101-548: Willisau is a municipality in the district of Willisau in the Lucerne canton of Switzerland . It was formed on 1 January 2006 from the municipalities of Willisau Land (W. Country) and Willisau Stadt (W. Town). On 1 January 2021 the former municipality of Gettnau merged into Willisau. There were Roman settlements near Willisau by the 2nd or 3rd century AD. In 893 the Alamannic settlement of Cozeriswilare / Gesserswil
202-465: A de facto official language of Namibia after the end of German colonial rule alongside English and Afrikaans , and had de jure co-official status from 1984 until its independence from South Africa in 1990. However, the Namibian government perceived Afrikaans and German as symbols of apartheid and colonialism, and decided English would be the sole official language upon independence, stating that it
303-402: A second language , and 75–100 million as a foreign language . This would imply the existence of approximately 175–220 million German speakers worldwide. German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon estimated a number of 289 million German foreign language speakers without clarifying the criteria by which he classified a speaker. As of 2012 , about 90 million people, or 16% of
404-612: A "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it. Cameroon was also a colony of the German Empire from the same period (1884 to 1916). However, German was replaced by French and English, the languages of the two successor colonial powers, after its loss in World War I . Nevertheless, since the 21st century, German has become
505-477: A certain time in Switzerland are also allowed to participate in municipal politics. As at the cantonal and federal level, citizens enjoy political rights, including direct democratic ones, in their municipality. Municipalities are financed through direct taxes (such as income tax ), with rates varying more or less within a framework set by the canton (see Taxation in Switzerland ). As among the cantons, there
606-559: A greater need for regularity in written conventions. While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. diphthongization of certain vowel sounds: hus (OHG & MHG "house") → haus (regionally in later MHG)→ Haus (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to schwa [ə]: taga (OHG "days")→ tage (MHG)). A great wealth of texts survives from
707-458: A native tongue today, mostly descendants of German colonial settlers . The period of German colonialism in Namibia also led to the evolution of a Standard German-based pidgin language called " Namibian Black German ", which became a second language for parts of the indigenous population. Although it is nearly extinct today, some older Namibians still have some knowledge of it. German remained
808-696: A popular foreign language among pupils and students, with 300,000 people learning or speaking German in Cameroon in 2010 and over 230,000 in 2020. Today Cameroon is one of the African countries outside Namibia with the highest number of people learning German. In the United States, German is the fifth most spoken language in terms of native and second language speakers after English, Spanish , French , and Chinese (with figures for Cantonese and Mandarin combined), with over 1 million total speakers. In
909-483: A result, the surviving texts are written in highly disparate regional dialects and exhibit significant Latin influence, particularly in vocabulary. At this point monasteries, where most written works were produced, were dominated by Latin, and German saw only occasional use in official and ecclesiastical writing. While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the Middle High German (MHG) period, it
1010-400: A total of 670 employees. In 2015 a total of 5.4% of the population received social assistance. In 2011 the unemployment rate in the municipality was 0.9%. In 2015 local hotels had a total of 5,451 overnight stays, of which 67.1% were international visitors. In 2015 the average cantonal, municipal and church tax rate in the municipality for a couple with two children making SFr 80,000
1111-427: A total of 89 students in the municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 13.5% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 14.6% have a different mother language than the classroom language. The municipality had 21 primary classes and 427 students. Of the primary students, 11.2% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 15.7% have a different mother language than
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#17327865344921212-717: Is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family , mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe . It is the most spoken native language within the European Union . It is the most widely spoken and official (or co-official) language in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Liechtenstein , and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol . It is also an official language of Luxembourg , Belgium and
1313-601: Is a recognized minority language in the following countries: In France, the High German varieties of Alsatian and Moselle Franconian are identified as " regional languages ", but the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1998 has not yet been ratified by the government. Namibia also was a colony of the German Empire, from 1884 to 1915. About 30,000 people still speak German as
