Filisur in Parc Ela (Canton Graubünden) is a village of national monumental importance with 14 magnificent Engadine houses.
In 1262, Filisur was called Villa Fallisour in a document. At that time, the village belonged to the dominion of Greifenstein. Filisur converted to the Reformation in 1590. The Landwasser Bridge is the best-known landmark nowadays.
‘Arena for a Tree’ (Arena für einen Baum) is an open-air art performance by Klaus Littmann (1951). The Arena will offer 50 people the opportunity to admire a unique tree at its centre.
The arena is made of treated spruce wood, has a diameter of twelve meters and is shaped like a round basket made of loose mesh that protects the tree – eight meters high.
The irregularity of the outer shape and structure of the individual lamellas that form the “mesh” is based on those of a tree. Together with the surrounding grandstand inside, they depict the annual rings of a tree.
The landscape architect Enzo Enea selected the tree and is a Parrotia Persica, the Persian ironwood closely related to the witch-hazel genus Hamamelis.
The selection process did not rely entirely on mere beauty and strength but rather looked at whether it can be integrated into the Basel tree population and whether its species can long-term adapt to the conditions changed by global warming.
The tree will take root in Basel after the show and be given to the city as a gift. The Museum of Cultures (Museum der Kulturen) and the Historical Science Museum (Nationalhistorisches Museum) also participate and are like trees. connected.
Further information: www.kbhg.ch
In the Middle Ages, the cantons of Obwalden (capital: Sarnen) and Nidwalden were collectively referred to as Unterwalden. Although small, the canton lies on the spur of Lake Lucerne and is one of the founders of today’s Swiss Confederation.
Celts, Romans, Burgundian kingdom, Holy Roman Empire
The Alemanni came to the area after the Celts, Romans, and the first Burgundian Empire (443-534). From 1032, Obwalden was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The Counts of Lenzburg played a dominant role until 1173. The monasteries of Beromünster and St. Leodegar, as well as regional noble families, were also landowners.
Habsburg and afterwards
The Habsburgs were the most powerful dynasty in the thirteenth century. Obwalden was part of the first Eidgenossenschaft in 1291/1315. Obwalden was granted the status of a free imperial city (Reichsunmittelbarkeit) by Emperor Henry VII (1273-1313) in 1309.
After the Battle of Morgarten and the Federal Charter of 1315, Obwalden followed the history, economic development, and southern expansion of Schwyz and Uri.
From 1403 to 1515, Obwalden controlled Italian territories on the other side of the Gotthard and administered them in conjunction with other cantons as “subject territories” (Untertanengebiete).
Obwalden remained Catholic during the Reformation and participated in the Counter-Reformation after the Council of Trent (1545-1563) and the local religious wars (Kappel War of 1529 and 1531).
On the European stage, Obwalden mercenaries participated in religious civil wars and alliances with Catholic monarchs. The mercenary trade remained a significant economic activity until its abolition in 1848. The Landsgemeinde existed from the thirteenth century until 1998.
Obwalden fiercely resisted the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803). Obwalden was a member of the Catholic Sarnerbund (1830) and the Sonderbund (1847) and reluctantly agreed to the constitution of 1848.
Obwalden shared its seat with Nidwalden from the beginning of the assembly of cantons (Tagsatzung) in the fifteenth century. Since 1848, both cantons have had their seat in the Council of States (Ständerat).
The flag
The coat of arms of Obwalden is taken from the seal (a key) used to seal the charters. Obwalden’s cantonal state archive keeps one of the originals.
The formal name of Obwalden in the Federal Constitution was Unterwalden ob dem Wald until 1999, while Nidwalden was referred to as Unterwalden nid der Wald until 1999.
Both cantons had the same seal until the fifteenth century, so the heraldry is almost identical.
(Source: Thomas Maissen, Geschichte der Schweiz, Baden, 2010).
The canton of Uri has undergone historical, economic, and political development similar to that of Schwyz in Celtic and Roman times.
Altdorf is the main town of the canton and is famous, among other things, for William Tell. Significant events include Emperor Friedrich II’s (1196-1250) decision on the status of a free imperial city (Reichsunmittelbarkeit), already in 1231 (!) and its relationship and conflicts with the abbeys Fraumünster in Zurich, Engelberg Abbey, and Wettingen Abbey, all three under Habsburg protection.
