Erlen is a municipality in Weinfelden District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. History The current municipality was formed in 1995 from the smaller communities of Erlen, Engishofen, Ennetaach, Kümmertshausen and Riedt. The section of Erlen known as Ehstegen was first mentioned in 838 as Escislec. Before 1798 Erlen belonged in the so-called Hohen Gerichte, which was directly under the authority of the Confederation governor of Thurgau. Eppishausen and a house in Erlen were part of the Gerichtsherrschaft (a combination of court and manor rights) of Eppishausen. Ehstegen was part of the Oberaach fief of the Abbey of St. Gall and until 1812 formed its own municipality. In 1764 a Reformed Church was built in Erlen, though it remained part of the parish of Sulgen. The church cemetery was built in 1819 and in 1992 it finally became an independent parish. The Catholics in Erlen remained part of the Catholic parish of Sulgen. The Brunschweiler family from Schocherswil settled in Erlen in 1652 and promoted the spread of spinning and weaving as a cottage industry. Erlen attained some importance in the 17th and 18th Centuries through the linen trade and dyeing. By the 19th Century, mechanical embroidery was also added to the local industry. Larger social and structural changes in Erlen occurred since 1951, when the growing steel company Lista AG built a steel factory in town. The factory employed about 350 workers in 2004, down from the nearly 700 that they employed in 1990. Geography Erlen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 71.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 14.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 13.4% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.3% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 5.7% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 1.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 0.7%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 3.4% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.5%. Out of the forested land, 13.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 52.3% is used for growing crops, while 18.9% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.2%