Zofingen: from Helvetian, Roman, Frohburger, Habsburger, Berner to Swiss citizens from Aargau

23 April 2025

Zofingen (canton Aargau) was founded in 1201 by the Counts of Frohburg. However, centuries before, the town was already a relatively large Roman settlement. The remains of a bathhouse, a villa (Gutshof), and other finds indicate this.

Model and location of the Roman and medieval bathing complex

The place was on the trade route from Basel to Lucerne, and in the ^13th and ^14th centuries, Zofingen was an important regional centre with city rights and even a Chorherrenstift—the first predecessors of St Mauritius church dating back to the ^7th century. The current church has Romanesque and Gothic features from its construction and renovations from this period.

The counts of Frohburg sold the town to the Habsburgs in 1299. Until 1415 and the conquest, the town shared the fortunes of Habsburg, including the deaths of soldiers in the battle of Sempach on 9 July 1386 (which also killed Herzog Leopold III).

Schultheiss Niklaus Thut, who fought against the Confederates, did not survive either. However, he saved the Zofingen banner. The town’s coat of arms still shows the horizontal red-white-red-white bars of the Austrian national flag!

After being conquered by Bern in 1415, the Reformation followed in 1528. The town has been part of the canton of Aargau since 1803. Its centuries of prosperity can still be seen in its monumental houses, public buildings and 22 wells with delicate decorations.

Zofingen may not have a university, but it is home to Switzerland’s oldest and largest student fraternity: The Zofingia.

(Source and further Information: Gemeinde Zofingen)

Impressions of von Zofingen