The History of the Canton of Aargau is dedicated to Aargau in Switzerland, founded in 1803, and its various preceding territories.
The area was settled over 150,000 years ago, with the Helvetii being the first historically recorded inhabitants. The Romans ruled for just over 400 years until the beginning of the 4th century. Augusta Raurica and the legionary camp of Vindonissa were particularly important during that period. The remaining Gallo-Roman population was gradually assimilated by immigrating Alemanni. During the latter half of the 8th century, the region was referred to as Aargau, which was a Gau in the Frankish Empire. Some of the current cantonal territory was once part of the Frickgau, the Sisgau, and the Zürichgau.
During the Middle Ages several noble families governed different areas in Aargau, such as the Lenzburgs, Kyburgs, and Zähringers. Among them, the Habsburgs became the most influential, eventually becoming one of the most powerful ruling dynasties in the Holy Roman Empire. While their base of power shifted to Austria towards the end of the 13th century, they lost their ancestral land of Aargau in 1415 when it was conquered by the Confederates.
The Confederates divided the territory among themselves. The largest part, the Bernese Aargau, was subject to the city of Bern, while smaller areas were given to the cities of Lucerne and Zurich. Two areas became common dominions under the joint administration of the places involved in the conquest: the County of Baden and the Freie Ämter. Only the Fricktal remained under Austrian control. The individual territories developed differently due to their ruling structures. The Reformation caused further division, being able to establish itself in Bernese Aargau and parts of the County of Baden.
The Canton of Aargau was created in 1798 as a result of the French invasion and the founding of the Helvetic Republic. At the time, it only comprised the western part. It was created at the same moment as the Canton of Baden and was followed by the Canton of Fricktal four years later. In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte decreed the merger of the three cantons to form the Canton of Aargau. Despite its internal divisions, the new state became a pioneer of liberalism and triggered several developments that contributed to the founding of the modern federal state in 1848. Aargau, now the fourth largest canton in Switzerland by population, is primarily known as an energy and transit hub and struggles to assert its independence between the centres of Basel, Bern and Zurich.
Prehistoric period
Formation of the natural landscape The canton of Aargau is divided by natural features. The northern part was shaped by the formation of the Jura Mountains, while the southern part on the Central Plateau was formed by glacial movements during the ice ages. The Riss Ice Age peaked approximately 140,000 years ago and covered most of the present-day canton, except for the western Fricktal valley around Rheinfelden and some Jura peaks that emerged from the ice.
The Würm Ice Age had a lasting impact on the landscape, although the glaciation was smaller than in other areas. Only the south-eastern part of the canton was covered by ice. The Reuss glacier and the Linth Glacier, which were at their largest around 20,000 years ago, left behind numerous erratic blocks that were displaced from the Alpine region to the plain. The previous range of these glaciers is still evident today in the terminal moraines located near Killwangen, Mellingen, Othmarsingen, Seon, Staffelbach, Würenlos and Zetzwil. The rocks left behind by the moraine at Seon created a dam that formed Lake Hallwil. At the end of the Ice Age, the lake was approximately twice its current size and gradually reduced to its present size over a few thousand years because of sedimentation. The glaciers in front of the valleys caused the rivers to deposit large amounts of gravel, creating significant aquifers.
Stone Age The oldest archaeological findings in Canton Aargau have all been made in the western part of the Fricktal, which has always remained ice-free. A 150,000-year-old hand axe was found near Zeiningen, and a 50,000-year-old Neanderthal stone axe was discovered near Stein. During the final stages of the Würm Ice Age, approximately 10,000 years ago, reindeer and wild horses were hunted. A resting place near Magden was used multiple times. After the glaciers retreated, the moraine and gravel areas were gradually reclaimed by vegetation, resulting in the development of a moorland landscape. This was later replaced by extensive forests. People settled along the rivers, lakes, and high terraces of the large valleys, engaging in hunting, fishing, and gathering.
The earliest evidence of sedentary farmers in Aargau dates back to the period between 4500 and 4200 BCE, in the area around Wettingen and Würenlos. A burial ground with 16 stone cist graves on the Goffersberg near Lenzburg dates from around 3500 BCE. Additionally, several lakeside settlements were established on Lake Hallwil during this time. Further settlements were located near Untersiggenthal, Mönthal, and Suhr. Archaeologists discovered graves dating back to around 2400 BCE near Sarmenstorf and Spreitenbach, which are also of significant archaeological importance.
Bronze Age There are few findings from the transitional period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age (2400 to 1800 BCE) in Aargau. One of the few findings is a double grave discovered near Zurzach in 1986. Between 1600 and 1200 BCE, the population increased and people started to move to higher altitudes for better protection, instead of living only in the river valleys and on the shores of Lake Hallwil. A fortified hilltop settlement on the Wittnauer Horn near Wittnau, inhabited for several centuries until the Latène period, is the best-known site from this period. Another settlement was located on the Chestenberg.
