out in 1370. However, following the decisive Habsburg defeat in the Battle of Sempach in 1386, Cham was taken by Zug and Schwyz. The Habsburgs had pawned the town to a citizen of Zürich, Götz Mülner, and so Zug was not able to completely own the city until the loan was repaid in 1415. The city would remain under the control of the vogt or bailiff of Zug until the French invasion of 1798. In the 16th century, the reform-minded preacher Jost Müller unsuccessfully attempted to bring the Reformation to Cham. Following the 1798 invasion of Switzerland and the collapse of the Old Swiss Confederacy, Cham finally became an independent town; although the citizens still paid some taxes and tithes to Zug until 1816 when most were abolished and 1872 when the last one ended. The rapid industrialization of the second half of the 19th century caused a population boom in Cham and the surrounding villages. The population doubled between 1850 and 1880 and continued to grow at a slightly slower rate afterward. The first urban plan and construction ordinances came into being in 1950. A goal of the planning was to maintain the character of the industrial part of the city, becoming a center for the surrounding villages and preserve the parkland along the lake. In 1991 the town was awarded the Wakker Prize for the preservation of its architectural heritage. By 1990 Cham was the third largest city in the canton of Zug. Demographics Cham has a population (as of ) of . 19.6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years, the population has grown at a rate of 14%. Most of the population () speaks German (85.7%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common (3.1%) and Italian being third (1.9%). In the 2007 federal election, the most popular party was the SVP which received 31.3% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (22.2%), the FDP (18.2%) and the Green Party (17.8%). In Cham, about 76.4% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either a university or a Fachhochschule). The historical population was Weather Cham has an average of 136.1 days of rain per year and on average receives of precipitation. The wettest month is June during which time Cham receives an average of of precipitation. During