When was Aarau founded and by whom?
Counts of Kyburg founded Aarau around AD 1240. The settlement first appeared in records as Arowe in 1248.
Questions about Aarau
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What is the geography of Aarau relative to major Swiss cities?
Aarau sits on a rocky outcrop at the southern foot of the Jura Mountains west of Zurich and south of Basel. Approximately nine-tenths of the city lies south of the Aare river while only one tenth exists to the north side of the water.
Why did Aarau become the capital of the Helvetic Republic?
Officials declared Aarau the capital of the Helvetic Republic on the 22nd of March 1798 after French troops occupied the city by mid-March 1798. This designation made it the first capital of a unified Switzerland until the capital moved to Lucerne by the 20th of September 1798.
Which Nobel Prize winners studied at the Canton School in Aarau?
Nobel Prize winners Albert Einstein Paul Karrer and Werner Arber studied at the Canton School which opened in 1802 as Switzerland's first non-parochial high school. Einstein served as a technical assistant at the Swiss Patent Office while living in Aarau.
When was the last Tagsatzung of the Old Swiss Confederacy held in Aarau?
The last Tagsatzung of the Old Swiss Confederacy convened in Aarau on the 27th of December 1797. Two weeks after this final meeting a French envoy continued fomenting revolutionary opinions within the population.