Aarburg () is a historic town and a municipality in the district of Zofingen in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.

The small town lies in the southwest Aargau, in a narrow section of the Aare valley, at the confluence with the Wigger. It lies in the intersection of the most important traffic routes of Switzerland. The dominant landmark is the Aarburg Castle, one of Switzerland's largest castles and a heritage site of national significance. The visual character of Aarburg is shaped by the fortification and the church on a rock spur.

The official language of Aarburg is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.

History

thumb|left|Aarburg Castle

In Roman times a road went by Aarburg, connecting the Olten region with the rest of inner Switzerland. During the construction of a factory in the 20th century, a hoard of coins produced during the reign of Emperor Tetricus I was discovered. The coin hoard was probably buried during the Bagauden Invasions in 284 CE.

When, precisely, the fortress of Aarburg was constructed on the rocky outcropping is unknown. The first time it was documented was in 1123 when it is mentioned as Areburc.

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 4.8% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 23.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 10.2%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 4.1% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 3.4%. Out of the forested land, 29.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 12.2% is used for growing crops and 4.8% is pastures, while 2.3% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.

Demographics

Aarburg has a population () of . , 39.0% of the population are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 3.8%. Most of the population () speaks German (77.9%), with Italian being second most common (6.0%) and Serbo-Croatian being third (3.7%).

The age distribution, , in Aarburg is; 714 children or 10.7% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 798 teenagers or 11.9% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 956 people or 14.3% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 924 people or 13.8% are between 30 and 39, 1,146 people or 17.1% are between 40 and 49, and 863 people or 12.9% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 578 people or 8.6% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 420 people or 6.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 253 people or 3.8% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 41 people or 0.6% who are 90 and older.

the average number of residents per living room was 0.61 which is about equal to the cantonal average of 0.57 per room. In this case, a room is defined as space of a housing unit of at least as normal bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and habitable cellars and attics. About 38.9% of the total households were owner occupied, or in other words did not pay rent (though they may have a mortgage or a rent-to-own agreement).

, there were 287 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 1,578 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 677 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. There were a total of 142 empty apartments for a 4.7% vacancy rate.

The historical population is given in the following table:

Heritage sites of national significance

thumb|Aarburg castle

The Galgen or ruins of the Froburg built gallows, the Gasthof (combination hotel and restaurant) alte Post (former noble's house) at Städtchen 5 and the Castle are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. The entire village of Aarburg is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Sights

The old town is located in a triangular area between the river and the wedge-shaped rock formation, which forms a natural barrier on two sides. The houses are grouped around a similarly wedge-shaped square. The town fortification on the north side was never rebuilt after the fire of 1840. Dominating the old town is a narrow, extended rock spur, on which one finds the Aarburg fortress. It was constructed at the beginning of the 12th century and expanded into a mighty fortress when it was controlled by Bern. The fortress complex is a nationally recognized cultural asset and serves as a youth center today. The fortress offers public tours at 2:00 PM on Saturdays during the spring and summer months (around April–October). A tour fee is charged (2010:10.CHF) for persons 16 and over. Private tours may be arranged by reservation all year through the youth center (Jugendheim Aarburg). The Aarburg Historic Museum is open the 2nd and 4th Sunday mornings of the month.

On a terrace between the fortress and the old town one finds the reformed church. It was constructed from 1842 to 1845 in the new gothic style with two spires located on the west side. Beneath the church on the rock spur is the parsonage, constructed in 1726; until the town fire of 1840 the town gate went through its basement.

Economy

, Aarburg had an unemployment rate of 3.8%. , there were 15 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 5 businesses involved in this sector. 928 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 50 businesses in this sector. 1,767 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 217 businesses in this sector. Of the working population, 17.4% used public transportation to get to work, and 49.1% used a private car.

Education

In Aarburg about 59.4% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

140px|thumb|Jacques-Barthélemy Micheli du Crest, 1721

Transportation

The municipality has a railway station, , on the Olten–Bern on Olten–Lucerne lines. It has regular service to , , and .

Notable people

  • Jacques-Barthélemy Micheli du Crest (1690 – 1766) a military engineer, physicist and cartographer, spent his later years in Aarburg Castle as a political prisoner

References

  • Aarburg - homepage