www.aarau.ch SIGHTSEEING WALK THROUGH AARAU 1 2 b Al 10 3 8 9 7 6 1 Stadtmuseum 2 Haus zum Schlossgarten 3 4 Graben 4 Obere Mühle 5 Government building 6 Landjägerwachthaus 7 5 Obertor and the Obertorturm 8 Town Church 9 Halde 10 Rore Tower and Town Moat AARAU: FOLLOWING THE FOOTPRINTS OF HISTORY AN EXCITING WALK TRHOUGH THE OLD TOWN Dear visitor Our tour begins at the Schlossplatz (Castle Square), and leads along the Kultur & Kon- Schlössli Town Museum You are cordially invited to follow in the footsteps of history and ex- gresshaus KuK (Culture and Congress House) plore the beautiful Old Town of Aarau on foot. Our sightseeing walk to its northern end. Built in 1883 and ren- takes about 45 minutes and leads you through enchanting alleys to ovated and extended in 1995/96, the KuK the town’s many places of interest. Here we present some of these in comprises today four halls. To the right we more detail and with interesting additional information. do see now the Stadtmuseum Aarau 1 . The tower and Palas originate around 1200 If after your expedition you still have questions, the «aarau info» and were originally surrounded by a circular team would be only too pleased to provide answers and supply you wall. («Palas» an older form of «Palast», re- with more information brochures. On request we can also organ- fers to the residential and state rooms of a ise guided tours of the town or the Oberturm (Upper Tower), led by medieval fortification or weir system.) The professional town guides. These tours can also be booked for small complex first served as residence for the groups and in different languages. Kyburg service gentry, later for those of the Habsburgs. During the 16th century, the With approximately 20,000 inhabitants, Aarau is considered a small castle passed from one middle-class fami- city. It is, however, the centre of an urban agglomeration that is home ly to another. From 1862 to 1897, the paint- to about 90,000 inhabitants. Due to its location on the Swiss railway er Christian Emil Rothpletz, who was also a and road network, the capital of the Canton of Aargau is a preferred colonel, owned the Schlössli with his fami- commercial and training centre, as well as a meeting place for the ly. In 1939, his children Emil and Frieda do- whole of Switzerland for congresses and conventions. nated the building to the town, whereup- on the museum was opened on the ground In 2014 Aarau has been awarded the Wakker prize floor. Frieda Rothpletz continued to live on the upper floor with the right of lifelong The Wakker Prize is awarded annually by the Swiss Heritage Society. residence. After her death in 1961, the liv- He is regarded as recognition for cities that take care for their village. ing spaces were also integrated into the Aarau won the award because the city, despite compression of the Town Museum. In the new installed perma- living space, could preserve the different neighbourhoods. nent exhibition, «100 x Aarau» one of the told stories is dedicated to her. With the en- largement of the museum, built by the ar- chitects Diener & Diener, the carefully reno- vated tower has got an annex. This new part with the remarkable façade, designed by Fe- lix Müller, has rooms for temporary exhibi- tions and events, for mediation, workshop, studio and office. Further information: www.stadtmuseum.ch 18 19 Back on Schlossplatz, at the level of the the third largest villa in town – to house Returning once more to Schlossplatz, to our entrance to the KuK, we turn left through the Helvetic government. After the Helvet- left we now see the «Laurenzenvorstadt», the iron gate and continue onwards to the ic government was moved elsewhere, the a representative street with houses in the «Haus zum Schlossgarten» (House at the house passed back into private ownership. classicist style from the Helvetic period. We castle gardens) 2 . In 1798, this building Since 1989, the «Haus zum Schlossgarten» cross the street and go to the adjacent «Ka- served as the first Swiss seat of govern- has belonged to the Local Citizen’s Commu- sinopark», which was the location of the ment for about five months and accommo- nity of Aarau, who restored it and opened town of Aarau’s cemetery until 1806. To- dated the Helvetic directorate. At the time, it to the public as an exhibition space and day we find ourselves looking at a statue of the Helvetic Republic, a centralised Swiss prestige building. the author Heinrich Zschokke (1771 – 1848), state, was established and proclaimed in created in 1894 by the sculptor Alfred Lanz. Aarau under French supremacy. The «Haus Opening hours Parallel to the Kasinopark runs a tree-lined