Schmiedrued

Schmiedrued is a municipality in the district of Kulm in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. Schmiedrued has an area, as of 2009, of 8.64 square kilometers (3.34 sq mi). Of this area, 5.55 square kilometers (2.14 sq mi) or 64.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.37 square kilometers (0.92 sq mi) or 27.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.67 square kilometers (0.26 sq mi) or 7.8% is settled (buildings or roads). Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.8%. 25.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 25.1% is used for growing crops and 33.0% is pastures, while 6.1% is used for orchards or vine crops. The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure a Hammer Sable headed Argent and in chief two Oars of the last in Saltire and in chief a Mullet of the same. This may be an example of canting, where the hammer (German: schmied) representing the first part of Schmiedrued and the second part of the name is illustrated by the oars (German: Ruder). Schmiedrued has a population (as of December 2020) of 1,160 As of June 2009, 7.8% of the population are foreign nationals.