Verenahof (also known as Büttenharter Hof or Verenahöfe), nowadays part of the Swiss town of Büttenhardt, was a German exclave in Switzerland, administratively part of the German town of Wiechs am Randen (which is now part of the town of Tengen). Geographically, it was separated from Wiechs am Randen by a 200–300 metres (660–980 ft) wide strip of Swiss territory. It was absorbed into Switzerland in 1967 after diplomatic negotiations between the Federal Republic of Germany and Switzerland.
In 1522, Emperor Charles V and his brother, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria purchased Verenahof along with other territories in the vicinity (Tengen, Kommingen, Wiechs am Randen) from Count Christoph von Nellenburg , who expressly wished not to sell these possessions to the Swiss Canton of Schaffhausen.
In the 17th and 18th centuries there were repeated disputes between Tengen and the adjacent Schaffhausen over the access roads and the exact delimitation of the enclave. Residents of Verenahof were Catholic at that time whereas the inhabitants of Büttenhardt were Protestant. On Catholic holidays Verenahof denied the inhabitants of Büttenhardt rights of transit. [1] : 119
In 1806, the Grand Duchy of Baden inherited sovereign rights over Verenahof, which became an enclave within the canton of Schaffhausen. In 1815 and 1839 Swiss attempts to obtain Verenahof were unsuccessful. [2] In 1829 a schoolhouse was built in Wiechs am Randen where the children from the Verenahof enclave could attend school. [1] : 478 By 1855 inhabitants of Verenahof were also Protestant as were their Büttenhardter neighbors; they had become a small Protestant minority within the otherwise completely Catholic community of Wiechs am Randen. [1] : 285
In the 1920s, there were several attempts to integrate the Verenahof into Switzerland but the Baden Ministry of the Interior repeatedly rejected these. [1] : 482 In the 1930s, the border markers around the exclave were updated. On 30 April 1945, four German officers sought refuge within the enclave. The Swiss police, however, expelled them. [1] : 101
By 1964 a treaty was concluded between Germany and Switzerland, which entered into force on 4 October 1967. The 43-hectare (430,000-square metre) territory, containing three houses and eleven West German citizens, became part of Switzerland [3] [4] with the transfer of 529,912 square metres (5,703,930 sq ft) of West German land parcels (that had administratively been part of the German towns of Konstanz, Öhningen, Rielasingen, Wiechs am Randen, Altenburg, Stühlingen, Weizen and Grimmelshofen) in exchange for the transfer to the Federal Republic of Germany of an equal area of Swiss land parcels (which had administratively been part of the Swiss towns of Kreuzlingen, Hemishofen, Büttenhardt, Opfertshofen, and Merishausen). [5] Verenahof now forms part of the Swiss municipality of Büttenhardt.
Meanwhile, the exclave of Büsingen am Hochrhein continued to administratively remain part of Germany. Subsequent to the land swap treaty involving Verenahof coming into force on 4 October 1967, Büsingen am Hochrhein was made part of the Switzerland-Liechtenstein customs area; no border checks have been carried out between Büsingen and Switzerland since.
At the Wiechs am Randen town hall there are some remaining border markers that became obsolete with the land swap in 1967; in Büttenhardt, at the old school house, some old border markers from the 1930s have been used to frame bushes planted around the enclave.
The Rhine Falls is a waterfall located in Switzerland and the most powerful waterfall in Europe. The falls are located on the High Rhine on the border between the cantons of Schaffhausen (SH) and Zürich (ZH), between the municipalities of Neuhausen am Rheinfall (SH) and Laufen-Uhwiesen/Dachsen (ZH), next to the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland.
Schaffhausen, historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a town with historic roots, a municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 36,000 as of December 2016. It is located right next to the shore of the High Rhine; it is one of four Swiss towns located on the northern side of the Rhine, along with Neuhausen am Rheinfall, the historic Neunkirch, and medieval Stein am Rhein.
The canton of Schaffhausen, also canton of Schaffhouse, is the northernmost canton of Switzerland. The principal city and capital of the canton is Schaffhausen. The canton's territory is divided into three non-contiguous segments, where German territory reaches the Rhine. The large central part, which includes the capital, in turn separates the German exclave of Büsingen am Hochrhein from the rest of Germany.
