The small and charming town of Zofingen at the western tip of Aargau canton is just 1 hour by train from Zurich Airport and also offers convenient connections from Frankfurt (4 hours) and geneva (2 1/2 hours).
 
Zofingen’s historic old town quarter is one of the best preserved in Switzerland. The small town in Canton Aargau is also known for its Heitere Open Air Festival. Fortunately the large-city utopia of Aarolfingen never came to fruition.
 
Zofingen lies at the outermost south-western edge of Canton Aargau in the Wiggertal valley, on the border to Canton Luzern. It forms the southernmost centre of an urban agglomeration stretching from Oftringen and Aarburg to as far as Olten and Trimbach in Canton Solothurn.
 
This urban agglomeration inspired planners during the boom years of the late 1960s and early 1970s: it was planned to merge the towns of Aarau, Olten and Zofingen and a further 15 Canton Solothurn and 18 Canton Aarau municipalities into a polycentric city with the name Aarolfingen, with 330,000 inhabitants, a university and other big-city facilities. The economic crisis in the 1970s brought the big-city dream to an abrupt end.
 
The historic old town quarter is one of the best preserved in Switzerland. Today’s appearance was created in the 17th and early 18th centuries, as timber-built houses were gradually replaced with baroque-style masonry buildings.
 
The central landmark is the St. Mauritius Town Church, the former Church of the Chapter of Canons. During renovation work, the remains of several previous buildings were discovered, the earliest foundations dating back to the year 600.
 
The St. Urbanhof, administration building of the former St. Urban Monastery stands on the Kirchplatz. Its oldest part dates from the 13th century. Thutplatz, named after the town’s hero Nklaus Thut, is located east of the town church. In the south side of the square is the town hall (1795); the Archivturm (1482) and adjacent Weibelhaus (1606) still remain from former buildings. Also preserved are several towers from the encircling walls, though the wall itself had to go.
 
At the top of the Heiternhügel hill is the Heiternplatz, a square surrounded by linden trees and an ideal venue for events such as the Heitere Open-Air. Adjacent to the Heiternplatz is a wildlife park and orchard with over 700 standard fruit trees of the ProSpecieRara variety. A well-preserved mosaic floor still remains from a former Roman estate on the south-west slopes of the Heitern.

Highlights

• Historic old town quarter – one of the best preserved in Switzerland with roots in the 11th century and buildings mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries.
• St. Mauritius Town Church and former monastery church – the oldest elements of today’s nave originate from the 11th century, the foundations are far older.
• Niklaus Thut Platz and fountain – the square named after the town’s historic and legendary hero Niklaus Thut who fell at the battle of Sempach in 1386.
• Heiternplatz – beautifully laid out event venue, surrounded by linden trees, familiar to many for the Heitere Open Air.