[2] The municipality was created during the Helvetic Republic (1798–1803) though it wasn't fully established until 1882.

It consists of seven old municipalities; Bertschikon, Gundetswil, Kefikon (Canton of Zürich portion only), Liebensberg, Stegen, Gündlikon and Zünikon.

Before the merger, Bertschikon had a total area of 9.6 km2 (3.7 sq mi).

Of the rest of the land, 10.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.1%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

As of 2007[update] 3.9% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.

[4] The municipality consists of over 30 villages, hamlets and individual houses along the border with the Canton of Thurgau.

Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (96.2%), with Italian being second most common ( 1.0%) and French being third ( 0.7%).