By the end of the 13th century, the municipalities in Uri had already achieved independence. The alliances with Unterwalden and Schwyz were not just against the Habsburgs, and they certainly did not envision an independent state.
These Orte had a common interest in grazing land management, conflict management and peacekeeping. Uri was economically and politically attractive because of the Gotthard Pass and its lakeside location. It resulted in conflicts with the Habsburg (and its abbeys) and other cantons of the (later) Eidgenossenschaft.
The opening of the Gotthard Pass (1220-1230) meant more than economic growth. Between 1403 and 1515, conquering the Italian territories on the other side of the pass was part of the expansion and rule of the regions (Untertanengebiete).
Uri also participated in other tutelages (Aargau (1415), Thurgau (1460) and the administration of the county of Neuchâtel (1512-1529).
In the 14th century, the Landsgemeinde emerged, which was abolished in 1798. Uri remained Catholic during the Reformation years. The Catholic faith led to alliances with other Catholic cantons and European monarchs, tensions and some (civil) wars but not to a break-up of the Confederation.
The canton vehemently opposed the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803) and was a member of the Sonderbund (1845), but ultimately lost the Sonderbund War (1847).
The flag
Uri’s coat of arms is a black bull’s head with a protruding tongue and a red ring through the nose on a golden-yellow background (the Uristier). The meaning is the taming of the bull (symbol of animal husbandry) and the agricultural use of the land. This heraldry dates back to the 13th century.
(Source: R. Sablonier, Gründungszeit ohne Eidgenossen. Politik und Gesellschaft in der Innerschweiz um 1300, Baden, 2013).
The source of the Rhine is in the Gotthard massif in the Swiss Alps (Lake Toma (Lai da Tuma or Lag da Toma in the Romansh language at an altitude of 2,344 meters).
From there, the river begins its 1250-kilometre journey to Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The river is navigable from Basel to the North Sea (850 kilometres).
The river serves as an important industrial hub, a vital traffic artery, and is indispensable for the local water supply. Since 1815, the Rhine has also been a border between countries.
Basel is located where the High Rhine (Hochrhein) bends to the north and becomes the Upper Rhine (Oberrhein). The river has always determined the city’s life. It was a line of defence for the Romans (the Limes, the border of the Roman Empire) and, before that, for the Celts (the murus gallus on the Münster Hill).
The Upper Rhine
In the fifth century, the Bishop of Augusta Raurica (Augst, Canton Basel-Landschaft) settled on the hill on the Rhine. In Roman times, the river was already an important shipping route. In the Middle Ages, merchants, pilgrims, diplomats, kings, emperors, bishops, and other dignitaries preferred to travel by boat. The journey by land was more dangerous and less comfortable.
Logs floated like wooden rafts to Basel or further downstream, and stone building materials were transported by water. For centuries, the Rhine has continued its course without human intervention from its source, via the impressive waterfall (Rheinfall) near Neuhausen (Schaffhausen), and through the city of Basel.
The river was an economic blessing but sometimes a great danger due to flooding. However, canalisation, locks and other human interventions have changed the character of the Rhine since the 19th century.
The Rhine that flows through Basel nowadays is not the same as it was two thousand years ago. Its stream, function and perception have changed. Large-scale Professional fishing and salmon also almost disappeared.
The “Lachs 2020” project aims to reintroduce salmon, among other things, by constructing fish ladders, which have now been created in Basel.
Today, the river is also a place for leisure activities, sports (swimming, rowing, canoeing, boating), walks along the banks and, above all, the river is no longer a danger. If the shrinking of the glaciers continues at the present rate, the Rhine may even become a medium-sized stream in 100 years.
The village of Schwyz is the namesake of Switzerland and of the canton. As one of the Waldstätten Uri, Obwalden, Nidwalden (Unterwalden) or Orte, Talschaften or Landsgemeinde on Lake Lucerne (the Vierwaldstättersee), the place and its surrounding areas and municipalities achieved autonomy and sovereignty as early as the 14th century.
The canton reached its current size through conquest and acquisition around 1450. Today, Schwyz is the largest municipality and capital of the canton, divided into districts and municipalities.
The Alemanni
From the sixth century onwards, the Alemanni emigrated to central Switzerland. They came into contact with Gallo-Roman society, which had formed over four centuries of Roman rule (15 BC—410 AD). By the 10th century, German (Alemannic) had become the official language.
