Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen (also sometimes called Schaffhouse) is the name of one of the cantons of the Swiss Confederation as well as the name of the principal city of that canton.
Flag of Canton of Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen Canton is the northernmost canton of Switzerland, located to the north of Zurich. It has a size of 298 km² (112 square miles), mostly agricultural land. In 1996 the population was 73835 people. The German language predominates. Well regarded white Riesling wine is grown here.
The City of Schaffhausen is located 47.71°N Latitude, 8.62°E Longitude; it has an estimated population of 33,700 in 2003. The old portion of the city has many fine Renaissance era buildings decorated with exterior frescos and sculpture, as well as the impressive old canton fortress, the Munot. A streetcar runs out of town to the nearby Rhine Falls, Europe's largest waterfall, a tourist attraction.
History
Schaffhausen was a city state in the Middle Ages, documented to have struck its own coins starting in 1005. For a time it was under Habsburg domination, but regained its independence in 1415. It allied itself with Zurich in 1457, and became a full member of the Swiss Confederation in 1501. The first railroad came to Schaffhausen in 1857. In 1944 Schaffhausen suffered from a bombing raid by United States airforce planes that accidentally strayed from Germany to neutral Switzerland.
