Emmen advances plan to rename itself a city

Emmen, a municipality in canton Lucerne, has advanced plans to rename itself a city, SRF reported. Its local parliament approved the timetable for the change at a first reading on Tuesday, following an earlier vote in favour of the renaming.

The municipal council and the parliament both support the move. The parliament backed the name change by 27 votes to nine last autumn.

The council says the change reflects Emmen’s shift from an agricultural community to an industrial centre and, increasingly, an urban hub for services and administration. The canton’s administration is moving to Seetalplatz in Emmen from several locations in the city of Lucerne. The council said that would make Emmen, in effect, the canton’s “second capital”.

Emmen President Ramona Gut-Rogger said the municipality passed the statistical threshold of 10,000 residents in 1940.

Emmen had 33,252 residents at the end of last year, making it the second-largest municipality in canton Lucerne and Central Switzerland. Its population more than doubled to over 20,000 in the 1950s and 1960s.

Emmen was long an industrial centre. Steel Tec still produces steel there, while Emmi has made dairy products in the municipality since the mid-20th century. Emmen has also been known for its military airfield for nearly 100 years; it is among the bases for the ADS-15 reconnaissance drone.

In the parliamentary debate, supporters also argued that the word “city” would give Emmen a more independent, central and urban image. Daniel Diltz of the Centre party said international companies might be more likely to settle in a city than in a municipality.