Aargau

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Aargau

(German Aargau, French Argovie, Italian Argovia, Romansh Argovia; anglicized Argovia) is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. It comprises the lower course of the river Aar, which is why the canton is called Aargau (meaning Aar district).

Geography

Its total area is 1,404 km², its population is 573,654 (as of 2005). The capital is Aarau. It borders Germany to the north. To the west lie the cantons of Basel-Landschaft, Solothurn and Bern. The canton of Lucerne lies south of the canton of Aargau, Zürich and Zug to the east.

The canton of Aargau is one of the least mountainous Swiss cantons, forming part of a great table-land, to the north of the Alps and the east of the Jura, above which rise low hills. The surface of the country is beautifully diversified, undulating tracts and well-wooded hills alternating with fertile valleys watered mainly by the Aar and its tributaries. The valleys alternate with pleasant hills, most of which are wooded.

It contains the famous hot sulphur springs of Baden and Schinznach, while at Rheinfelden there are very extensive saline springs. Just below Brugg the Reuss and the Limmat join the Aar, while around Brugg are the ruined castle of Habsburg, the old convent of Koenigsfelden (with fine painted medieval glass) and the remains of the Roman settlement of Vindonissa (Windisch).

History

Argovia was the border region between Alamannia and Burgundy, and was a disputed territory between these duchies. From the end of the Hohenstaufen dynasty up to 1415, it was ruled by the Habsburgs, and many historical old castles can be found there. Examples include Habsburg, Lenzburg and Wildegg. There are also a number of former monasteries, such as in Wettingen and Muri. All of these were founded by the Habsburg family. They were closed by the government in 1841, which was one of the causes of the civil war called the "Sonderbund War," in 1847 in Switzerland. Aargau is also believed to be the ancestral home of Reformist author George Mangold (1822-1894).

In 1415 the Aargau region was taken from the Habsburgs by the Swiss Confederates. Bern kept the south-west portion (Zofingen, Aarburg, Aarau, Lenzburg, and Brugg). Some districts, named the Freie Ämter or free bailiwicks (Mellingen, Muri, Villmergen, and Bremgarten), with the countship of Baden, were ruled as subject lands by all or certain of the Confederates.

10 March - 18 April 1798 it was under French occupation, thereafter the Bernese portion became the canton of Aargau of the Helvetic Republic, the remainder forming the Canton of Baden. In 1803, the two halves were united under the name of canton of Aargau,Bridgwater, W. & Beatrice Aldrich. (1966) The Columbia-Viking Desk Encyclopedia. Columbia University. p. 11. which was then admitted a full member of the reconstituted Confederation. The Fricktal, ceded in 1802 by Austria, via Napoleonic France, to the Helvetic Republic, was shortly a separate Swiss canton under a Statthalter ('Lieutenant'), but on 9 March 1803 became incorporated as part of the canton Aargau. The chief magistracy of Aargau changed its style repeatedly:

first two consecutive Regierungsstatthalter :
- April 1798 - November 1801 Jakob Emmanuel Feer (b. 1754 - d. 1833)
- 1802 - 1803 Johann Heinrich Rothpletz (b. 1766 - d. 1833)
Presidents of the Government Commission
- 10 March 1803 - 26 April 1803 Johann Rudolf Dolder (b. 1753 - d. 1807)
- 26 April 1803 - 1815 a 'Small Council' (president rotating monthly)
annual Amtsbürgermeister 1815-1831
annual Landammänner since 1815

In the year 2003 the canton Aargau celebrated its 200^th birthday.

For centuries, two villages in the Aargau, Endingen and Lengnau, were the only places in Switzerland where Jews were permitted to live. They were not permitted to own houses or to live under the same roof with Christians. For the slow process of Jewish emancipation in Aargau and Switzerland, see link below.

Economy

The farmland of the canton of Aargau is some of the most fertile in Switzerland. Dairy farming, arable and fruit farming are among the canton's main economic activities. The canton is also industrially developed, particularly in the fields of electrical engineering, precision instruments, iron, steel and cement.

Three of Switzerland's five nuclear power plants are in the canton of Aargau (Beznau I + II and Leibstadt). Additionally, the many rivers supply enough water for numerous hydroelectric power plants throughout the canton. The canton of Aargau is often called "the energy canton".

A significant number of people commute into the financial centre of the city of Zürich, which is just across the cantonal border.

Tourism is significant, particularly for the hot springs at Baden and Schinznach Bad. Hillwalking is another tourist attraction, but is only of limited significance.

Municipalities

There are a total of 231 municipalities in the canton of Aargau.

Districts

Sources and External links

References