Obergösgen

Obergösgen

State :	Switzerland Switzerland
Canton :	Canton of Solothurn Solothurn (SO)
District :	Gösgenw
BFS no. :	2497i1 f3 f4
Postal code :	4653
UN / LOCODE :	CH OGN
Coordinates :	638 837 / 246330 coordinates: 47 ° 22 '0 " N , 7 ° 57' 10" O ; CH1903: 638 837 / 24633047.366666 7.952781 390
Height :	390 m above sea level M.
Height range :	375–453 m above sea level M.
Area :	3.63 km²
Residents:	2206 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	608 inhabitants per km²
Website:	www.obergoesgen.ch
Obergösgen church and in the background the cooling tower of the Gösgen nuclear power plant
Location of the municipality
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Obergösgen is a municipality in the district of Gösgen in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland .

geography

Aerial photo (1970)

Obergösgen lies at 390 m above sea level. M. , between Olten and Aarau , 4 km east-northeast of the city of Olten (linear distance). The village extends in a wide lowland of the Aare valley north of the Aare , at the southern foot of the Jura , in the east of the Solothurn Mittelland .

The area of the 3.6 km² large municipality covers a section of the Solothurn Niederamt. The southern border runs partly along the old Aare, which here draws a wide curve to the southeast, and partly on the lower terrace south of the old Aare. Much of the water from the Aare is drained into a side canal (Gösger Canal) below Olten and used by the Olten-Gösgen electricity company located near Niedergösgen. The middle part of the so-called Schachen , the island between the original Aare and the Gösger Canal, also belongs to Obergösgen. From the Aare, the municipality extends northward over the wide valley and the plain from Obergösgen to the Tägermoos . Here the Stegbach flows into the plain from the north and flows into the Aare east of Obergösgen. To the northeast of the Stegbach, the area extends to the level of the Buerwald , in which at 453 m above sea level. M. is the highest point of Obergösgen. In 1997, 21% of the municipal area was in settlements, 29% in forests and woodlands, 43% in agriculture and a little more than 7% was unproductive land.

Obergösgen includes the Schachen settlement ( 384 m above sea level ) on the Niederterrasse south of the old Aare, the Sandacker residential and industrial quarter ( 382 m above sea level ) between the Aare and the Gösger Canal and the Stegbach settlement ( 400 m above sea level ) above sea level ) on the stream of the same name to the east of the village. Neighboring communities of Obergösgen are Lostorf in the north, Niedergösgen in the east, Däniken and Dulliken in the south and Winznau in the west .

population

With 2,206 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018), Obergösgen is one of the medium-sized communities in the canton of Solothurn. Of the residents, 86.2% speak German, 3.3% speak Albanian and 2.7% speak Italian (as of 2000). The population of Obergösgen was 366 in 1850 and 428 in 1900. In the course of the 20th century, the population rose continuously to 1793 people until 1970. After a temporary phase of stagnation, a significant increase in population has been recorded again since 1990 (1749 inhabitants).

economy

Until well into the 20th century, Obergösgen was predominantly an agricultural village. The Schachen settlement developed into a transshipment point for the rafting industry early on. Today agriculture , fruit growing and cattle breeding have only a minor role in the income structure of the population. Numerous other jobs are available in the commercial and service sectors. Smaller commercial and industrial zones have emerged mainly in the Schachen area. Obergösgen mainly has small and medium-sized companies in the construction and transport industry, information technology, electrical engineering, mechanical and metal construction and mechanical workshops. In the last few decades the village has also developed into a residential community. Many employed people are therefore commuters who mainly work in the Olten and Aarau regions.

traffic

The community has good transport connections. It is located on the connecting road from Olten along the northern bank of the Aare to Aarau. Obergösgen is connected to the public transport network by the BOGG bus line ( Busbetrieb Olten Gösgen Gäu ), which serves the route from Olten to Niedererlinsbach .

history

Obergösgen can look back on a long tradition of settlement. In the Obergösger Hard several grave mounds from the Iron Age were discovered, which were built between 600 and 400 BC. At the site of the later Göskon Castle there was a Celtic refuge and probably also a settlement on the soil of Obergösgen. During the construction of the Gösger Canal, finds were also made which indicate a Roman settlement.

The first written mention of the place took place in 1161 under the name Gozequovon . Later, the names Gözchen and Gözchon (1226), Gözzichon (1277), Göskon and Gössikon (1453) appeared. It was only when the neighboring village of Bözach took the name Niedergösgen that the old Gösgen was renamed Obergösgen to make it easier to distinguish. The place name goes back to the Old High German personal name Gozo . With the name ending -gen (actually a contraction of -igkofen ) it means something like the farms of the people of Gozzo , whereby so-called repatriate farms are meant.

The barons of Gösgen built their ancestral castle in the high Middle Ages in the valley near the confluence of the Stegbach and the Aare. The rule of Gösgen was a fiefdom of the Counts of Frohburg . With the construction of a new castle in 1230, the headquarters were relocated to Niedergösgen. The old Göskon Castle was also inhabited well into the 14th century . After the male line of the Barons von Gösgen died out, Obergösgen finally passed to the Falkensteiner in 1399 .

Having got into serious financial difficulties, Thomas von Falkenstein had to sell the entire rule to Solothurn in 1458. Obergösgen was thus assigned to the Bailiwick of Gösgen and the Lostorf district. After the collapse of the Ancien Régime (1798), Obergösgen belonged to the Solothurn administrative district during the Helvetic and from 1803 to the Gösgen district.

Since the Aare caused major floods when the water was high, the lower terrace in the area of Obergösgen could not be settled. In addition, as a result of the shift in the course of the river, there were often border disputes with the neighboring Dulliken. With the construction of the Gösger Canal between 1913 and 1917, the Aare was regulated, which resulted in a significant change in the appearance of the landscape. Large parts of the floodplain were drained and new cultivated land and settlement areas were gained.

Attractions

The parish church of St. Maria Regina (formerly St. Dionysius) originally dates back to the Middle Ages. A new church was built in 1509 and expanded in 1642. Although the homeland security had raised objections , this church was demolished in 1954 with the exception of the Käsbissenturm from 1509 and replaced by a new ship, which was inaugurated in 1956. The church windows were designed by Paul Stöckli , the choir and the altar by Albert Schilling . On the Schachen between the old Aare and the Gösger Canal there are remains of the former Göskon Castle.