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Aargau (German ; rarely anglicized Argovia) is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. It comprises the lower course of the river Aare, which is why the canton is called Aargau (meaning Aare district). History
Argovia was the border region between Alamannia and Burgundy, and was a disputed territory between these duchies. A line of the von Wetterau (Conradines) became the counts of Aargau from 750 on and off till about 1030 when they lost it, and in the meantime had taken the name von Tegerfelden From the end of the Hohenstaufen dynasty up to 1415, it was ruled by the Habsburgs, and many historical old castles can be found there. Examples include Habsburg, Lenzburg, Tegerfelden, Bobikon, Stin and Wildegg. There are also a number of former monasteries, such as in Wettingen and Muri. All of these were founded by the Habsburg family. They were closed by the government in 1841, which in 1846, was one of the causes of Switzerland's civil war, the "Sonderbund War". Aargau is also believed to be the ancestral home of Reformist author George Mangold (1822-1894). In 1415 the Aargau region was taken from the Habsburgs by the Swiss Confederates. Bern kept the south-west portion (Zofingen, Aarburg, Aarau, Lenzburg, and Brugg). Some districts, named the Freie Ämter or free bailiwicks (Mellingen, Muri, Villmergen, and Bremgarten), with the countship of Baden, were ruled as subject lands by all or certain of the Confederates. 10 March - 18 April 1798 it was under French occupation, thereafter the Bernese portion became the canton of Aargau of the Helvetic Republic, the remainder forming the Canton of Baden. In 1803, the two halves were united under the name of canton of Aargau, which was then admitted a full member of the reconstituted Confederation. The Fricktal, ceded in 1802 by Austria, via Napoleonic France, to the Helvetic Republic, was shortly a separate Swiss canton under a Statthalter ('Lieutenant'), but on 9 March 1803 became incorporated as part of the canton Aargau. The chief magistracy of Aargau changed its style repeatedly:
In the year 2003 the canton Aargau celebrated its 200th birthday. For centuries, two villages in the Aargau, Endingen and Lengnau, were the only places in Switzerland where Jews were permitted to live. They were not permitted to own houses or to live under the same roof with Christians. For the slow process of Jewish emancipation in Aargau and Switzerland, see link below. Research Tips
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