From the 10th century onwards, Schwyz was part of the Holy Roman Empire after the rule of the Franks, the Carolingians, and the Duchy of Swabia.
The area was divided among many small landowners, including the Abbey of Einsiedeln (founded in 934), and local rulers such as the counts of Lenzburg, Kyburg, Frohburg, Rapperswil, and Habsburg.
The fate of other noble families, abbeys, and dioceses (including St Gallen, Chur, and Konstanz), monarchs (Wittelsbacher and Luxemburger), and Italian city-states and duchies, including Milan, also influenced political development in central Switzerland.
Der Turm oberhalb Brüöl, um 1200
The Gotthard Pass
Until the opening of the Gotthard Pass in 1220 – 1230, Schwyz and other Orte were of no economic, political, or strategic interest to the great powers of the period. This also explains the de facto independence early on in this inaccessible area.
Moreover, the harsh climate and the almost Spartan education of the resilient men (primarily to protect the cattle trade) provided a solid basis for defence and, from the 15th century onwards (until the defeat at Marignano in 1515), attack.
Around 1240, Emperor Friedrich II (1194-1250) of the Holy Roman Empire granted Schwyz the status of a free imperial city (Reichsunmittelbarkeit), a remarkable status for a village. After that, Schwyz quickly developed into an independent Landsgemeinde, which was not abolished until 1848.
Agriculture, animal husbandry and cattle trade were the main economic activities. After the opening of the Gotthard Pass, the emphasis increasingly shifted towards cattle trading. The mercenary business also became an increasingly important source of income.
1291 and the Eidgenossenschaft
At the end of the 13th century and during the 14th century, Schwyz concluded several treaties with the surrounding Orte and cities. The covenant of August 1291 is the most famous.
This alliance between Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden was recognised in 1891 as the official beginning of today’s Confederation. However, it was one of many treaties between towns and Orte in central Switzerland (and Western Europe).
The aim was not independence from the (Habsburg) monarch but peacekeeping, dispute resolution and agreements on cattle trade, land management, land use, forests and meadows, and legal security.
However, these Orte were already effectively independent as Landsgemeinde and were able and willing to defend this autonomy with arms.
Schwyz’s looting of the monastery of Einsiedeln, under Habsburg protection, in 1314 prompted the Battle of Morgarten in 1315.
Over the following decades, more towns and Orte joined the winners. Economic interests and cooperation came first. Lucerne (1332), Zurich (1351), Glarus and Zug (1352) and Bern (1353) concluded treaties.
There was no formal independence from the Habsburg emperor at this time. It was a loose alliance of sovereign states, and no one, including Schwyz, foresaw the Switzerland of 1848.
Governance over territories
Schwyz participated in the conquest of the Italian territories on the other side of the Gotthard from 1403 to 1515 and was one of the administrators of these (Untertanegebiete) regions (1512-1798, including the later canton of Tessin). Schwyz also participated in governing Aargau (1415), Thurgau (1460), the county of Neuchâtel (1512-1529), and some other counties, abbeys, and territories.
1515-1848
The canton remained Catholic during the Reformation and fiercely resisted the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803), which was imposed by the French occupiers in 1798.
Schwyz (and the other Waldstätten) considered itself the archetype of modern direct democracy and cantonal sovereignty. It did not accept a unitary state of the Helvetic Republic, which had abolished cantons and direct democracy.
The canton further followed the history of the following confederations (1803-1813, 1815-1848 and 1848). As a member of the Catholic Sonderbund (1845), it was even a direct cause of the 1848 Constitution after the Sonderbundskrieg of 1847.
In 1848, the canton opted for representative democracy instead of the Landsgemeinde in its cantonal constitution.
The Flag
The coat of arms of Schwyz features a red field with a white cross in the upper corner, representing the crucified Christ. This heraldry dates back to the 14th century and has been the canton’s flag since the 17th century.
(Source: B. Adler, Die Entstehung der direkten Demokratie. Das Beispiel der Landsgemeinde Schwyz 1789-1866, Zürich 2006; B. Mesmer (Red.), Geschichte der Schweiz und der Schweizer, Basel, 2006; Historisches Lexion der Schweiz, der Kanton Schwyz, https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/007385/2017-05-11/).
The first statue in the canton, Roman period
Délemont, Musée jurassien d’art et d’histoire
999-1792/97
From 999, the area of the French-speaking canton of Jura fell under the bishopric of Basel. In the following centuries, especially in the 14th and 15th centuries, Bern gained increasing influence in the southern part of Jura, including in la Neuveville (Neuenstadt), Moutier, and Bienne (Biel).
