Rheinfelden (Swiss Standard German pronunciation: [ˈraɪnˌfɛldn̩] ; Alemannic German: Rhyfälde [ˈriːfæld̥ə]) is a municipality in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland, seat of the district of Rheinfelden. It is located 15 kilometres east of Basel. The name means the fields of the Rhine, as the town is located on the High Rhine. It is home to Feldschlösschen, the most popular beer in Switzerland. The city is across the river from Rheinfelden in Baden-Württemberg; the two cities were joined until Napoleon Bonaparte fixed the Germany–Switzerland border on the Rhine in 1802 and are still socially and economically tied.
Geography
The old town of Rheinfelden lies on the left bank of the Rhine, where the river is divided into two arms by the "Inseli", a roughly 150 metres (490 ft) long island. Downstream of the Inseli and the Rheinbrücke, the river bottoms drops to about 30 m (98 ft) deep, creating a huge and deadly vortex, known as the St-Anna-Loch. Nearly 400 m (1,300 ft) east is the Magdenerbach. The wooded, gently-rising foothills of the Tafeljura lie south of the town. These are the Steppberg (395 m [1,296 ft]above sea level) and the "Berg" (427 m [1,401 ft]), both in the south-east. Between these two hills lie the deeply incised valleys of the Magdenerbach. Rheinfelden has an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of 16.02 km2 (6.19 sq mi). Of this area, about 20.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 50.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 22.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and 6.7% is unproductive land. In the 2013/18 survey a total of 213 ha (530 acres) or about 13.3% of the total area was covered with buildings, an increase of 57 ha (140 acres) over the 1982 amount. Over the same time period, the amount of recreational space in the municipality increased by 25 ha (62 acres) and is now about 3.43% of the total area. Of the agricultural land, 4 ha (9.9 acres) is used for orchards and vineyards, 297 ha (730 acres) is fields and grasslands. Since 1982 the amount of agricultural land has decreased by 104 ha (260 acres). Over the same time period the amount of forested land has increased by 6 ha (15 acres). Rivers and lakes cover 108 ha (270 acres) in the municipality. The highest point (427 m (1,401 ft)) is located on "Berg", the lowest point (270 m (890 ft)) is on the Rhine. Neighbouring cities are Kaiseraugst to the west, Olsberg to the south-west, Magden to the south and Möhlin to the east (all in the Aargau); over the river in Germany lies Rheinfelden, Baden-Württemberg.
History
The area around Rheinfelden was already settled in the Middle Stone Age, around 10,000 years before the present day. At that time, people lived in the "Hermitage", a small natural cave next to the current highway. In the year 45 BC, a few kilometres further west, the settlement Augusta Raurica was founded, the first Roman town in Switzerland, near modern Kaiseraugst. In the plains at Rheinfelden was then a large estate. Towards the end of the 4th century a border fort was constructed at the western settlement.
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