Laufenburg
View from CH-Laufenburg to D-Laufenburg.
View from CH-Laufenburg to D-Laufenburg.
Coat of arms of Laufenburg
Location of Laufenburg within Waldshut district
Laufenburg  is located in Germany
Laufenburg
Laufenburg
Laufenburg  is located in Baden-Württemberg
Laufenburg
Laufenburg
Coordinates: 47°33′56″N 08°03′53″E / 47.56556°N 8.06472°E / 47.56556; 8.06472
CountryGermany
StateBaden-Württemberg
Admin. regionFreiburg
DistrictWaldshut
Subdivisions8 Stadtteile
Government
  Mayor (201624) Ulrich Krieger[1]
Area
  Total23.58 km2 (9.10 sq mi)
Elevation
337 m (1,106 ft)
Population
 (2021-12-31)[2]
  Total9,045
  Density380/km2 (990/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
79725
Dialling codes07763, 07753
Vehicle registrationWT
Websitewww.laufenburg.de

Laufenburg is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, part of the Waldshut district. It has approximately 4300 inhabitants (including 6 outskirts 8300 inhabitants). Laufenburg is separated from a Swiss city with the same name by the river Rhine.

Cities in the near vicinity

City administration

The city of Laufenburg encompasses also Binzgen, Grunholz, Hauenstein, Hochsal, Luttingen, Rhina, Rotzel, Stadenhausen.

Brief history

The city was first noted in 1207. In November 1638 one side of the city was taken by Imperialist forces. The bridge across the Rhine was burned afterwards.

Laufenburg was one city until about 1800 when Napoleon divided the city, ordering that the Rhine should become the border. Ever since the two cities have been separated by nationality. The city was well placed on major rapids of the Rhine, which allowed the town to collect taxes as well as catch salmon. In the early 20th century the rapids were demolished in order to build a hydroelectric power plant.

Bridge construction

In December 2004 a new bridge was opened to the east of the city, replacing the previous bridge which had become too congested, because the roads connecting the bridge were single lane roads but were being used for two way traffic. With the opening of the new bridge a new shopping development was erected to the east of the town.

Its construction was hampered by a major engineering mistake. Switzerland and Germany use different references for sea-level: the Mediterranean Sea and North Sea respectively. While these were known to differ by 270 millimetres (0.89 ft) the calculations made a sign error. Instead of cancelling out this known difference it instead doubled it to 540 millimetres (1.77 ft).[3][4]

References

  1. Aktuelle Wahlergebnisse, Staatsanzeiger, accessed 15 September 2021.
  2. "Bevölkerung nach Nationalität und Geschlecht am 31. Dezember 2021" [Population by nationality and sex as of December 31, 2021] (CSV) (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg. June 2022.
  3. The Metric Maven (30 March 2017). "A Bridge Too Far?". Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  4. "What Happens To A Bridge When One Side Uses Mediterranean Sea Level And Another The North Sea?". Science 2.0. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2022.


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