Bern’s influence during the Reformation was noticeable here. Moutier, Belprahon, Perrefitte, Sorvilier, La Neuveville, and other towns and villages became Protestant.
The northern Catholic part of the Jura became the Rauracian Republic after the French invasion and the dissolution of part of the bishopric of Basel in 1792.
This area merged with the department of Mont-Terrible in 1793. After occupying the remaining southern part of the bishopric in 1797, Napoleon created the department of Haut-Rhin in 1800.
The French period (1792/97-1813). Délemont, Musée jurassien d’art et d’histoire
1815-1979
After Napoleon’s defeat, the area was assigned to the canton of Bern in 1815 (Congress of Vienna 1814-1815). The canton of Basel acquired the Birseck, which would later merge again into the canton of Basel-Landschaft in 1833. The Laufental chose Basel-Landschaft in 1994 and separated from Bern.
The Congress of Vienna aimed to restore the balance of power and the old regimes after the Napoleonic Wars and the (French) revolutionary movements in 1792-1813.
The canton of Jura (République et Canton du Jura) was created on 1 January 1979 as a split-off from the canton of Bern. It was the result of the June 23, 1974, referendum.
After 1815, many conflicts had already arisen between the predominantly Protestant German-speaking Bern and the predominantly Catholic French-speaking Jura.
Délemont, Musée jurassien d’art et d’histoire
After 1945, these conflicts became violent in the 1960s and 1970s, with several violent separatist attacks.
However, several Protestant districts and municipalities, including Moutier, Belprahon, Perrefitte, and Sorvilier, remained with the canton of Bern and voted against it. In a new referendum (21 March 2021), Moutier residents voted to join the canton of Jura.
Délemont, Musée jurassien d’art et d’histoire
The Flag
The canton’s heraldry dates back to 1947 and features the red bishop’s staff and the colours red and white of Jura. Porrentruy (Pruntrut) was the seat of the bishop of the principality of Basel from 1528 to 1792.
Source: J.-C. Rebetez, D. Bregnard, Le Jura en Berne, Porrentruy, 2014).
‘Der Dicke Fritz’, le Col des Rangiers
Délemont, Musée jurassien d’art et d’histoire
Available in German and Dutch.
Besides renowned architects from Basel, numerous other Swiss and international architects, such as Mario Botta, Renzo Piano, and Frank O. Gehry, have left their mark on the cityscape and surroundings.
This worldwide respected diversity of remarkable buildings has been made possible by the appreciation of the public and a quality policy that focuses on competitive tendering.
The redevelopment of large urban areas also continues this architectural approach. The focus is increasingly shifting from individual buildings to urban contexts.
Examples include the Roche company buildings, the Tinguely Museum, the Novartis Campus, the Messeplatz, the Beyeler Foundation, the Vitra Design Museum, and the Lonza building.
The present-day Canton de Vaud (Waadt in German) area has been inhabited since the end of the last Ice Age (10,000).
The Helvetians
The region gained notoriety through Julius Caesar’s mention of the Celtic tribe, the Helvetians, in De Bello Gallico. This tribe also inhabited Vaud from 450 to 58 BC. Tombs have been found in Saint-Sulpice, Vevey, and Vidy.
Caesar mentioned this tribe in connection with their invasion of Gallia. He defeated them in 58 BC at Bibracte, near Autun. Around 44 BC, the Romans founded the city of Nyon (Colonia Julia Equestris). Around 25 BC, Rome conquered the territory of the Celtic tribes, the Nantuates and the Véragres in present-day Chablais and Valais.
Roman era
Aventicum (Avenches), a Celtic oppidum, becomes the capital of the Helvetic tribes. In 71 AD, Aventicum became the Colonia Pia Flavia Constans Emerita Helvetiorum Foederata under Emperor Vespasian (39-81) in the Provincia Belgica. From 89, this area fell under the Provincia Germania Superior.
Romanisation was rapid, first for the cities’ elite, then for the rest of the population. It is known as Gallo-Roman, with Roman and Celtic features.
The region of Vaud was an important trade route, connecting the Rhone, Lake Geneva (Lac Léman), and the passage between the Great St Bernhard Pass and the Jouge Pass, linking Italy and northern Europe.
