Olten
Olten | |
|---|---|
Old town with covered bridge | |
Location of Olten | |
| Coordinates: 47°21′N 7°54′E / 47.350°N 7.900°E | |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Canton | Solothurn |
| District | Olten |
| Government | |
| • Executive | Stadtrat with 5 members |
| • Mayor | Stadtpräsident (list) Thomas Marbet SPS/PSS (as of August 2021) |
| • Parliament | Gemeindeparlament with 50 members |
| Area | |
• Total | 11.5 km2 (4.4 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 396 m (1,299 ft) |
| Population (31 December 2018) | |
• Total | 18,362 |
| • Density | 1,600/km2 (4,100/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (Central European Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time) |
| Postal code(s) | 4600 |
| SFOS number | 2581 |
| ISO 3166 code | CH-SO |
| Surrounded by | Aarburg (AG), Boningen, Dulliken, Kappel, Rothrist (AG), Starrkirch-Wil, Trimbach, Wangen bei Olten, Winznau |
| Twin towns | Altenburg (Germany) |
| Website | olten SFSO statistics |
Olten (German pronunciation: [ˈɔltn̩]; High Alemannic: Oute) is a town in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland and capital of the district of the same name.
Olten grew into a town during the Middle Ages at the location of a bridge over the Aare. After a period of decline, it grew rapidly as a railway town in the 19th century. Its railway station is a major rail hub of Switzerland, located at the junction of lines to Zurich, Basel, Bern, and Lucerne, all of which are within 30 minutes by train, and the town is also home to a depot for Swiss Federal Railways.