Weggis

Infobox Swiss town
subject_name = Weggis
municipality_name = Weggis
municipality_type = municipality
imagepath_coa = Weggis-coat of arms.png|pixel_coa=

languages = German
canton = Lucerne
iso-code-region = CH-LU
district = Lucerne
lat_d=47|lat_m=02|lat_NS=N|long_d=08|long_m=26|long_EW=E
postal_code = 6353
municipality_code = 1069
area = 25.29
elevation = 435|elevation_description=
population = 3927|populationof = December 2004 | popofyear = 2004
website = www.weggis.ch
mayor = |mayor_asof=|mayor_party=
mayor_title = |list_of_mayors =
places =
demonym =
neighboring_municipalities= Arth (SZ), Ennetbürgen (NW), Greppen, Küssnacht (SZ), Meggen, Stansstad (NW), Vitznau
twintowns = |

Weggis is a municipality in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland.

It forms part of the northern shore of Lake Lucerne. The official language is German.

Neighboring municipalities

Weggis borders Küssnacht and Greppen to the north, Arth in Canton Schwyz to the north-east, Vitznau in the east and south-east, and Lake Lucerne.

Geography

Weggis lies on a projection into Lake Lucerne at the southwest base of Rigi, a mountain; such projections are named Weggiserbuchts for the one on which Weggis lies. The town has a famously mild climate and is well known for the numerous southern plants (chestnut trees, palms, grapes and orchids) that thrive there.The town of Weggis lies on a south-facing plain on the shore of Lake Lucerne. Formerly, the town consisted of only two communities, Unterdorf in the west and Oberdorf in the east. Because of development in the last decades, new communities have developed: Hinterdorf (east of Oberdorf), Rain and Laugneri (near Hinterdorf), Baumen and Dörfli near Unterdorf, as well as Tischital and Rigiblick on the slope above Oberdorf. The community of Hertenstein (2.3 km south-west of the town, on the lake shore) lies in the extreme south-west corner of the municipality, on a peninsula. On the municipal border with Vitznau, 1.9 km south-east of the town, another quasi-community has developed. From the lake shore at elevation 436 m, to an elevation of 794 m, several hamlets have grown together. They are: Riedsort (on the lake shore), Bannholz (elev. 667 m), Bodenberg (elev. 642 m), and Sentiberg (elev. 794 m). High up the slope, accessible by cog railway and aerial tramway, lies the community of Rigi Kaltbad (2.8 km north-east of the town, elev. c. 1450 m). Many other neighborhoods and single farmsteads belong to the municipality.

With the exception of the Herrenwald, north of Hertenstein, the western and central portions of the municipality are unforested. The slopes of Mount Rigi to the east of Hinterdorf look completed different, however. This part of the municipality is heavily forested. Large areas of forest include the Kirchenwald on the slope north-east of Hinterdorf, through which the Kienbach river flows on its way to Lake Lucerne, and the Seeboden area, on the eastern border of the municipality.

The municipal border runs north for 1000 meters of elevation gain from west Unterwilen (in Vitznau) on Lake Lucerne, up to Rigi-First (in Canton Schwyz). And from there it runs north-westerly to Rotstock (elev. 1659 m). Then it turns to the west and runs south of Greppen back to Lake Lucerne.

The area of the municipality is 11.82 km² (not including lake area), and is 46% arable. Almost the same amount, 39% is covered in forest, and 14% is developed.

Population

Population growth

From 1850 till 1880, with exception of 1870, the number of inhabitants remained constant. From 1880 until 1970 was a period of population growth (of 94.5%), interrupted by two periods of stagnation, 1930-1941 and 1950-1960. In these ninety years the population nearly doubled. The 1970s brought a setback (of -6%). Since then the population has grown very much because of the municipality's good location and the local hotel management school's high enrollment. Weggis may soon reach a population of 4000 (pop. 3927 as of 2004) (1980-2004: +65.9%). One unique population characteristic is the fact that over 200 Chinese (mostly from the Shanghai region) who are studying at the hotel management school, live in Weggis. On June 30, 2005 the municipality had 3990 inhabitants.

Language

The population uses a dialect of High Alemannic (or Swiss) German as their everyday language. The dialect of Weggis deviates greatly from that used in Lucerne, and is more similar to that used in Canton Schwyz.
*Example: German: ich gehe Lucerne: ech goh Schwyz/Weggis: ich gah
*Example: German: neu Lucerne: nöi Schwyz/Weggis: nüüAt the time of the last census (2000) 84.9% listed German as their primary language, 1.63% listed Portuguese and 1.41% listed English. However, the second most common language is Chinese, which, however, is listed only as an "East Asian Language" in the census.

