The industrial city Dietikon is situated at an elevation of 388 m (1,273 ft) at the confluence of the Reppisch and the Limmat, located in the Limmat Valley (German: Limmattal), along the railway line from Zürich to Baden. Here and in the neighboring region, Spreitenbach, is also the large Limmattal rail freight marshalling yard.
Dietikon has an area of 9.3 square kilometers (3.6 sq mi). Of this area, 17.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 27% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 49.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (6.7%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[3] In 1996[update] housing and buildings made up 33.8% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (15.3%).[4] Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 4.9% of the area. As of 2007[update] 40.7% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.[4]
The largest and best known forests of the municipality include the Honeret, Guggenbüehl and Röhrenmoos.
The Honeret forest lies on a side moraine of the Linth glacier ("Linthgletscher"). There are over 200 prominent stones through the woods, up to erratic boulders as big as 25 m2 (270 sq ft). The Honeret and the Guggenbüehl-Wald are separated by only one main street. In the forest, there are a few springs from which the brooks Tobelbach and Stoffelbach rise and then flow down into the Reppisch. Also in the forest lies the forest cottage "Lorenzhütte."
The Guggenbüehl forest lies wholly within Dietikon. Within the forest lies the "Giigelibode" pond. It has neither inflow nor outflow. A Vita course is in the forest.
Important running waters that flow through Dietikon are the Limmat and its tributary Reppisch. Wide brooks are the approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) long Schäflibach and the Teischlibach. The Schäflibach is created with the flows together from Allmendbach and Stockacherbach and leads into the Limmat. The Teischlibach originates from Röhrenmoos in the forest above Dietikon and also leads into the Limmat. The Marmoriweiher lies in the Grunschen a place used for gaming and grilling. The Marmoriweiher is an artificial pond, that was positioned for the water supply of the fire brigade. For this, a distraction canal was built with the Grunschen. Later, the pond of a marble factory served. This gave it its name.
Dietikon is first mentioned in 1100 as Dietinchovin.[7] In Dietikon there are several Roman ruins and also the Fahr Benedictine Convent, given by the House of Regensberg around 1130 AD, with a cloister church dating from the years 1743 to 1746. The Second Battle of Zürich was fought in Dietikon (September 1799) and the town name is now inscribed at the pillar of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
St. Agatha, the Roman Catholic Church (built in 1927)
The Reformed church (built in 1925)
Dietikon has a population (as of 31 December 2017) of 27,079.[8] As of 2007[update], 39.8% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. As of 2008[update] the gender distribution of the population was 50% male and 50% female. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 10.5%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (73.9%), with Italian being second most common (8.9%) and Albanian being third (3.8%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 40.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (19.9%), the CVP (13.7%) and the FDP (8%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 21.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 64.7% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 14%. In Dietikon about 60.1% 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 9,892 households in Dietikon.[4]
Dietikon has an unemployment rate of 4.2%. As of 2005[update], there were 179 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 13 businesses involved in this sector. 2,613 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 213 businesses in this sector. 10,632 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 957 businesses in this sector.[3] As of 2007[update] 60.6% of the working population were employed full-time, and 39.4% were employed part-time.[4]
As of 2008[update] there were 8,655 Catholics and 4,599 Protestants in Dietikon. In the 2000 census[update], religion was broken down into several smaller categories. From the 2000 census, 26.5% were some type of Protestant, with 24.6% belonging to the Swiss Reformed Church and 1.9% belonging to other Protestant churches. 41.8% of the population were Catholic. Of the rest of the population, 12.2% were Muslim, 16.1% belonged to another religion (not listed), 4.6% did not give a religion, and 9.4% were atheist or agnostic.[4]
The historical population is given in the following table:[7]
Dietikon has an average of 132.2 days of rain per year and on average receives 1,078 mm (42.4 in) of precipitation. The wettest month is August during which time Dietikon receives an average of 114 mm (4.5 in) of precipitation. During the wettest month, there is precipitation for an average of 12.7 days.[9]
There's the Bruno Weber Park in Dietikon respectively Spreitenbach, one of the few sculpture gardens and Gesamtkunstwerks in Switzerland.[10]Glanzenberg once was a settlement at the river Limmat, but its fortification seem never been completely built, so it may be destroyed in 1267/68, a legend tells. Its remain are in a little forest at the Limmat, opposite of the railway station of the same name, as well as the walls of the former Glanzenberg castle, built in the late 12th century AD by the Counts of Regensberg.
^"Das kurze Leben des «Lisebethli»" [The short life of «Lisebethli»]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). 18 February 2002. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
^"Betrieb & Angebot" [Operation & Offer] (in German). Limmattalbahn AG. Archived from the original on 31 May 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the southern part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, after 35 km reaching the river Aare. The confluence is located north of the small town of Brugg and shortly after the mouth of the Reuss.
Bremgarten–Dietikon railway line
The Bremgarten–Dietikon railway line is a railway line in Switzerland. It connects Wohlen and Bremgarten in the canton of Aargau with Dietikon in the canton of Zürich. Passenger service on the line now forms part of the Zürich S-Bahn, branded as the S17, and a frequent service is provided, with trains running up to every 15 minutes.
Schlieren, Switzerland
Schlieren is a municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
Killwangen
Killwangen is a municipality in the district of Baden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
Spreitenbach
Spreitenbach is a municipality in the district of Baden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley.
Birmensdorf, Zürich
Birmensdorf is a municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
Oberengstringen
Oberengstringen is a municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley.
Oetwil an der Limmat
Oetwil an der Limmat is a municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley.
Uitikon
Uitikon is a village and municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Besides the village of Uitikon itself, the municipality includes the villages of Waldegg and Ringlikon.
Unterengstringen
Unterengstringen is a municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley.
Urdorf
Urdorf is a municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley.
Weiningen
Weiningen is a municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is located in the Limmat Valley.
S3 (ZVV)
The S3 is a regional railway service of the Zürich S-Bahn on the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV), Zürich transportation network, and is one of the network's services connecting the cantons of Zürich and Aargau.
Limmat Valley
The Limmat Valley is a river valley and a region in the cantons of Zürich and Aargau in Switzerland.
Killwangen-Spreitenbach railway station
Killwangen-Spreitenbach is a railway station in the municipality of Killwangen in the Swiss canton of Aargau. As the name suggests, the station also serves the adjacent municipality of Spreitenbach.
Bruno Weber Park
Bruno Weber Park is a sculpture park in the Swiss municipalities Spreitenbach and Dietikon, and besides the Fahr Abbey one of the visitor attractions in the Limmat Valley. The sculpture garden is designed as a Gesamtkunstwerk of the Swiss artist Bruno Weber (1931–2011).
Limmattal light rail line
The Limmattal light rail line is a new metre gauge light rail line that is proposed and under construction on an alignment running through the Limmat Valley, in the Swiss cantons of Aargau and Zürich to the west of the city of Zürich. The new line will be 13.4 kilometres (8.3 mi) long, will serve 27 stops, and will operate from Zürich Altstetten to Killwangen via Schlieren, Urdorf, Dietikon and Spreitenbach.
Limmattal tramway
The Limmattal tramway was a metre gauge electric tramway that operated in the Limmat Valley, situated in the Swiss canton of Zürich to the west of the city of Zürich. Because of the prominent display of the initials LSB on the line's distinctive yellow trams, the line was popularly known as the Lisebethli.