Frauenfeld

Early history , dated 888 but possibly from the 11th or 12th century, granting the manor farm of Erchingen to Reichenau Abbey The earliest traces of human settlement are several La Tène era graves to the east of Langdorf. The Roman road from Oberwinterthur (Vitudurum) to Pfyn ran through what is now the Allmend in Frauenfeld. Two Roman villas were discovered in Thalbach and Oberkirch. The villa seems to have become the focal point of the later settlement of Oberkirch. On the ruins of the villa, an Early Middle Ages cemetery was built, and by the 9th century, the Oberkirch church was built. Perhaps as a result of royal donation in the 9th century, or more likely a donation in the 13th century, the area around Frauenfeld belonged to the Dinghof (a church- or monastery-owned manor farm) of Erching. Erching had a manor house, twelve houses, at least one mill, and probably also a church in Oberkirch. In the 13th century, Erching formed a self-contained manor farm complex and was occupied by a Habsburg Vogt after 1270. Starting in the late 12th century, a village grew up in the area around Erching and another grew up around the church at Oberkirch. By the end of the 1220s, a fortified tower with a mill and chapel was built and a third village began to grow up around the castle. This village, which would become Frauenfeld, grew gradually on land owned by Reichenau Abbey. The original fortified tower grew into Frauenfeld Castle. Foundation of Frauenfeld Frauenfeld is first mentioned in 1246 as Vrowinvelt though it had been growing slowly during the second third of the 13th century. In 1919, the municipalities of Langdorf, Kurzdorf, Huben, Herten, and Horgenbach became part of Frauenfeld. In 1998, Gerlikon, Schönenhof, and Zelgli were incorporated. ==Geography==

Frauenfeld has an area, , of . Of this area, or 45.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 24.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 27.8% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.0% is either rivers or lakes and or 1.0% is unproductive land. Of the built-up area, industrial buildings made up 13.3% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 3.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.8%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.3% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 7.9%. Out of the forested land, 22.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 43.0% is used for growing crops, while 2.4% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. The municipality is the cantonal and district capital. It is located along both banks of the Murg river. It consists of the town of Frauenfeld (made up of the old city, Ergaten-Vorstadt to the west and Obere Vorstadt to the east) and the former communities of Langdorf, Kurzdorf, Huben, Herten, Horgenbach, Gerlikon, Zelgli and Schönenhof. ==Demographics==

Frauenfeld has a population () of . , 22.3% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last ten years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 10.8%. Most of the population () speaks German (83.3%), with Italian being second most common (4.7%) and Portuguese being third (3.7%). , the gender distribution of the population was 48.4% male and 51.6% female. The population was made up of 8,263 Swiss men (36.5% of the population), and 2,708 (11.9%) non-Swiss men. There were 9,338 Swiss women (41.2%), and 2,356 (10.4%) non-Swiss women. , there were 9,569 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.2 persons per household. There were 5,189 (or 23.6%) persons who were part of a couple without children, and 10,577 (or 48.2%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 1,346 (or 6.1%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 126 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 101 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 239 who lived in a household made up of unrelated persons, and 772 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.15%. , the construction rate of new housing units was 3.6 new units per 1000 residents. the average price to rent an average apartment in Frauenfeld was 1087.26 Swiss francs (CHF) per month (US$870, £490, €700 approx. exchange rate from 2000). The average rate for a one-room apartment was 508.43 CHF (US$410, £230, €330), a two-room apartment was about 761.63 CHF (US$610, £340, €490), a three-room apartment was about 960.43 CHF (US$770, £430, €610) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1936.19 CHF (US$1550, £870, €1240). The average apartment price in Frauenfeld was 97.4% of the national average of 1116 CHF. In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 34.4% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (15.55%), the CVP (15.03%) and the FDP (13.5%). In the federal election, a total of 7,105 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 48.5%. ==Historical population==

The historical population is given in the following table: ==Heritage sites of national significance==

There are ten buildings that are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance in Frauenfeld. There are four archives and a library on the list; archive of the Amtes für Denkmalpflege, the archive of the Department of Archeology, the Citizen's Archive of Frauenfeld, the State Archives of the Canton and Cantonal Library. The Catholic City Church and the Simultaneum Church of St Laurenzen with St Anna Chapel and Messmerhaus are the two religious buildings on the list. Two museums, the Museum of Archeology and Natural History of the Canton of Thurgau and Frauenfeld Castle which contains the Historical Museum, are on the list. The last building on the list is the Rathaus or town council house. The entire old city of Frauenfeld is included in the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites. File:Frauenfeld rathaus.jpg|Frauenfeld city hall File:Frauenfeld-Schloss.jpg|Frauenfeld Castle ==Economy==