1414-449: Is a tax transfer among the municipalities to balance various levels of tax income. Switzerland has a relatively high number of small municipalities, with a population of 1,000 or less, especially in rural areas. Because of the increasing difficulty in providing professional government services and in finding volunteers for political offices in small municipalities, the cantons tend to encourage voluntary mergers of municipalities. This led to
1515-612: Is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects , with many varieties existing in Europe and other parts of the world. Some of these non-standard varieties have become recognized and protected by regional or national governments. Since 2004, heads of state of the German-speaking countries have met every year, and the Council for German Orthography has been the main international body regulating German orthography . German
1616-558: Is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages . The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches: North Germanic , East Germanic , and West Germanic . The first of these branches survives in modern Danish , Swedish , Norwegian , Faroese , and Icelandic , all of which are descended from Old Norse . The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and Gothic
1717-478: Is called the "German Sprachraum ". German is the official language of the following countries: German is a co-official language of the following countries: Although expulsions and (forced) assimilation after the two World wars greatly diminished them, minority communities of mostly bilingual German native speakers exist in areas both adjacent to and detached from the Sprachraum. Within Europe, German
1818-430: Is complicated by the existence of several varieties whose status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including quantitatively strong varieties like certain forms of Alemannic and Low German . With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90–95 million people speak German as a first language , 10–25 million speak it as
1919-537: Is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated into four levels according to ability and aptitude. Following the lower Secondary students may attend additional schooling or they may enter an apprenticeship . Willisau hosts a gymnasium with about 540 students in 28 different classes. During the 2009–10 school year, there were a total of 1,102 students attending classes in Willisau. There were 5 kindergarten classes with
2020-535: Is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 Black Death decimated Europe's population. Modern High German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which Wilhelm Scherer dates 1350–1650, terminating with the end of the Thirty Years' War . This period saw the further displacement of Latin by German as the primary language of courtly proceedings and, increasingly, of literature in
2121-611: Is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350. This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the Elbe and Saale rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into Slavic territory (known as
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#17327865344922222-565: Is less closely related to languages based on Low Franconian dialects (e.g., Dutch and Afrikaans), Low German or Low Saxon dialects (spoken in northern Germany and southern Denmark ), neither of which underwent the High German consonant shift. As has been noted, the former of these dialect types is Istvaeonic and the latter Ingvaeonic, whereas the High German dialects are all Irminonic; the differences between these languages and standard German are therefore considerable. Also related to German are
2323-435: Is one of the major languages of the world . German is the second-most widely spoken Germanic language , after English, both as a first and as a second language . German is also widely taught as a foreign language , especially in continental Europe (where it is the third most taught foreign language after English and French), and in the United States. Overall, German is the fourth most commonly learned second language, and
2424-597: Is one of the three biggest newspapers in Namibia and the only German-language daily in Africa. An estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa, mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the largest communities consists of the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German concentrated in and around Wartburg . The South African constitution identifies German as
2525-474: Is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites . The village of Willisau was founded near the first parish church . That first building was replaced with a Romanesque in the 13th century, of which only the tower remains. In 1805-10 the current church, with extensive classicist columns, was built on the site of the earlier churches. It was designed by Josef Purtschert. In 1929 it was renovated. During
2626-401: Is partly derived from Latin and Greek , along with fewer words borrowed from French and Modern English . English, however, is the main source of more recent loanwords . German is a pluricentric language ; the three standardized variants are German , Austrian , and Swiss Standard German . Standard German is sometimes called High German , which refers to its regional origin. German
