Aarau – Roof Heaven
Just in case you are round and about in Switzerland and want to go somewhere off the beaten track, why not try Aarau. Not too far from Zürich, about 30 minutes on the train, it is renowned for, and you are going to like this, its roofs (rooves?).
To be precise, it’s the painted eaves and gables of the old town that give the town its nickname of Dachhimmel – literally; Roof Heaven. This results
from a period of expansion in the 16th Century.
Not many people know that in 1798 Aarau became the first capital of Switzerland, complete with Houses of Parliament, but that only lasted a few months. Now of course, Bern is the capital, but Aarau still offers plenty of opportunities for shopping, culture and relaxation.
As well as the predictable museum of local history, there is an interesting Art gallery, which also features architecture exhibitions, a nature museum (Naturama) as well as a wildlife park (Roggenhausen Wildlife Park).
From a culinary perspective, Aarau, and the surrounding canton, are best known for carrot cake. Which perhaps explains the infamous “carrot market” held every year in November.
The local area also boasts a number of castles to visit, but I’m not telling you about those yet or I’ll run out of things to post about!
2 Comments
I have never thought of visiting a place to view the roofs of the buildings but hey what do I know? I am sure that some will think that this is worth the stop and I perhaps will go there someday. Seems like an interesting way to spend an afternoon at least.
An afternoon will probably cover it Richard
And the idea of the post was to give people an idea of something different to do if they are nearby and want to see something different!