Diessenhofen - Diessenhofen

Diessenhofen is a Swiss Municipality in the canton Thurgau. It includes the districts of Diessenhofen, St. Katharinental and Willisdorf with around 3200 inhabitants and was the capital of the district of the same name. Today Diessenhofen belongs to the Frauenfeld district.

Worth knowing

As with many Swiss communities, the name Diessenhofen has its origin from an Alemannic clan leader named Die (o) zzo, who settled here with his clan in the 5th or 6th century AD.

The current district belongs to the north-western border area of ​​the canton Thurgau and is connected to it by a corridor just one kilometer wide. Although it is actually completely surrounded by the Zurich canton, Diessenhofen’s more intensive relationships clearly go down the Rhine to the city Schaffhausen, which for many commuters is not only a workplace but also a shopping and cultural center.

The district of Diessenhofen, whose main town is the town, includes the political communities Basadingen-Schlattingen (approx. 1600 inhabitants), Diessenhofen (approx. 3200 inhabitants) and Schlatt (approx. 1500 inhabitants).

history

The area around Diessenhofen is one of the oldest settlement areas in Thurgau. Finds at the 'Unterhof' show that a small settlement must have existed here as early as the earlier days of cord ceramics (approx. 2750 - 2400 BC). More sparse finds from more recent times, however, make permanent settlement appear unlikely. What is certain, however, is that a Roman watchtower stood on the spur of the Unterhof as part of the Rhine / Iller / Danube Limes, which was reinforced around 300 AD under Emperor Diocletian against the increasingly frequent Alemannic raids. In the late Merovingian era, the settlement was then carried out by the Alemanni, who followed closely the Romans who were retreating from the northern Alpine region.

A first written mention of the place comes from the year 757, when a priest named Lazarus gave his hamlet 'Deozincova' the monastery St. Gallen gave away. Around the year 839 the place was mentioned as 'Theozinhovun', which loosely translated means 'at the courts of Die (o) zzo', and it was not until the 13th century that it was first called 'Diessinhovin'.

Count Hartmann III. von Kyburg founded a town with around 60 farmsteads here in 1178.

To this end, he chose the axial scheme that was commonly used at the time, which is based on a street market with parallel side streets and precisely defined courtyard dimensions with the narrow sides facing the longitudinal axis. In 1262 Rudolf I of Habsburg confirmed the town charter, after the possession of the Kyburger after their extinction went to Habsburg. A further 20 farmsteads at the Obertor were then expanded in the 13th century. As the city at that time consisted for the most part of wooden houses, a large part of the buildings fell victim to a devastating fire in 1331. Duke Otto of Austria, as a representative of the Habsburgs, intervened to help. For five years he gave the population 42 silver marks each from the Rhine tariffs and did not demand any services from the city to the House of Austria. Another fire that broke out in 1371 caused even greater damage, especially in the eastern part of the city. According to the contemporary chronicler Stumpf, the whole city was burned except for a single house! And again help came from Austria: the dukes Albrecht and Leopold ceded the tariff income to the suffering population for eight years and when this was not enough, they gave them additional income. Of course, these gestures were not entirely selfless, because Austria could not and would not afford to emigrate from the strategically located Diessenhofen.

As a consequence of these two major fires, extremely restrictive fire protection measures were put into effect:

Anyone who builds a house and barn under one roof, is not allowed to bring sheaves into this barn and not be allowed to thresh there ... unless they have a solid moor built up to the top between the house and the barn. If you have a yard near your house, you may well build a barn, but only in such a way that there is enough space between the house and the barn that direct fire can be fought for both houses.

As can be seen in the Obertor, this resulted in inner courtyards that still exist today.

The loss of influence of the Habsburgs and the decline of the Truchsessen, who sat at the castle 'Unterhof' and temporarily united the bailiwick and mayor's office in one hand, led to the city's imperial freedom in 1415-42. In 1460, Diessenhofen became in the course of the conquest of the Thurgau by the Confederates captured after ten days of siege. Similar to Frauenfeld, however, it retained certain privileges in the common rule of Thurgau, such as the high and lower jurisdiction and the recently acquired customs, tax and bailiff rights (with lock), from 1574 also the rule of the left bank of the Paradies monastery as well from the 16th century onwards, most of the lower courts in what is now the district. Court judgments were not sent to the bailiff in Frauenfeld, but directly to the federal authorities of the nine places (in contrast to the rest of Thurgau with Bern and Schaffhausen) moved on; the city only had to pay homage to the Thurgau bailiff every two years if he solemnly renewed the fiefdom when he took office.