2727-525: Is the Sachsenspiegel , the first book of laws written in Middle Low German ( c. 1220 ). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardized written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms. The Middle High German period
2828-578: Is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as English, German, Dutch , Yiddish , Afrikaans , and others. Within the West Germanic language dialect continuum, the Benrath and Uerdingen lines (running through Düsseldorf - Benrath and Krefeld - Uerdingen , respectively) serve to distinguish
2929-485: Is understood in all areas where German is spoken. Approximate distribution of native German speakers (assuming a rounded total of 95 million) worldwide: As a result of the German diaspora , as well as the popularity of German taught as a foreign language , the geographical distribution of German speakers (or "Germanophones") spans all inhabited continents. However, an exact, global number of native German speakers
3030-433: Is unproductive land. In the 2004/09 survey a total of 212 ha (520 acres) or about 5.1% of the total area was covered with buildings, an increase of 61 ha (150 acres) over the 1981 amount. Of the agricultural land, 71 ha (180 acres) is used for orchards and vineyards and 2,643 ha (6,530 acres) is fields and grasslands. Since 1981 the amount of agricultural land has decreased by 94 ha (230 acres). Over
3131-689: The Ostsiedlung ). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature. A clear example of this is the mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache employed in the Hohenstaufen court in Swabia as a standardized supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to
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3232-639: The Alamanni , Bavarian, and Thuringian groups, all belonging to the Elbe Germanic group ( Irminones ), which had settled in what is now southern-central Germany and Austria between the second and sixth centuries, during the great migration. In general, the surviving texts of Old High German (OHG) show a wide range of dialectal diversity with very little written uniformity. The early written tradition of OHG survived mostly through monasteries and scriptoria as local translations of Latin originals; as
3333-809: The Bürgerrecht (citizenship), regardless of where they were born or where they may currently live. Instead of the place of birth , Swiss legal documents, e.g. passports, contain the Bürgerort (place of citizenship, or place of origin ). The Bürgergemeinde also often holds and administers the common property in the village for the members of the community. Each canton determines the powers and responsibilities of its municipalities. These may include providing local government services such as education, medical and social services, public transportation, and tax collection. The degree of centralization varies from one canton to another. The federal constitution protects
3434-537: The Early Middle Ages . German is an inflected language , with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, plural). It has strong and weak verbs . The majority of its vocabulary derives from the ancient Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, while a smaller share
3535-417: The European Union 's population, spoke German as their mother tongue, making it the second most widely spoken language on the continent after Russian and the second biggest language in terms of overall speakers (after English), as well as the most spoken native language. The area in central Europe where the majority of the population speaks German as a first language and has German as a (co-)official language
3636-586: The FDP (25.17%), the SVP (20.77%) and the SPS (7.34%). In the federal election, a total of 3,243 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 61.9%. Willisau is a mixed agro-industrial community, a municipality where agriculture and manufacturing play a significant role in the economy. As of 2014, there were a total of 4,888 people employed in the municipality. Of these, a total of 486 people worked in 182 businesses in
3737-522: The German states . While these states were still part of the Holy Roman Empire , and far from any form of unification, the desire for a cohesive written language that would be understandable across the many German-speaking principalities and kingdoms was stronger than ever. As a spoken language German remained highly fractured throughout this period, with a vast number of often mutually incomprehensible regional dialects being spoken throughout
3838-573: The Guglers , English and French mercenaries who were raiding throughout the region. Just over ten years later, during the Sempach War of 1386, Leopold ordered the town burned again to prevent it falling into Swiss hands. The small villages surrounding Willisau were founded during the Middle Ages and were ruled by a number of different nobles over the centuries. In 1407 the descendants of
3939-746: The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I , and the other being Meißner Deutsch , used in the Electorate of Saxony in the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg . Alongside these courtly written standards, the invention of the printing press led to the development of a number of printers' languages ( Druckersprachen ) aimed at making printed material readable and understandable across as many diverse dialects of German as possible. The greater ease of production and increased availability of written texts brought about increased standardisation in
