Herznach is a former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the district of Laufenburg in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. On 1 January 2023 the former municipalities of Herznach and

Ueken Ueken is a former municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Laufenburg (district), Laufenburg in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau in Switzerland. On 1 January 2023 the former municipalities of Herznach and Ueken me ...

merged to form the new municipality of Herznach-Ueken.

History

While some

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...

era graves have been discovered, the first mention of Herznach is in 1097 as ''Hercenahc''. The

Ministerialis The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire. The word and its German translations, ''Minis ...

(unfree knights in the service of another lord) family von Herznach and Herznach castle are both mentioned. The castle was built on the foundations of a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

from the 7th-10th Centuries. was built. Originally both Herznach and

were ruled by the Homberger family. In the early 14th Century, the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

had the right to judge and punish theft and other

felonies A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

in Herznach. Between the

Imperial Reform Imperial Reform ( la, Reformatio imperii, german: Reichsreform) is the name given to repeated attempts in the 15th and 16th centuries to adapt the structure and the constitutional order () of the Holy Roman Empire to the requirements of the early ...

(1495) of

Maximilian I Maximilian I may refer to: *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, reigned 1486/93–1519 *Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, reigned 1597–1651 *Maximilian I, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1636-1689) *Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, reigned 1795� ...

until the fall of the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

(1797) it belonged to the Austrian District of Rheinfelden. The rights to '' Zwing und Bann'' (administration of the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

as well as

low justice High, middle and low justices are notions dating from Western feudalism to indicate descending degrees of judicial power to administer justice by the maximal punishment the holders could inflict upon their subjects and other dependents. Low just ...

) were probably in the hands of the village cooperative. The Church of St. Nicholas, probably a Homburger family church, is first mentioned in 1180. Starting in 1407 the patronage rights were transferred from the Habsburgs to the

Collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...

of Rheinfelden. In 1651 the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and tower were expanded and renovated, while in 1718-19 the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

was completely rebuilt. The Chapel of

Saint Verena Verena of Zurzach, mostly just called ''Saint Verena'' (c. 260 – c. 320) is an early Christian consecrated virgin and hermit. She is especially venerated in Switzerland, where her cult is attested in Bad Zurzach, the reported place of he ...

was built in 1516 on the foundation of the

Early Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

and

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...

manor chapel. Verena newly built chapel on foundations from the early and HochMA and belonged to the manor. Even today, Herznach and Ueken form a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

. Until the Protestant

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

this parish included

Densbüren Densbüren is a municipality in the Aarau District of the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History Densbüren is first mentioned in the 14th century as ''Tensbuirron''. In 1426, it was mentioned as ''Teinspuiren''. Geography Densbüren has an ...

and the village of

Asp Asp may refer to: Places * Asp, part of Densbüren, Aargau, Switzerland * Aspe (''Asp'' in Valencian), Alicante, Spain * Asp Lake, a lake in Minnesota Animals * Asp (fish) * Asp (snake), in antiquity, one of several venomous snakes ** ''Cera ...

and until 1852 it included Zeihen. With the

Act of Mediation The Act of Mediation () was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the French Republic on 19 February 1803 establishing the Swiss Confederation. The act also abolished the previous Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion ...

in 1803, the ''Fricktal'' joined the Canton of Aargau and Herznach and Ueken became independent municipalities. The two former population centers Unterherznach (walled church district) and Oberherznach (mill) grew together along the road by 1811. Starting in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and again during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

there was intensive ore mining in the municipality. In 1967 the mine was shut down. In 1872 a thread factory opened in Herznach and in 1918 it switched to making fabrics. The other factory in Herznach, was built in 1952, and manufactures advertising balloons. At the beginning of the 21st Century Herznach was a farming community with a residential core and two industrial plants.

Geography

Herznach has an area, , of . Of this area, or 63.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 24.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 11.5% is settled (buildings or roads), and or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010 Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 8.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.9%. 22.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 39.8% is used for growing crops and 17.4% is pastures, while 6.1% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. The municipality is located in the Laufenburg district in the upper

Fricktal The Fricktal ("Frick Valley") is a region on Northwestern Switzerland, comprising the Laufenburg and Rheinfelden districts of the Swiss canton of Aargau. The region was known as ''Frickgau'' in the medieval period, ultimately from a Late Lati ...

(Frick river valley). It lies on the old road over the ''Staffelegg'' to

Aarau Aarau (, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital of the northern Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau. The List of towns in Switzerland, town is also the capital of the dis ...

. It consists of the

linear village Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship (''function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear r ...

of Herznach and, until 1852, the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Oberzeihen (now part of

Zeihen Zeihen is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Laufenburg (district), Laufenburg in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau in Switzerland. Geography Zeihen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 50.9% is used fo ...

Coat of arms

The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

of the municipal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

is ''Gules a Pitcher Vert lip dexter and handled Or.'' The pitcher on the coat of arms is an attribute of Saint Verena to whom the chapel of Herznach is devoted.

Demographics

Herznach has a population () of , 9.6% of the population are foreign nationals.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau -Bereich 01 -Bevölkerung
accessed 20 January 2010 Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 20.1%. Most of the population () speaks German (96.5%), with Albanian being second most common ( 1.7%) and English being third ( 0.5%).
accessed 6 May 2010 The age distribution, , in Herznach is; 160 children or 12.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 170 teenagers or 13.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 167 people or 12.9% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 172 people or 13.3% are between 30 and 39, 211 people or 16.4% are between 40 and 49, and 201 people or 15.6% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 112 people or 8.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 56 people or 4.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 36 people or 2.8% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 5 people or 0.4% who are 90 and older.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau -Bevölkerungsdaten für den Kanton Aargau und die Gemeinden (Archiv)
accessed 20 January 2010 the average number of residents per living room was 0.57 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.57 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 70.4% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...

or a

rent-to-own Rent-to-own, also known as rental purchase or rent-to-buy, is a type of legally documented transaction under which tangible property, such as furniture, consumer electronics, motor vehicles, home appliances, real property, and engagement rin ...

agreement). , there were 28 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 150 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 207 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 390 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.7 persons per household. there were 281 single family homes (or 56.0% of the total) out of a total of 502 homes and apartments.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau
accessed 20 January 2010 There were a total of 1 empty apartments for a 0.2% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 1.6 new units per 1000 residents. In the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

the most popular party was the SVP which received 41.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (18.8%), the SP (11.5%) and the FDP (10.5%). The historical population is given in the following table:

Heritage sites of national significance

The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church ''St. Nikolaus'' with its mortuary and

church treasure A church treasure is the collection of historical art treasures belonging to a church, usually a monastery (monastery treasure), abbey, cathedral. Such "treasure" is usually held and displayed in the church's treasury or in a diocesan museum. Hist ...

is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

Economy

, Herznach had an unemployment rate of 1.56%. , there were 71 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 28 businesses involved in this sector. 122 people are employed in the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construction. ...

and there are 13 businesses in this sector. 125 people are employed in the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

, with 24 businesses in this sector. there were 524 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 381 or about 72.7% of the residents worked outside Herznach while 158 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 301 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau-Bereich 11 Verkehr und Nachrichtenwesen
accessed 21 January 2010 Of the working population, 17.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 53.1% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 620 or 58.5% were Roman Catholic, while 328 or 31.0% belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...

. Of the rest of the population, there were 6 individuals (or about 0.57% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic faith.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau – Aargauer Zahlen 2009
accessed 20 January 2010

Education

In Herznach about 86.9% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a ''

Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts ...

''). Of the school age population (), there are 112 students attending

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

in the municipality.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Former municipalities of Aargau Cultural property of national significance in Aargau