In 1388, the Swiss Confederates beat the Habsburgs at the Battle of Näfels, a victory that proved to be decisive in the series of Swiss-Austrian conflicts that stretched through most of the 14th Century as, in 1389, a peace treaty was signed at Vienna. The losses were much higher on the Austrian side, with 2,500 Austrians killed and 54 Swiss. The town's Slachtkapelle was created as a memorial to the men who fell in battle, and the Näfelser Fahrt, a pilgrimage to the site of the battle, has been held in April every year since the battle.[2][3]
Näfels has an area, as of 2006[update], of 36.9 km2 (14.2 sq mi). Of this area, 35.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 37.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 4.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (22.1%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[4]
Näfels is located in the Glarner Unterland on the left side of the valley, across from Mollis. It consists of the village of Näfels and the scattered settlements that make up the Näfelser Berg and the Oberseetal.
Demographics
Näfels had a population (as of 2010) of 4,021. As of 2007[update], 19.3% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.[5] Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of −0.6%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (86.9%), with Italian being second most common (5.2%) and Albanian being third (2.9%).[4]
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SPS which received 48.6% of the vote. Most of the rest of the votes went to the SVP with 40.2% of the vote.[4]
In Näfels about 64% of the population (between age 25 and 64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).[4]
Näfels has an unemployment rate of 1.59%. As of 2005[update], there were 94 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 39 businesses involved in this sector, while 1,399 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 62 businesses in this sector. There are 918 people employed in the tertiary sector, with 140 businesses in this sector.[4]
The historical population is given in the following table:[1]
