Merenschwand - History

History

The earliest evidence of human settlement is a lake side village from the Late Bronze Age. The lake has since silted up and is now part of the Rütiweid meadow. The modern municipality of Merenschwand is first mentioned in the 12th Century as Meriswanden, though this comes from a 14th Century copy of the original. In 1263 it was mentioned as Meriswandon. There are indications of a knightly family and a castle near Merenschwand, but no definitive evidence has been found. Merenschwand was under the authority of the Homberg family until 1293, and then under the authority of the Lords of Hünenberg. In 1393 Merenschwand bought its independence with the help of a loan from Lucerne. As many of the former residents of the village had become citizens of Lucerne, in 1394 the village formally became part of the city of Lucerne and the residents were granted Lucerne citizenship. Merenschwand thus became the center of the bailiwick of Merenschwand. They chose their own vogt from among the patricians of Lucerne. In 1810 and 1813 the municipalities of Mühlau and Benzenschwil joined the bailiwick. Until 1798, the municipality enjoyed a relatively autonomous administration under a local bailiff. The gasthof (combination hotel and restaurant) Zum Schwanen (from the 17th Century) served as a court and community center.

The municipality was, in 1802, temporarily part of the Canton of Zug, and then in 1803 it became part of the Canton of Aargau. In 1830, the Zum Schwanen innkeeper, Johann Heinrich Fischer led some 6,000 men in the so-called Freiämtersturm to Aarau and forced the assembly to accept a new, democratic cantonal constitution.

The village church of St. Vitus is first mentioned in 1245. Initially it was a family church for the Homberg and later the Hünenberg families. It later became the parish church for the district. The modern church was built in 1897-99, and incorporated the late gothic choir. The municipality of Benzenschwil is still part of the parish while Mühlau now is part of the Sins parish. The church tax rights were sold in 1389 to Kappel Abbey in Kappel am Albis. In 1531 they went to the Hof monastery in Lucerne. Then, in 1856 those rights came to the Canton of Aargau.

The Hünenberg family donated the Marienkaplanei (St. Mary chapel) in 1332. The parish donated the Antoniuskaplanei (St. Anthony chapel) in 1483 and the landowners in Hagnau donated the local chapel of St. Wendelin in 1600. In 1868 the Kapelle Maria-Hilf (Chapel of Mary's Help) was built in Unterrüti.

In the 19th and 20th Centuries, a major source of income in Merenschwand was the home straw plaiting for the Wohler trading houses and silk weaving for Zurich businessmen. In the last quarter of the 20th Century, Merenschwand developed into a bedroom community for Zurich and Zug, leading to a corresponding increase in construction.