(Redirected from Schaffhausen (canton))
The 'Canton of ' is a canton of
Switzerland. The principal city and capital of the canton is
Schaffhausen.
Geography
satellite map of the region
The canton of Schaffhausen is the northernmost canton of Switzerland, located to the north of
Zurich. It lies west of the
Lake Constance and has a size of
298 km² (112 square miles), mostly productive agricultural land.
The land is almost entirely surrounded by
Germany, which lies to the north, east and west of the canton. The canton of Schaffhausen is even divided by parts of Germany. There are three parts to the canton. The largest part includes the capital
Schaffhausen. The small district of ''Rüdlingen-Buchberg'' lies in the south west of the canton, north of
Stein am Rhein, and the third part contains Ramsen to the east. Furthermore the German
exclave town of
Büsingen am Hochrhein lies along part of the southern border of the main section of the canton.
Most of the canton lies on a plateau dominated by the
Hoher Randen. The summit of this mountain is 912m. The slopes of the mountain are gentle towards the south where it reaches the Rhine valley. Short and narrow valleys intersect these gentle slopes. The
Klettgau is one such valley.
The
Rhine Falls are the largest waterfalls in Europe and lie on the border of the canton of Schaffhausen, the
canton of Zurich and
Germany.
History
Schaffhausen was a city-state in the
Middle Ages, documented to have struck its own coins starting in 1045. It was then known as ''Villa Scafhusun''. Around 1049 a Benedictine monastery was founded which lead to the development of a community. This community achieved independence in 1190. Until 1218 Schaffhausen was a free imperial city. In 1330 the town not only lost all its lands but also its independence to the
Habsburgs. The canton regained its independence in 1415 when it bought its freedom. It allied itself with Zürich in 1454, and became a full member of the Swiss Confederation in 1501. The first
railroad came to Schaffhausen in 1857. In 1944 Schaffhausen suffered from a bombing raid by
United States Air Force planes that accidentally strayed from
Germany to neutral Switzerland.
The cantonal constitution was written in 1876 and revised in 1895.
Economy
Well-regarded white
Riesling wine is grown here. The main industries, however, are the production of machinery and metal goods. There is also
watch making and jewellery. Minor industrial branches are textiles, leather goods, glass, cement, paper and chemicals. There is a brewery in the canton.
At
Rheinau there is a hydro electrical power plant generating electricity for the canton and export. The largest demands of electricity are made by the chemical industry in
Rheinfelden and the aluminium plant at
Neuhausen am Rheinfall. The city of Schaffhausen also uses a large quantity of the electricity produced at Rheinau.
There is a busy rail junction at Schaffhausen with trains from
Switzerland and
Germany.
Demographics
In 2002 the population was 73,400 people. The
German language and
Protestant faith predominate.
Former districts
Until July 1999, Canton Schaffhausen was divided into these 6 districts (Bezirke):
★
Oberklettgau
★
Reiat
★
Schaffhausen
★
Schleitheim
★
Stein
★
Unterklettgau.
Municipalities
The municipality of
Osterfingen was incorporated into
Wilchingen in 2005.
External links
★
Official Page (German)
★
Archives (German)
★
34 townships
★
Official Statistics
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