Klingnau

Klingnau is a municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.HistoryKlingnau is first mentioned in 1239 as Chlingenowe. Ulrich of Klingen acquired land from the monastery of St. Blaise in 1239 to found the city. He and the abbot reached an agreement over which of the abbey's own peasants could move to the new town. The von Klingen family granted extensive lands around the city to the Knights Hospitaller between 1251 and 1268. The knights owned so much property that in 1268 they moved their order house from Leuggern to Klingnau. They were given a separate gate in the city walls. Walther of Klingen sold the city and surroundings to his cousin the Bishop of Constance Eberhard von Waldburg in 1269. The new owner then appointed a bailiff in the town. Klingnau became the seat of an outer district that included Koblenz, Siglistorf, Mellstorf, Döttingen and Zurzach. In 1314, Klingnau was granted town privileges. Every year at midsummer the citizens were allowed to elect their lower and upper town council and a municipal court. In 1416, the Knights' order house moved back to Leuggern. Until 1800, an administrator managed the Knights' property. From 1415 until 1798, Klingnau was one of the three external districts of the county of Baden during the reign of the Swiss Confederation.