Author: Maarten Koning

Canton of Nidwalden

Unterwalden (comprising Obwalden and Nidwalden) first appeared in documents in the 13th century.  Unterwalden means “in the forest” or “inter silvas”. King Henry (Heinrich) VII (1273-1313) granted the status of a free imperial city (Reichsunmittelbarket) to villages in this region in 1309.

It was highly unusual to give this right to a village of peasants. The villages were on the same footing as Strasbourg, Berne, Zurich, and other cities in the Empire. This suggests that these communities already possessed high levels of independence, sufficient financial resources, and military power. The Alemannic language and culture had already replaced the Gallo-Roman culture around 900.  

1291-1798

In the 14th century, Obwalden and Nidwalden emerged as separate entities, replacing Unterwalden as a unified political entity. They were also mentioned in the charter (Bundesbrief) of 1315, after the battle of Morgarten. 

These Orte had only one vote in the Eidgenossenschaft’s meetings (Tagsatzung). This situation remained until 1798 (Helvetic Republic), when Obwalden and Nidwalden alternated their seats in the Tagsatzung.

The most important landowners in Nidwalden were the Murbach Monastery and the Engelberg Monastery, as well as, until 1173, the Counts of Lenzburg. In the 13th century, the Habsburgs emerged as the dominant power.

Cattle breeding and trading became the most important economic activities after the opening of the Gotthard Pass around 1230.

The Landsgemeinde became a political organisation in the fourteenth century. It was abolished in 1996. Nidwalden expanded into Northern Italy and ruled these territories as subject areas or Untertanengebiete until 1798.

1798-1848

The canton remained Catholic and a bastion of the Counter-Reformation. It was a member of the Sarnerbund (1830) and took part in the Sonderbundskrieg (1847).

Nidwalden also resisted the Helvetian Republic (1798-1803) and the Confederation of 1815. Troops of the Confederation occupied Nidwalden in 1815, after which the canton consented. As a punishment, the territory of the Engelberg Monastery was transferred to the canton of Obwalden.

Heraldry

The double key’s origin in Nidwalden’s coat of arms is probably the symbol used in the 14th century to seal documents. Another explanation is the key of St. Peter.

Nidwalden claimed to be a descendant of the Romans and the first Bishop of Rome. The warlike Pope Julius III (1443-1513) gave his blessing in 1512 as a reward for Nidwalden’s military support in his campaign in Italy. This adventure resulted in the defeat at Marignano in 1515. Thousands of Eidgenossen and Nidwalders were in dire need of the key of St. Peter after the battle.

(Source: B. Meier, Von Morgarten bis Marignano, Baden 2015; www.nidwalden.ch).

The Attisholz-Areal

The factory in the village of Riedholz (canton of Solothurn), a few five kilometres from the city of Solothurn, produced cellulose and paper from 1884 to 2016. The factory closed its doors in 2016. Since 2018, however, new life has awakened in Switzerland’s most prominent industrial wasteland.

Since the opening of the Attisholz-Areal in 2018, live concerts, exhibitions, Street-Art, seminars and workshops in the field of art and culture and other events have taken place regularly.

Catering establishments and beautiful nearby nature reserves, including the footpath along the Aare and the nature reserve, are also part of the concept of uniting art, culture and people.

In the next twenty to thirty years, this location on the Aare and at the foot of the Jura will be further developed into a site for living, working, research, education, culture, art, recreation and leisure.

(Source: Attisholz Areal/Halter AG).

The nature reserve and the hiking trail

Direct Democracy in Switzerland

The emergence of direct democracy in Switzerland cannot simply be interpreted as an organic development that led from the pre-modern and medieval Landsgemeinde to the anchoring of popular rights such as the referendum and the people’s initiative (Volksinitiative) in the cantonal constitutions of the 1830s to 1870s and later in the federal constitution (1874 and 1891).

Opposite this pattern of interpretation is an alternative view. It understands the emergence of direct democracy due to political and social struggles and tries to map out the “social logic” of the various protest movements.

The historical actors’ experiences, perceptions, interests, and structures from the lower social strata are emphasised. They appear not only as passive objects but as agents and reactors.

The book in the German language covers the period from the late Enlightenment and the American (1776) and French Revolutions (1789) to 1874, focusing on how approaches to a representative and direct democracy developed in parallel.

Finally, it is shown how these plebiscitary instruments are extended to anchor the optional legislative referendum and the people’s initiative in the revised federal constitutions of 1874 and 1891. Moreover, the shortcomings of Swiss democracy in the 20th century are also discussed.

