Endingen () 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 district of

Zurzach Zurzach () is a municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the sou ...

in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

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 ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. In the 18th and 19th century, Endingen was one of few villages in which

Swiss Jews The history of the Jews in Switzerland extends back at least a thousand years. Jews and Judaism have been present in the territory of what is now Switzerland since before the emergence of the medieval Old Swiss Confederacy in the 13th centur ...

were permitted to settle. Old buildings in Endingen have two doors – one for Jews and one for Christians. Endigen's

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

and Jewish cemetery are listed as a heritage site of national significance. Unusually for Swiss villages, there is no Christian church. On 1 January 2014 the former municipality of

Unterendingen Unterendingen is a former municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipality of Unterendingen merged into the municipality of Endingen.Nomenklaturen – Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
accessed 13 December 2014

History

Individual items from the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

have been discovered around Endingen. In the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

the

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE, the Alemanni c ...

settled in the area. The modern village of Endingen is first mentioned in 798 as ''Entingas''. Until 1945 it was known as ''Oberendingen''. During the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

the major landholders in village included

Regensberg Regensberg is a municipality in the Dielsdorf District of the Swiss canton of Zurich. It is located just to the west of Dielsdorf municipality, on a -ridge of the Lägern. History Regensberg was founded as a hilltop fortified settlement abo ...

, the

Bishop of Constance The Prince-Bishopric of Constance () was a small ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-12th century until its secularisation in 1802–1803. In his dual capacity as prince and as bishop, the prince-bishop also admini ...

, the

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

Tegerfelden Tegerfelden is a municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. Geography Located in the Surb river valley, Tegerfelden has an area, , of . Of this area, or 51.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while o ...

and the lords of Endingen. Starting in the 13th century the village was under 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 ...

. After the conquest of the Aargau in 1415 by the

Swiss Confederation Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerlan ...

it was part of the high court of the bailiff of Baden. The low court rights lay with

Sankt Blasien Abbey in the Black Forest Saint Blaise Abbey () was a Benedictine monastery in the village of St. Blasien in the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History 9th–12th centuries The early history of the abbey is obscure. Its predecessor in the 9th century is ...

. The land ''

herrschaft The German term ''Herrschaft'' (plural: ''Herrschaften'') covers a broad semantic field and only the context will tell whether it means, "rule", "power", "dominion", "authority", "territory" or "lordship". In its most abstract sense, it refers ...

'' rights were held by a number of different owners. In accordance with the resolution of the

Tagsatzung The Federal Diet of Switzerland (, ; ; ) was the legislative and executive council of the Old Swiss Confederacy and existed in various forms from the beginnings of Swiss independence until the formation of the Swiss federal state in 1848. T ...

in 1678,

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

were allowed to settle in the communities of the Surb valley. After 1776, they were further restricted to living in only Endingen and Lengnau. This immigration slowly but steadily changed the appearance of the community. The village never built a Christian church, only a Jewish synagogue. The local Christians traveled to neighboring villages for church. The Jewish and Christian families are often under one roof. In the middle of the 19th century the village had about 2,000 inhabitants, about half Jews and half Christians. By comparison, the town of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

had about 1,500 people at the same time.Endingen municipal website - History
accessed 16 June 2010 The Jewish population was fairly well tolerated (except for the ''Zwetschgenkrieg'' or "plum war" riots in 1802), self-managed and maintained its own school. In 1879 a Jewish village of Neu-Endingen was built. It remained mostly independent until 1983 when it merged back into the village of Endingen. However, even though they were nearly a majority in Endingen, the Jewish residents were only allowed to enter a few professions, such as trade. Houses were built with two separate entrances, one for Jews and one for Christians. They were under the high and low courts of the Baden bailiff and had to buy "protection and safety" letters from the authorities. It wasn't until 1876 that Jews were granted full equality in civil rights and allowed to travel. By 1920, most Jews had left the community. Since 1661, the

Catholics 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 ...

in Endingen have been part of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Unterendingen (previously

), while the

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

members are part of the

parish. The only house of worship is the synagogue of Endingen. It was built in 1764 and rebuilt in 1852.

Plum war

In 1798, the French invaded Switzerland and set up 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 ...

. The Republic attempted to modernize and centralize the Swiss Confederation. As part of this new, liberal state, Swiss reformers attempted to enforce the emancipation of the Jews in the new central Swiss Parliament in

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 d ...

. When that failed, they attempted to get the French to force this change on the new Swiss government. The changes of the Republic were not embraced by many of the Swiss and the issue of emancipation for the Jews became another contentious issue between the old order and the new government. Finally in 1802 the population revolted and turned against the Jews. The mob looted the Jewish villages of Endingen and Lengnau. At the same time other revolts, such as the

Stecklikrieg The ("War of Sticks") was a civil war in Switzerland in 1802 that resulted in the collapse of the Helvetic Republic, the renewed French occupation of Switzerland and ultimately the Act of Mediation dictated by Napoleon Bonaparte on 19 February ...

, stretched the French Army too far.

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 ...

lacked the troops to bring peace to Switzerland, and also he needed the Swiss regiments for his campaigns. Seeking a peaceful resolution to the uprising, in 1803 he issued the

Act of Mediation The Act of Mediation () was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte, French Consulate, First Consul of the French Republic on 19 February 1803 to abolish the Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion of Old Swiss Confederacy, Switzerland by F ...

. The Act of Mediation was a compromise between the ''

Ancien Regime ''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'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Socié ...

