Worb

Sister cities

• Edelény

History

Worb is first mentioned around 1130-46 as Worw. This new estate was known as Neuworb but was also called the Neuschloss or New Castle. The two estates were acquired by the Goumoëns-Sinner family in 1846. In 1964 the Seelhofer family bought the old castle while the New Castle was bought in 1985 by the von Graffenried family. Another country estate was built in 1730 in the village of Richigen for the Stettler family. Later Richigen Manor passed from the Stettlers to the von Wattenwyl family and then to the Dollfus von Volckersberg family. The first village church was probably a wooden structure built during the Early Middle Ages. The wooden building was probably replaced with a stone one at a later date. In the 11th century the Church of Saint Maurice was built above the early medieval tombs of the earlier churches. The church bell tower was built some time after 1430. In the third quarter of the 15th century murals were painted on the walls. The current choir and choir windows were added to the building in 1520–21. After Worb adopted the Protestant Reformation in 1528, the church converted to the new faith and the old parish of Worb was divided into four sections. The Reformed church remained the only church in the village until 1953 when the Catholic church of St. Martin was built in Worb. It was rebuilt in 1998 to its current appearance. While farming was generally important in Worb, in 1380 the Freiherr of Kien diverted the Biglenbach stream from Walkringen to Worb. They built a mill along the stream and over the following centuries forges, sawmills, grain mills, dyers, taverns and inns developed in the village. In 1804 a hammer mill was built along the Biglenbach and industry began to develop in Worb. After 1900 there were numerous factories built along the stream…

Geography

Worb has an area of . As of 2012, a total of or 62.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 20.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 15.6% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.2% is unproductive land. During the same year, industrial buildings made up 1.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 9.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.8%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 46.1% is used for growing crops and 13.8% is pastures, while 2.6% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.