Villmergen

History

The area was first settled between 500 and 58 BC, but no records and little evidence survives of that settlement. During the Roman era there were at least two villas, one at Heidenhübel and the other on the Schwarzhalde. The first mention of the modern village was in 1185, as Vilmaringen. In 1273, the Counts of Kyburger sold Villmergen to the House of Habsburg. A Kyburg Castle was mentioned in the village in 1315, but no clear evidence of this castle has been discovered. Most likely, it was on the Heidenhübel, south-west of the village, since a square foundation was discovered there in 1927. In 1337, the patronage right to the village church was held by the knightly family of Hallwyl. In 1425, the rights to the church transferred to the Benedictine Muri Abbey. In 1525 to 1531, the Protestant Reformation entered the village, but much of the population stayed Catholic. On 24 January 1656 and again on 24 July 1712, the First War of Villmergen and the Toggenburg War (or Second War of Villmergen) were fought near the village. both battles were between the Reformed and Catholic Swiss cantons. The Protestants' victory in the Second Battle of Villmergen, brought an end to the Catholic hegemony in the Swiss Confederation and prevented further conflict until the renewed outbreak of civil war until 1847. That year, the Sonderbund war led to the formation of Switzerland as a federal state. Under the short-lived Helvetic Republic, Villmergen was part of the District of Sarmenstorf in 1798. Five years later, under the Act of Mediation, it became part of the Bremgarten District. In 1841, the local monastery was secularised. During the Sonderbund War, was a battle between cantonal forces and local militia troops in the municipality. The battle ended with seven dead and one…

Geography

Villmergen has an area, , of . Of this area, 41.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 35.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 22.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.2%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).

Most-observed species

• Annual Fleabane

  Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers. · Magnoliopsida
  15,722
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  13,748
• European roe deer

  Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  11,773
• Common Blue

  Polyommatus icarus (von Rottemburg, 1775) · Insecta
  9,816
• red fox

  Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  6,643
• Marbled White

  Melanargia galathea Linnaeus, 1758 · Insecta
  5,391
• bow-winged grasshopper

  Chorthippus biguttulus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  4,958
• Small Heath

  Coenonympha pamphilus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  4,795

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 3.8 — 2022-09-01
  2 km WSW of Sevelen, Switzerland