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.