Isenthal

Isenthal
State :	Switzerland
Canton :	Uri (UR)
District :	No district division
BFS no. :	1211
Postal code :	6461
Coordinates :	685 638  /  196137 coordinates: 46 ° 54 '39 "  N , 8 ° 33' 46"  O ; CH1903:  six hundred and eighty-five thousand six hundred and thirty-eight  /  196137
Height :	771  m above sea level M.
Height range :	434–2950 m above sea level M.
Area :	60.97  km²
Residents:	483 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	8 inhabitants per km²
Proportion of foreigners : (residents without citizenship )	1.2% (December 31, 2,014)
Mayor :	Erich Infanger
Website:	www.isenthal.ch
Isenthal village entrance
Location of the municipality

Isenthal is a municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland .

geography

Isenthal is located on the west side of Lake Uri in a secluded, wooded side valley, through which the Isenthalerbach flows, at 780  m . The village is surrounded by high mountains, where the Isental (in contrast to the village written without an H) divides into the Gross- and Kleintal (Chlital) with the Chlitalerbach. The Isenthalerbach finally flows through the narrow gorge down to Lake Uri.

From the small settlement of Isleten , which belongs to the neighboring municipality of Bauen , at the entrance to the Isental, a narrow, winding road leads up into the inner valley to the Isenthal village. The highest village in the municipality of Isenthal is on the Alp Gitschenen .

Only 35 hectares or 0.6% of the municipality is settlement area. Of this, 20 hectares are buildings, 2 hectares are industrial areas and 12 hectares are used for traffic. The agricultural area is more extensive with 1702 ha or a share of 27.9%. Among them are large alpine areas. These cover an area of ​​1352 ha. In contrast, there are only 350 ha of meadow and arable land. In addition, 1598 hectares or 26.2% are covered by forest and wood. Unproductive area comprises almost half of the municipal area, more precisely 2764 ha or 45.3%. It concerns almost exclusively areas without vegetation (high mountains) or areas with unproductive vegetation (high alpine vegetation).

Isenthal borders in the west on the Nidwalden community of Wolfenschiessen , in the northwest on the Nidwalden Beckenried , in the north on Emmetten (canton Nidwalden), Seelisberg and Bauen, in the east on Lake Lucerne and Seedorf and in the south on Attinghausen and the Obwalden community Engelberg .

population

Population development

In the slightly more than a hundred years between 1743 and 1850, the population grew strongly (1743-1850: +185.2%). The first wave of emigration occurred in the 1850s (1850–1860: −12.9%). But this was more than made up for in the following two decades (1860–1880: + 36.4%). The number of residents remained stable until 1900. Another wave of emigration followed in the first decade of the 20th century (1900–1910: −12.9%). After ten years without changes, a new small growth spurt set in between 1920 and 1970 (1920–1970: + 9.6%). A third wave of emigration between 1970 and 1990 meant that the population in 1990 was the same as in 1850. In the 1990s there was a slight immigration, but the number of residents has stagnated again since 2000.

Population development
year	Residents
1743	176
1799	360
1850	502
1860	437
1880	596
1900	595
1910	518
1920	520
1950	550
1970	570
1980	535
1990	505
2000	539
2005	538
2010	524
2015	512

languages

The population speaks a high Alemannic dialect, the Nidwalden dialect, as the valley was settled from Nidwalden . At that time there was no access to the Urner Valley. Almost the entire population speaks German as the everyday language. In the last census in 2000, 99.26% said German, two people (0.37%) Polish and one (0.19%) French as their main language.

Religions - denominations

The population used to be fully members of the Roman Catholic Church. The denominational relationships in 2000 still show the original structure. 532 people were Catholic (98.70%). There were also 0.19% Evangelical Reformed Christians and non-denominational Christians, i.e. one person each. Five people (0.93%) did not provide any information on their creed.

Origin - nationality

Of the 538 residents at the end of 2005, 538 (100%) were Swiss citizens. The few immigrants come from Poland and Sri Lanka. At the 2000 census, 538 people (99.81%) were Swiss citizens, one of whom had dual citizenship.

age structure

The community has a high proportion of younger residents. The proportion of people under 20 years of age of 34.32% of the local population is significantly higher than the proportion of people of senior age (60 years and older; 19.48%). The small proportion of young adults (20–29 years) is striking.

The last census in 2000 showed the following age structure:

Age	0–6 years	7-15 years	16-19 years	20-29 years	30–44 years	45–59 years	60–79 years	80 years and more
number	69	88	28	57	111	81	87	18th
proportion of	12.80%	16.33%	5.19%	10.58%	20.59%	15.03%	16.14%	3.34%

politics

legislative branch

The municipal assembly forms the legislature.

executive

The seven-member municipal council forms the executive . He works part-time. The current mayor is Erich Infanger (as of 2019).

economy

In 2005 there were 47 farms offering 116 jobs. Industry and commerce employed 22 people in 6 workplaces, the service sector in 17 companies 71 people (employment converted to full-time positions). The 2000 census showed 51 agricultural and forestry enterprises with 117 employees. The 2001 business census came to 6 industrial and commercial enterprises with 16 and 18 service companies with 64 employees. Of Isenthal's 242 gainfully employed people in 2000, 123 (50.83%) worked in their own community. In total, the place offered jobs to 152 people, of whom 123 (80.92%) were locals.

