Uster

Sister cities

• Prenzlau

History

The village of Riedikon was first mentioned in year 741, while Uster was first mentioned in 775, as Ustra villa. The toponym has been explained as reflecting Old High German *ustrâ or *uster-aha "voracious [river]" by Boesch (1978). First mentioned in 1099, the donation of the St. Andreas Church was given by the House of Rapperswil as a spacious three-naved country church. The Burg Uster (castle) was first mentioned in 1267, as being in the possession of the Freiherr von Bonstetten. On 7 January 1300 Elisabeth von Rapperswil sold the pledge of the reign Greifensee to the knight Hermann II. von Landenberg, including the Greifensee castle, the town and the lake of the same name, and a larger number of farms, as well as the pastoral rights (Kirchrecht) in Uster. In 1438 the church rights (Kirchrecht) were sold to the Rüti Monastery. The church was considered as a part of the so-called "Laubishof" estate that possibly was located at the nearby plateau where the Uster Castle is situated. In 1473 the church comrades, based on an older Jahrzeitbuch (Latin: libri anniversariorum) which now is lost, created a new one which is among the best preserved of the Canton of Zürich. With the dissolution of the monastery Ruti during the Reformation in Zürich its rights fell on the government of the city of Zürich in 1525. In 1824 the new Reformed church was consecrated. Twelve swimmers died when the roof of an indoor pool collapsed in 1985.

Geography

Uster has an area of . Of this area, 44.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 27.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 26.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (2.3%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). housing and buildings made up 18.4% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (7.8%). Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 0.4% of the area. 22.2% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.

Most-observed species

• European roe deer

  Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  37,143
• Annual Fleabane

  Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers. · Magnoliopsida
  24,756
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  19,560
• red fox

  Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  18,010
• Common Blue

  Polyommatus icarus (von Rottemburg, 1775) · Insecta
  11,276
• Narrow-leaved Ragwort

  Senecio inaequidens DC. · Magnoliopsida
  10,322
• Butterfly-bush

  Buddleja davidii Franch. · Magnoliopsida
  9,727
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  9,277

Most recent

• M 3.7 — 2026-04-26
  4 km N of Quarten, Switzerland
• M 3.5 — 2024-06-27
  1 km SSW of Todtmoos, Germany
• M 4.2 — 2024-06-04
  2 km NNW of Unteriberg, Switzerland
• M 3.8 — 2022-09-01
  2 km WSW of Sevelen, Switzerland
• M 4 — 2020-10-25
  5 km ESE of Ennenda, Switzerland
• M 3.1 — 2018-05-04
  2 km W of Schliengen, Germany