Iron Age The Iron Age started during the Hallstatt period around 750 BCE. Burial mounds, both large and small, from this period can be found mainly in Freiamt. The Reuss Valley served as a significant trade route from north to south during this time. The largest burial complex of this period discovered in Switzerland to date, consisting of no fewer than 63 burial mounds, is located near Unterlunkhofen. Other significant grave finds have been made in Reinach, Schupfart, Seon and Wohlen.
According to Roman sources, the Helvetii migrated from southern Germany and settled on the Central Plateau in the 1st century BCE. The larger Helvetian settlements were located in Mellingen and Baden. Julius Caesar mentioned twelve fortified towns (oppida) in his work De bello Gallico, but it is uncertain whether the settlement on the Windisch plateau was one of them. The Raurici, another Celtic people, lived in the Basel region and Fricktal.
Orgetorix led the Helvetii, who were frequently threatened by Germanic raids to the north, to abandon their settlements and move southwest to the lower reaches of the Garonne. However, in 58 BCE, Roman troops commanded by Julius Caesar stopped their advance at Bibracte. The Helvetii were forced to return, rebuild their villages and towns, and acknowledge Roman supremacy.
Roman rule
A few years later, the Romans started colonising areas independently. Around 45 BC, they founded the town of Augusta Raurica (today Kaiseraugst) in the far north-west of today's canton of Aargau to secure an important transport route to Gaul. Initially, the settlement was concentrated west of the Violenbach stream in the canton of Basel-Landschaft and expanded onto Aargau soil around a hundred years later.
Settlement in the area came to a standstill for around three decades after Caesar's assassination in 44 BC and the subsequent civil war. In about 15 BC, the Romans constructed a small military station on a plateau near the confluence of the Aare, Reuss, and Limmat rivers to secure the Augustan Alpine campaigns. This station was later expanded into the legionary camp of Vindonissa (now Windisch) in 14 CE. Additionally, two significant Roman roads intersected at this location. To supply the camp, farmsteads (villa rustica) were scattered throughout Aargau. The largest known ones were located near Möhlin, Oberentfelden, and Zofingen (see Villa rustica (Zofingen)).
There were also three vici (village settlements): Aquae Helveticae (now Baden), a few kilometres east of Vindonissa on the Limmat, dates from around the time the camp was founded. It was known far and wide for its hot springs and thermal baths, but was also an important settlement for craftsmen. Tenedo (now Bad Zurzach) was a roadside village on the Rhine, settled from the second quarter of the 1st century and used as a bridgehead for an important river crossing. The vicus Lindfeld near Lenzburg (name unknown at the time, probably Lentia) existed from the second quarter of the 1st century. A theatre with 4000 seats formed the centre of a religious complex.
The Legio XIII Gemina was stationed in the Vindonissa camp until 44, when it was replaced by the Legio XXI Rapax. In 69, the year of the Four Emperors, the Helvetian militia stationed in Tenedo supported Emperor Galba and ambushed a courier detachment. The legionaries that were allied with Vitellius carried out a punitive action under Caecina's command. They devastated and plundered estates and settlements in a wide radius around Vindonissa. Following his ascension to power, Vespasian ordered the transfer of the 21st legion to Lower Germania and the stationing of Legio XI Claudia in Vindonissa.
In 101 the military departed the camp, leaving behind a guard post of Legio VIII Augusta. Vindonissa was transformed into a civilian settlement, which included an amphitheatre with seating for 11,000 people. The second century was a relatively peaceful and uneventful period. Trade flourished, with raw materials and luxury goods imported from Italy, southern France and Spain in particular. Producers in Aargau exported a variety of foodstuffs, including grain, meat, honey and cheese, to Italy. Artisans were also plentiful. There were potteries and blacksmiths in Baden, Kaiseraugst, Windisch and Lenzburg, brickworks in Hunzenschwil, Kaisten and Kölliken and quarries in Mägenwil and Würenlos.
This period of prolonged peace came to an end in the 3rd century with the invasion of the Alemanni. Attempts to repel the Alemanni's initial incursions in 213 and 233 were initially successful. However, in 259, the Alemanni finally breached the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes and advanced through the Central Plateau, plundering and destroying. The Roman troops were compelled to retreat across the Alps and did not regain control of the area south of the Rhine until 277, which was now the northern border of the Roman Empire. The Battle of Vindonissa, in which the Romans were victorious over the Alemanni, is recorded for the year 298. In response to the threat posed by the Alemanni, numerous forts and watchtowers were constructed to defend the border. The Vindonissa legionary camp was also reoccupied. During the 4th century, the Alemanni repeatedly launched raids. To reinforce the border defences on the Rhine, the Romans extended them for the last time between 369 and 371. Between 401 and 406, the Romans withdrew across the Alps for good. The population, which had been depleted by the ravages of war, was forced to seek refuge in the fortified towns, where they became impoverished and the infrastructure fell into disrepair.
Early Middle Ages
Settlement by the Alemanni