Most of the 119 commuters do their work in other municipalities in the canton of Uri. Including 55 people in Altdorf, 18 in Schattdorf, 9 each in Erstfeld and Bürglen, 5 in Seedorf, 4 in Attinghausen and 3 in Flüelen. The only significant place of work outside of the canton was the Nidwalden main town of Stans with five people. There were only 29 commuters. These came mainly from Schattdorf (7 people), Bürglen (5), Seedorf (4), Altdorf (3), Flüelen (2) and Attinghausen (1).

In 1955 the Isenthal power plant was built, with which the water collected in the village of Isenthal is used in a machine house on Lake Uri near the village of Bolzbach.

Place name

The name of the valley is first mentioned in 1280 as Yseltal . The place name Isenthal has been found since 1483. The name means valley near the Isleten .

Older interpretations explained the name as an Old High German loan word Insela (island or peninsula, the valley behind the island) from Romanic or as a derivative of the iron ore extracted earlier, popularly called Isen .

coat of arms

Until 1901, Isenthal could only be reached by land from Seedorf, Bauen and Isleten or on foot from Nidwalden . The first residents are said to have used a ladder to climb the steep cliffs that rise above Lake Uri . The Isenthal coat of arms still testifies to this today: a white, three-branched ladder on a red background.

history

The Grosstal near St. Jakob

Berggasthof Biwaldalp on the mountain hiking trail up to Uri-Rotstock

Field names suggest that Isenthal was settled between the 5th and 9th centuries. The first inhabitants were probably hunters and shepherds who climbed steep paths into this wild high valley, or who populated the valley from above, i.e. from Nidwalden.

Forest has always been the richest soil in the Isental and, together with alpine farming and livestock farming, was one of the main sources of income. Isenthal experienced an economic boom at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. Century, when Hans Jakob Madran began to mine iron ore in the Kleintal. For the history of the industrial site Isleten see there.

In 1901 the Isleten – Isenthal road was built. The connection to the rest of the canton was then made by sea from Isleten. With the construction of the Isleten – Seedorf road in 1951, Isenthal could be reached for the first time by land with vehicles.

Isenthal's sponsor communities are Hergiswil and Zug .

Culture

In 1988, Isenthal was the location for the filming of Urs Odermatt's film Gekauftes Glück .

Attractions

See also : List of cultural assets in Isenthal

In 1820, the last bear roaming in the canton of Uri was shot in Isenthal. Two bear paws hung as trophies in front of the house of the former rifleman, today they are on display across from the post office. Tourists learn everything there is to know about successful hunting on the Isenthaler Bärenweg .

trips

Isenthal is the starting point for many hikes and mountain climbs. One of the most attractive mountain tours leads to the striking Uri Rotstock ( 2928  m above sea level ). From the summit you have a magnificent panoramic view of the Alps and pre-Alps .

literature

• Helmi Gasser : The art monuments of the canton Uri, Volume 2: The lakeside communities. Edited by the Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 1986 (Art Monuments of Switzerland Volume 78). ISBN 3-7643-1811-2 . Pp. 269-316.
• Josef Schuler: "Isenthal - Village Renewal - A Generational Work", 1999, published by the culture commission of the Isenthal community. Reference: Municipal Office, 6461 Isenthal.
• Michael Walker: "Isenthal in the course of time 1840-1990", 1991, published by the community of Isenthal, Gasser Druck, Erstfeld. Reference: Municipal Office, 6461 Isenthal.
• Ernst Püntener among others: "Naturkundlicher Höhenweg Isenthal", 2001, publisher. Working group Naturkundliche Höhenwege Uri, Altdorf. Reference: Municipal Office, 6461 Isenthal.
• Eva-Maria Müller: "The Gitschenen Experience - Guide to an Alp in the Urner Mountains", 2006, Ed. Beatrice Herger, Gasthaus Gitschenen. Reference: Municipal Office, 6461 Isenthal.

Web links

Commons : Isenthal  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the municipality of Isenthal
• Hans Stadler: Isenthal. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Website of the Isenthal Culture Commission

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Permanent and non-permanent resident population by year, canton, district, municipality, population type and gender (permanent resident population). In: bfs. admin.ch . Federal Statistical Office (FSO), August 31, 2019, accessed on December 22, 2019 . 
2. ↑ https://www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch/Selection.aspx?px_language=de&px_db=px-x-0102020000_201&px_tableid=px-x-0102020000_201\px-x-0102020000_201.px&px_type=PX
3. ↑ Power plants of the Altdorf power station
4. ↑ Isenthal on the ortsnames.ch server