Rafz

Rafz
State :	Switzerland
Canton :	Zurich (ZH)
District :	Bulach
BFS no. :	0067
Postal code :	8197
UN / LOCODE :	CH RFZ
Coordinates :	682 871  /  274118 coordinates: 47 ° 36 '45 "  N , 8 ° 32' 27"  O ; CH1903:  six hundred eighty-two thousand eight hundred seventy-one  /  274118
Height :	419  m above sea level M.
Height range :	399-561 m above sea level M.
Area :	10.68  km²
Residents:	4576 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	435 inhabitants per km²
Proportion of foreigners : (residents without citizenship )	22.1
Mayor :	Kurt Altenburger ( SP )
Website:	www.rafz.ch
Location of the municipality

Rafz is a municipality in the Bülach district in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland .

Rafz was first mentioned in 1413 as Rafsa .

coat of arms

Blazon

In silver a green bar, above a red plow with blue iron parts, below three shortened red tips

geography

Rafz is located near the German border at 424  m above sea level. M. (Post), the area of ​​the municipality is 1074  ha . With a population of 3983 people (as of 2009), the proportion of women is 50.1%. In addition, 639 foreigners are registered in Rafz, which corresponds to a share of 16.0%. The community area of ​​1,074 ha is made up as follows: agriculture 52%, forest 33%, transport 4%, settlements 11%.

Population development

politics

The Rafzer mainly elected candidates from the SVP (37.5%) and the SP (16.3%) to the National Council (percentages of the 2019 National Council elections ). The mayor is Kurt Altenburger ( SP ).

economy

The main line of business for centuries was agriculture , which was also decisive for the cultural orientation of the community . Only later, after the development of Rafz by the Zurich S-Bahn and the A51 Bülach - Zurich autobahn , did new industries settle in Rafzerfeld . It is best known for the gravel quarrying , which has shaped the landscape in some places. Today Rafz is the center of this northern tip of the Canton of Zurich . The more than 800 jobs at Rafz are mainly located in the field of horticulture , civil engineering and the textile industry . It is also worth mentioning the Rafzer Herbstmäss, which takes place every three years, and is particularly popular with local wine .

history

Rafz was first mentioned in a document in a deed of donation from 870, issued by King Ludwig the German , a grandson of Charlemagne . In order to do something "for his own salvation and that of his ancestors", he transferred the property of Odilloz zu Rafz to the Rheinau monastery . The Rafz settlement soon experienced different ownership conditions through various barter and assignment transactions. The lower jurisdiction was indirectly sold to the city of Zurich in 1496. From now on, the Zurich bailiff zu Eglisau was responsible for the residents of the Rafzerfeld. The high jurisdiction remained with the German Count von Sulz . The three red tips in the lower part of the Rafz coat of arms symbolize their shield. These gentlemen led an eventful and lavish life. The aftermath of the Thirty Years' War also weighed heavily on the Sulzian house. In 1651 they were forced to sell the High Court of Justice to the city of Zurich. Since then, the Rafzerfeld has belonged to the Zurich estate and to the Swiss Confederation.

On February 22, 1945, the US Army mistakenly bombed Rafz, killing eight people.

On February 20, 2015, the Rafz railway accident occurred , in which a locomotive driver was seriously injured.

Churches

Five Christian communities are present in Rafz:

• The church in the center of Rafz is located on the Chilegass and is used by the Evangelical Reformed Church . The building dates back to 1585. A chapel is said to have been in the same place in the Middle Ages, which was consecrated to St. Nicholas of Myra . Until 1496 this chapel was a branch of the mother church in Lottstetten .
• The Roman Catholic regional church is present in Rafz with the Resurrection Church of St. Maria Magdalena , which is located at Badener-Landstrasse 12 . It was inaugurated in 1994 and offers as a special feature a total work of art by the artist Alois Spichtig , which extends from the street through the building to the chancel.
• The New Apostolic Church has a church located in Hegi 25 (near the Rafz cemetery).
• The Evangelical Free Church of Rafz (EFRA) was created in 2002 through the merger of two free church congregations: the Chrischona congregation in Rafz and the Free Mission congregation in Rafz. The members of the EFRA belong to the Chrischonagemeinden Switzerland association. The EFRA services take place in the center of Tannewäg .
• The congregation for Christ (formerly the Evangelical Brothers Association) gathers in the GfC parish hall on Chrischonawäg 7 .

Attractions

See also : List of cultural assets in Rafz

photos

• 

  Rafz, historical aerial photo from 1923, taken from a height of 300 meters by Walter Mittelholzer

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  Rafz village center

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  Reformed Church of Rafz

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  Catholic Church of Rafz

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  Village fountain

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  Former wastewater treatment plant. New disposal building

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  Village center with parish hall

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  Half-timbered houses in the village center

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  Half-timbered houses in the village center

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  Village center with church

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  Center Casa

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  Local museum

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  railway station

literature

• Hermann Fietz: The art monuments of the canton of Zurich, Volume II: The districts of Bülach, Dielsdorf, Hinwil, Horgen and Meilen. (= Art Monuments of Switzerland. Volume 15). Edited by the Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 1943. DNB 365803049 .

Web links

Commons : Rafz  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the municipality of Rafz
• Ueli Müller: Rafz. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Statistical data on the municipality of Rafz

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. ↑ ^{a b} Rafz. Retrieved March 6, 2020 . 
3. ↑ Kirchgemeinde Glegra (ed.): Church of Resurrection St. Maria Magdalena Rafz , Rafz 1994, p. 34.
4. ↑ site of the parish Glegra. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
5. ^ Website of the NAK, section Rafz.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 16, 2013.  
6. ^ EFRA website, section about us . ( Memento of the original from August 25, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 16, 2013. 
7. ↑ GfC website, municipalities section . Retrieved November 16, 2013.