Schafisheim

History

Evidence of earlier settlements near Schafisheim include urn graves of the Hallstatt period and a Roman era farm. The modern village of Schafisheim is first mentioned around 1261–64 as Scafusa. The high court right was held by the Habsburgs, and then from 1415 by Bern. A farm owned by Murbach Abbey had the Twinggericht (low justice and property rights) over the village, which was held until 1482. The Twinggericht right went to the Lords of Baldegg, then, in 1671, to a branch of the Hallwyl family. In the 15th century the head Twingherren was probably living at Schafisheim Castle. After passing through several other hands, the Twingherren power came in 1736 to the brothers Samuel and Etienne Brutel. Schafisheim chapel of ease is first mentioned in 1360. At that time it belonged to the Staufen parish. In 1496–98, the chapel of St. Leodegar was built on the site of the earlier chapel. The farming settlement of Bettetal was incorporated in 1751 in the municipality. Economically, Schafisheim was dominated by agriculture and a little viticulture together with light, home manufacturing in the 19th century. The brothers Brutel built a thriving printing business in 1736, which closed before 1800. In the 19th and 20th centuries, many residents worked in foreign factories. The opening of the A1 motorway in 1967 led to the establishment of logistics centers and furniture stores, and in 1973 the cantonal road traffic office. Along the road between Aarau and Lenzburg the village expanded with new residential and commercial areas.

Geography

Schafisheim has an area, , of . Of this area, or 38.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 41.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 20.9% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.5% is either rivers or lakes. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 9.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.1%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.8% of the area Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 24.5% is used for growing crops and 11.4% is pastures, while 2.2% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams. The municipality is located in the Lenzburg district, at the lower exit of the Seetal. It consists of the village of Schafisheim and the hamlets of Bettetal and Heuelmüli.

Most-observed species

• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  16,216
• Annual Fleabane

  Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers. · Magnoliopsida
  9,903
• Common Blue

  Polyommatus icarus (von Rottemburg, 1775) · Insecta
  9,884
• European roe deer

  Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  9,618
• Marbled White

  Melanargia galathea Linnaeus, 1758 · Insecta
  7,163
• Small Heath

  Coenonympha pamphilus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  5,665
• red fox

  Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  4,622
• Silver-washed Fritillary

  Argynnis paphia (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  4,245

Most recent

• M 3.7 — 2026-04-26
  4 km N of Quarten, Switzerland
• 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 3.9 — 2022-09-10
  1 km WSW of Zimmersheim, France
• M 4.1 — 2021-12-24
  2 km WSW of Blamont, France