Birrwil

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Canton	Aargau
District	Kulm
Coordinates	47°18′N 8°12′E
Population	942 (December 2005)
Area	5.53 km²
Elevation	560 m
Postal code	4132
Website	www.birrwil.ch
Birrwil

Birrwil is a municipality in the district of Kulm in Canton Aargau in Switzerland. It is located on the western shore of Lake Hallwil.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Population
4 Resources
5 External link

[edit] Geography

The town is located on four thin terraces on the steep east slopes of Mounts Eichhalde Güggeliberg, between 70 and 150 meters above the lake surface. The shore of the lake is unusually undeveloped. The area of the municipality is 553 hectares, of which 96 are forested and 46 are developed. Elevations in the municipality range between 449 and 771 meters. Neighboring municipalities are Leutwil in the north-west, Boniswil in the north, Meisterschwanden in the east, Beinwil am See in the south, Reinach in the south-west, and Zetzwil in the west.

[edit] History

Isolated finds of artifacts indicate settlement during the Neolithic and Roman Eras. The beginnings of the modern town go back to an Alamanni named Bero (meaning Bear), who founded the village Beriwilare (meaning Bero's village) in the area. The first written mention of the town was in 1185.

[edit] Population

Population Growth
Year	Population
1653	195
1870	1005
1900	850
1930	808
1950	845
1960	880
1970	888
1980	927
1990	923
2000	960

In December 2005 924 people lived in Birrwil, of whom 10.7% were foreigners. As of the 2000 census, 58% are Protestant, 22.6% are Catholic, 4.1% are Muslim, 1.3% are Orthodox Christians, and 1.1% belong to other faiths. 93.6% speak German, 1.1% speak Albanian, .8% speak French and .8% speak Italian.