Canton of Schaffhausen

The canton of Schaffhausen is the northernmost canton of Switzerland. Its main city and capital is Schaffhausen.

This area is special because it is split into three parts that are not all connected. One big middle part holds the capital and separates a small piece of Germany called Büsingen am Hochrhein from the rest of Germany. The Rhine River runs close by, making the land unique.

People there speak German, and the canton has its own government and traditions, just like other parts of Switzerland.

History

People lived in the area of Schaffhausen long ago, between 15,000 and 11,000 BC. Two important places show this: Schweizersbild in Schaffhausen, a rock shelter where old tools were found, and Kesslerloch in Thayngen, a cave with old items and animal bones. Some of these discoveries can be seen at the Museum zu Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen.

During the time of the Romans, there was a town near Schleitheim called Iuliomagus. Parts of old baths from that town are kept in a local museum. In the Middle Ages, Schaffhausen became its own city-state and made its own coins starting in 1045. Later, it became part of the Swiss Confederation and joined fully in 1501. The first railroad reached Schaffhausen in 1857. In 1944, Schaffhausen was accidentally bombed by planes from the United States during World War II. The canton's constitution was created in 1876 and updated in 1895. The coat of arms shows the Schaffhauser Bock, which is a special symbol of the region.

Geography

Schaffhausen is the northernmost canton of Switzerland. It is mostly on the right side of the High Rhine, with a small part of Stein am Rhein on the left side. The northernmost village is Bargen. It is west of Lake Constance and covers an area of 298 km².

The land of Schaffhausen is split into three parts where Germany reaches the High Rhine. The largest part includes the main city, Schaffhausen. A smaller part called Rüdlingen-Buchberg is to the southwest, and another part has Ramsen and Stein am Rhein to the east. Except for a small area called Vor der Brugg, all these parts are separated from the rest of Switzerland by the Rhine river.

Schaffhausen borders the Swiss cantons of Zurich and Thurgau, and also touches areas in Germany. The highest point in the canton is the Hage in the Randen mountains, at 912 meters above sea level. The Rhine Falls — the largest waterfall in Europe — are on the border between Schaffhausen and Zurich.

Municipalities

There are 26 municipalities in the canton as of March 2017.

• Bargen
• Beggingen
• Beringen
• Buch
• Buchberg
• Büttenhardt
• Dörflingen
• Gächlingen
• Hallau
• Hemishofen
• Lohn
• Löhningen
• Merishausen
• Neuhausen am Rheinfall
• Neunkirch
• Oberhallau
• Ramsen
• Rüdlingen
• Schaffhausen
• Schleitheim
• Siblingen
• Stein am Rhein
• Stetten
• Thayngen
• Trasadingen
• Wilchingen

Merger

• In 1947, Buchthalen merged into Schaffhausen.
• In 1964, Herblingen merged into Schaffhausen.
• In 2004, Barzheim merged into Thayngen.
• In 2005, Osterfingen merged into Wilchingen.
• On 1 January 2009, Altdorf, Bibern, Hofen, and Opfertshofen merged into Thayngen.
• In 2009, Hemmental merged into Schaffhausen.
• In 2013, Guntmadingen merged into Beringen.

Demographics

The canton of Schaffhausen had a population of 83,107 as of December 31, 2020. About 21.9% of the people living there were from other countries. Most people speak German. Many follow the Protestant faith, and some follow the Roman Catholic faith.

Politics

Cantonal government

Schaffhausen has a group of elected leaders called the Cantonal Council. It has 60 members chosen every four years. Before 2008, it had 80 members.

There is also a smaller group of five leaders called the Government Council. They are also chosen every four years.

Federal election results

Swiss people living in Schaffhausen must vote in elections. This rule, called compulsory voting, started in some areas in the late 1800s. It was stopped everywhere except in Schaffhausen in 1974. Those who don’t vote must pay a small fine.

^a FDP before 2009, FDP.The Liberals after 2009

^b "*" indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton.

Economy

Schaffhausen is part of the Zurich metropolitan area (Greater Zurich area), and its economy works closely with this larger region. The area is known for growing white Riesling wine and other types of wine. Key industries include making machinery, metal goods, watches, and jewelry. Smaller industries involve textiles, leather goods, glass, cement, paper, and chemicals. There is a famous brewery called Falken AG, which started in 1799.

At Rheinau, there is a hydro electrical power plant that makes electricity for the canton to share with others. Big users of this electricity include the chemical industry in Rheinfelden and an aluminium plant in Neuhausen am Rheinfall. Schaffhausen is on a busy train route between Milan, Zürich, and Stuttgart, served by trains from both Swiss Federal Railways and German Railways.

Some of the largest companies in the area are ABB Schweiz AG, Johnson Controls, TE Connectivity, SIG, Georg Fischer AG, IWC Schaffhausen, Unilever, Syntegon, and Cilag AG (Johnson & Johnson).