Religious denominations

Formerly, all citizens were members of the Roman Catholic Church. This has been changed by people leaving the church, and by immigration from other parts of Switzerland, and from foreign countries. Today (as of 2000) the religious composition of the population is as follows. 59.98% are Roman Catholic, 16.7% are Protestant, and 1.66% are Orthodox Christians; 10.01% are atheist and 1.99% are Muslim. Among the people who provided no data about their beliefs, some were probably Buddhist Chinese. The Chinese also make up the most important part of the atheist group. The Orthodox Christians and Muslims are almost entirely people from the former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Montenegro, Republic of Macedonia, Albania, and Bosnia).

Origin-nationality

Of the 3927 inhabitants at the end of 2004, 3141 were Swiss and 786 (or 20%) were foreigners. At the time of the last Census 75.19% (or 80.31% including dual citizens) were Swiss citizens. The largest immigrant groups come from China, Germany, Serbia and Montenegro (mostly Albania), Portugal, Italy, Austria and Great Britain.

Tourism

After Lucerne, Weggis is the second biggest tourist destination in Canton Lucerne. With the aerial tramway one can arrive at Rigi-Kaltbad, in the neighborhood of which is located Viewpoint Känzeli. From Rigi-Kaltbad one can continue his climb up the mountain on the cog railway (Vitznau-Rigi-Bahn). Weggis is also designated the "Riviera of Central Switzerland" because of its "tropical" climate.

Transportation

Weggis is easily reached by public transportation, although it is not on a train line. In fact, it is serviced with ships and buses by the Schiffahrtsgesellschaft Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne Ship Company). The "Riviera" bus line Küssnacht (train station)- Weggis- Gersau- Brunnen (train station)- Schwyz connects the municipalities on the route with the surrounding area. The train station in Küssnacht is on the line from Lucerne to Goldau, and the train station in Brunnen is on the "Gotthard" line (Basel-Chiasso). The ships to and from Lucerne operate mostly hourly.

Weggis is on the road connecting between Küssnacht and Brunnen. The nearest Autobahn exit, for the A4, is 10 km away, in Küssnacht.

History

In about 800 the monastery of Pfäfers acquired the court of Wattawis. The municipality had been settled even earlier, however, because the name Weggis comes from the Celtic and meant Place of the Ferrymen. The freedom-loving inhabitants were subordinates of rule of the Habsburgs at some times. For both the monks and the Habsburgs the Lords of Hertenstein exercised regency. By 1332 Weggis and Gersau were free republics and allies of the neighboring early Switzerland. This was confirmed in a treaty between them in 1359. Thereafter, the Lords of Hertenstein sold their rights to Lucerne in 1380. They administered Weggis until 1798 as part of the Landvogtei of Weggis. The citizens of Weggis resisted the Lords of Lucerne through multiple rebellions before 1588. In the peasant war of 1653 they sided with the rule of Lucerne for once. The municipality belonged to the district of Lucerne from 1798 until 1803, and thereafter to the newly formed Lucerne Authority. In 1798 the community of Vitznau was separated from Weggis and formed into an independent municipality. In 2005, the project of combining the three municipalities around Mount Rigi in Canton Lucerne was delayed indefinitely.

Miscellaneous

*The municipality became internationally famous in early 2006 as the Brazilian national football team prepared for FIFA World Cup in Germany.
*Weggis is one of the numerous (so-called) tax havens on Lake Lucerne.
*In 1919 the first bathing beach in central Switzerland, at which men and women didn't have to bath separately, opened.
*Swiss progressive rock band Flame Dream formed and rehearsed in Weggis. Recording one album on the Philips label; and five albums on Vertigo with Los Angeles guitarist Dale Hauskins joining Flame Dream in 1980.

References

Most of the information on this site was translated from the German Language version of this same article.

External links

* [http://www.weggis.ch Official website]
* [http://www.gov.ch/govchen.nsf/60c2a18b4bda578fc125694b0058f69e/6fd607862de3214ac12570cb0047f347?OpenDocument Helvetic Administration and Public Services listing]
* [http://www.weggis.net Weggis.net, not the official website, just another site]