Elsau

Elsau is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.

History

Elsau is first mentioned in 1043 as Elnesouva. On 23 April 1398 Count Donat von Toggenburg, Herr zu Brettengow und Tavas donated the church of Elsow as benefice for the new Allerheiligenaltar at the grave of the Toggenburg family in the Rüti Abbey, for the salvation of his daughter soul Menta von Toggenburg who died shortly before, as well as further lands and goods in the present Weinland district of the canton of Zürich, confirmed among others by Ruodolf von Bonstetten from Ustra.

Geography

Elsau has an area of 8 km² (3.1 sq mi). Of this area, 56.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 25.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 17.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.6%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).In 1996 housing and buildings made up 10.9% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (6.1%). Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 0.5% of the area. As of 2007 15.4% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.