Another visitation occurred in 1629. The plague broke out and took half of the population (424 people) within a very short time. The second known epidemic of this epidemic in 1634 claimed another 181 victims. The culprits of such accidents were quickly found, because they had allegedly poisoned the wells and thus triggered the epidemics: the Jews. Therefore the Jewish community of Diessenhofen was wiped out early (1349) by burning 330 Jews. A ritual murder trial against a Jew in 1401 resulted in further persecutions Winterthur and Schaffhausen after himself.

As a border town and because of its strategic location, Diessenhofen was similar to Schaffhausen and Stone at the Rhein, repeatedly the scene of armed conflicts, especially during the Second Coalition War and the Second World War, where the wooden bridge over the Rhine, first mentioned in 1292, was severely damaged.

Despite the constant change to which the buildings were constantly exposed, the medieval structure could at least in its basic features be preserved until today.

getting there

By plane

As in most cases for destinations in northern / northeastern Switzerland, the next airport to travel to Diessenhofen is 47.4647222222228.5491666666667airport Zurich(IATA: ZRH). From here you have the option of using the Winterthur transfer station to reach Diessenhofen train station within 1–1 ½ hours, or you can use the counter of one of the international car rental companies that are closed here.

By train

In addition to the option already described above, you can go to Diessenhofen Zurich Central station with one change in Schaffhausen by means of the modern Interregiobahn, the Thurbo can be easily reached within an hour.

In the street

Diessenhofen is very conveniently located in the middle between Schaffhausen and Stone at the Rhein on the main traffic axis Schaffhausen – Rorschach/St. Margrethen. There is the possibility of using the A1 motorway from Zurich Winterthur-Nord, in order to branch off into the A4, which will only be accessible in one lane until 2010. Then leave the A4 via exit 6 (Flurlingen) and via Feuerthalen the main street, which is still called Diessenhoferstrasse Schaffhausen – Constancy to reach. For this route you have to reckon with about an hour's driving time.

Another route leads again via the A 1 from Zurich to the interchange 73 (Winterthur-Ost) and from there via the A 7 to Konstanz, to reach the end of the motorway (7, Kreuzlingen-Nord) to drive on the already mentioned transaxle towards Schaffhausen. This variant takes about 1½ hours to drive.

In any case, the most attractive alternative is an overland trip through the Zurich wine country Flat and Andelfingen in the direction Badgers and Feuerthalento turn there on the axis Schaffhausen – Constancy to poke. For this, however, a good card reader or a navigation device with the exception of 'Autobahn' is recommended. This is the most time-consuming, but visually and culinary most interesting way, because the most famous Zurich wines grow here and in the appropriate season you can, for example, enjoy fresh asparagus with it.

By boat

Of course, Diessenhofen can, as befits a Rhine community, during the summer months with the URh, the 'Schweizerische Schifffahrtsgesellschaft Untersee und Rhein'.

By bicycle

On the other side of the Rhine: Rhine route (Part of the international Rhine cycle route) and Rhine Valley Path

Tourist Attractions

The landmark of Diessenhofen is located in the center of the old town: the Sealing tower. At the place of this 30 m high and well proportioned tower originally stood a gate belonging to the city fortifications. As a result of the major fires of 1331 and 1371, the city was expanded to include the suburbs and the entrance known as the 'Siegel-' or 'Igeltor' lost its military significance. In the meantime it had become dilapidated, and around 1530 it was decided to replace the gate. Under the direction of the master Martin Heünseler Stone at the Rhein the work was started and finished in 1545.

From then until 1972, the sealing tower served as a repository for documents and the city seal. The tower clock, which is equipped with astronomical symbols and the stars assigned to the days of the week, is remarkable, as is the moon clock, which is coupled to this drive and located above the actual clock. She was made by one Winterthur Watchmaker started and dated Zürcher Hans Luther completed in 1546. In addition to this clockwork, the rooms of the former archive and the belfry with the original bell from the time of its creation are also impressive.

Another landmark is the covered one Rhine bridge A bridge is only documented in the 13th century, but there was probably already a Rhine crossing when the city was founded (1178).

