Aarau

Aarau is a town (with about 21,500 inhabitants) and municipality in the northern Switzerland, located on the Aare River, 81 km northeast of Bern , 60 km southeast of Basel , 46 km west of Zürich (➤ map)(➤ map). It is the capital of the Canton of Aargau.

The city is located at an altitude of 381 m above sea level, on the right bank of the Aare River. Aarau was first mentioned in the mid-thirteenth century; in 1283 the settlement received city rights. From 1415 it was under the control of Bern, in 1803 it became the capital of an independent canton.

There are few monuments and tourist attractions in Aarau. Perhaps the main attractions are the characteristic decorations on the bottoms of the far eaves of the roofs of the Old Town houses, situated on a low hill on the right, southern bank of the Aare River, northwest of the main railway station. . The marker is the city history museum (Stadtmuseum Aarau) located in a building attached to a small castle (Schlössli Aarau) with a history dating back to the 13th century, standing on north-east end of the Old Town. It is also worth paying attention to the (1) 61 m high tower called Turm Obertor , erected around 1270, extended in 16th century, housing a clockwork from the same period, (2) dating from the 16th century, later expanded Town Hall , and (3) late gothic church (Stadtkirche Aarau ) from the 15th century, originally Catholic, taken over by Protestants.