(Rolf Graber, Demokratie und Revolten. Die Entstehung der direkten Demokratie in der Schweiz, Zürich, 2017).

Habsburg and Wildlife along the Reuss

The Reuss is a river of about 160 kilometres with two sources: the Gotthard Pass and the Furka Pass. It is not the longest river in Switzerland, but it has a respectable record.

For example, it flows through the Schöllenenschlucht. Until the 13th century, this gorge was an impregnable obstacle to crossing the Gotthard.

However, no mountain was too high for the inhabitants of Uri in Central Switzerland. They managed to bridge the gap around 1230 by constructing bridges, a feat of engineering. Trade and the conquest of Italian territories on the other side of the Gotthard began.

The formal ruler of this area, Habsburg, then showed great interest in this inhospitable region. However, the young Confederation (die Eidgenossenschaft) beat Habsburg in 1315 and 1386. The Eidgenossenschaft had succeeded with Uri, Unterwalden and Schwyz as (co)founders.

The Reuss flows into Lake Lucerne near Flüelen and out again near Lucerne. Lucerne was also in the sphere of influence of Habsburg. The Italian trade, prosperity and sensational military successes of the young Eidgenossenschaft urged the town to join the alliance in 1332. The Reuss and Lake Lucerne had become lucrative trade routes.

The river could not care less and continued northwards into the Aargau. This area also belonged to Habsburg until 1415. That year, the Eidgenossen conquered Aargau and governed it as a subject territory Untertanengebiet by a joint administration (Gemeine Herrschaft) of eight cantons (Uri, Lucerne, Zurich, Bern, Zug, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Glarus).

The beautiful medieval towns of Bremgarten and Mellingen and the monasteries (e.g. near Hermetschwil and in Bremgarten) bear witness to this past. For example, the old town gate of Mellingen shows the coat of arms of the eight cantons, with the double eagle of Habsburg in the middle.

Although the Swiss Confederation was already an independent entity of sovereign cantons (Orte) in the fifteenth century, the Emperor of Habsburg was still formally recognised. In these profoundly religious times, it was blasphemy to overthrow an anointed or crowned ruler.

That is why the Republic of the Seven United Provinces formally still recognised their sovereign King Philip II of Spain in the Union of Utrecht (1581), their treaty of independence.

The Reuss finally flows into the Aare near Windisch (Canton Aargau). A walk between Mellingen and Bremgarten along the banks of the Reuss follows this Habsburg and confederal past and the present-day beautiful nature and reserves.

The Reussebene is a protected area (Naturschutzgebiet) of national importance. It is included in the Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments (Bundesinventar der Landschaften und Naturdenkmäler (BLN), L’Inventaire fédéral des paysages, sites et monuments naturels (IFP).

And with good reason, as shown by the Eichenwald reserve Emaus, the Foort Eggenwil, the Flachsee at Unterlockhofen and Rottenschwil, die Rüsshalde Stetten and the marsh and forest areas.

Beavers, kingfishers and reed beds accompany the hikers along the Reuss. Trees that beavers have cut down can be seen along the entire route. Reed beds with swarms of water birds even have a taste of Hollanditis. The hiker can imagine himself in some Canadian wilderness or the Rocky Mountains.

Another recommendation for this hike is the low height difference between Mellingen and Bremgarten.

The Swiss Alpine Club

The Swiss Alpine Club (Schweizer Alpen Club, SAC/Club Alpin Suisse, CAS) regularly organises hiking trips in this area (and elsewhere).

(Source and further information: www.sac-cas.ch).

Canton of Valais

The canton of Valais (Wallis in German) became a member of the Swiss Confederation of twenty-two cantons in 1815. Until the French invasion in January 1798, the Republic of the Seven Tithings (Republik der Sieben Zenden or Zehnden, Républik des sept Dizains) in the Upper Valais (Haut-Valais, Oberwallis) ruled the territory.

From 1476 onwards, this Republic occupied the Lower Valais (Bas-Valais, Unterwallis), the western area of Valais, extending to St Gingolph, the current border with France.

Celts, Romans and Franks

The Celtic tribes of Nantuates, Verager, Seduner and Uberer inhabited this region. After the Roman rule ended in 410, the Burgundians emerged as a distinct tribe. This tribe came from the vicinity of Worms in Germany (previously from Bornholm (Denmark) in the Baltic Sea). They adopted the local language (vulgar Latin and the predecessor of today’s French). They founded the (first) Burgundian kingdom (443-534).

The Franks ruled from 534 until the collapse of the Carolingian Empire in 888. From 888 to 1032, Valais was part of the second Burgundian Empire. During this period, more and more (German-speaking) immigrants settled in the Upper Valais. The language border also shifted to the west.

