Schaffhausen

Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen in 2012, seen from Munot fortress
Location of Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen
Coordinates: 47°42′N 8°38′E / 47.700°N 8.633°E / 47.700; 8.633
CountrySwitzerland
CantonSchaffhausen
District(None in canton of Schaffhausen)
Government
  ExecutiveStadtrat
with 5 members
  MayorStadtpräsident (list)
Peter Neukomm SPS/PSS
(as of January 2017)
  ParliamentGrosser Stadtrat
with 36 members
Area
  Total
41.85 km2 (16.16 sq mi)
Elevation
(Bahnhofstrasse)
403 m (1,322 ft)
Population
 (31 December 2018)
  Total
36,587
  Density870/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)
8200, 8203, 8207, 8208, 8231 Hemmental
SFOS number2939
ISO 3166 codeCH-SH
LocalitiesSchaffhausen, Breite, Gruben, Buchthalen, St. Niklausen, Herblingen, Hauental, Hemmental
Surrounded byBeringen, Büsingen am Hochrhein (DE-BW), Büttenhardt, Dörflingen, Feuerthalen (ZH), Flurlingen (ZH), Merishausen, Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Stetten, Thayngen
Twin townsSindelfingen (Germany), Singen am Hohentwiel (Germany), Dobrich (Bulgaria)
Websitewww.stadt-schaffhausen.ch
Profile (in German), SFSO statistics

Schaffhausen (Swiss Standard German: [ʃafˈhaʊzn̩] ; Alemannic German: Schafuuse; French: Schaffhouse [ʃa.fuz]; Italian: Sciaffusa; Romansh: Schaffusa), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a town with historic roots, a municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 36,000 as of December 2016. It is located right next to the shore of the High Rhine; it is one of four Swiss towns located entirely on the northern side of the Rhine, along with Neuhausen am Rheinfall, the historic Neunkirch, and medieval Stein am Rhein.

The old town has many fine Renaissance era buildings decorated with exterior frescos and sculpture, as well as the old canton fortress, the Munot above the old town. Schaffhausen railway station is a junction of Swiss and German railway lines. One of the lines connects the town with the nearby Rhine Falls in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Europe s largest waterfall and a popular tourist attraction.

The official language of Schaffhausen is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.