Benzenschwil

Geschichte

Benzenschwil is a former municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. The municipality of Benzenschwil merged on 1 January 2012 into the municipality of Merenschwand.HistoryBenzenschwil is first mentioned in 1189 as Penziswile. In the Middle Ages, the major landholders included the Lords of Hünenberg (owner of the high and low justice rights) and the Frauenthal and Muri monasteries. The monasteries bought their rights in 1267 from Johannes von Schnabelburg. In 1394 the Merenschwand district, which included Benzenschwil, bought its freedom and placed itself under the city of Lucerne. Until the end of the Helvetic Republic it remained as part of Lucerne. In 1803, Benzenschwil, and the rest of the Merenschwand district, became part of the newly formed Canton of Aargau. In 1813, Benzenschwil separated from Merenschwand and became an independent municipality. Village fires destroyed 13 households in 1799 and 19 in 1803.The population of Benzenschwil belongs to the Merenschwand parish, but since 1972 have a chapel that is integrated into the village school.Economically, agriculture is one of major sources of income in the village. In 1990, 37% of the workers in Benzenschwil worked in agriculture. From the mid-19th Century to 1985 the straw industry provided a few jobs. Despite the railway station that opened in 1881, there are very few other jobs in the village. By 1990, 74% of the workers commuted outside the village for work.