1000-1798

From 1032 onwards, the region was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Local dynasties ruled over small and large territories.

The (French-speaking) Dukes of Savoy governed for an extended period. Sion (Sitten) was the episcopal city. However, the German-speaking communes (Zenden) in the Upper Wallis resisted their rule. Savoy, an ally of the Duke of Burgundy, was permanently expelled from the Valais after the Burgundian wars (1474-1477).

The Republic of the Seven Tithings (Goms, Brig, Sitten, Visp, Raron, Siders, Leuk) was founded, and the (French-speaking) Lower Valais became a subject area (Untertanegebiet) of Upper Valais until 1798.

Sion/Sitten, Salle du Grand Conseil

1798 to 1815

From 1798 to 1815, Valais had six different constitutions. The Lower Valais became independent on 5 February 1798. The Republic of the Ten Communes (Tithings) was founded, comprising the seven old Tithings and three new communes of the Lower Valais: Monthey, Saint-Maurice and Entremont.

This independence ended on 6 May 1798, when Valais became part of the unitarian Helvetic Republic. This political entity ceased to exist on 5 September 1802. Valais became an independent republic divided into twelve communes (with the addition of Martigny and Hérémence in the Lower Valais).

Although an independent state, the Republic was supervised by France. The Valais was not a member of the Confederation of 1803-1813 (Act of Mediation).

Sion/Sitten, government and parliament

This republic ceased to exist on 12 November 1810. Napoleon created the Department Simplon because the Simplon Pass and the Great St. Bernard Pass were strategically important roads. The defeat of Napoleon in 1813 and the arrival of Austrian troops marked the end of this Republic on December 31, 1813.

Valais became a canton of the Confederacy in 1815. It did not happen with a stroke of the pen. The canton was bilingual and divided into catholic and protestant regions. The Lower Valais demanded the same rights as the Upper Valais in the canton’s administration and parliament, and no restoration of the Ancien Régime.

Lower Valais won the dispute with the support of England and Austria at the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815). The ‘old’ cantons of the Confederation were also divided, but agreed. Valais became a new canton of the new Confederation on 4 August 1815.

The thirteen stars in the coat of arms of Valais symbolise the thirteen communes (the districts) of the canton: the seven old from the Upper Valais and the six new communes from the Lower Valais. Conthey was added on 4 August 1815.

(Quelle: G. Andrey, La Suisse Romande, une histoire à nulle autre pareille !, Pontarlier, 2012).

Svizra Rumantscha in Bern

The work  “Svizra Rumantscha” has been hanging in Bern’s House of the Cantons (Haus der Kantone/Maison des cantons) since December 2021. The work shows the names of Switzerland’s approximately 2200 municipalities in the Romansh language.

The artist Donat Caduff has converted the names of some 2200 municipalities into Romansh, although most did not have a translation until now. The artist has presented them for the first time.

The work is a reminder of the importance of this language for the linguistic diversity of Switzerland and its (European) heritage.

The language is one of the oldest living languages on the continent, with origins that go back to the language of the Rhaeans before, during and after the Roman domination in the first centuries of the era.

The travelling exhibition “Rumantsch è…. will be on display at the Town Hall of Chur until the beginning of March. The exhibition presents the Roman language and its five idioms in the four national languages. The exhibition is also online.

(Source and further information: www.rumantsch-e.ch).

The Monastery St. Martin near Hermetschwil

The Benedictine nunnery of St. Martin is located in the Freiamt Bremgarten on the banks of the Reuss and north of the village of Hermetschwil (Canton of Aargau). The monastery was founded in 1082 and is one of the most impressive cultural sites in the region.

The beginnings of the abbey date back to the double monastery of Muri (founded in 1027). In 1083, during the Hirsau Reform movement, this monastery founded a women’s monastery and became a double monastery. A monastic quorum and monastic equality avant la lettre.

The first nuns came from the convent in Berau (near Waldshut) in the 12th century. This convent, founded in 1110, was connected to St. Blasien in the Black Forest (founded in the 9th century).

The government dissolved the monastery during the Reformation in the Canton of Aargau (around 1530). In 1973, the monastery regained its full right to existence and ownership and began accepting novices.

Vermagodunon becomes Bremgarten

The town of Bremgarten (Canton of Aargau) was founded by the Habsburgs at the beginning of the 13th century. Two settlements and a castle already existed before this time.

The name Bremgarten is derived from the Celtic name vermagodunon, meaning “large fortified enclosure in the open field”.

