Brugg

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Coordinates: 47°29′N, 8°12′E

Brugg
Country Switzerland Coat of Arms of Brugg
Canton Aargau
District Brugg
47°29′N, 8°12′E
Population 9,180  (2006)
  - Density 1,645 /km² (4,261 /sq.mi.)
Area 5.58 km² (2.2 sq mi)
Elevation 352 m (1,155 ft)
  - Highest 516 m - Bruggerberg
  - Lowest 328 m - Limmat
black tower
black tower
Postal code 5200
Mayor Rolf Alder (as of 2008)
Surrounded by
(view map)		 Gebenstorf, Habsburg, Hausen, Riniken, Rüfenach, Schinznach-Bad, Umiken, Untersiggenthal, Villigen, Villnachern, Windisch
Twin towns Rottweil (Germany)
Website www.stadt-brugg.ch
For other places with the same name, see Brugg (disambiguation).

Brugg is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Aargau and is the seat of the district of the same name. The city is located at the confluence of the Reuss, Aare, and Limmat Rivers, with the Aare flowing through the city’s old town. It is located approximately 16 km, or 10 miles, from the cantonal capital of Aarau; 28 km, or 17 miles, from Zurich; and about 45 km, or 28 miles, from Basel.

Brugg is the Swiss German word for bridge (Brücke in High German). This is an allusion to the purpose of the city’s establishment under the Habsburgs, as the city is located at the narrowest point on the Aare in the Swiss midlands. The Habsburgs’ oldest known residence is located in the neighborhood of Altenburg, which had previously been an independent community. Prior to their relocation to Austria, Brugg was the center of the Habsburgs' territory. Between 1415 and Napoleon’s invasion in 1798 Brugg was a subject territory of Bern and has since belonged to the Canton of Aargau.

The city is the home of the Swiss Farmers’ Union and is the location of a campus of the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland[1]. Brugg's Vindonissa museum is listed as a heritage site of national significance.[2] An engineer unit of the Swiss army is also based in the city.

Contents

[edit] Geography

The municipality extends for six kilometers (4 mi.) from its southwestern to northeastern boundaries, and is barely wider than one kilometer (2/3 mi.) at its broadest point. The Aare, which flows through the center of the old town, divides the municipality into two separate, distinct landscapes – the Swiss plateau on the southern bank and the beginnings of the Jura on the northern side.

The southwestern-most area of Brugg is primarily a flood plain, known as the “Wildischachen,” which is located between the Aare and a hill, the “Wülpselsberg,” upon which the Habsburg castle in the neighboring community of Habsburg was built. About two kilometers (1.25 mi.) further north two separate branches of the Aare come together near the village of Altenburg. In between these two branches, which came into being following the construction of a hydroelectric dam, is the forested island of “Schacheninsel.”

Following a marked bend in the river, at which point it alters its course from the north to the east, the river enters a 200 meter-long (650 ft) gorge. At this point the Aare narrows from its previous width of up to 130 meters (425 ft) to a mere 12 meters (40 ft). It is along this gorge that the historic center of Brugg formed, with sections of the old town developing on both banks. Today the southern bank is heavily built up and is composed primarily of residential and industrial buildings, while the northern bank, due to the lack of space at the foot of the Bruggerberg (516 m / 1,693 ft), is less settled.

The Aare broadens again after it exits the gorge and departs the old town, where it flows alongside the “Aufeld” plain. A majority of the population in this area is concentrated in a small band along the southeastern slope of the Bruggerberg. On the eastern border of the municipality three of the most important Swiss rivers flow together, first the Reuss and the Aare, the combination of which is met approximately one and a half kilometers (1 mi.) further downstream by the Limmat. In the northeastern-most part of town, nestled between the mouth of the Limmat and the Reinerberg (522 m / 1,713 ft) is the village of Lauffohr.

The municipality is approximately 5.58 square kilometers (2.2 sq. mi.) in area, of which 1.67 square kilometers (0.65 sq. mi.) is wooded and 2.7 square kilometers (1.05 sq. mi.) built up. The highest point is 516 meters (1,693 ft) above sea level at the Bruggerberg, while the lowest point at the mouth of the Limmat is 328 meters (1,076 ft).

Brugg is bordered by the municipalities of Rüfenach and Villigen to the north; Untersiggenthal and Gebenstorf to the northeast; Windisch to the east; Hausen to the south; Umiken to the west; and Riniken to the northwest. Over time the built-up areas of Brugg have grown into the neighboring communities of Umiken and Windisch.

[edit] Enlargement of the municipality

Up until the nineteenth century Brugg consisted of only one-tenth of its current surface area. The municipality's expansion began in 1823 with the purchase of around one-fourth of the territory of the neighboring community of Lauffohr. This was followed by the acquisition of a number of properties in 1827 from Umiken. Windisch sold the area around the train station in 1863 and transferred the land around the gas plant in 1912. The village of Altenburg was incorporated into Brugg in 1901, and was followed in 1970 by the remainder of Lauffohr.

Brugg Mainstation
Brugg Mainstation
Fasnacht in Brugg
Fasnacht in Brugg

[edit] Population growth

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ [University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland]
  2. ^ Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance, p. 37.

[edit] External links

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Municipalities in the district of Brugg, Switzerland
Coat of Arms of the Canton of Aargau