Schaffhausen

One of only four Swiss towns lying entirely on the northern bank of the Rhine. The largely pedestrianised old town keeps two medieval gate towers and a run of fine Renaissance buildings decorated with frescoes and sculpture, along with 171 oriel windows, more than any other town in the country. The old cantonal fortress, the Munot, stands over it. First mentioned in 1045 as Villa Scafhusun, the name may relate to a ford across the Rhine recorded in 1050, or to a scapha, a skiff.