4040-666: The Old High German language in several Elder Futhark inscriptions from as early as the sixth century AD (such as the Pforzen buckle ), the Old High German period is generally seen as beginning with the Abrogans (written c. 765–775 ), a Latin-German glossary supplying over 3,000 Old High German words with their Latin equivalents. After the Abrogans , the first coherent works written in Old High German appear in
4141-676: The Sprachraum in Europe. German is used in a wide variety of spheres throughout the country, especially in business, tourism, and public signage, as well as in education, churches (most notably the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK) ), other cultural spheres such as music, and media (such as German language radio programs by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation ). The Allgemeine Zeitung
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4242-550: The Standard German language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition. Punctuation and compound spelling (joined or isolated compounds) were not standardized in the process. The Deutsche Bühnensprache ( lit. ' German stage language ' ) by Theodor Siebs had established conventions for German pronunciation in theatres , three years earlier; however, this
4343-521: The Swiss peasant war of 1653 the vogt moved from Lucerne to Willisau to better control the countryside, while giving the town increased autonomy. In 1690-95 a large Bailiff's Castle was built by Landvogt Franz Bernhard Feer as a residence and administrative center of the vogt. By the 16th century the town had become the home of many small craftsmen and business owners. While the town remained somewhat prosperous, there were very few wealthy citizens. In 1704
4444-513: The Upper German dialects spoken in the southern German-speaking countries , such as Swiss German ( Alemannic dialects ) and the various Germanic dialects spoken in the French region of Grand Est , such as Alsatian (mainly Alemannic, but also Central–and Upper Franconian dialects) and Lorraine Franconian (Central Franconian). After these High German dialects, standard German
4545-469: The pagan Germanic tradition. Of particular interest to scholars, however, has been the Hildebrandslied , a secular epic poem telling the tale of an estranged father and son unknowingly meeting each other in battle. Linguistically, this text is highly interesting due to the mixed use of Old Saxon and Old High German dialects in its composition. The written works of this period stem mainly from
4646-400: The primary economic sector . The secondary sector employed 1,162 workers in 104 separate businesses, of which there were 24 small businesses with a total of 523 employees and 5 mid sized businesses with a total of 412 employees. Finally, the tertiary sector provided 3,240 jobs in 460 businesses. There were 45 small businesses with a total of 1,205 employees and 6 mid sized businesses with
4747-723: The Empire. Its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Prague (German: Prag ) and Budapest ( Buda , German: Ofen ), to name two examples, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain; others, like Pressburg ( Pozsony , now Bratislava), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, and cities like Zagreb (German: Agram ) or Ljubljana (German: Laibach ), contained significant German minorities. In
4848-748: The Frisian languages— North Frisian (spoken in Nordfriesland ), Saterland Frisian (spoken in Saterland ), and West Frisian (spoken in Friesland )—as well as the Anglic languages of English and Scots. These Anglo-Frisian dialects did not take part in the High German consonant shift, and the Anglic languages also adopted much vocabulary from both Old Norse and the Norman language . The history of
4949-536: The German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the Migration Period , which separated Old High German dialects from Old Saxon . This sound shift involved a drastic change in the pronunciation of both voiced and voiceless stop consonants ( b , d , g , and p , t , k , respectively). The primary effects of the shift were the following below. While there is written evidence of
5050-451: The German states; the invention of the printing press c. 1440 and the publication of Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible in 1534, however, had an immense effect on standardizing German as a supra-dialectal written language. The ENHG period saw the rise of several important cross-regional forms of chancery German, one being gemeine tiutsch , used in the court of
5151-681: The Germanic dialects that were affected by the High German consonant shift (south of Benrath) from those that were not (north of Uerdingen). The various regional dialects spoken south of these lines are grouped as High German dialects, while those spoken to the north comprise the Low German and Low Franconian dialects. As members of the West Germanic language family, High German, Low German, and Low Franconian have been proposed to be further distinguished historically as Irminonic , Ingvaeonic , and Istvaeonic , respectively. This classification indicates their historical descent from dialects spoken by
