Zuzgen (
Swiss German
Swiss German (Standard German: , ,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no #Conventions, defined orthography for any of them, many different spellings can be found. and others; ) is any of the Alemannic German, Alemannic ...
: ) is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in the
Rheinfelden District
Rheinfelden District lies in the northwest of the canton of Aargau in Switzerland, in the Fricktal region. Its capital is Rheinfelden. Around 88% of the population live in the conurbation of Basel. There are 14 municipalities, with a population o ...
of
canton
Canton may refer to:
Administrative divisions
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and entertainment
* Canton (band), an It ...
Aargau
Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau.
Aargau is one of the most nort ...
in Switzerland. It is located in the West of the
Fricktal
The Fricktal ("Frick Valley") is a region on Northwestern Switzerland, comprising the Laufenburg and Rheinfelden districts of the Swiss canton of Aargau.
The region was known as ''Frickgau'' in the medieval period, ultimately from a Late Lati ...
region, around three kilometers southwest of the border with Germany, and has a border with Canton
Basel-Landschaft
Canton of Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country, informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; ; ; ; ), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital city is Liestal. It is traditional ...
.
Geography

The village lies in the mid-reaches of the Möhlin valley (
Möhlintal) through which flows the
Möhlinbach in a northwesterly direction towards the
Rhine
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
. The flat valley floor alongside the Möhlinbach is, on average, close to 200 meters wide and is bordered on both sides by the hills of the Tabel Jura (
Tafeljura) which have very steep lower slopes leading to flat upper plateau's that are intensively farmed.
In the North the almost circular Chriesiberg (558m) is found and in the East lies the Lohnberg (581 m) with a hamlet of the same name. This flat plateau is around one kilometer wide and stretches for over four kilometers to the southwest (known as the Wabrig plateau above
Hellikon and the Hersberg above
Wegenstetten). The two-kilometer-long Reckental stretches to the south of the village. To the west lies a further plateau where the hamlet of Erfleten is found.
Zuzgen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 59.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 34.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 5.4% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.1% is either rivers or lakes.
[Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics]
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010
Of the built-up area, housing and buildings made up 3.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.7%. Out of the forested land, 33.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 29.4% is used for growing crops and 26.5% is pastures, while 3.3% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
[
The highest point is found on the southern border of the municipality () and the lowest at the Möhlinbach ().
Neighbouring villages in Canton Aargau are ]Zeiningen
Zeiningen is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Rheinfelden (district), Rheinfelden in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
Geography
Zeiningen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 43.9% i ...
to the Northwest, Mumpf
Mumpf is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Rheinfelden (district), Rheinfelden in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
History
The area around Mumpf was prehistorically settled. In 1991 a m ...
to the North, Obermumpf
Obermumpf is a municipality in the district of Rheinfelden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
History
It is likely that there was a Hallstatt culture settlement near Obermumpf, though the exact site has not been discovered. Near the vill ...
to the Northeast, and Hellikon to the Southeast. To the Southwest the municipality borders Buus
Buus is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Sissach (district), Sissach in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland.
History
Buus is first mentioned in 1273 as ''Bus''.
Geography
Buus ha ...
in Canton Baselland.
History
The area around Zuzgen is known to be settled in Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
times; coins and the remains of a wall provide evidence. The Alemanni
The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes
*
*
*
on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...
(an alliance of Germanic tribes) left their mark with well-preserved graves. The first documented mention of Zuzchon dates from 10 June 1288 in a charter of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...
command in Rheinfelden. The village name may have its origins from an Alamanni tribal leader called Zuzo. An important early landowner was the monastery of Bad Säckingen
Bad Säckingen (; High Alemannic: ''Bad Säckinge'') is a rural town in the administrative district of Waldshut in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is famous as the "Trumpeter's City" because of the book ''Der Trompeter von Säckin ...
.
The first known rulers were Habsburgers. After the Waldshut war of 1468 the whole Fricktal was pledged to the Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...
. The Burgundians were crushingly defeated by the Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...
during the Burgundian Wars
The Burgundian Wars (1474–1477) were a conflict between the Burgundian State and the Old Swiss Confederacy and its allies. Open war broke out in 1474, and the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was defeated three times on the battlefield in th ...
meaning that Hellikon was restored to Austrian (Habsburg) authority by 1477. Following the country reforms of the Austrian King Maximilian I., Hellikon fell under the authority of "Further Austria
Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (; , formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, includin ...
" in 1491. The Möhlinbach territory (including Hellikon) came under the administration of the '' Kameralherrschaft Rheinfelden''.
During the 17th century, there was very little time when peace prevailed. During the Rappenkrieg, a peasant uprising that lasted from 1612 until 1614, and the Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
(1633–38) the village's economic development went into decline. Also during the Pfälzer-Erbfolge Wars (1688–97) foreign troops passed through the region.
As a result of the Treaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...
in 1797, the Fricktal became a French protectorate, forming the front line between the French Revolutionary and the Austrian troops in the War of the Second Coalition
The War of the Second Coalition () (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war targeting French Revolution, revolutionary French First Republic, France by many European monarchies, led by Kingdom of Great Britain, Britai ...
. On 20 February 1802, Rheinfelden was made a district capital of the newly created Canton of Fricktal, (Principality of Frickgau), joining the Helvetic Republic
The Helvetic Republic (; ; ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...
in August. On 19 February 1803, Canton Fricktal, including Zuzgen, was absorbed into Canton Aargau.
