Oftringen

Sister cities

• Mörel-Filet

History

The earliest trace of human habitation near Oftringen is scattered mesolithic era finds. A Roman era farm at the intersection of two roads and scattered Alamanni settlements have also been found. The modern municipality of Oftringen is first mentioned in 924 as Ofteringa. The village was under the Herschaft of the Counts of Frohburg from the Middle Ages until 1299, when they came under Habsburg authority. Following the Bernese conquest of the Aargau in 1415 it belonged to the Amt or township of Aarburg. It remained part of Bern until 1798. Under the guidance of Bern, in 1528 the Protestant Reformation entered the village. In 1667 an ecclesiastical court was set up in the village. In 1663 the first schoolhouse was built, and in 1740 a second one was added in the hamlet of Küngoldingen. The district school was built in 1969–70. It was part of the parish of Zofingen until 1920 when its own parish was formed. The parish church was built in 1933–34. Since the expansion of Bernese road networks in the 18th century the Bern-Zurich and Basel-Lucerne roads cross in Oftringen. In addition, since 1856 the town is on the Olten-Lucerne railway, though the station is located in Aarburg. The Aarau-Zofingen railway line was built in 1875-77 by the Swiss Federal Railways. In 1914 a station at Küngoldingen was added. The center of the settlement shifted to around the intersection of the Bern-Zurich and Basel-Lucerne roads as various businesses sprang up to take advantage of the increased traffic. Industrialization began in 1825 with the establishment of a paper mill, which was followed by textile plants along the river. In the 20th century the chemical and metal industries entered the village. In 1920 about 65% of the workers worked in industry. After the construction of the national…

Geography

Oftringen has an area, , of . Of this area, or 35.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 33.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 30.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and or 0.1% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 5.0% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 15.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 6.1%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.9% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.3%. Out of the forested land, 32.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 19.1% is used for growing crops and 13.5% is pastures, while 3.0% is used for orchards or vine crops. The municipality is located in the Zofingen district, on the eastern side of the lower Wigger river valley. It consists of the village of Oftringen and several hamlets and individual houses scattered throughout side valleys. The ruins of Alt-Wartburg castle are located in the northernmost part of the municipality.

Most-observed species

• European roe deer

  Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  11,031
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  9,524
• red fox

  Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  5,353
• Common Blue

  Polyommatus icarus (von Rottemburg, 1775) · Insecta
  4,731
• Marbled White

  Melanargia galathea Linnaeus, 1758 · Insecta
  4,330
• Annual Fleabane

  Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers. · Magnoliopsida
  4,189
• Small Heath

  Coenonympha pamphilus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  3,229
• Dusky Large Blue

  Maculinea nausithous (Bergstrasser, 1779) · Insecta
  3,222

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2025-07-21
  4 km E of Frutigen, Switzerland
• M 3.5 — 2024-06-27
  1 km SSW of Todtmoos, Germany
• M 4.2 — 2024-06-04
  2 km NNW of Unteriberg, Switzerland
• M 4.4 — 2023-03-22
  1 km NW of Pont-de-Roide, France
• M 3.9 — 2022-09-10
  1 km WSW of Zimmersheim, France
• M 4.1 — 2021-12-24
  2 km WSW of Blamont, France