Hofen was a

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 canton of

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a town with historic roots, a municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimate ...

in Switzerland. On 1 January 2009 Hofen merged with Altdorf, Bibern,

Opfertshofen Opfertshofen was a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in the north of Switzerland. On 1 January 2009 Opfershofen merged with Altdorf, Bibern, Hofen, and Thayngen Thayngen () is a village and a municipality in the canton of Schaffhause ...

and

Thayngen Thayngen () is a village and a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2009 Altdorf, Bibern, Hofen, Opfertshofen merged into Thayngen.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 23 September 2009

History

Hofen is first mentioned in 1258 as ''Hofen''.

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 vi ...

of the municipal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

is ''Gules a Lion rampant Or langued of the first and armed Argent holding in dexter a Fleur-de-lis of the last.'' The coat of arms comes from the mayor of Schaffhausen and resident of Hofen, Tobias Holländer (24 February 1636 - 1711). His family came from

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

(the origin of the last name) though he was born in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

. He became mayor in 1683 and on 18 January 1684 bought land in Hofen and built his manor house, the Holländer's house. Holländer was ambitious and a follower of King

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of ...

and he created a personal army in the model of Louis' army. His coat of arms represented his origin and ambition. The lion represents the lion of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

while the

fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

represents Louis XIV. When he built barracks for his private army in Hofen, he decorated them with his personal coat of arms, which is still visible. His coat of arms became the village coat of arms.History of Hofen
accessed 15 December 2009

Geography

Hofen has an area, , of . Of this area, 73.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 8.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 16.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.9%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). The village is located in the Reiat district in the Biber valley. It is on the border with

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and half way between

, Switzerland and Büsslingen, Germany, on the Swiss Hauptstrasse from

Thayngen Thayngen () is a village and a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2009 Altdorf, Bibern, Hofen, Opfertshofen merged into Thayngen.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 ...

the most popular party was the SVP which received 52.2% of the vote. The next two most popular parties were the SP (25.4%), and the FDP (22.5%).Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 15-December-2009 The historical population is given in the following table:

References

External links

* {{Authority control Former municipalities of the canton of Schaffhausen Former municipalities of Switzerland