Transportation

Rail and bus services operate within the Ostwind Tariff Network.

Bus

The towns of Schaffhausen and Neuhausen am Rheinfall share a municipal bus network with frequent services.

There are regional bus services that connect towns and villages in the canton of Schaffhausen with each other or with towns in the canton of Zürich and nearby German territory. Bus services leave from the forecourt of Schaffhausen railway station in Schaffhausen. Bus line 33 connects villages in the east with Singen (Hohentwiel) in Germany. Line 675 connects Rüdlingen and Buchberg with Rafz and Henggart. Route 825 links Stein am Rhein with Frauenfeld, the capital of the canton of Thurgau.

The regional bus lines are as follows:

Nighttime Bus

On weekends, night bus services run on regional routes after midnight.

Rail

Several train stations in the canton of Schaffhausen have S-Bahn-style services. Schaffhausen railway station is also served by InterCity and RegioExpress trains, and Regional-Express trains.

Train services are as follows:

Schaffhausen station

• DB Fernverkehr IC 87 / SBB CFF FFS: Zürich HB – Schaffhausen – Stuttgart Hbf (hourly service)
• RE48 (SBB CFF FFS): Schaffhausen – Bülach – Zürich Oerlikon – Zürich HB (hourly service)
• RE 3 (DB Regio Baden-Württemberg): Basel Bad Bf – Schaffhausen – Friedrichshafen-Hafen (hourly service)
• S1 (St. Gallen S-Bahn): Schaffhausen – Stein am Rhein – Kreuzlingen – Romanshorn – St. Gallen – Wil SG (half-hourly service)
• S9 (Zurich S-Bahn): Schaffhausen – Bülach – Zürich HB – Uster (hourly/half-hourly service)
• S12 (Zurich S-Bahn): Schaffhausen – Winterthur – Zürich HB – Brugg AG (hourly service)
• S24 (Zurich S-Bahn): Thayngen – Schaffhausen – Winterthur – Zurich Airport – Zürich HB – Zug (hourly service)
• S33 (Zurich S-Bahn): Schaffhausen – Winterthur (hourly service)
• S62 (Schaffhausen S-Bahn): Schaffhausen – Singen (Hohentwiel) (half-hourly service)
• S64 (Schaffhausen S-Bahn): Schaffhausen – Erzingen (Baden) (half-hourly service)
• S65 (Schaffhausen S-Bahn): Schaffhausen – Jestetten (hourly service)

Herblingen and Thayngen stations

• S24 (Zurich S-Bahn): Thayngen – Herblingen – Schaffhausen – Winterthur – Zurich Airport – Zürich HB – Zug (hourly service)
• S62 (Schaffhausen S-Bahn): Singen (Hohentwiel) – Thayngen – Herblingen – Schaffhausen – (half-hourly service)

Neuhausen station

• S9 (Zurich S-Bahn): Schaffhausen – Neuhausen – Bülach – Zürich HB – Uster (hourly/half-hourly service)
• S12 (Zurich S-Bahn): Schaffhausen – Neuhausen – Winterthur – Zürich HB – Brugg AG (hourly service)
• S24 (Zurich S-Bahn): Thayngen – Schaffhausen – Neuhausen – Winterthur – Zurich Airport – Zürich HB – Zug (hourly service)
• S33 (Zurich S-Bahn): Schaffhausen – Neuhausen – Winterthur (hourly service)
• S65 (Schaffhausen S-Bahn): Schaffhausen – Neuhausen – Jestetten (hourly service)

Neuhausen Rheinfall station

• S9 (Zurich S-Bahn): Schaffhausen – Neuhausen Rheinfall – Bülach – Zürich HB – Uster (hourly/half-hourly service)
• S65 (Schaffhausen S-Bahn): Schaffhausen – Neuhausen Rheinfall – Jestetten (half-hourly service)

Neuhausen Badischer Bahnhof, Beringerfeld, Beringen, Neunkirch, Wilchingen-Hallau and Trasadingen stations

• S64 (Schaffhausen S-Bahn): Schaffhausen – Neuhausen Badischer Bahnhof – Beringerfeld – Beringen Badischer Bahnhof – Neunkirch – Wilchingen-Hallau – Trasadingen – Erzingen (Baden) (half-hourly service)

Stein am Rhein station

• S1 (St. Gallen S-Bahn): Schaffhausen – Stein am Rhein – Kreuzlingen – Romanshorn – St. Gallen – Wil SG (half-hourly service)
• S29 (Zurich S-Bahn): Stein am Rhein – Winterthur (half-hourly service)

Boat

In warmer months (April to October), there are regular boat trips on the River Rhine between Schifflände in Schaffhausen and Kreuzlingen via Stein am Rhein.

Air

The nearest airports to the canton are Zurich Airport and EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg.

Notes and references

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