Aargau Geography History Economy Municipalities Districts

Aargau ( German Aargau, French Argovie, Italian Argovia, Romansh Argovia, in English sometimes 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).

1 Geography

Its total area is 1,404 km², its population is 550,000 (as of 2002). 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 LucerneLucerne (German Luzern is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland. The population is 350,600 (as of 2001). The cantonal capital is Lucerne. Geography The canton of Lucerne is located in the centre of Switzerland. It is drained lies south of the canton of Aargau, ZürichThe Swiss canton of Zurich (German: Kanton Zurich has a population of about 1. It is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zurich is its capital. The official language is German, but people speak the local Swiss German dialect called Zur and ZugZug (French: Zoug Italian: Zugo is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. It is located in central Switzerland and its capital is Zug. The canton of Zug is one of the smallest cantons, both in size and population, its total area is only 239 km². Geography 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 AlpsThe Alps is the collective name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria in the east, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany, through to France in the west. The highest mountain in the Alps is the Mon and the east of the JuraThe Jura folds are located North of the main Alpine orogenic front, and are being continually deformed, accommodating the northwards compression due to Alpine folding. The deformation becomes less pervasive away from the Alpine mountains. The Jura (the ro, 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 BadenBaden is a town in the Swiss canton of Aargau, on the left bank of the river Limmat, 25 km N. of Zurich. Permanent population (2002): 16,000. Sights Baden is chiefly visited by reason of its hot sulphur springs, which are mentioned by Tacitus (Hist. 7) an and Schinznach , while at Rheinfelden there are very extensive saline springs. Just below BruggThere are communes and places that have the name Brugg In Switzerland Brugg, Switzerland, in the Canton of Aargau in Germany Brugg (Meckenbeuren, a locality of Meckenbeuren in the Bodenseekreis,(district) district, Baden-Wurttemberg Brugg (Bayern), a loca 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 ).

2 History

As this region was, up to 1415, the centre of Habsburg power, many historical old castles can be found there. Examples include Habsburg, Lenzburg and Wildegg. There is also a number of former monasteries, such as in Wettingen and Muri. All of these were founded by the Habsburg family. The family was suppressed in 1841, which was one of the main 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 county of Baden, were ruled as subject lands by all or certain of the Confederates. In 1798 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, which was then admitted a full member of the reconstituted Confederation. The Frick glen, ceded in 1802 by Austria to the Helvetic Republic, was also part of the canton Aargau. 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.

3 Economy

The lands of the canton of Aargau are of the most fertile in Switzerland. Dairy farming, crops and fruits are of the principal economic activities in the canton. Industry is developed, particularly in electrical engineering, precision instruments, iron, steel and cement.

There are a number of nuclear power plants at Beznau in the canton of Aargau. A significant number of people commutes into the financial centre of the city of Zürich just across the cantonal border.

Tourism is of significant size, particularly caused by the hot springs at Baden and Schinznach Bad. Hillwalking is another source of tourists, but only of limited significance.

4 Municipalities

There are a total of 232 municipalities in the canton of Aargau. The following municipalities have an entry on their own: Aarau, Baden, Habsburg, Koblenz, Lenzburg.

5 Districts

Aargau is divided into 11 districts:

Aarau with capital Aarau
Baden with capital Baden
Bremgarten with capital Bremgarten
Brugg with capital Brugg
Kulm with capital Unterkulm
Laufenburg with capital Laufenburg
Lenzburg with capital Lenzburg
Muri with capital Muri
Rheinfelden with capital Rheinfelden
Zofingen with capital Zofingen
Zurzach with capital Zurzach

6 External links

Cantons of Switzerland
Aargau \| Appenzell Innerrhoden \| Appenzell Ausserrhoden \| Basel-Stadt \| Basel-Landschaft \| Bern \| Fribourg \| Geneva \| Glarus \| Grisons \| Jura \| Lucerne \| Neuchâtel \| Nidwalden \| Obwalden \| Schaffhausen \| Schwyz \| Solothurn \| St. Gallen \| Thurgau \| Ticino \| Uri \| Valais \| Vaud \| Zug \| Zurich

Cantons of Switzerland

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Canton of Aargau
Flag of the canton
Capital:	Aarau
Abbr.:	AG
Joined:	1803
Population:	550,900
Area:	1404 km²
Language:	German

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