20 April 2021
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 … Read more » “Canton Vaud”
19 April 2021
The area of the present canton and city of Geneva was already inhabited around 10,000 B.C. In the ninth century B.C., the water level of Lake Geneva rose 5 metres, and the inhabitants left the area. In the second century B.C., the Celtic tribe of the Allobroges inhabited the banks of the lake and the … Read more » “Canton Geneva”
18 April 2021
The last Burgundian King founded the castle novum castellum in 1011, hence the name Neuenburg/Neuchâtel. The newly formed borough soon expanded into the Jura upper valleys. 1100-1798 The county of Neuchâtel was founded in the 12th century. Its size reached around 1500, which is the size of the present-day canton of Neuchâtel. Colombier, Valangins, Corcelles, … Read more » “Canton of Neuchâtel”
17 April 2021
The Celtic tribe of Rauraken inhabited the region of Basel before the arrival of the Romans. The foundations of the ancient fortress, a Celtic oppidum known as the Murus gallicus, can still be seen on the hill near the Münster (the cathedral). Its location on the Rhine was important for fishing and trade. Town Hall (Rathaus), statue (1580) … Read more » “Canton of Basel-Stadt and the City of Basel”
17 April 2021
The Canton of Basel-Landschaft (Baselbiet) was created in 1833 as a split-off from the Canton of Basel, which had been a member of the Confederation since 1501. 1501-1833 In 1501, the city of Basel was the dominant political power in the canton of Basel. The area beyond the city walls was an Untertanengebiet ruled by … Read more » “Canton Basel-Landschaft”
14 April 2021
Monasterium Luciara The monastery of Lucaria was founded around 735. A bridge connected the monastery to the other side of the river Reuss. The settlement was one of the sixteen so-called Dinghöfe, land and territories owned by the monastery. The monastery’s name was first mentioned in 760, “ monasterium Luciara”. This settlement became the city … Read more » “Canton and City of Lucerne”
13 April 2021
Solothurn (Soleure) has a long history that goes back to the prehistory of the Celts and the Romans. The Celtic name of the settlement was Salodurum (watergate), a name adopted by the Romans. The town became a free imperial city (freie Reichsstadt) of the Holy Roman Empire in 1281. For two centuries, it acquired the … Read more » “Canton Solothurn”
13 April 2021
The Raetians inhabited the territory of today’s canton of Graubünden before and during Roman rule (15 BC – 410 AD). The Raetian-Roman language and culture (Romansh) originated from the languages of these tribes. The Raetians are a collective name for many tribes which inhabited the area before the arrival of the Romans. Their origin is not … Read more » “The Canton of Graubünden”
13 April 2021
The city of Fribourg/Freiburg was founded by Duc Berthold IV of Zähringen (1125-1186) in 1157. 1157-1536 Fribourg joined the Swiss Confederation (Eidgenossenschaft) in 1481. The Burgundian wars (1474-1477) were decisive. The relationship with Habsburg and the Holy Roman Empire was also tense. Emperor Maximilian (1459-1519) introduced new taxes in the 1490s. The cities, Orte or cantons … Read more » “The canton and city of Fribourg”
12 April 2021
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