In 1245 the Freiherr von Hasenburg held the church and the surrounding lands as a fief for the Habsburgs.

[5] In 1302-3 the three Hasenburg brothers, Markward, Heimo and Walter, founded the fortified town of Willisau.

In 1375 Duke Leopold of Austria ordered the poorly fortified city to be burned to prevent its capture by the Guglers, English and French mercenaries who were raiding throughout the region.

Just over ten years later, during the Sempach War of 1386, Leopold ordered the town burned again to prevent it falling into Swiss hands.

[6] The small villages surrounding Willisau were founded during the Middle Ages and were ruled by a number of different nobles over the centuries.

However, initially the vogt remained in Lucerne and ruled through local amtmann or bailiff.

After the Swiss peasant war of 1653 the vogt moved from Lucerne to Willisau to better control the countryside, while giving the town increased autonomy.

In 1690-95 a large Bailiff's Castle was built by Landvogt Franz Bernhard Feer as a residence and administrative center of the vogt.

In 1763 a special tax was decreed on the town to help support the poor of the surrounding countryside.

Those in Willisau Land were placed under the laws and jurisdiction of the town, but were no longer responsible to care for the poor.

In 1798, following the creation of the Helvetic Republic, the special rights of the town's citizens were abolished and the two tax districts became separate municipalities.

[6] Despite being two separate communities, Willisau Stadt remained the population and economic center of the area.

Over the same time period the amount of forested land has increased by 3 ha (7.4 acres).

[18] The historical population is given in the following chart:[20] The Old City, the Catholic church of St. Peter and Paul, the Landvogteischloss (Bailiff's Castle) and the pilgrimage chapel of Heiligblut are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.

The entire town of Willisau is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

During the renovation, a large reinforced concrete bell tower was added to the church roof.

Five drops of blood fell on the table and the blasphemer, Ueli Schröter, was dragged away by the Devil.

The table with five drops of holy blood was saved by a local priest and the wooden chapel was built to hold it.

The ceiling was decorated with 70 paintings by Anton Amberg, showing biblical scenes, the apostles and patrons of the chapel.

[25] Willisau is a mixed agro-industrial community, a municipality where agriculture and manufacturing play a significant role in the economy.

[29] In 2015 the average cantonal, municipal and church tax rate in the municipality for a couple with two children making SFr 80,000 was 5.2% while the rate for a single person making SFr 150,000 was 15.4%, both of which are close to the average for the canton.

In the tertiary sector; 479 or 26.0% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 82 or 4.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 103 or 5.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 113 or 6.1% were in the information industry, 88 or 4.8% were the insurance or financial industry, 148 or 8.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 269 or 14.6% were in education and 337 or 18.3% were in health care.

This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated into four levels according to ability and aptitude.