Schaffhausen

Schaffhausen sits at the southernmost navigable point on the Rhine; all cargo coming upriver from the North Sea had to be offloaded here to bypass the Rhine Falls. The first documentary mention of Schaffhausen is in 1045 as 'Villa Scafhusun' in a charter by King Heinrich III. One etymology derives the name from 'scapha' (Latin for skiff/boat), referring to the ship houses where goods were unloaded and portaged overland. The Rhine Falls, located just below the city at Neuhausen am Rheinfall, are Europe's largest waterfall by volume -- 150 meters wide and 23 meters high. The mandatory portage created the transshipment trade that enriched the town for centuries.

Since 1377, the Munot fortress has maintained a nearly unbroken record of its watchmen. Every evening at 9 PM, the Munotwachter rings the Munot bell by hand for five minutes, as first prescribed in 1589. The bell was cast in 1589 by Hans Frei of Kempten, weighs 420 kilograms, and bears the inscription: 'I flowed out of the fire, Hans Frei of Kempten cast me. Watchman have a care, with due diligence you must ring me at the ninth hour of the night.' According to legend, a jealous watchman saw his sweetheart being unfaithful and rang the bell with such furious force that it cracked. This tale inspired the well-known song 'Das Munotgloecklein' by Ferdinand Buomberger (1874-1946).

The Haus zum Goldenen Ochsen (Vorstadt 17) was remodeled in 1609 for the Hageloch family in German Renaissance style. Its elaborate oriel window depicts allegories of the five senses -- five women holding symbolic objects and animals representing touch, sight, hearing, taste, and smell. Schaffhausen's old town is famous for its 171 Erker (oriel windows), the highest concentration in Switzerland, earning the city the name 'Stadt der Erker' (City of Oriel Windows). The oriels were status symbols: they added living space and light at great expense, displaying the wealth of trading families who profited from the Rhine portage trade.

The Rheinfallfelsen is a mighty rock standing in the middle of the Rhine Falls, the remnant of the original cliff. The rock is approximately 150 million years old and can be reached by boat. Approximately 15,000 years ago, tectonic shifts during the Ice Age forced the Rhine into a new riverbed. The falls formed where hard Jurassic limestone meets softer gravel deposits. Two castles flank the falls: Schloss Laufen (first documented 858, a Swiss heritage site of national significance) and Schloessli Woerth. Famous visitors include Goethe, Rousseau, and Byron. Summer water flow averages 600 cubic meters per second, with the highest recorded flow being 1,250 cubic meters per second in 1965.

In 2019, Karola Luethi became the first female Munotwachter (fortress keeper) in the Munot's history, selected from approximately 80 applicants. She had been rejected for the position two decades earlier solely because she was a woman. The Munotwachter lives with their family in an apartment at the top of the fortress tower, with a 360-degree view over the city. The Munot is a circular 16th-century fortress built between 1564 and 1589 under city architect Heinrich Schwarz, following the fortification theories of Albrecht Duerer. It is considered the only fortress ever fully realized according to Duerer's circular rondell concept. Fallow deer live in the fortress moat.

The Schiller Bell, cast in 1486 and weighing 4.5 tonnes, was the largest bell in the Muenster of All Saints Abbey. Its Latin inscription -- 'Vivos voco, mortuos plango, fulgura frango' ('I call the living, I mourn the dead, I break the lightning') -- became the motto of Friedrich Schiller's famous poem 'Das Lied von der Glocke' (The Song of the Bell, 1799). The All Saints Abbey was founded in 1049 by Count Eberhard III of Nellenburg and consecrated by Pope Leo IX himself. The current Romanesque basilica was consecrated in 1103/1104 in the Hirsau building school style. During the Reformation in 1529, the abbey was abolished.

On April 1, 1944, approximately 50 American B-24 Liberator bombers mistakenly dropped 371 incendiary and high-explosive bombs on neutral Schaffhausen, the most serious accidental Allied bombing of Switzerland during WWII. The pilots believed they were attacking Ludwigshafen am Rhein, about 235 km to the north. Bad weather had broken up the formation, high winds nearly doubled ground speed, and new radar technology failed. Because Schaffhausen sits on the north bank of the Rhine unlike most Swiss cities, it was mistaken for a German target. Between 40 and 60 people were killed and approximately 270-400 injured. Residents were accustomed to Allied planes and went into the streets to watch rather than seeking shelter. Afterward, residents painted Swiss crosses on rooftops.

In 1868, American watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones (born 1841 in Rumney, New Hampshire) founded the International Watch Company (IWC) in Schaffhausen. Jones had served in the Civil War with the 13th Massachusetts Infantry, then became a director at E. Howard & Co. in Boston, America's leading watchmaker. His vision was to combine American industrial production methods with Swiss watchmaking craftsmanship. He chose Schaffhausen specifically for its Rhine hydropower, which drove the machines in his factory. He built one of Switzerland's most industrialized watch factories, geared for over 10,000 movements per year. Conflicts with his board forced Jones to return to America in 1876. IWC has been part of the Richemont Group since 2000.