Holziken

Holziken is a municipality in the district of Kulm in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. Holziken is first mentioned in 1306 as Helzinkon. The major land holders in the village included the Abbey of St. Gall and knights that were vassals of the Habsburgs. Between 1415 and 1798 the village was under the authority of the city of Bern. In 1528 the Protestant Reformation was introduced in the village. Under the short lived Helvetic Republic, it belonged to the Zofingen district. Then, in 1803 it became part of the Kulm district in the newly formed Canton of Aargau. The main economic sources, in the 18th and 19th centuries, were agriculture and home cotton processing. Today the main sources of income include agriculture (about 10% of the total employment in 2000) and factories for the production of office furniture and interiors. Despite local industry, Holziken has a marked commuter population (in 2000 521 commuted away, while only 81 commuted into the municipality).