Lengnau is a municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
It is notable for being one of two villages where residence was permitted for Swiss Jews between 1633 and 1874. Lengnau's synagogue is listed as a heritage site of national significance.
History
The remains of a Roman era farm was discovered near Lengnau. The modern municipality of Lengnau is first mentioned in 798 as Lenginwanc. The Herrschaft rights were claimed by both the Bishop of Constance and the Habsburgs. After the conquest of the Aargau in 1415, the Bishop and the County of Baden continued to dispute the rights over the village. It wasn't until the late 15th century that the rights went over entirely to the Swiss Confederation. After 1269 the low court right was held by the Teutonic Knights through their Commandry of Beuggen. Until 1400 the Bishop's vogt in Klingnau was also involved in the low court. The hamlet of Husen was under the low court of the Knights Hospitaller Commandry of Leuggern.
The Catholic parish of Lengnau was probably the proprietary church of the House of Regensberg. In 1269 the church and the other rights of the Lords of Regensberg passed to the Beuggen family.
St. Martin's Church was built in 1977, incorporating the older baroque choir and tower. The Reformed Church members are part of the parish of Tegerfelden since 1940. Before that, it is unclear what parish they may have belonged to. The Jewish population built their first synagogue in 1750 and the second in 1847, which shaped much of the modern village.
While the Christian residents mainly worked in agriculture (crops and increasingly in the 19th century, livestock farming), the Jews (who were forbidden land or cattle) worked in trade or peddling.
Lengnau can be reached through a bus line which had run since 1921. In 1953 it was connected by the Surbtalstrasse road with Baden. In 1968, an industrial zone was opened, which in the decades that followed attracted about 80 companies. This has led to a population increase, and since the 1970s a number of new single-and multi-family neighborhoods have been built.
Jewish history
In accordance with the resolution of the Tagsatzung in 1678, Jews were allowed to settle in the communities of the Surb valley. After 1776, they were further restricted to living in only Endingen and Lengnau. This immigration slowly but steadily changed the appearance of the communities. The village of Endingen never built a Christian church, only a Jewish synagogue. The local Christians traveled to neighboring villages for church. The Jewish and Christian families are often under one roof.
Beginning in 1603, the deceased Jews of the Surbtal communities were buried on a small Rhein river island, the so-called Judenäule ("Jew's island") which was leased by the Jewish community. As the island was repeatedly flooded and devastated, in 1750 the Surbtal Jews asked the Tagsatzung to establish a cemetery in the vicinity of their communities in the Surb valley.
The Jewish population was fairly well tolerated (except for the Zwetschgenkrieg or "plum war" riots in 1802), self-managed and maintained its own school.
However, the Jewish resident were only allowed to enter a few professions, such as trade. Houses were built with two separate entrances, one for Jews and one for Christians. They were under the high and low courts of the Baden bailiff and had to buy "protection and safety" letters from the authorities. It wasn't until 1876 that Jews were granted full equality in civil rights and allowed to travel. By 1920, most Jews had left the community. The members of the Jewish citizen's corporation were not included in the local citizen's corporation of Lengnau, but by a decree in 1879 they were formed into the local citizen's corporation of Neu-Lengnau. This was merged in 1983 with the local citizen's corporation of Lengnau and all common property was transferred into the merged citizen's corporation. In 1903 the Swiss Israelite retirement home of Lengnau opened.