The great road and rail cross-country routes of Switzerland, Basle-St Gotthard-Ticino, and Lake Constance-Lake of Geneva, intersect in the lower Wigger valley, the most westerly point of the canton of Aargau. Of the 12 historic towns of Aargau, the old town of Zofingen is the most extensive. It was
founded by the Counts of Frohburg who, in the third quarter of the 12th C., began to secure their lands to the north and south of the upper Hauenstein with eight new towns and several castles. The first known mention of the place was in 1175 or 1179; in 1201 the "Canonici de Zovingen" were acknowledged. As early as the first century A.D. a Roman estate existed outside the line of the walls which were built later. During the Bernese domination, which lasted almost 400 years, the town was granted a certain measure of self-government and, in 1803, it was raised to the status of a district capital. From 1830, increasing industrialization (printing, processing of textiles, chemical works and engineering, etc.) took place. Important educational buildings followed from the 19th to the mid-20th C., including, in 1974-78, the modern educational center, embracing six schools, in the Wigger plain between Zofingen and Stengelbach.
Print this page
Add to Favorites
