Die Gemeine Herrschaft der acht Orte in Mellingen, Stadttor. Foto, Photo: TES.

The Joint Administration of Aargau

Between 18 April and 18 May 1415, the Orte (cantons) of Bern, Zurich, Lucerne and other Eidgenosses conquered the Aargau. Only the Fricktal remained in Habsburg’s possession.

After 1415, four regions emerged on the conquered territory: the Freiamt, the County of Baden, the Bernese Aargau and Fricktal (Habsburg). Of great importance for the development of the Confederation of Cantons was the joint administration (Gemeine Herrschaft) of the County of Baden and the Freiamt.

Because of this Gemeine Herrschaft, the necessity and need to meet frequently arose. For this reason, the meeting of the Orte took place in Baden (canton Aargau) under the name of Tagsatzung.

The Tagsatzung remained the only joint institution of the Confederacy until 1798. The Tagsatzung survived the Reformation, the division into Catholic and Protestant cantons, the civil wars of 1529 and 1531 (the Kappelerkriege), and 1656 and 1712 (the Villmergerkriege).

The Tagsatzung not only united against the common enemy (Habsburg) but also united despite the (religious) differences and diverse (economic) interests (e.g. the conquest of Italian territories by cantons in central Switzerland in 1512 and Vaud by Bern and Freiburg in 1536).

The crushing defeat at Maregnano in 1515 against the French king for possession of the Duchy of Milan was partly the result of these divisions.

The conquest of the Aargau was thus an essential prerequisite for developing conflict resolution between the various cantons of the Confederacy.

The canton of Aargau, founded in 1803, consisted of four different regions.

The events of 1415 thus had far-reaching consequences for the development of the Swiss Confederation and the new canton of Aargau.

(Source: www.aargau.ch).