Schaffhausen, capital of the canton of that name, situated close to the Untersee and north of the Rhine, is enclosed on three sides by Germany. Its well preserved medieval town center and the picturesquely situated Kastell Munot make it one of the most interesting towns in Switzerland. Schaffhausen is
also an important hub of communications and industrial town (iron and steel works, chemical plants, engineering works, clocks, textiles and playing cards).
Schaffhausen grew up as a transshipment point for traffic on the Rhine, here interrupted by the Rhine Falls. In 1045 the Emperor Henry III granted Count Eberhard von Nellenburg the right to mint coins here, and about 1050 the Benedictine abbey of All Saints was founded. From 1330 to 1415 the town was mortgaged to the Habsburgs, and thereafter, until 1501, was a free Imperial city. In 1454 Schaffhausen concluded an alliance with the Confederation, of which it became a member in 1501. From 1798 to 1803 the town and canton were part of the Helvetian Republic.
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