated, resulting in a long period of economic decline.
In the midst of the political turmoil of the post-Helvetic era, a drama took place on the Gossauer Berg in 1820, which triggered horror and a great wave of solidarity throughout Switzerland. The village church from 1440 was replaced that year by a larger, classical style church - today's church. In order to save money, the municipal authorities turned the construction management over to an inexperienced volunteer commission instead of a professional builder. After ten weeks of construction, the topping-out ceremony was celebrated on June 22, 1820, with around 700 visitors jostling for the roof structure, which was only temporarily attached. The weight of the many people was too much for the beams: they broke and people fell into the depths of the nave. 25 of them were killed and over 300 injured.
- 20th century
With the amelioration of the large-scale Gossau reeds, which in 1941 as part of the growing battle in World War II was made, the landscape around Gossau village changed greatly. The gain in additional acreage was associated with the loss of a magnificent natural oasis. In the post-war period, Gossau-Dorf slowly recovered. The boom in the 1960s gave him a real growth spurt: It was not only up in economic terms, but also in terms of population. New commercial enterprises, later also service companies, settled here. Here Gossau-Dorf has the advantage that there is enough space available for new company buildings in its periphery to the flat Riet. Today the Gossau village is not only the dominant watch of the community in terms of population (4,500 inhabitants), but also economically.
Attractions
economy
The economic dominance of the Wacht is particularly evident from the fact that the Gossau industrial zone is located in Gossau-Dorf. A respectable collection of small and medium-sized enterprises - so-called SMEs - has settled here for years. Among other things, a company for measurement technology that moved from Zurich to Gossau in the 1970s. Space became tight in Zurich and the low land prices in Gossau attracted the company.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Data on the resident population by home, gender and age (community profile). Statistical Office of the Canton of Zurich, accessed on December 22, 2019 .
- ^ Galliker, Hans-Rudolf and Binder, Thomas-Peter. Gossau - From bitter poverty to popular place of residence. Gossau 2014.
- ↑ In the municipality of Gossaus there are no watercourses that offer enough slopes to drive several 100 spinning machines in large factories.
- ^ Hansruedi Galliker, Thomas-Peter Binder: Gossau - From bitter poverty to a popular place of residence. Gossau 2014.