Affoltern am Albis

Affoltern am Albis, locally Affoltere and abbreviated Affoltern a.A., is a town of about 12,300 inhabitants and the main place of the district of Affoltern in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland. It lies west of the Albis hills in the moraine landscape around the Reuss. The municipality was created in the 19th century through the merger of Ober- and Unteraffoltern, Zwillikon and Loo-Fehrenbach, and the name is first recorded in 1190 as Afiltre. It covers about 10.6 square kilometres, nearly half of it farmland and just under a third forest. German is spoken by most residents, and about a quarter of the population were foreign nationals in 2007. Affoltern am Albis railway station is the terminal of the Zürich S-Bahn lines S5 and S14, and the journey to Zürich Hauptbahnhof takes about 28 minutes.