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#17327865344925252-557: The Hasenburg family sold the town to Lucerne . Because the town sat on an important trade route from Lucerne to Bern , it grew into an important regional trade center and center of a district or vogtei . However, initially the vogt remained in Lucerne and ruled through local amtmann or bailiff . In 1471 a fire destroyed much of the town. Over the following centuries, the town gradually gained additional rights and autonomy. After
5353-655: The Irminones (also known as the Elbe group), Ingvaeones (or North Sea Germanic group), and Istvaeones (or Weser–Rhine group). Standard German is based on a combination of Thuringian - Upper Saxon and Upper Franconian dialects, which are Central German and Upper German dialects belonging to the High German dialect group. German is therefore closely related to the other languages based on High German dialects, such as Luxembourgish (based on Central Franconian dialects ) and Yiddish . Also closely related to Standard German are
5454-865: The Italian autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia , as well as a recognized national language in Namibia . There are also notable German-speaking communities in France ( Alsace ), the Czech Republic ( North Bohemia ), Poland ( Upper Silesia ), Slovakia ( Košice Region , Spiš , and Hauerland ), Denmark ( North Schleswig ), Romania and Hungary ( Sopron ). Overseas, sizeable communities of German-speakers are found in Brazil ( Blumenau and Pomerode ), South Africa ( Kroondal ), Namibia , among others, some communities have decidedly Austrian German or Swiss German characters (e.g. Pozuzo , Peru). German
5555-518: The MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the Nibelungenlied , an epic poem telling the story of the dragon -slayer Siegfried ( c. thirteenth century ), and the Iwein , an Arthurian verse poem by Hartmann von Aue ( c. 1203 ), lyric poems , and courtly romances such as Parzival and Tristan . Also noteworthy
5656-403: The autonomy of municipalities within the framework set out by cantonal law. Municipalities are generally governed by an executive council headed by a president or mayor . Legislative authority is exercised by a town meeting of all citizens, or by a municipal parliament, depending on the size of the municipality, and on cantonal and municipal law. In some cantons, foreigners who have lived for
5757-466: The chapel site. When one of the men lost all his money, he drew his sword and cursed Christ . Five drops of blood fell on the table and the blasphemer, Ueli Schröter, was dragged away by the Devil . The second man died as he tried to clean up the five drops of blood and the third fled and died outside the town gates. The table with five drops of holy blood was saved by a local priest and the wooden chapel
5858-408: The classroom language. There were also 12 students who attended a special, smaller primary class. There were 305 students who attended 16 advanced, pre- Gymnasium classes. During the same year, there were 16 lower secondary classes with a total of 269 students. A total of 189 or 70.3% of the students are in the highest two levels (which generally lead to a university education), while 70 or 26.0% of
5959-478: The collapse of the Republic and the 1803 Act of Mediation , the two municipalities became totally autonomous. Despite being two separate communities, Willisau Stadt remained the population and economic center of the area. By the 1990s the two municipalities shared a number of organizations and responsibilities. On 25 January 2004, the population of both municipalities voted for reunification. So, on 1 January 2006
6060-558: The construction rate of new housing units was 1.8 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010, was 0.49%. The historical population is given in the following chart: The Old City, the Catholic church of St. Peter and Paul, the Landvogteischloss (Bailiff's Castle) and the pilgrimage chapel of Heiligblut are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance . The entire town of Willisau
6161-430: The development of non-local forms of language and exposed all speakers to forms of German from outside their own area. With Luther's rendering of the Bible in the vernacular, German asserted itself against the dominance of Latin as a legitimate language for courtly, literary, and now ecclesiastical subject-matter. His Bible was ubiquitous in the German states: nearly every household possessed a copy. Nevertheless, even with
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#17327865344926262-404: The dialect so as to make the work as natural and accessible to German speakers as possible. Copies of Luther's Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region, translating words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Luther said the following concerning his translation method: One who would talk German does not ask the Latin how he shall do it; he must ask the mother in
6363-435: The eastern provinces of Banat , Bukovina , and Transylvania (German: Banat, Buchenland, Siebenbürgen ), German was the predominant language not only in the larger towns—like Temeschburg ( Timișoara ), Hermannstadt ( Sibiu ), and Kronstadt ( Brașov )—but also in many smaller localities in the surrounding areas. In 1901, the Second Orthographic Conference ended with a (nearly) complete standardization of
6464-474: The exercise of political rights for everyone except the members of the Bürgergemeinde . In the Regeneration era (1830–1848), the liberal revolutions of the common people helped to restore some rights again in a few cantons. In other cantons, the Bürgergemeinden were able to maintain power as political communities. In the city of Zürich it was not until the Municipal Act of 1866 that the political municipality came back into existence. The relationship between
