Laufenburg () is a

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

in the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

canton of

Aargau Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau. Aargau is one of the most nort ...

. It is the seat of the district of the same name. On 1 January 2010 the municipality Sulz merged into Laufenburg. It has approximately 2000 inhabitants. On the other side of the

Rhine River The Rhine ( ) is one of the major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Cons ...

lies Laufenburg (Baden),

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The same name is not by accident, as the two used to be the same city. In the early 19th century

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

divided the city. Two bridges now link both cities. In 1985, Laufenburg received the

Wakker Prize The Wakker Prize (German: ''Wakkerpreis'', French: ''Prix Wakker'', Italian: ''Premio Wakker'') is awarded annually by the Swiss Heritage Society to a Municipality of Switzerland for the development and preservation of its architectural herita ...

for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage.

History

A high point along the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

river with a

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

section about from

Säckingen Abbey Säckingen Abbey is a former Roman Catholic abbey located in Bad Säckingen, Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The Abbey was founded in the 6th or 7th century by Fridolin of Säckingen, an Irish monk. While the Abbey had both monks and nuns, only ...

was chosen as a place for a strategic bridge over the river. The '' Kastvogtei'' (a

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

land holder appointed by the Abbey) transferred his loyalty to the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

in 1173. Laufenburg is first mentioned in 1207 as ''Loufenberc''. In this 1207 document, the rights of the Abbey to parts of the village were secured while the castles on both sides of the Rhine were given over to the ''Kastvogt''. This allowed Rudolf II of Habsburg to expand the site to the city. He is considered the founder of the city. After his death in 1232, the family split into the dominant line of Habsburg-Austria and the younger line of

Habsburg-Laufenburg This is a family tree of the Habsburg family. This family tree only includes male scions of the House of Habsburg from 1096 to 1564. Otto II was the first to take the Habsburg Castle name as his own, adding "von Habsburg" to his title and crea ...

. The last representative of the Habsburg-Laufenburg line, Hans IV (1408) sold control of Laupenburg to Leopold III in 1386. It became part of the

Further Austria Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (; , formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, includin ...

and one of the four Habsburg ''Forest Cities'' on the Rhine. During the schism at the

Council of Constance The Council of Constance (; ) was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that was held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance (Konstanz) in present-day Germany. This was the first time that an ecumenical council was convened in ...

in 1415 the

Antipope John XXIII Baldassarre Cossa (died 22 December 1419) was Pisan antipope as John XXIII (1410–1415) during the Western Schism. The Catholic Church today regards him as an antipope in opposition to Pope Gregory XII, whom it recognizes as the rightful succ ...

fled to Laufenburg and withdrew his resignation. After the

conquest of the nearby Aargau, which was triggered by the schism, Laufenburg was the starting point of several campaigns against the Confederates. In retaliation,

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

Solothurn Solothurn ( ; ; ; ; ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissenstein Jura mountains. The town is ...

and

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

besieged Laufenburg during the

Old Zurich War The Old Zurich War (; 1440–1446) was a conflict between the canton of Zurich and the other seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy over the succession to the Count of Toggenburg. In 1436, Count Friedrich VII of Toggenburg died, leaving nei ...

in 1443. During the 15th Century, it was offered as collateral for a loan from

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

. As a result, it was briefly under Burgundy's control. During the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

it was occupied for 13 years. In 1792 it was the base for the

French Revolutionary Army The French Revolutionary Army () was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1802. In the beginning, the French armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipment and their great nu ...

. With the Lunéville peace of 1801 part of the

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 ...

went to France and the rest went to the

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (; ; ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

in 1802. The Rhine River was chosen as the border between the districts. The complicated division of community property took until 1829 to finish. Most of the city's facilities such as city hall, the market, the grain and salt house and two thirds of the population lived in the Swiss portion. While two-thirds of the territory, most of the commercial buildings, the common forest and 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 ...

were in the German town.

