850 Years Rheinfelden
10 December 2023
The town of Rheinfelden (Kanton Aargau) was founded in 1130 by the Dukes of Zähringen. In 1218, the town received the status of a free imperial city, the imperial immediacy. Ten towns donated a commemorative plaque in the town hall for the town’s 850th anniversary in 1980. The city was Austrian until 1803. The new canton of Aargau acquired the town that year.
Town hall (Rathaus)
The plaque shows the coat of arms of the Dukes of Zähringen in the centre, surrounded by the coats of arms of ten towns: Bern, Neuchâtel on the Rhine (D), Fribourg (D), Murten, Burgdorf, St. Peter, Fribourg, Bräunlingen, Thun, Fribourg and Villingen.
The castle
The story of Agnes of Rheinfelden (1065-1111), daughter of Rudolf of Rheinfelden (1025-1080) and wife of Duke Bertold II of Zähringen, Duke of Swabia (1050-1111), is worth mentioning.
In 1080, Rudolf lost a battle, a hand, his life, and a crown, which he coveted in vain. In his memory, Agnes founded the monastery of St. Peter in the Black Forest in Germany. This monastery became the final resting place of the Zähringers. The sculpture of Agnes, the lost crown and the hand on the rocky island symbolise this story.
The citizens of Rheinfelden (Baden) and Rheinfelden (Canton of Aargau) celebrated 850 years of Rheinfelden in 1980.
The gift of the two Rheinfeldens in the middle of the bridge.
(Source and further information: www.tourismus-rheinfelden.ch)
Impressions from Rheinfelden
The Feldschlössenen Brewery
The former St. Martins monastery and the church
Commandantenhaus (rechts) and Kapuzinerkirche
Spyserhof, a former part of the monastery
City wall and tower along the Rhine
The Obertorturm
The Goldener Adler with the Austrian Double Eagle (Doppeladler)