Sempach

For the lake in Switzerland, see Lake Sempach.

Sempach
Coat of arms
Sempach
Location of Sempach
Coordinates:
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Lucerne
District	Sursee
Area
• Total	8.91 km2 (3.44 sq mi)
Elevation	513 m (1,683 ft)
Population (Dec 2014)
• Total	4,171
• Density	470/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Postal code	6204
SFOS number	1102
Surrounded by	Eich, Hildisrieden, Neudorf, Neuenkirch, Nottwil
Website	www.sempach.ch Profile (German), SFSO statistics

Sempach is a municipality in the district of Sursee in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland.

History

Arnold von Winkelried at the Battle of Sempach

A 1654 print of Sempach from Topographia Helvetiae, Rhaetiae et Valesiae

It has retained some traces of its medieval appearance, especially the main gateway, beneath a watch tower, and reached by a bridge over the old moat.About half an hour distant to the north-east, on the hillside, is the site of the famous Battle of Sempach (9 July 1386), in which the Swiss defeated the Austrians, whose leader, Duke Leopold, lost his life. The legendary deed of Arnold of Winkelried is associated with this victory. The spot is now marked by an ancient and picturesque Battle Chapel (restored in 1886) and by a modern monument to Winkelried.

A few years later, in 1393, the so-called Sempacherbrief was signed between the Acht Orte (the original eight Swiss cantons), plus the associated Canton of Solothurn. It was the first document signed by all eight (plus Solothurn), but it also defined that none of them was to unilaterally start a war without the consent of all the others.

Some miles north of Sempach is the quaint village of Beromünster (973 inhabitants in 1900), with a collegiate church founded in the l0th century and dating, in parts, from the 11th and 12th centuries (fine 17th-century choir stalls and altar frontals), the chapter of secular canons now consisting of invalided priests of the canton of Lucerne: it was in Beromünster that the first dated book was printed (1470) in Switzerland, by care of the canons, while thence came Gering who introduced printing into France.

Sempach is the site of the Sempach Bird Observatory.

Geography

Lake Sempach with the village of Sempach on the far side

Sempach has a land area of 8.95 km² (3.46 sq mi) and a total area (including the lake) of 11.68 km² (4.51 sq mi). Of this area, 68.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 14.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 16.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.4%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). In the 1997 land survey, 14.53% of the total land area was forested. Of the agricultural land, 63.8% is used for farming or pastures, while 4.92% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the settled areas, 6.37% is covered with buildings, 0.89% is industrial, 0.22% is classed as special developments, 1.23% is parks or greenbelts and 7.6% is transportation infrastructure. Of the unproductive areas, 0.34% is unproductive standing water (ponds or lakes), and 0.11% is other unproductive land.

It is built above the eastern shore of Lake Sempach, and about 2 miles (3.2 km) by road north of the Sempach railway station (9 miles (14 km) N.W. of Lucerne) on the main line between Lucerne and Olten.

Steinibühlweiher is located above the town.

Demographics

The Lucerne gate (Luzernertor) at the entrance to Sempach

Statue at the Luzenertor

Sempach has a population (as of 31 December 2014) of 4,171. As of 2007, 6.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 17.5%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (93.8%), with Albanian being second most common ( 2.2%) and Spanish being third ( 0.7%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the CVP which received 37.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (25.6%), the SVP (16.1%) and the SPS (10.3%).

The age distribution in Sempach is; 986 people or 25.4% of the population is 0–19 years old. 1,077 people or 27.8% are 20–39 years old, and 1,396 people or 36% are 40–64 years old. The senior population distribution is 323 people or 8.3% are 65–79 years old, 82 or 2.1% are 80–89 years old and 15 people or 0.4% of the population are 90+ years old.

In Sempach about 81.3% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

As of 2000 there are 1,237 households, of which 285 households (or about 23.0%) contain only a single individual. 146 or about 11.8% are large households, with at least five members. As of 2000 there were 615 inhabited buildings in the municipality, of which 474 were built only as housing, and 141 were mixed use buildings. There were 358 single family homes, 44 double family homes, and 72 multi-family homes in the municipality. Most homes were either two (248) or three (163) story structures. There were only 16 single story buildings and 47 four or more story buildings.

Sempach has an unemployment rate of 1.16%. As of 2005, there were 130 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 38 businesses involved in this sector. 379 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 38 businesses in this sector. 840 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 142 businesses in this sector. As of 2000 54.8% of the population of the municipality were employed in some capacity. At the same time, females made up 43.6% of the workforce.

In the 2000 census the religious membership of Sempach was; 2,678 (76.9%) were Roman Catholic, and 485 (13.9%) were Protestant, with an additional 22 (0.63%) that were of some other Christian faith. There are 86 individuals (2.47% of the population) who are Muslim. Of the rest; there were 15 (0.43%) individuals who belong to another religion (not listed), 123 (3.53%) who do not belong to any organized religion, 74 (2.12%) who did not answer the question.

Weather

Sempach has an average of 133.9 days of rain per year and on average receives 1,114 mm (43.9 in) of precipitation. The wettest month is June during which time Sempach receives an average of 148 mm (5.8 in) of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.2 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 13.6, but with only 115 mm (4.5 in) of precipitation. The driest month of the year is October with an average of 66 mm (2.6 in) of precipitation over 13.2 days.

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 
  • See Th. von Liebenau. Die Schlacht bei Sempach (Lucerne, 1886).

External links

• http://www.sempach.ch
• Statistical data is available from http://www.lu.ch/download/fd/afs/pdf/jbkt/profile/gp_1102.pdf