Uster
Uster is a town and the capital of the Uster District in the Swiss canton of Zürich. It is the third largest town in the canton of Zürich, with almost 35,000 inhabitants, and is one of the twenty largest towns in Switzerland. Uster is located next to a lake, called Greifensee. The official language of Uster is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. The town of Uster received the Wakker Prize in 2001. History. The village of Riedikon was first mentioned in year 741 , while Uster was first mentioned in 775, as "Ustra villa". The toponym has been explained as reflecting Old High German "*ustrâ" or "*uster-aha" "voracious [river]" by Boesch (1978). First mentioned in 1099, the donation of the St. Andreas Church was given by the House of Rapperswil as a spacious three-naved country church. The Burg Uster (castle) was first mentioned in 1267, as being in the possession of the Freiherr von Bonstetten. On 7 January 1300 Elisabeth von Rapperswil sold the pledge of the reign Greifensee to the knight "Hermann II. von Landenberg", including the Greifensee castle, the town  and the lake of the same name, and a larger number of farms, as well as the pastoral rights ("Kirchrecht") in Uster. In 1438 the church rights ("Kirchrecht") were sold to the Rüti Abbey. The church was considered as a part of the so-called "Laubishof" estate that possibly was located at the nearby plateau where the Uster Castle is situated. During the Old Zürich War, in May 1444, the Old Swiss Confederacy laid siege to the nearby town of Greifensee, held by about 70 defenders, most of them inhabitants of the "Amt" Greifensee, and a few Habsburg and Zürich  soldiers. The town was captured after four weeks, on May 27, and all but two of the surviving 64 defenders were beheaded on the next day, including the leader, Wildhans von "Breitenlandenberg". Even in times of war, mass execution was widely considered a cruel and unjust deed. On May 29, the Castle of Greifensee and the city walls were broken. Among many other transfers of lands and goods, on 25 April 1448 "Beringer von Landemberg von Griffensee" confirmed, with permission of his sons "Hug" and "Beringer dem Jungen" that at the place "where all his ancestors" have been buried, a  long list of money, goods and lands have to be transferred to the church as a benefice. In 1473 the church comrades, based on an older "Jahrzeitbuch" (Latin: "libri anniversariorum") which now is lost, created a new one which is among the best preserved of the Canton of Zürich. With the dissolution of the monastery Ruti during the Reformation in Zürich its rights fell on the government of the city of Zürich in 1525. In 1824 the new Reformed church was consecrated. On 22 November 1830 about 10,000 men of the Canton of Zurich gathered near Uster and demanded a  new constitution. This assembly, known as the Ustertag, together with other assemblies in Switzerland led to the Restoration and the creation of the Swiss Federal State. Geography. Uster has an area of . Of this area, 44.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 27.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 26.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (2.3%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). housing and buildings made up 18.4% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (7.8%). Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 0.4% of the  area. 22.2% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction. Demographics. Uster has a population (as of ) of . , 21.6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. the gender distribution of the population was 49.6% male and 50.4% female. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 14.2%. Most of the population () speaks German (85.0%), with Italian being second most common ( 4.5%) and Albanian being third ( 1.7%). In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 31.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were  the SPS (20.6%), the CSP (13.3%) and the Green Party (12.2%). The age distribution of the population () is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22.2% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 65% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 12.8%. In Uster about 73.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a "Fachhochschule"). There are 12605 households in Uster. Uster has an unemployment rate of 3.28%. , there were 392 people employed in the primary economic sector and about  92 businesses involved in this sector. 3,204 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 238 businesses in this sector. 9475 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 1091 businesses in this sector. 51.5% of the working population were employed full-time, and 48.5% were employed part-time. Weather. Uster has an average of 135.4 days of rain per year and on average receives of precipitation. The wettest month is June during which time Uster receives an average of of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.1 days. The driest month of  the year is October with an average of of precipitation over 13.1 days. Wakker Prize. Uster received the Wakker Prize from the Swiss Heritage Society in 2001 for the city's efforts to maintain an identity within the anonymous Swiss Agglomeration around Zurich. The Society noted that developed land was clearly separated from the neighboring farming land. They praised the efforts that the city had made to integrate old and new buildings and to build with harmonious architectural styles. Education. "Primarschule Uster" serves primary school children, while "Sekundarschulverwaltung Uster" serves students at the secondary school level. The "Bildungszentrum Uster" includes  three institutions: "Berufsfachschule Uster" (vocational school), "Kantonsschule Uster" (gymnasium), and "Höhere Fachschule Uster". The Japanese School in Zurich, Switzerland's sole primary and junior high Japanese international day school, is located in Uster. The "Stadt- und Regionalbibliothek Uster" and the "Stadtarchiv und Kläui Bibliothek" are located in the city limits. The "Bibliothek Nänikon" is located in Nänikon, also in the city limits. Transportation. The municipality of Uster is served by two railway stations, both of which are served by trains of the Zurich S-Bahn. Uster railway station is in the centre of the city, and is served by lines  S9, S14, S15 and S5. Nänikon-Greifensee railway station is on the border with adjoining municipality of Greifensee, and is served only by lines S9 and S14. Uster is a 14-minute ride (S5) from Zürich Hauptbahnhof when travelling on the fastest trains.