Geography

Laufenburg has an area, , of . Of this area, or 16.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 35.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 39.0% is settled (buildings or roads), or 7.9% is either rivers or lakes.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010 Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 8.3% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 15.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 9.2%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 3.1% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 3.1%. Out of the forested land, 33.3% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.3% is used for growing crops and 11.0% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. The municipality is the capital of the Laufenburg district. It consists of the left bank or Swiss section of the town of Laufenburg, with the German section of Laufenburg across the Rhine river.

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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

is ''Or a Lion rampant Gules.''

Demographics

Laufenburg has a population () of . , 37.7% 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 0.2%. Most of the population () speaks German (77.2%), with Italian being second most common ( 9.9%) and Albanian being third ( 4.3%).
accessed 6 May 2010 The age distribution, , in Laufenburg is; 225 children or 10.8% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 245 teenagers or 11.8% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 275 people or 13.2% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 276 people or 13.3% are between 30 and 39, 340 people or 16.3% are between 40 and 49, and 279 people or 13.4% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 197 people or 9.5% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 149 people or 7.2% are between 70 and 79, there are 73 people or 3.5% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 21 people or 1.0% 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 0.59 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 32.5% 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 (legal system), civil law jurisdictions 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 t ...

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, engagement rings, and real property, ...

agreement). , there were 89 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 419 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 262 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 792 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. there were 259 single family homes (or 26.5% of the total) out of a total of 976 homes and apartments.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau
accessed 20 January 2010 There were a total of 27 empty apartments for a 2.8% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2 new units per 1000 residents. In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 27% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (23.3%), the SP (17.1%) and the FDP (15.4%). The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Laufenburg about 58.4% 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 (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...

''). Of the school age population (), there are 163 students attending

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

, there are 116 students attending secondary school, there are 153 students attending tertiary or university level schooling in the municipality. The historical population is given in the following table:

Notable people

* Count Johann I. von Habsburg-Laufenburg-Rapperswil (1295/97 – 1337) the Count of Habsburg-Laufenburg *

Hans Müller von Bulgenbach Hans Müller, also known as Hans Müller von Bulgenbach, (c.1490 – 12 August 1525 in Laufenburg, Switzerland, Habsburg-Laufenburg), was a peasant leader during the German Peasants' War. After a career in the French military, he played a pivotal ...

(1490 – 1525 in Habsburg-Laufenburg) a peasant leader during the German Peasants' War * Christoph Rehmann-Sutter (born 1959 in Laufenburg) a Swiss Bioethicist

Heritage sites of national significance

The court house () at Gerichtsgasse 86,

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

, the power plant of Laufenburg with surrounding village and the ruins of Laufenburg Castle together with the castle hill and ruins of the

Roman 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Rhine fortification are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. The old town of Laufenburg is designated as part of the

Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage. Sites of national importance Types The types are based on t ...

. File:Laufenburg aargau ansicht.jpg, Laufenburg parish church File:Laufenburg Burgturm.jpg, Ruins of the tower of Laufenburg castle

Economy

, Laufenburg had an unemployment rate of 2.77%. , there were 64 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 6 businesses involved in this sector. 805 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 constructi ...

and there are 24 businesses in this sector. 902 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 ...

, with 97 businesses in this sector. there were 1,003 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 640 or about 63.8% of the residents worked outside Laufenburg while 828 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 1,191 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, 16.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 42% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 1,252 or 59.7% were

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, while 308 or 14.7% belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...

. Of the rest of the population, there were 8 individuals (or about 0.38% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic faith.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau – Aargauer Zahlen 2009
accessed 20 January 2010

Transport

Laufenburg is at the eastern end of the passenger portion of the Koblenz–Stein-Säckingen line and is served by local trains at Laufenburg.

References

External links

*
Laufenburg (Baden)

Laufenburg AG

Laufenburg: Pictures
{{Authority control Cities in Switzerland Municipalities of Aargau Cultural property of national significance in Aargau Divided cities Germany–Switzerland border crossings