The area was first settled between 500 and 58 BC, but no records and little evidence survives of that settlement. During the
Roman era there were at least two
villas, one at
Heidenhübel and the other on the
Schwarzhalde. The first mention of the modern village was in 1185, as
Vilmaringen. In 1273, the
Counts of Kyburger sold Villmergen to the
House of Habsburg. A Kyburg Castle was mentioned in the village in 1315, but no clear evidence of this castle has been discovered. Most likely, it was on the
Heidenhübel, south-west of the village, since a square foundation was discovered there in 1927. In 1337, the patronage right to the village church was held by the
knightly family of
Hallwyl. In 1425, the rights to the church transferred to the
Benedictine Muri Abbey. In 1525 to 1531, the Protestant
Reformation entered the village, but much of the population stayed Catholic. On 24 January 1656 and again on 24 July 1712, the
First War of Villmergen and the
Toggenburg War (or Second War of Villmergen) were fought near the village. both battles were between the Reformed and Catholic Swiss cantons. The Protestants' victory in the Second Battle of Villmergen, brought an end to the Catholic hegemony in the Swiss Confederation and prevented further conflict until the renewed outbreak of civil war until 1847. That year, the
Sonderbund war led to the formation of
Switzerland as a federal state. Under the short-lived
Helvetic Republic, Villmergen was part of the District of Sarmenstorf in 1798. Five years later, under the
Act of Mediation, it became part of the Bremgarten District. In 1841, the local monastery was
secularised. During the Sonderbund War, was a battle between cantonal forces and local militia troops in the municipality. The battle ended with seven dead and one wounded. On 1 January 2010, the formerly-independent Municipality of Hilfikon merged into Villmergen and became the Village of Hilfikon in the Municipality of Villmergen. ==Geography==