6565-432: The formerly separate municipalities of Willisau Stadt and Willisau Land merged into the municipality of Willisau. Gettnau is first mentioned in the 9th century as Kepinhouva . Willisau has an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of 47.22 km (18.23 sq mi). Of this area, about 63.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 27.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 8.0% is settled (buildings or roads) and 0.8%
6666-463: The fortified town of Willisau. The new town was granted the right have a wall and fortifications by the Habsburgs and later the right to hold markets . At the time of its founding it probably had about 150 citizens. Through marriage, in 1367, the Counts of Aarburg inherited the town. However, it still remained a fief under the Austrian Habsburgs. In 1375 Duke Leopold of Austria ordered the poorly fortified city to be burned to prevent its capture by
6767-435: The home, the children on the streets, the common man in the market-place and note carefully how they talk, then translate accordingly. They will then understand what is said to them because it is German. When Christ says ' ex abundantia cordis os loquitur ,' I would translate, if I followed the papists, aus dem Überflusz des Herzens redet der Mund . But tell me is this talking German? What German understands such stuff? No,
6868-417: The influence of Luther's Bible as an unofficial written standard, a widely accepted standard for written German did not appear until the middle of the eighteenth century. German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire , which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe . Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of
6969-538: The lowest level of administrative division in Switzerland. Each municipality is part of one of the Swiss cantons , which form the Swiss Confederation . In most cantons, municipalities are also part of districts or other sub-cantonal administrative divisions. There are 2,131 municipalities as of January 2024 . Their populations range between several hundred thousand ( Zürich ), and a few dozen people ( Kammersrohr , Bister ), and their territory between 0.32 km² ( Rivaz ) and 439 km² ( Scuol ). The beginnings of
7070-445: The modern municipality system date back to the Helvetic Republic . Under the Old Swiss Confederacy , citizenship was granted by each town and village to only residents. These citizens enjoyed access to community property and in some cases additional protection under the law. Additionally, the urban towns and the rural villages had differing rights and laws. The creation of a uniform Swiss citizenship, which applied equally for citizens of
7171-402: The most popular party was the CVP with 31.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (27.9%), the FDP (19.7%) and the SP (9.9%). In the federal election, a total of 3,243 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 58.2%. In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 38.72% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were
7272-402: The mother in the home and the plain man would say, Wesz das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über . Luther's translation of the Bible into High German was also decisive for the German language and its evolution from Early New High German to modern Standard German. The publication of Luther's Bible was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy in early modern Germany , and promoted
7373-471: The municipalities under cantonal or federal law. Municipalities are numbered by the Swiss Federal Office for Statistics (see Community Identification Number#Switzerland ). One or more postal codes (PLZ/NPA) can by assigned to a municipality or shared with other municipalities. Between 2011 and 2021 nine of the smallest municipalities merged into others as part of the effort to eliminate
7474-653: The ninth century, chief among them being the Muspilli , Merseburg charms , and Hildebrandslied , and other religious texts (the Georgslied , Ludwigslied , Evangelienbuch , and translated hymns and prayers). The Muspilli is a Christian poem written in a Bavarian dialect offering an account of the soul after the Last Judgment , and the Merseburg charms are transcriptions of spells and charms from
7575-436: The number of municipalities dropping by 384 between the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2019. Some municipalities designate themselves as "city" ( ville or Stadt ) or as "village" ( Dorf ). These designations result from tradition or local preference – for example, several small municipalities designated as cities held city rights in medieval times – and normally do not impact the legal or political rights or obligations of
7676-533: The old towns and their tenants and servants, led to conflict. The wealthier villagers and urban citizens held rights to forests, common land and other municipal property which they did not want to share with the "new citizens", who were generally poor. The compromise solution, which was written into the municipal laws of the Helvetic Republic, is still valid today. Two politically separate but often geographically similar organizations were created. The first,
