Meisterschwanden is a municipality in the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
History
There were two neolithic lake side settlements, at Seerose and Erlenhölzli, near the modern Meisterschwanden. Both sites were discovered from archeological digs on the lake shore. Additionally, at the Erlenhölzli site, divers discovered traces of Pfyn culture ceramics, stone tools and several artifacts made of wood, including a bow and arrow fragment all from about 3,600 BC.
Meisterschwanden is first mentioned in 1173 as Meistersvanc though this comes from a 14th Century copy of the original. In 1179 it was mentioned as Maestirwanch. In 1363 the Twingherrschaft transferred from the lords of Meisterschwanden to the Lords of Hallwyl. The high court rights came to Bern in 1415. During the second Villmergen war in 1712, Fahrwangen was used as a camp by the Reformed troops. As the Catholic troops attacked, according to legend, the women of Fahrwangen and Meisterschwanden marched out to join the soldiers. The Protestant Bernese troops were so impressed with the valor of the women, that they granted them a day when the women could command. Since then, on the second Sunday in January they have celebrated the Meitlisunntig (Girls' Sunday). On this day, women from both villages run through the streets carrying nets. Any man who is captured in a net must pay his Lösegelds or ransom (often in the form of alcoholic drinks) to get free.
A chapel was already in the village before 1300. Until 1817 it was part of the parish of Seengen, but then formed its own parish. The Reformed parish church was built in 1820-22 and the Catholic church was built in 1977.
Economically, the village was dependent on agriculture, which was supplemented by fishing and some viticulture. In the 18th Century, small scale cotton processing businesses appeared in the village. This was replaced in 1850 by straw goods manufacturing. At the beginning of the 21st Century, there are some small and medium enterprises as well as day tourism (2 hotels on the lake) in the village.
The steam boat navigation on the Lake Hallwyl began in 1888. In 1916, the village received a rail connection (Wohlen-Meisterschwanden-rail). A bus line has stopped in the village since 1997.
Geography
Meisterschwanden is located in the Lenzburg district, in the Seetal valley on a terrace above the western bank of the Hallwilersee. Originally it stretched along the village stream, but has since spread out.
The municipality consists of the haufendorf village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Meisterschwanden and, since 1900, the hamlet of Tennwil. It has an area, , of . Of this area, or 57.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 18.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 23.9% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.2% is unproductive land.
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.4% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 12.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.9%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.9% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.1%. Out of the forested land, 17.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 37.9% is used for growing crops and 16.2% is pastures, while 3.5% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.
Coat of arms
The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per fess nebuly Azure and Argent.
Demographics
Meisterschwanden has a population () of . , 14.6% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 20.2%. Most of the population () speaks German (90.9%), with Italian being second most common ( 3.8%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 1.6%).
The age distribution, , in Meisterschwanden is; 251 children or 10.2% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 277 teenagers or 11.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 235 people or 9.5% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 326 people or 13.2% are between 30 and 39, 488 people or 19.8% are between 40 and 49, and 379 people or 15.3% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 282 people or 11.4% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 153 people or 6.2% are between 70 and 79, there are 67 people or 2.7% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 12 people or 0.5% who are 90 and older.