Opfikon

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Canton	Zurich
District	Bülach
Coordinates	47°26′N 8°34′E
Population	12779 (December 2005)
Area	5.61 km²
Elevation	459 m
Postal code	8152
Mayor	Walter Fehr (GV)
Website	www.opfikon.ch
Surrounded by	Kloten, Wallisellen, Zurich, Rümlang
Opfikon

Opfikon is a municipality in the Swiss in the canton of Zurich, located in the district of Bülach.

1 Geography
2 Historical overview
3 Politics
4 Economy
5 Etymology
6 Sources
7 External links

[edit] Geography

Opfikon is situated to the northeast of the city of Zurich in the Glatt valley, near Zurich's airport, and thus lies within greater Zurich. As it belongs to the region known as the Zurich Lowlands (Zürcher Unterland), the landscape is rather flat. The lowest point lies 420.4 m above sea level at the border to the neighboring commune of Rümlang. About 37% of the municipal territory is covered by built-up areas, 17% by woods, 27% by farms, 17.6% by transport infrastructures, and 1.2% by water.

[edit] Historical overview

The present municipality traces back to two settlements, one of which is Opfikon itself, situated to the right ofthe river Glatt, and on the other side of it lies Oberhusen. Glattbrugg, as its name (bridge over the Glatt) suggests, was not originally a settlement, but a passage of some importance. However, the name was later also used for a smithy and a mill that were built near the bridge at the left bank of the river, and round which eventually developed another settlement.

During the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803), Opfikon became part of the municipality of Kloten, that pertained to the district of Bassersdorf. Oberhusen, lying on the other side of the Glatt, fell to the municipality of Seebach, belonging to the district of Regensdorf.

After Napoleon's Act of Mediation (19 February 1803) the administration of the canton of Zurich was rearranged again, and Opfikon and Oberhusen were united into a municipality named Opfikon, which belongs to the district of Bülach. In the course of the Restoration after the end of the Napoleonic era, the municipality of Opfikon, consisting of the two towns of Opfikon and Oberhusen (with Glattbrugg) established in 1815, became part of the district (Oberamt) of Embrach. In 1831, as a result of the new cantonal constitution, it changed its seat to Bülach. In 1918 the two communities were merged into the municipality of Opfikon.

Due to the growing importance of Glattbrugg, the name Oberhusen is no longer used, and the municipality as a whole is now often called Opfikon-Glattbrugg to distinguish it from Opfikon proper.

[edit] Politics

The results of the last elections for the municipal parliament (2 April 2006) were as follows:

Party	Swiss People's Party (SVP)	Free Democratic Party of Switzerland (FDP)	Municipal Association (GV)	Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland (CVP)	Evangelical People's Party of Switzerland (EVP)	Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP)	Swiss Democrats (SD)	Green Liberal Party (GLP)	Swiss People's Party (SVP)
Seats	10	4	5	4	3	5	1	2	2

The president of the municipality is Walter Fehr.

[edit] Economy

Adecco S.A., the world's largest employment agency, is headquartered in Glattbrugg.

[edit] Etymology

Opfikon is formed with the place name suffix -(i)kon/-(i)ken, that is common in the cantons of Zürich, Aargau, and Lucerne. The i comes from the suffix -ing-‚ meaning followers, and kon from the word hof‚ meaning landed estate. It is the equivalent of the suffix kofen in Berne, Solothurn, and also in Thurgau.

The oldest mention of the name (Obtinchofa) dates back to the middle of the 12th century. The attribution of an earlier record Ubinchova in a document from the year 744 is doubtful.^[1]