Berikon
Berikon is a municipality in the district of Bremgarten in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. The village lies on a hill above and to the east of the Reuss Valley, covering part of the Mutschellen Pass. This municipality is bounded by Rudolfstetten-Friedlisberg, Widen, Zufikon, and Oberwil-Lieli, all in canton Aargau, and shares a boundary with the canton of Zurich (district of Dietikon) to the east. History Berikon was mentioned for the first time in 1153 as a court place "Berchheim". In 1184 it was mentioned as Berchein. Over time, the name of the place changed from Berchheim to Bergheim, then to Berchan, Berkein, and finally Berikon. The originally separate settlements Unterberikon (Lower Berikon) and Oberberikon (Upper Berikon) fell under the territorial lordship of the city of Zurich in 1415, when the Eidgenossen (Confederacy) conquered Aargau. Later, in 1471, Unterberikon became part of Amt Rohrdorf in the county of Baden, while Oberberikon fell under the oversight of the Kelleramt (Freiamt Affoltern). When in 1798 the French overran Switzerland and instituted the Helvetic Republic, both municipalities came to the short-lived canton of Baden. During the establishment of the canton of Aargau in 1803, the two municipalities were reunited and joined the district of Bremgarten. On 1 May 1902, the Bremgarten-Dietikon-Bahn was opened, giving Berikon a railway connection to the rest of Switzerland. Still, until well into the 20th century, Berikon was a rural village, populated by just 900 inhabitants in 1950, before a sudden boom of construction activity occurred. Within thirty years the total population increased by over 150%. Today's population is roughly quadruple that of the 1960s. Berikon has grown together with the neighbouring municipalities and is today part of the agglomeration of Zurich. Geography Berikon has an area, , of . Of this area, 49.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 31.4% is forested. The rest of the land, (18.9%) is settled. The municipality is located in the Bremgarten district, and is located on the Mutschellenhöhe. It consists of the originally separate villages of Ober- and Unter-Berikon. Coat of arms The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Argent a Trefoil slipped Vert. Demographics At the end of 2008 Berikon had 4,491 residents, of whom 591 (13.2%) were non-Swiss, and 50.2% were female. Berikon had a population of , of which 13.9% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. According to the federal census of 2000, the 4358 residents in 1821 households included only 464 foreigners (10.6%). Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 0.9%. Most of the population () speaks German (92.6%), with Italian being second most common ( 1.6%) and French being third ( 1.0%). The age distribution, , in Berikon is; 457 children or 10.2% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 517 teenagers or 11.5% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 581 people or 12.9% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 651 people or 14.5%