The Kingdom of Burgundy
The Romans left the area around 400. The Germanic tribe of Burgundians moved into the area and founded the first Kingdom of Burgundy (443-534). However, this Germanic tribe adopted the Gallo-Roman language, the precursor of the French language.
The Franks
Around 534, the Franks occupied the area, known as the pagus waldensis, or the land of the forests. The bishops also make their appearance at this time. The bishop was first based in Avenches and then in Lausanne.
The Romainmôtier monastery dates back to the fifth century, and the Baulmes monastery was founded in the seventh century (this monastery has since disappeared). Monasteries and churches also sprang up in Payerne, Lavaux, Vevey, La Tour-de-Peilz, Saint-Prex, Vernand-Cheseaux, and St-Saphorin.
The Second Kingdom of Burgundy
After the Carolingian Empire (751-888), the area fell under the Second Kingdom of Burgundy (888-1032). Payerne is the city of coronations.
The Holy Roman Empire
The area was part of the Holy Roman Empire from 1032. In the 12th century, the counts of Savoy and Geneva, the bishop of Lausanne, and the duke of Zähringen disputed it. The abbeys play an important political and military role, with Lausanne and Romainmôtier in the lead.
Savoye
From 1207 to 1536, the counts and dukes of Savoy dominated this region. The carrés Savoyards and Chillon Castle date from this time. The Burgundian Wars (1474-1477) were the first significant battles between Savoy and the Confederation, led by Bern and Fribourg.
Savoy allied with the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold (1435-1477), who lost the war and his life. Savoy has to cede some towns (Orbe, Aigle, Ollon, Bex, Ormonts, Echallens, Montagny-sur-Yverdon, Grandson and Morat) to Bern and Fribourg. Bilingualism and later the Catholic and Protestant patchwork of cantons (after 1536) originated here.
Bern
The confederacy violently conquered the whole of Vaud from Savoy in 1536. Leurs Excellences of Bern governed this area by bailiffs. A direct consequence is the Reformation in Vaud, although some communes remained Catholic. The bailiffs’ residences were in Aigle and Payerne.
The area was divided into sixteen Bailliages (Bonmont, Nyon, Aubonne, Morges, Yverdon, Romainmôtier, Lausanne, Orbe-Echallens, Moudon, Oron, Vevey, Aigle, Gessenay, Payerne, Avenches, Grandson).
French era
Napoleon invaded Vaud in late 1797, and on 24 January 1798, Vaud declared itself independent as the République Lémanique. The era of Bern is over.
Napoleon had other plans, however, and on 28 January 1798, he founded the Helvetic Republic, a unitary state without sovereign cantons. On 19 February 1803, the Mediation Act established the new Confederation of 19 cantons, including Vaud.
Le Grand Conseil et le gouvernement du canton du Vaud
1813-1900
In December 1813, this Confederation was again dissolved following the entry of allied Austrian troops. Vaud is one of the twenty-two cantons in the new Confederation of 1815, established in the Federal Treaty (Bundesvertrag, le Pacte fédéral).
Vaud then broadly followed the political developments of the Confederation. The political innovations of 1830-1845 (la Régénération) included universal suffrage for men over 23, elections of municipal (conseil communal, later the municipalité) and cantonal government (Grand Conseil), and the first referendum (droit initiative).
In 1903, Vaud was an industrialised region with several multinational companies (e.g. Nestlé in Vevey) and a wine-growing region (Lavaux). At present, the canton has approximately 300,000 inhabitants; by 2021, this number is expected to rise to around 800,000.
Several cities gained international fame and inhabitants (Montreux, Morges, Nyon, Lausanne, Vevey). Between 1850 and 1890, railways connected all significant places, leading to an increase in tourism and the establishment of numerous Grand Hotels.
One of the country’s oldest golf clubs (founded in 1900) is based in Aigle but is named Golfclub Montreux because the players had their hotel or residence there.
Heraldry
In the new Confederation (1803-1813), the new canton decided on the current green and white flag with the words “Liberté et Patrie”. The miners’ banner in the municipality of Bex inspired the words and the colour white. Green was the colour of the French revolutionaries in 1789; they were considered the liberators in 1798.
Apart from religious texts in certain countries, Switzerland is the only sovereign republic with words on its banner.
(Source: L. Hubler, Histoire du Pays de Vaud, Lausanne 1991).