On 2 July 1801, a large fire destroyed almost all the houses in the village. Additionally epidemics and crop failures followed, forcing many inhabitants away. Other than farming there were few employment opportunities (for instance a small thread mill). For decades the population remained stable or slightly dropped. At the beginning of the 1980s strong building activity started, and ever more people moved from Basel and its suburbs into the village. The population has since grown by over 50%.
Notable sights
At the upper entry to the village two churches stand opposite one another, the Christ Catholic St. Georg in Barock style and the Roman Catholic St. Georg in Neogothic style.
Flag
The blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
of the municipal coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
is ''Azure five Pine Trees Vert issuant from three Mounts of the same the middle one being lower and in chief a Mullet Or'' or "Over blue, three green hills with five green trees under a yellow six pointed start". The flag with five trees was officially adopted in 1872, although no colours were documented. The green-blue combination was introduced in 1945. The heraldry is an inappropriate choice because the colours neutralise each other and the flag cannot be seen when flown form a distance. A proposed revision to add a gold shield and red start was rejected in 2002.
Demographics
Zuzgen has a population () of . , 9.5% of the population are foreign nationals.[Statistical Department of Canton Aargau -Bereich 01 -Bevölkerung]
accessed 20 January 2010 Over the last 10 years (1997–2007) the population has changed at a rate of 10.5%. Most of the population () speaks German (97.8%), with Albanian being second most common (1.1%) and Italian being third (0.4%).
accessed 28-May-2010
The age distribution, , in Zuzgen is; 109 children or 12.9% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 104 teenagers or 12.3% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 65 people or 7.7% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 102 people or 12.0% are between 30 and 39, 171 people or 20.2% are between 40 and 49, and 137 people or 16.2% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 85 people or 10.0% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 45 people or 5.3% are between 70 and 79, there are 26 people or 3.1% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 4 people or 0.5% who are 90 and older.[Statistical Department of Canton Aargau -Bevölkerungsdaten für den Kanton Aargau und die Gemeinden (Archiv)]
accessed 20 January 2010
, there were 18 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 115 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 136 homes with 5 or more persons in the household.[ , there were 272 private households (homes and apartments) in the municipality, and an average of 2.7 persons per household.][ there were 195 single family homes (or 56.4% of the total) out of a total of 346 homes and apartments.][Statistical Department of Canton Aargau]
accessed 20 January 2010 There were a total of 1 empty apartments for a 0.3% vacancy rate. , the construction rate of new housing units was 2.5 new units per 1000 residents.[
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 35.96% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (16.38%), the CVP (14.74%) and the ]Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice.
Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
(13.17%). In the federal election, a total of 244 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...
was 42.1%.
The historical population is given in the following table:[
]
Economy
, Zuzgen had an unemployment rate of 1.57%. , there were 98 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 30 businesses involved in this sector. 27 people are employed in the secondary sector
In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...
and there are 6 businesses in this sector. 74 people are employed in the tertiary sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...
, with 21 businesses in this sector.[
there were 364 workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 259 or about 71.2% of the residents worked outside Zuzgen while 32 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 137 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality.Statistical Department of Canton Aargau-Bereich 11 Verkehr und Nachrichtenwesen]
accessed 21 January 2010 Of the working population, 17.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 53.6% used a private car.[ Most of working population of Zuzgen are commuters, working in the larger Fricktal municipalities and the ]Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
agglomeration.
Transport links
Hellikon lies on the unclassified road running along the Möhlintal from Möhlin
Möhlin () is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Rheinfelden (district), Rheinfelden in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
History
The area around Möhlin was prehistorically settled. A Neo ...
to Wegenstetten. A small side road leads to Buus. The nearest intersection with the A3 motorway can be found at Rheinfelden. Connection with the public transport network is through the Postauto
PostAuto Switzerland, PostBus Ltd. (known as in Swiss Standard German (), in Swiss French (), in Swiss Italian (), and in Romansh () is a subsidiary company of the Swiss Post, which provides regional and rural bus services throughout Switz ...
bus route in either the direction of Möhlin or Weggenstetten.
Religion
From the , 395 or 54.2% were Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, while 198 or 27.2% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 50 individuals (or about 6.86% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic faith[Statistical Department of Canton Aargau - Aargauer Zahlen 2009]
accessed 20 January 2010 and 1.2% of the population was Muslim while 0.5% followed other beliefs.
- Statistisches Amt des Kantons Aargau
Education
In Zuzgen about 78.9% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education
Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education.
Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
or additional higher education (either university or a ).[ Of the school age population (), there are 87 students attending ]primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
in the municipality.[
The municipality has one kindergarten and one primary school. Middle and secondary schools are located in Möhlin and shared by the entire Möhlintal. Alternative secondary schools are available in Wegenstetten and Zeiningen for those who do not wish to proceed into further education. Thanks to an inter-cantonal agreement, youngsters from the Fricktal may attend the college in ]Muttenz
Muttenz is a municipality with a population of approximately 17,000 in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. It is located in the district of Arlesheim and next to the city of Basel.
History
Under the Roman Empire a hamlet called Montet ...
(canton Baselland).
References
External links
Official Website of the Zuzgen municipality
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Aargau