7777-410: The per person average of SFr 35,825. In 2008 the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 3,170. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 342, of which 339 were in agriculture and 4 were in fishing or fisheries. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 987 of which 605 or (61.3%) were in manufacturing and 378 (38.3%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector
7878-535: The political municipality and the Bürgergemeinde was often dominated by the latter's ownership of community property. Often the administration and profit from the property were totally held by the Bürgergemeinden , leaving the political municipality dependent on the Bürgergemeinde for money and use of the property. It was not until the political municipality acquired rights over property that served
7979-447: The political voting and electoral body rights from the Bürgergemeinde . In the cities, the percentage of members in the Bürgergemeinde in the population was reduced as a result of increasing emigration to the cities. This led to the Bürgergemeinde losing its former importance to a large extent. However, the Bürgergemeinde has remained, and it includes all individuals who are citizens of the Bürgergemeinde , usually by having inherited
8080-474: The population (as of 2000) speaks German (94.5%) as their first language, Albanian is the second most common (2.3%) and Serbo-Croatian is the third (0.7%). As of 2008, the population was made up of 6,620 Swiss citizens and 586 non-citizen residents (8.13% of the population). As of 2000, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 15.7%. As of 2009,
8181-462: The pronunciation of the ending -ig as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, High German was a foreign language to most inhabitants, whose native dialects were subsets of Low German. It was usually encountered only in writing or formal speech; in fact, most of High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. However, wider standardization of pronunciation
8282-507: The public (such as schools, fire stations, etc.) and taxes, that they obtained full independence. For example, in the city of Bern, it was not until after the property division of 1852 that the political municipality had the right to levy taxes. It was not until the Federal Constitution of 1874 that all Swiss citizens were granted equal political rights on local and Federal levels. This revised constitution finally removed all
8383-459: The renovation, a large reinforced concrete bell tower was added to the church roof. This tower is considered an architectural achievement in reinforced concrete construction. In 1995-7 the church was renovated and the interior was returned to its original appearance. The current chapel was built in 1674 on the site of an earlier Gothic chapel and an even earlier wooden chapel. According to legend, on 7 July 1392 three men were playing cards near
8484-446: The same time period the amount of forested land has increased by 3 ha (7.4 acres). Rivers and lakes cover 43 ha (110 acres) in the municipality. Willisau has a population (as of December 2020) of 7,752. As of 2008, 8.1% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 2.3%. Migration accounted for 0%, while births and deaths accounted for 1.3%. Most of
8585-438: The smallest communities. Only Bister has not merged into a new municipality although the smallest municipality is now Kammersrohr with a population of just 32. In addition to the municipalities as basic territorial political subdivisions, a number of other local subdivisions exist in several cantons. These include: German language German (German: Deutsch , pronounced [dɔʏtʃ] )
8686-677: The so-called municipality, was a political community formed by election and its voting body consists of all resident citizens. However, the community land and property remained with the former local citizens who were gathered together into the Bürgergemeinde /bourgeoisie. During the Mediation era (1803–1814), and especially during the Restoration era (1814–1830), many of the gains toward uniform citizenship were lost. Many political municipalities were abolished and limits were placed on
8787-546: The states of North Dakota and South Dakota , German is the most common language spoken at home after English. As a legacy of significant German immigration to the country , German geographical names can be found throughout the Midwest region , such as New Ulm and Bismarck (North Dakota's state capital), plus many other regions. A number of German varieties have developed in the country and are still spoken today, such as Pennsylvania Dutch and Texas German . In Brazil,
8888-758: The students are in the third level (which may lead to a Fachhochschule education or apprenticeship) and 10 or 3.7% of the students are in the lowest level (which may lead to an apprenticeship). Willisau is home to the Regionalbibliothek Willisau library. The library has (as of 2008) 10,898 books or other media, and loaned out 28,107 items in the same year. It was open a total of 146 days with average of 10 hours per week during that year. Municipalities of Switzerland Municipalities ( German : Gemeinden , Einwohnergemeinden or politische Gemeinden ; French : communes ; Italian : comuni ; Romansh : vischnancas ) are
