Dietikon () is the fifth biggest city of the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, after Zurich, Winterthur, Uster and Dübendorf. It is the capital of the same-named district of Dietikon and part of the Zurich metropolitan area.

Geography

thumb|left|Dietikon and [[Uetliberg as seen from Spreitenbach]]

thumb|left|The [[Limmat at Dietikon railway station]]

The industrial city Dietikon is situated at an elevation of at the confluence of the Reppisch and the Limmat, located in the Limmat Valley (German: Limmattal), along the railway line from Zurich to Baden. Here and in the neighboring region, Spreitenbach, is also the large Limmattal rail freight marshalling yard.

Dietikon has an area of . 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).

Waters

Important running waters that flow through Dietikon are the Limmat and its tributary Reppisch. Wide brooks are the approximately 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.

History

thumb|Aerial view by [[Walter Mittelholzer (1930)]]

Dietikon is first mentioned in 1100 as Dietinchovin. 60.6% of the working population were employed full-time, and 39.4% were employed part-time.

there were 8,655 Catholics and 4,599 Protestants in Dietikon. In the , 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.

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! year

! population

|-

| 1779

| 686

|-

| 1836

| 1,025

|-

| 1850

| 1,291

|-

| 1900

| 2,613

|-

| 1910

| 4,493

|-

| 1950

| 7,132

|-

| 1960

| 14,920

|-

| 1970

| 22,705

|-

| 1990

| 21,152

|-

| 2000

| 21,353

|-

| 2017

| 27,079

|-

|}

Economics and education

Among other companies, the Limmattaler Zeitung newspaper and Ex Libris are situated in Dietikon.

Weather

Dietikon has an average of 132.2 days of rain per year and on average receives of precipitation. The wettest month is August during which time Dietikon receives an average of of precipitation. During the wettest month, there is precipitation for an average of 12.7 days.

Visitor attractions

There's the Bruno Weber Park in Dietikon respectively Spreitenbach, one of the few sculpture gardens and Gesamtkunstwerks in Switzerland. Glanzenberg was once a settlement along the river Limmat, but its fortifications seem to never have been completed, and it might have been destroyed in 1267/68, a legend tells. Its remains are to be found in a little forest along the Limmat, opposite the railway station of the same name. Also situated there are the walls of the former Glanzenberg castle, built in the late 12th century AD by the Counts of Regensberg.

Notable people

140px|thumb|Diamá (aka Claudia D'Addio), 2008

  • Bruno Weber (1931-2011) an artist and architect, specializing in fantastic realism
  • Peter Schweri (1939-2016) artist, painter, illustrator, photographer and music composer
  • Peter Vetsch (born 1943) an architect, known for building earth houses
  • Urs Fischbacher (born 1959) an economist and professor of applied economic research at the University of Konstanz
  • Markus Notter (born 1960) politician and former city president
  • Josef Wiederkehr (born 1970) a businessman and politician
  • Diamá (born 1980) also known as Claudia D'Addio, a singer, grew up in Dietikon

Twin towns

Dietikon is twinned with the towns of

{| class="wikitable"

|- valign="top"

|

  • Braggio, Graubünden, Switzerland
  • Kolín, Czech Republic
  • Renens, Vaud, Switzerland

|}

<gallery>

File:Dietikon - Zentralschulhaus IMG 6138 ShiftN.jpg|Zentralschulhaus building

File:Dietikon - Zürcherstrasse IMG 6139 ShiftN.jpg|Zürcherstrasse towards Schlieren

File:Dietiker und Geroldswiler Auen - Geroldswil IMG 6016.jpg|Protected area Dietiker & Geroldswiler Auen on the Limmat's shore

File:Limmat - Dietikon IMG 5929.jpg|Hiking path at Glanzenberg train station

File:RuineSchönenwerd02.JPG|Ruins of the Schönenwerd water castle

File:arc-de-triomphe-dietikon.jpg|Dietikon as part of the inscription at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris referring to the Second Battle of Zurich in 1799

File:2014 Bruno Weber Park ... hoffen wir auf Wiedereröffnung nach dem 20. Oktober 2014-10-17 15-11-26.JPG|Bruno Weber Park

File:Earth house estate.JPG|Earth house estate Lättenstrasse by Peter Vetsch

</gallery>

References

  • Official website