Schaffhausen
Country Switzerland Canton Schaffhausen District (None in canton of Schaffhausen) 47°42′N 8°38′E / 47.7°N 8.633°E / 47.7; 8.633Coordinates: 47°42′N 8°38′E / 47.7°N 8.633°E / 47.7; 8.633
Population	33,693 (December 2007[update])
- Density	1,087 /km2 (2,815 /sq mi)
Area	31.00 km2 (11.97 sq mi)
Elevation	403 m (1,322 ft)
Postal code	8200
SFOS number	2939
Mayor (list)	Marcel Wenger (as of 2008) FDP/PRD
Surrounded by (view map)	Beringen, Büsingen am Hochrhein (DE-BW), Büttenhardt, Dörflingen, Feuerthalen (ZH), Flurlingen (ZH), Hemmental, Merishausen, Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Stetten, Thayngen
Twin towns	Sindelfingen (Germany), Singen am Hohentwiel (Germany), Dobrich (Bulgaria)
Website	www.stadt-schaffhausen.ch Profile (German), SFSO statistics
Schaffhausen [zoom]

Reichsstadt Schaffhausen Imperial City of Schaffhausen Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire ← 1190 or 1218 – 1330 1415–1501 → Capital Schaffhausen Government Republic Historical era Middle Ages  - Gained Reichsfreiheit betw 1190 and 1218  - Pledged to Habsburgs 1330  - Bought independence 1415  - Associate member of     Swiss Confederacy   1454  - Joined Switzerland 1501  - Swiss independence     recognised   1648

Reichskloster Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen Imperial Abbey of All Saints in Schaffhausen Imperial Abbey of the Holy Roman Empire ← 1080–1529 → Capital Schaffhausen Government Principality Historical era Middle Ages  - Consecrated (Leo IX) 22 November 1049  - Papal grant of     Nellenburg lands   1080  - Gained Hiltensweiler     lands   1122–1389  - City became     Swiss Associate   1454  - City joined Switz. 1501  - Converted to     monastery and     cathedral church     1524  - Disestablished in     Reformation   1529

Schaffhausen

Schaffhausen (German: Schaffhausen (help·info)) is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 33,693 as of December 2007^[update].^[1]

Rhine Falls as seen from Neuhausen am Rheinfall

The old portion of the city has many fine Renaissance era buildings decorated with exterior frescos and sculpture, as well as the impressive old canton fortress, the Munot. A train runs out of town to the nearby Rhine Falls in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Europe's largest waterfall, a tourist attraction.

[edit] Origin of the name

The town is first mentioned in 1045 as Villa Scafhusun. There are at least two theories on the origin of this name. One is related to a mention of a "ford" across the Rhine River that first occurs in 1050. This "ford" may actually refer to a scapha or skiff which was used to disembark goods coming from Constance to move them around the Rhine Falls. The name Scafhusun then arose from the scapha used at that point. Another theory is that Scafhusun comes from Schaf (a sheep), as a ram (now a sheep) formed the ancient arms of the town, derived from those of its founders, the counts of Nellenburg.^[2]

[edit] History

Views of old town, Schaffhausen

Schaffhausen was a city state in the Middle Ages, documented to have struck its own coins from 1045.^[2] About 1050 the counts of Nellenburg founded the Benedictine monastery of All Saints, which became the center of the town. Perhaps as early as 1190, certainly in 1208, it was an imperial free city, while the first seal dates from 1253. The powers of the abbot were gradually limited and in 1277 the Emperor Rudolf I gave the town a charter of liberties. In 1330 the emperor Louis of Bavaria pledged it to the Habsburgs. In the early 15th century, Habsburg power over the city waned. By 1411 the guilds ruled the city. Then, in 1415 the Habsburg Duke Frederick IV of Austria sided with the Antipope John XXIII at the Council of Constance, and was banned by the Emperor Sigismund. As a result of the ban and Frederick's need of money, Schaffhausen was able to buy its independence from the Habsburgs in 1418. The city allied with six of the Swiss confederates in 1454 and allied with a further two (Uri and Unterwalden) in 1479. Schaffhausen became a full member of the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1501.

The Reformation was adopted, initially, in 1524 and completely in 1529. The town was heavily damaged during the Thirty Years' War from the passage of Swedish (Protestant) and Bavarian (Roman Catholic) troops and the very important bridge was burnt down. It was not till the early 19th century that the arrested industrial development of the town took a fresh start.^[2] In 1857 the first railroad, the Rheinfall-Bahn running from Winterthur, reached Schaffhausen.^[3]

Schaffhausen is located in a finger of Swiss territory surrounded on three sides by Germany. On April 1, 1944, Schaffhausen suffered a bombing raid by United States Army Air Forces aircraft which strayed from German airspace into neutral Switzerland. About a hundred civilians were killed^[4]; the United States immediately offered a million dollars in reparations.

[edit] Industry

Schaffhausen hosts some well-known industrial companies like Georg Fischer (piping systems, machine tools and automotives), an internationally-reputed manufacturer of watches (IWC), pharmaceutical industry (Cilag, founded by Bernhard Joos) and BB Biotech (biotechnologies).

[edit] Transportation

Schaffhausen is a stop of the Zürich S-Bahn on the line S16. Schaffhausen is also a stop on the S33 line that operates between Schaffhausen and Winterthur, and is also a regular stop for high-speed trains to Bern via Zürich, and Stuttgart from Zürich, operated by DB.

Schaffhausen also has a bus network of six lines, linking it with nearby places such as Herblingen and Neuhausen am Rheinfall.

[edit] Sport

The town has two football teams, SV Schaffhausen of the second tier, the Swiss 1. Liga, and FC Schaffhausen of the Swiss Challenge League.

[edit] Weather

[edit] Gallery

All Saints Abbey (German: Allerheiligen) as seen from Munot	Church portal of All Saints Abbey	Cathedral interior of All Saints Abbey	Restaurant Thiergarten and Munot tower
Altstadt	St John's church

[edit] See also

• Cholfirst Radio Tower
• List of mayors of Schaffhausen
• Bombing of Schaffhausen in World War II

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Schaffhausen

• City of Schaffhausen (German)
• Schaffhausen Tourism (English)
• City archives (German)
• U.S. Bombings of Switzerland during World War II

[edit] References

v • d • e Municipalities in the Canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerland Altdorf | Bargen | Beggingen | Beringen | Bibern | Buch | Buchberg | Büttenhardt | Dörflingen | Gächlingen | Guntmadingen | Hallau | Hemishofen | Hemmental | Hofen | Lohn | Löhningen | Merishausen | Neuhausen am Rheinfall | Neunkirch | Oberhallau | Opfertshofen | Ramsen | Rüdlingen | Schaffhausen | Schleitheim | Siblingen | Stein am Rhein | Stetten | Thayngen | Trasadingen | Wilchingen Canton of Schaffhausen | Municipalities of the canton of Schaffhausen