16 November 2022
The Prince-Bishopric of Basel experienced two significant revolutions after 1500. The title of Prince-Bishopric is a consequence of the status of the Bishop in the Holy Roman Empire. The Bishop was a prince (Reichsfürst/Fürstbischof) of the Empire. The Reformation in the years 1527-1529 was a clear break. The Bishop moved to Porrentruy (Pruntrut in German, … Read more » “The Prince-Bishopric of Basel after 1813”
6 November 2022
Kaspar Stockalper (1609-1691), the entrepreneur, politician and diplomat from Brig (Canton of Valais), established professional postal services across the Simplon pass. The museum in the Stockalperschloss pays attention to this activity in the exhibition “Passage Simplon”. His successful (and lucrative) business delivered mail from Milan to Lyon in less than eight days. The couriers and … Read more » “From Stagecoach to the Postauto”
31 July 2022
In January 1798, French troops invaded the Swiss Confederation (Eidgenossenschaft). The territory of the Prince-Bishopic Basel had already been confiscated in 1792 and 1797. The Swiss cantons and cities capitulated. On 6 April 1798, the (French) Directorium proclaimed the Helvetic Constitution of the new unitary republic: Art. 1: The Helvetic Republic is an indivisible state. … Read more » “The Helvetic Republic and Nidwalden”
5 July 2022
On December 30, 1813, the entry of the Austrian general Count Ferdinand Bubna von Littiz (1768-1825) ended fifteen years of French domination of Geneva. The city welcomed the French revolutionary troops enthusiastically in 1798. After the fifteen years of French annexation, French-speaking Geneva stood at an important crossroads in its two thousand years of existence. … Read more » “Geneva’s Choice in 1815”
19 December 2021
A Dutch chronicle from the nineteenth century (Jan Willem van Druijnen, Leven aan de Waal of Vervolg der Kronijk van Nijmegen 1819-1859) reports that more than 1500 Swiss arrived in Nimwegen (Nijmegen) on timber rafts in July and August 1819, on their way to Dordrecht. They emigrated by ship to South Brazil. It is an … Read more » “1500 Swiss on a Timber Raft or Höllander Flöße”