zum Schlossgarten» was thus to some ex- Wednesday/Friday/Saturday noon to 5 pm; street, the Graben («moat») 3 . The Graben, tent Switzerland’s first federal parliament Thursday noon to 8 pm; along which we now embark on a comfort- building. Sunday 11 am to 5 pm. able stroll, used to be until 1821 a dry moat of about twenty metres wide and up to five The first two floors of the central part of the www.forumschlossplatz.ch metres deep. It formed part of the city for- building were constructed around 1721 at tifications, but at the same time the practi- Graben the city gates as a private garden residence cal citizens of Aarau kept deer in it – intend- of the textile manufacturer Hunziker. Over ed for the pot. Today the plane trees watch the years, the building was extended and over the vegetable market on Saturday in 1792 upgraded to a prestige building. In mornings, the monthly markets, the Markt House No. 15 as it is popularly known). This 1798, the town acquired the building – then der Aarauer Gewerbetreibenden MAG (the house has its own special history, having Aarau Traders’ Market, an autumn fair the been moved 50 metres south to its present last weekend in September) or the «Rüe- location in 1968 – in those days quite a spec- blimärt» (Carrot Market), famous for miles tacle for the entire population. around, which takes place the first Wednes- day in November. At the southernmost part of the Graben, at the «Holzmarkt» (wood market), we get The row of houses to the right of the Graben to see the «Wehrmännerdenkmal» (soldier formerly made up the outer city wall – the monument), created by Ernst Suter in 1949. Hapsburgermauer (Hapsburg Wall) – until There we turn left into the Hintere Vorstadt about 1800. On the outer side of the Graben, (rear suburb). Most of the houses on the two commanding classicist middle-class right are relatively young: they date from houses have had pride of place since around the second half of the 19th century. Howev- 1790. Today the town library is housed in er, all the buildings abide by specific build- the larger of the two, the former Freyhaus ing regulations that were laid down during (or «Hübscherhaus» – the prettier house – or medieval times. 20 Haus zum Schlossgarten 21 At the end of the rear suburb, we reach the After passing through the passage way at To the west of the complex of buildings is «Obere Mühle» (Upper Mill) 4 . In front of the Obere Mühle, we take a few steps to the Aargauer Kunsthaus (Art Gallery) with its northern façade is the «Bezirksbrun- the right and find ourselves on Aargauer- its glass roof; attached to it the cantonal nen» (cantonal fountain) by Bruno Egger. platz opposite the government building library, dominated by the book tower. The This fountain was a gift from the canton 5 . This impressive building, known locally Aargauer Kunsthaus opened in 1959 and to the town of Aarau on the occasion of its as the «Oberes Rathaus» (Upper Town Hall) was expanded in 2003 under the direction celebration of «700 years of town charter» is the seat of the Aargau cantonal govern- of the architects Herzog & de Meuron, in in 1983. The Obere Mühle with its decora- ment. Its central wing was constructed in collaboration with the Swiss artist Remy tive staircase tower is a late Gothic build- 1739 by Abraham Rothpletz as a stately res- Zaugg. Remy Zaugg’s eyecatching writing ing dating from 1608. Powered by the lo- idence in the style of Louis XV. In 1807 the on the façade – «ICH / DAS BILD / ICH SEHE» cal stream, it once served as a flourmill. house, which had shortly before become (I / THE IMAGE / I SEE) is to be seen as an in- When a turbine was installed in 1893, the the «Gasthof zum goldenen Löwen» (Gold- vitation to visitors to enter into a dialogue mill was converted into what was known en Lion Inn), passed into the hands of the with the works of art they look at. The Aar- as the «Lichtzentrale» (lighting centre), the then still young cantonal government and gauer Kunsthaus houses one of the most town of Aarau’s first power station. When was transformed into a classicist govern- beautiful and most comprehensive public electricity production started to be out- ment palace through a long series of re- collections of contemporary Swiss art. sourced entirely in 1907, the building un- modelling and extensions (1811–1834). The derwent a variety of alterations, such as cantonal parliament meets right behind it Opening hours breaking through a passage way, and was in the Grand Council Building, one of the Tuesday to Sunday 10 am to 5 pm; completely renovated in 1995. Before we major classicist works in Aargau (construct- Thursdays 10 am to 8 pm.