The predecessors of today's monument were equipped with a so-called Winkhaus in the middle in the 15th and 16th centuries, from which the ships were instructed. The bridgeheads consisted of gabled gates and customs barriers. A drawbridge with a chain elevator was also installed on the city side. In 1668 the entire construction was replaced by an identical bridge, which was then completely covered in 1750. In 1799 Diessenhofen was also the scene of the armed conflict during the Napoleonic campaigns. So this bridge was built on the 8th / 9th Burned down by retreating Russian troops in October 1799. The temporary bridge built two years later could not carry any wagons and partially collapsed in 1814. This was the starting shot to start building a five-bay, covered wooden bridge in 1815/16. When shipping on the Rhine converted to steam operation in 1825, the ships could only pass the bridge with the chimney drawn in, which in 1854 led to a slight lifting of the structure. Nevertheless, the town still has to pay compensation to the Rhine Shipping Company if the bridge becomes impassable during flooding. Two other structures immediately stand out from the river or from this bank. One is the so-called Hanging kit towerwhich catches the eye with its cantilevered wooden structure. It was built between the 13th and 14th centuries as a result of the city's expansion to the east around the suburb and in the north down towards the banks of the Rhine and formed the northeast corner of the defensive wall. Documents dating from the 16th century describe it as the 'Armbrusterturm' (crossbow tower), as the prison was located from 1616 to around 1800.

The fact that, in contrast to large parts of the city fortifications, it was not demolished is due to the fact that it was bought by Heinrich Hanhart in 1828 and integrated into his dye works. The building, which has meanwhile become insignificant, was converted into the 'Tröcknestube' for this purpose by removing the old roof and replacing it with this striking wooden structure, which is still visible today. For the next fifty years, the dyed and printed lengths of fabric were hung from it, which earned it the name 'Hänkiturm'. After it had stood empty since the 1880s, the tower came into the possession of the municipality in 1947, which then had it renovated after various interventions, including by the well-known Diessenhofen artist Carl Roesch.

The other building that stands out is that Upper office building (also Hinteres or Petershausen Amtshaus). In the west of the 'Hänkiturm', the Augustinian monastery in Kreuzlingen bought land in 1556 in order to build the seat of a bailiff for the administration of the natural contributions of the area. Shortly before the construction was completed, however, work halted until the Benedictine monastery at Petershausen added the property Constancy Purchased in 1586 and the building was completed immediately. After the dissolution of the monastery in 1798, the administrative building temporarily became the property of the Baden state, which sold it to the industrialist Heinrich Hanhart in 1814. He immediately set up a thriving fabric dyeing and printing plant, which developed into a well-known industrial company in the town. As a result, an additional floor was added to the building in 1835. Then the manufacturing company went into liquidation in 1884/85 and the painter Carl Roesch had his first studio here from 1902 to 1906. In 1947 the community acquired the now vacant building and had it renovated. It has been there since 1961 Local museum in this. It houses permanent collections on the subject of fabric dyeing and printing, Carl Roesch, the city's history and an area for temporary exhibitions.

The Front or Constance office building was acquired by the Konstanz cathedral chapter in 1489. It was expanded by Lorenz Reder between 1518 and 1519 and rebuilt in the Baroque style in 1762.

The Reformed Church of St. Dionysius goes back to a previous building, which was first mentioned in 757. The current church was built in the 12th century as a Romanesque basilica, but was converted into a hall church in the 14th and 15th centuries. Between 1838 and 1839 it was extensively renovated and partially redesigned by Jean Ruch and Johann Nepomuk Keller. Here she received the neo-Gothic Spitztonnehalle.

One of the most important and oldest buildings in Diessenhofen is the Unterhof. Despite the historical significance of this former 12th century city castle, its continued existence was very controversial until 20 years ago. In 1186, as a result of the city charter granted eight years earlier, a megalithic tower and curtain walls were built on the western tip of the city. From then on, this served the Truchsessen used by the Kyburgers as the main and administrative seat and was also part of the city fortifications.

Even when Diessenhofen passed to Habsburg in 1264 as heir of the extinct Kyburger family, the Truchessen remained at the castle. Little by little, they expanded it and extended it to include the two-part east wing, the Palas, until 1399, and finally reinforced it with a new defensive wall. This floor plan remained practically unchanged for the next 350 years. When the confederates finally conquered the town, the mandate of the Truchsessen and the importance of the Unterhof as a regional center of power ended. This was followed by the gradual loss of the character of the castle by first removing the upper aisle of the tower and later that of the palace. In 1783 the property was auctioned by the then postal secretary Johann Brunner, ushering in a new era that was to last over 200 years. During this time, the Unterhof lost its tower for good. A descendant of Johann Brunner founded the first eye clinic in Switzerland here and thus prevented repetitive structural interventions for around another two centuries. In the inter-war period, the condition of the building deteriorated noticeably and the castle was in acute danger. It became a local political issue. They looked for solutions together with the owner family and other private individuals for 20 years. In 1988, Winterthur Insurance then acquired the building to set up its management training center there. After thorough archaeological investigations, the group financed the costly reconstruction, during which the tower was reconstructed in a not undisputed way and the hall was again located in an upper aisle. The opening was celebrated with a large folk festival in 1992. In 2001, Credit Suisse took over Winterthur Insurance, thereby giving the public access to what is today Seminar hotel for sure.

