What is Verenahof?
Q: What is Verenahof?
A: Verenahof was a tiny part of West Germany containing three houses and twenty-four residents, completely surrounded by land belonging to Switzerland.
Q: How was Verenahof separated from the rest of West Germany?
A: Verenahof was separated from the rest of West Germany by a strip of Swiss land about 200 to 300 metres wide.
Q: Who bought Verenahof?
A: In 1522, Emperor Charles V and his brother Archduke Ferdinand of Austria bought Verenahof at the same time when they bought other small pieces of land in the same region from Count Christoph von Nellenburg.
Q: Were there any disputes over the territory of Verenahof?
A: In the 17th and 18th centuries there were arguments between Tengen and Schaffhausen about access roads and the exact border of the enclave.
Q: When did Verenahof become part of Switzerland?
A: In 1964, West Germany and Switzerland agreed that Verenahof would become part of Switzerland. This happened on 4 October 1967.
Q: What is Verenahof part of now?
A: Today Verenahof is part of the village of Büttenhardt.
Q: Are there any remaining border markers in Büttenhardt?
A: At the Wiechs am Randen town hall there are some remaining border markers that became no longer needed with the land swap in 1967. In Büttenhardt, at the old school house, some old border markers from the 1930s have been used to frame bushes planted around the enclave.
