Meilen is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
History
thumb|Aerial view from 200 m by [[Walter Mittelholzer (1919)]]
Archaeological finds in Meilen date back more than 4,000 years. In January 1854 the level of lake Zürich was particularly low and the locals took the chance to reclaim some land. During this undertaking prehistoric objects from the Pfyn, Horgen and early Bronze Age cultures were unearthed providing clear evidence of early settlement.
The locals also unearthed coins from Roman times (1st to 3rd century AD). One of the Roman roads connected Turicum (Zürich) with places up to Chur and passed by Meilen. Many findings were discovered during more recent road construction.
Parts of Meilen were possessions of monasteries, including the monastery of St. Gallen, the ones of Einsiedeln and Säckingen, or the more local Grossmünster of Zürich. Meilen is first mentioned between 820 and 880 as Meilana.
|-
| 1634
| 1,107
|-
| 1697
| 1,590
|-
| 1799
| 3,034
|-
| 1850
| 3,065
|-
| 1900
| 3,213
|-
| 1950
| 5,992
|-
| 1970
| 9,881
|-
| 2000
| 11,480
|-
|}
The age distribution of the population () is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 18.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 63% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18.1%. In Meilen about 83.9% 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 5315 households in Meilen. 43% of the working population were employed full-time, and 57% were employed part-time.
there were 3217 Catholics and 5337 Protestants in Meilen. In the 2000 census, religion was broken down into several smaller categories. From the , 49.9% were some type of Protestant, with 47.9% belonging to the Swiss Reformed Church and 2% belonging to other Protestant churches. 26.5% of the population were Catholic. Of the rest of the population, 3% were Muslim, 5.3% belonged to another religion (not listed), 3% did not give a religion, and 14.7% were atheist or agnostic. and the settlement is also listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as a Class object. Because the lake has grown in size over time, the original piles are now around to under the water level of .
Transportation
There are two railway stations within the municipality. Meilen railway station is served by the S6 (daily, every 30 minutes), S7 (daily, every 30 minutes), S20 (One-way rush hour service) and SN7 (weekend night service) lines of the Zürich S-Bahn. Herrliberg-Feldmeilen station is served by lines S6 and S16. During the day the S16 line terminates at Herrliberg-Feldmeilen, but during early mornings and late evenings it is extended to Meilen.
Meilen also has a number of local bus routes, including route 925 and weekend night route N92 that operates to Uetikon, Männedorf and Stäfa.
In the summer there are regular boats along the lake to Zürich and Rapperswil, run by the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft. The Horgen–Meilen car ferry connects Meilen with Horgen on the opposite shore of the lake, and one of that ferry line's ships carries the name Meilen.
Notable people
- Ulrich Wille (1848 – 1925 in Meilen) the General of the Swiss Army during the First World War
- Rolf Larcher (born 1934 in Meilen) a Swiss rower, bronze medallist at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- Werner Hug (born 1952 in Feldmeilen) a Swiss chess player
- Magdalena Martullo-Blocher (born 1969) a Swiss billionaire businesswoman, politician and CEO of Ems-Chemie. She lives in Feldmeilen