Outside

Outside the village near Willisdorf is the former Dominican convent of St. Katharinental. It now houses a rehabilitation and long-term care clinic. A special feature is the so-called sister book, which is characterized by uninterrupted transmission from around the middle of the 14th century to the 18th century.

activities

A constantly updated one link informs about the events organized in the community.

shop

A quite extensive offer for the size of the community invites you to shop. In addition to the two well-known major distributors, many are looking forward to it smaller retailers about a visit.

kitchen

Diessenhofen has a wide range of restaurants of various quality, ranging from 'haute cuisine' to home-style cuisine, specialty restaurants and take-away. This link provides an overview.

The top restaurants include "Krone" and "Schupfen", which have also been awarded Gault Millau points:

• Hotel & Restaurant Krone, Rheinstrasse 2, 8253 Diessenhofen. Tel.: 41 (0)52 657 30 70, Fax: 41 (0)52 657 30 87, Email: [email protected]. last change: not specified.

• 47.675288.785521  Schupfen inn, Steinerstrasse 501, 8253 Diessenhofen. Tel.: 41 (0)52 657 10 42, Fax: 41 (0) 52 657 45 44, Email: [email protected]. The 650 year old guest house is located directly on the banks of the Rhine.Open: Mondays to Tuesdays are closed.last change: not specified

nightlife

Given the size of the town and its medieval character, there is only a very modest nightlife.

There is live music at 47.683258.767851  Dancing RiverSide, Steinerstrasse 491, 8253 Diessenhofen. Tel.: 41 (0)52 657 45 77, Email: [email protected]. last change: not specified, in the Rheinperle every Thursday to Saturday.

accommodation

The following link offers an up-to-date overview of the accommodation options in Diessenhofen, from multi-star hotels to dormitories

Practical advice

• Verkehrsbüro Diessenhofen and the surrounding area (c / o travel agency Isidor Hager), 8253 Diessenhofen, Obertor 3. Tel.: 41 (0)52 657 10 77, Fax: 41 (0)52 657 39 60, Email: [email protected]. last change: not specified

• Reservation of city tours (City administration Diessenhofen), 8253 Diessenhofen, Obertor 3. Tel.: 41 (0) 52 646 42 42, Fax: 41 (0) 52 646 42 10, Email: [email protected]. last change: not specifiedType is group designation

As practically everywhere in Switzerland, public telephone booths are on the decline in favor of an excellent mobile network. However, such facilities are available in post offices, restaurants and hotels.

Sending letters and postcards abroad is usually problem-free, of course depending on the foreign service provider. Across Europe, a standard letter (A5 format) or a postcard in the Economy Service costs CHF 1.40, other countries CHF 1.70. The 'Priority' standard letter costs CHF 1.50 within Europe, other countries CHF 2.00 (as of 2018). It should be noted here that faster transport is only guaranteed up to the Swiss border, but the foreign carrier does not enter into any obligation in this regard.

trips

Another tourist pearl follows up the Rhine, the town Stone at the Rhein, one of the best preserved small towns in Switzerland. You can come here by car, but you should bear in mind that the parking situation, as in all medieval towns, can be extremely precarious under certain circumstances. So you can use the already mentioned Thurbo Bring them there and back quickly and conveniently, or you can choose the one that has already been mentioned Rhine shipping.

Another worthwhile excursion destination is the "city of 171 bay windows", Schaffhausen. This culturally and historically important city can be visited only around 10 km away, i.e. in around 20 minutes by car or 15 minutes by train. A little further down the Rhine one reaches the imposing one Rhine Falls.

literature

The art monuments of the canton of Thurgau: Volume V: The district of Diessenhofen (Hardcover - 1992) by Alfons Raimann (ISBN 3906131610 , ISBN 978-3906131610 )

The Unterhof in Diessenhofen. From the noble castle to the training center (Hardcover - 1995) by Hermann Bürgi, Jost Bürgi, Armand G Baeriswyl, and Marina Junkes from the Department of Education and Culture d. Canton of Thurgau (ISBN 3905405024 , ISBN 978-3905405026 )

Web links

http://www.diessenhofen.ch - Official website of Diessenhofen