Merenschwand - Geography

Geography

Merenschwand has an area, as of 2009, of 11.05 square kilometers (4.27 sq mi). Of this area, 7.55 km2 (2.92 sq mi) or 68.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.26 km2 (0.49 sq mi) or 11.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.25 km2 (0.48 sq mi) or 11.3% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.5 km2 (0.19 sq mi) or 4.5% is either rivers or lakes and 0.58 km2 (0.22 sq mi) or 5.2% is unproductive land. After the 2012 merger, Merenschwand had an area of 13.51 km² (5.22 sq mi) .

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.1% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 5.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.1%. Out of the forested land, 10.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 57.7% is used for growing crops and 9.9% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 5.1% is unproductive vegetation.

The municipality is located in the Muri district, on the edge of the Reuss valley. It consists of the haufendorf village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Merenschwand and the hamlets of Unterrüti, Rickenbach and Hagnau.

The municipalities of Benzenschwil and Merenschwand are seeking approval from the Canton to merge on on 1 January 2012 into a new municipality which will be known as Merenschwand.