Büsingen am Hochrhein, often known simply as Büsingen, is a German municipality (7.62 km2 [2.94 sq mi]) in the south of Baden-Württemberg with a population of about 1,548 inhabitants. It is an exclave of Germany and Baden-Württemberg, and an enclave of Switzerland, entirely surrounded by the Swiss cantons of Schaffhausen, Zürich, and Thurgau. It is separated from the rest of Germany by a narrow strip of land containing the Swiss village of Dörflingen. The distance to this enclave is approximately 5 km (3.1 mi) from the town of Schaffhausen and 3 km (1.8 mi) from Dörflingen, the nearest village. Its status as an exclave dates back to before the formation of the modern German and Swiss states, having previously been a detached part of Further Austria, the Kingdom of Württemberg and the Grand Duchy of Baden.
Neuhausen am Rheinfall is a town and a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland.
The High Rhine is the name used for the part of the Rhine that flows westbound from Lake Constance to Basel. The High Rhine begins at the outflow of the Rhine from the Untersee in Stein am Rhein and turns into the Upper Rhine in Basel. In contrast to the Alpine Rhine and Upper Rhine, the High Rhine flows mostly to the west.
Gottmadingen is a municipality in the district of Konstanz, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, situated on the Swiss border, 5 km southwest of Singen, and 12 km east of Schaffhausen.
Tengen is a town in the district of Konstanz, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated near the border with Switzerland, 14 kilometres north of Schaffhausen.
Büttenhardt is a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland.
Gailingen am Hochrhein is a village in the district of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg, in southern Germany.
The High Rhine Railway is a Deutsche Bahn railway line from Basel Badischer Bahnhof in the city of Basel to Konstanz on Lake Constance. It was built by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways as part of the Baden Mainline, which follows the Rhine upstream from Mannheim Hauptbahnhof to Konstanz. The line derives its name from the High Rhine, which it follows between Basel and Waldshut and on a short section in Schaffhausen.
The territorial evolution of Switzerland occurred primarily with the acquisition of territory by the historical cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy and its close associates. This gradual expansion took place in two phases, the growth from the medieval Founding Cantons to the "Eight Cantons" during 1332–1353, and the expansion to the "Thirteen Cantons" of the Reformation period during 1481–1513.
Schaffhausen railway station is a railway station in Schaffhausen, the capital of the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen. The station is jointly owned by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) and Deutsche Bahn (DB), and is served by trains of both national operators, as well as trains of the Swiss regional operator Thurbo.
Neuhausen is a railway station served by S-Bahn services in the municipality of Neuhausen am Rheinfall, in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen.
The border between the modern states of Germany and Switzerland extends to 362 kilometres (225 mi), mostly following Lake Constance and the High Rhine, with territories to the north mostly belonging to Germany and territories to the south mainly to Switzerland. Exceptions are the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen, the Rafzerfeld of the canton of Zürich, Bettingen and Riehen municipalities and part of the city of Basel in the canton of Basel-City and the old town of the German city of Konstanz, which is located south of the Seerhein. The canton of Schaffhausen is located almost entirely on the northern side of the High Rhine, with the exception of the southern part of the municipality of Stein am Rhein. The German municipality of Büsingen am Hochrhein is an enclave surrounded by Swiss territory.
Neuhausen Rheinfall is a railway station in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen. The station opened on 13 December 2015, principally to serve the tourist attraction of the Rhine Falls, from which it takes its name. It is linked by a combination of bridges and elevators to the bank of the River Rhine, just below the waterfall.
Eberhard Im Thurn zu Büsingen was the Austrian feudal lord and vogt in Büsingen am Hochrhein from 1658.
The Hauptstrasse 13 is a main road (“Hauptstrasse”) in the Swiss cantons of Schaffhausen, Zürich, Thurgau, St. Gallen, Grisons and Ticino. This main road begins at the German border at Trasadingen at the Bundesstraße 34 and ends at the Strada Statale 34 at the Italian border at Brissago. Between the border crossing Trasadingen / Erzingen and the A4 at Schaffhausen it is part of European route E54. The total length of Hauptstrasse 13 is approximately 320 kilometers.
The Schaffhausen S-Bahn is an S-Bahn network in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen and the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It comprises three services and began operation in 2015. Services are operated by SBB GmbH, Swiss Federal Railways' German subsidiary, and THURBO.
Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen is a public transport company in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen. It operates bus and trolleybus lines covering the city of Schaffhausen and the surrounding canton, with one regional bus line passing through German territory.