The town experienced a cultural and economic boom in the 15th and 16th centuries. The monastery of St. Clare, which oversaw the area in the Kellleramt, as well as trade, commerce, the weekly market, and the annual fairs, shaped the town’s cultural and economic wealth.

When the Confederation conquered Aargau in 1415, Bremgarten became a subject town. However, it retained a large degree of political and judicial independence. In 1803, the town was assigned to the newly founded canton of Aargau.

(Source: www.freiamt.ch).

The Käppelijoch on the Bridge

The Käppelijoch on the Mittlere Brücke in Basel has always had a special meaning. Käppelijoch means little chapel built on a pillar (Joch).

The relief shows a bishop holding an object with two bows in his hand. Four angels with a cross and a lance stand beside the bishop. They symbolise divine protection. The object represents the Mittlere Brücke, a bridge.

The Prince-Bishop Heinrich von Thun, who served as bishop from 1216 to 1238, was the driving force behind the construction of the bridge in 1225.

The construction was part of his regional power politics. Kleinbasel and Grossbasel were not yet united (they united in 1392). Kleinbasel belonged to the Diocese of Constance and fell under the Archdiocese of Mainz, while the Prince-Bishopric of Basel was part of the Archdiocese of Besançon.

The Käppelijoch is right in the middle of the bridge, the dividing line between Kleinbasel and Grossbasel. It still is.

A stone chapel replaced the wooden Käppelijoch in 1478. In 1905, the partly still wooden bridge was replaced by the present-day bridge. The original Käppelijoch is now in the Historical Museum in Basel. The Käppelijoch on the bridge is a copy.

In the Middle Ages, the Käppelijoch served as a place where convicts were executed by drowning. Nowadays, it is a place to express love by hanging ‘love’ locks.

(Source: www.altbasel.ch; D. Heitz, Stadtjäger. Ein Spaziergang zu Basels versteckten Besonderheiten, Basel 2021).

Aargau, the County of Baden and the border stone in the Dominiloch

After the conquest of Aargau by the Confederation Orte (the Eidgenossenschaft) of the Eight Sovereign Orte (the name cantons appeared in the sixteenth century) in 1415, the centuries-old county of Baden (Grafschaft Baden) in Aargau was governed by the eight Orte.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, the county was held by the counts of Lenzburg. From 1173, it belonged to the Counts of Kyburg and from 1264 to the Counts of Habsburg. However, Grafschaft Baden kept its name.

The three other regions in Aargau were the Berner Aargau, the Freie Amt and the Fricktal. The Freie Amt and the County of Baden were a joint administration (Gemeine Herrschaft) of the eight Orte. Fricktal remained a possession of the Habsburgs, and Bern ruled the Berner Aargau.

The Confederates appointed their bailiffs to administer the county. In organisational terms, the County of Baden was divided into offices, each headed by a sub-bailiff appointed by the bailiff. The subjects had no political say, but they had relative autonomy under the supervision of the bailiffs.

Collection: Historisches Museum Baden. Picture: Susanne Mangold

The county consisted of eight inner (innere) villages, Birmenstorf, Dietikon, Ehrendingen, Leuggern, Gebenstorf, Rohrdorf, Siggenamt and Wettingen, and the three outer (äussere) villages (Kaiserstuhl, Klingnau and Zurzach.

The cities of Baden, Bremgarten, and Mellingen maintained their courts and self-government, ruling over neighbouring villages. The monasteries of Wettingen and St Blasien, the Johanniterkommende Leuggern, and the Bishop of Constance also had jurisdiction in certain areas.

Matthäus Merian (1593-1650), Baden, a. 1642. Collection: Historisches Museum Baden

The eight Orte delivered the bailiff every two years. His seat was in the town of Baden (in today’s historical museum). From 1712 onwards, after the defeat of the Catholic cantons of Lucerne, Zug, Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden in the Second Villmerger War, the three Protestant cities of Zürich, Bern, and Glarus ruled the county until 1798.

The County of Baden became the canton of Baden of the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803). In 1803, this canton became part of the new canton of Aargau within the Confederation of the nineteen cantons (1803-1813). The canton merged into the Confederation of twenty-two cantons in 1815 and twenty-five (half) cantons in 1848.

The border stone (Grenzsteine) in the Dominiloch, opposite the Hermetschwil monastery, separated the city-state and canton of Zurich from the County of Baden until 1798 (the proclamation of the Helvetic Republic).

Today, the stone no longer stands on a border but is a witness to the Gemeine Herrschaft of the Eidgenossenschaft of the County of Baden and the existence of this county.

(Source: Historisches Museum Baden; www.aargau.ch).