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'Schaffhausen' (German: , , ) is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 33,527 as of March 31, 2005.

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.

Contents

History

Industry

See also

External links

History

Schaffhausen was a city state in the Middle Ages, documented to have struck its own coins starting in 1045. For a time it was under Habsburg domination, but regained its independence in 1415. It allied itself with Zurich in 1457, and became a full member of the Swiss Confederation in 1501. The first railroad came to Schaffhausen in 1857.
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. While the United States immediately offered a million dollars in reparations, the raid occurred only a month after the Swiss Air Force had shot down an American bomber.

Industry

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

See also

★ Cholfirst Radio Tower

★ List of mayors of Schaffhausen

★ Bombing of Schaffhausen in World War II

External links

★ City archives

★ Pictures of Schaffhausen ,

★ U.S. Bombings of Switzerland during World War II