In 2007, Frauenfeld had an unemployment rate of 2.01%. , there were 211 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 70 businesses involved in this sector. 4,120 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 228 businesses in this sector. 11,759 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 1,095 businesses in this sector. Of the working population, 16.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 42.7% used a private car. ==Industry and business==

The headquarters of Sigg are located in Frauenfeld. ==Religion==

From the , 8,239 or 37.5% were Roman Catholic, while 9,255 or 42.2% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 18 Old Catholics (or about 0.08% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland, there are 337 individuals (or about 1.54% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 486 individuals (or about 2.21% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There were 18 individuals (or about 0.08% of the population) who were Jewish, and 1,043 (or about 4.75% of the population) who are Islamic. There are 160 individuals (or about 0.73% of the population) who belong to a church not listed on the census. There were 1,585 (or about 7.22% of the population) who belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 813 individuals (or about 3.70% of the population) who did not answer the question. ==Weather==

Frauenfeld has an average of 133 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives of precipitation. The wettest month is June during which time Frauenfeld receives an average of of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 12.5 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 13, but with only of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is March with an average of of precipitation over 12.5 days. ==Education==

In Frauenfeld about 68.8% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). ==Transportation==

Frauenfeld is a central location in western Thurgau and is served by a railway station and two exits on the A7 motorway. It has a town bus service with 5 bus lines which run every 15 minutes to every corner of the town. Frauenfeld railway station supports a regional train, part of the Zürich S-Bahn, from Weinfelden to Winterthur (S8 and S30) every 30 minutes, as well in the opposite direction and a fast train (InterCity and InterRegio) that travels to Zürich every 30 minutes, as well in the opposite direction to Weinfelden and further to Constance in Germany or Romanshorn. During busy times in the mornings and evenings these trains are supported by another train (called "S") which stops in the bigger towns (like IR/IC). The nearest airport to Frauenfeld is Zurich Airport, which is located to the west of Frauenfeld. Frauenfeld is also the northern terminus of the narrow-gauge Frauenfeld–Wil Railway; trains operate from the Bahnhofplatz in front of the main railway station. Trains operate over this line to every half hour. There are plans to increase the frequency to every fifteen minutes. Services on this line, designated as S15 of the St. Gallen S-Bahn, also stop at and . == Twin towns ==

Frauenfeld is twinned with the town of == Notable people ==

• Petrus Dasypodius (ca.1495–1559), author and humanist, teacher and pastor in Zürich • Conrad Dasypodius (1532–1600), writer and professor of mathematics in Strasbourg, Alsace • Pierre-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière (1798–1865), a French businessman and amateur daguerreotypist • Johann Kaspar Mörikofer (1799–1877), a literary and ecclesiastical historian • Julius Maggi (1846–1912), an entrepreneur, inventor of precooked soups and Maggi sauce • Otto Stoll (1849–1922), a linguist and ethnologist, researched Mayan languages • Alfred Ilg (1854–1916), an engineer and confidant to Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II • Heinrich Häberlin (1868–1947), a politician, judge and member of the Swiss Federal Council 1920–1934 • Walter Rudolf Hess (1881–1973), a physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1949 for mapping the areas of the brain involved in the control of internal organs • René Hubert (1895–1976), a costume designer, nominated for two Academy Awards • Konrad Osterwalder (1942–2025), a mathematician and physicist, held UN posts, known for the Osterwalder–Schrader theorem • Ulrich Gasser (born 1950), a flautist and composer • Hansjörg Walter (born 1951), a politician, member of the Swiss National Council 1999–2017 • Lieutenant-General Roland Nef (born 1959), the Chief of the Swiss Armed Forces in 2008 • Alfred Kramer (born 1965), a Swiss/Italian jazz drummer • Hilaria Kramer (born 1967), a modern jazz musician (trumpet, song and composition) Sport • Walter Reiser (born 1923), a cyclist, competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics • Rolf Bernhard (born 1949), a retired long jumper, competed in the 1972, 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics • Pascal Zuberbühler (born 1971), a former football goalkeeper, currently goalkeeper coach for Derby County F.C. • Patrick Heuscher (born 1976), a beach volleyball player, bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics also competed in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics • Reto Hollenstein (born 1985), a racing cyclist, rode in the 2014 Tour de France • Fabian Frei (born 1989), a footballer, over 300 club caps and 14 for Switzerland • Alessandro Hämmerle (born 1993), a Swiss-born Austrian snowboarder, competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics • Antonio Djakovic (born 2002), a swimmer, competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics ==References==