'' and a Republic. One of the compromises in the Act was that no further rights were granted to the Jews.

Geography

Endingen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 44.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 45.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 9.1% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.4% 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 5.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.4%. Out of the forested land, 43.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 27.4% is used for growing crops and 14.2% is pastures, while 3.3% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. The municipality is located in the Zurzach district, in the

Surb river valley Surbtal is a river valley region in the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland. Geography The ''Surbtal'' (literally ''Surb valley'') is situated parallel to the Limmat Valley (''Limmattal'') in the Baden and Zurzach districts of the Canton of Aargau ...

. It consists of the ''haufendorf'' village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Endingen and the

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

of Loohof.

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 ''Per pale Argent a Fleur-de-lis mediated Gules and Or.''

Demographics

Endingen has a population () of . , 14.9% 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 10.2%. Most of the population () speaks

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(92.9%), with

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

being second most common ( 2.4%) and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

being third ( 1.2%).Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 16-June-2010 The age distribution, , in Endingen is; 244 children or 12.5% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 231 teenagers or 11.8% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 217 people or 11.1% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 267 people or 13.6% are between 30 and 39, 330 people or 16.9% are between 40 and 49, and 247 people or 12.6% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 220 people or 11.2% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 133 people or 6.8% are between 70 and 79, there are 61 people or 3.1% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 7 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 0.56 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 58.7% 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 46 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 315 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 322 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. , there were 699 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. there were 377 single family homes (or 46.0% of the total) out of a total of 819 homes and apartments.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau
accessed 20 January 2010 There were a total of 0 empty apartments for a 0.0% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 7.3 new units per 1000 residents. In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 32.53% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (25.45%), the SP (16.3%) and the FDP (11.3%). In the federal election, a total of 792 votes were cast, and the

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...

was 59.0%.

Historic population

The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width: auto height:500 barincrement:45 PlotArea = top:20 left:35 bottom:90 right:35 Legend = columns:3 left:20 top:70 columnwidth:160 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:2200 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:400 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:80 start:0 Colors= id:UN value:yellowgreen legend:Unterendingen id:EN value:powderblue legend:Endingen PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:30 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1850 from: 0 till:254 text:"254" color:UN bar:1860 from: 0 till:208 text:"208" color:UN bar:1870 from: 0 till:217 text:"217" color:UN bar:1880 from: 0 till:204 text:"204" color:UN bar:1890 from: 0 till:168 text:"168" color:UN bar:1900 from: 0 till:154 text:"154" color:UN bar:1910 from: 0 till:147 text:"147" color:UN bar:1920 from: 0 till:148 text:"148" color:UN bar:1930 from: 0 till:152 text:"152" color:UN bar:1940 from: 0 till:143 text:"143" color:UN bar:1950 from: 0 till:159 text:"159" color:UN bar:1960 from: 0 till:149 text:"149" color:UN bar:1970 from: 0 till:150 text:"150" color:UN bar:1980 from: 0 till:189 text:"189" color:UN bar:1990 from: 0 till:333 text:"333" color:UN bar:2000 from: 0 till:371 text:"371" color:UN bar:1850 from: 254 till:2195 text:"1,941" color:EN bar:1860 from: 208 till:1976 text:"1,768" color:EN bar:1870 from: 217 till:1867 text:"1,650" color:EN bar:1880 from: 204 till:1660 text:"1,456" color:EN bar:1890 from: 168 till:1405 text:"1,237" color:EN bar:1900 from: 154 till:1275 text:"1,121" color:EN bar:1910 from: 147 till:1150 text:"1,003" color:EN bar:1920 from: 148 till:1214 text:"1,066" color:EN bar:1930 from: 152 till:1188 text:"1,036" color:EN bar:1940 from: 143 till:1149 text:"1,006" color:EN bar:1950 from: 159 till:1241 text:"1,082" color:EN bar:1960 from: 149 till:1190 text:"1,041" color:EN bar:1970 from: 150 till:1311 text:"1,161" color:EN bar:1980 from: 189 till:1692 text:"1,503" color:EN bar:1990 from: 333 till:1872 text:"1,539" color:EN bar:2000 from: 371 till:2137 text:"1,766" color:EN

Heritage sites of national significance

The

Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Halakha, Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' (house of s ...

on Hauptstrasse and the

Synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

on Hintersieg are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. The entire village of Unterendingen 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 ...

. The entire village of Endingen is designated as part of the

. File:Endingen Friedhof.jpg,

Jewish Cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Halakha, Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' (house of s ...

File:Picswiss AG-15-12.jpg, Synagogue of Endingen File:Synagoge Endingen.jpg, 18th century copperplate etching of the Endingen synagogue. In the Jewish Museum of Switzerland's collection.

Economy

, Endingen had an unemployment rate of 1.44%. , there were 92 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 34 businesses involved in this sector. 184 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 21 businesses in this sector. 263 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 50 businesses in this sector. there were 942 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 694 or about 73.7% of the residents worked outside Endingen while 239 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 487 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, 12.3% used public transportation to get to work, and 52.6% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 911 or 51.6% 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 563 or 31.9% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 4 individuals (or about 0.23% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic faith.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau - Aargauer Zahlen 2009
accessed 20 January 2010

Education

The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Endingen about 82.3% of the population (between age 25 and 64) have completed either non-mandatory

upper secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

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 148 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 297 students attending tertiary or university level schooling in the municipality.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities of Aargau Cultural property of national significance in Aargau