8989-500: The third most commonly learned second language in the United States in K-12 education. The language has been influential in the fields of philosophy, theology, science, and technology. It is the second most commonly used language in science and the third most widely used language on websites . The German-speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of annual publication of new books, with one-tenth of all books (including e-books) in
9090-410: The town was destroyed for a fourth time by a fire. Very few of the residents were wealthy enough to rebuild their homes and reconstruction was very slow. Before 2006, the municipality was divided into Willisau Stadt (the city, 337 hectares [830 acres]) and Willisau Land (countryside, 3,771 hectares [9,320 acres]). During the 17th and 18th centuries the town was relatively well off, while Willisau Land
9191-496: The working population, 9.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 52.2% used a private car. In Willisau about 47.7% of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education , and 18.2% have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule ). The Canton of Lucerne school system may provide one year of non-obligatory Preschool and always provides one year of obligatory Kindergarten , followed by six years of Primary school. This
9292-555: The world being published in German. German is most closely related to other West Germanic languages, namely Afrikaans , Dutch , English , the Frisian languages , and Scots . It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic group , such as Danish , Norwegian , and Swedish . Modern German gradually developed from Old High German , which in turn developed from Proto-Germanic during
9393-600: The written form of German. One of the central events in the development of ENHG was the publication of Luther's translation of the Bible into High German (the New Testament was published in 1522; the Old Testament was published in parts and completed in 1534). Luther based his translation primarily on the Meißner Deutsch of Saxony , spending much time among the population of Saxony researching
9494-441: Was 1,841. In the tertiary sector; 479 or 26.0% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 82 or 4.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 103 or 5.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 113 or 6.1% were in the information industry, 88 or 4.8% were the insurance or financial industry, 148 or 8.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 269 or 14.6% were in education and 337 or 18.3% were in health care. Of
9595-434: Was 5.2% while the rate for a single person making SFr 150,000 was 15.4%, both of which are close to the average for the canton. In 2013 the average income in the municipality per tax payer was SFr 68,376 and the per person average was SFr 28,594, which is less than the cantonal average of SFr 77,327 and SFr 33,180 respectively It is also less than the national per tax payer average of SFr 82,682 and
9696-429: Was a "neutral" language as there were virtually no English native speakers in Namibia at that time. German, Afrikaans, and several indigenous languages thus became "national languages" by law, identifying them as elements of the cultural heritage of the nation and ensuring that the state acknowledged and supported their presence in the country. Today, Namibia is considered to be the only German-speaking country outside of
9797-547: Was an artificial standard that did not correspond to any traditional spoken dialect. Rather, it was based on the pronunciation of German in Northern Germany, although it was subsequently regarded often as a general prescriptive norm, despite differing pronunciation traditions especially in the Upper-German-speaking regions that still characterise the dialect of the area today – especially
9898-528: Was built to hold it. The current chapel was built in the Renaissance style with a large Tuscan porch. Three wooden early Baroque altars were added a few years later. The walls are decorated with eight paintings of the legend of the Holy Blood. The ceiling was decorated with 70 paintings by Anton Amberg, showing biblical scenes, the apostles and patrons of the chapel. In the 2015 federal election
9999-492: Was established on the basis of public speaking in theatres and the media during the 20th century and documented in pronouncing dictionaries. Official revisions of some of the rules from 1901 were not issued until the controversial German orthography reform of 1996 was made the official standard by governments of all German-speaking countries. Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard German which
10100-576: Was generally poorer. In 1763 a special tax was decreed on the town to help support the poor of the surrounding countryside. Those in Willisau Land were placed under the laws and jurisdiction of the town, but were no longer responsible to care for the poor. In 1798, following the creation of the Helvetic Republic , the special rights of the town's citizens were abolished and the two tax districts became separate municipalities. Following
10201-524: Was mentioned near modern Willisau. By the 11th century a parish church existed in the area and in 1101 the lords of Honstetten (Hegau) were mentioned as holding the patronage rights over the church at Willineshouwo . In 1245 the Freiherr von Hasenburg held the church and the surrounding lands as a fief for the Habsburgs . In 1302-3 the three Hasenburg brothers, Markward, Heimo and Walter, founded
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