Four names for the same conflict symbolise Switzerland’s complex history. The war in 1499, or rather a series of battles along the Bodensee, Alpine, High, and Upper Rhine, in Tyrol, Graubünden, Vorarlberg, the Rhine Valley (Rheintal), and the Sundgau and Jura, ushered in a new phase of the relationship between the Confederation (Eidgenossenschaft), Habsburg, Outer Austria (Vorderösterreich), and Swabian cities.
Image: Marco Zanoli/Wikipedia
Propaganda has already played a significant role. Although the printing press was less than half a century old, it was a powerful tool. Nikolaus Schradin’s chronicle (Chronik des Schwabenkriegs) and the Luzerner Chronik (1513) by Diebold Schilling (1460-1515) are well-known examples.
Nikolaus Schradin’s chronicle differs from other sources in one aspect: it covers the conflict from its beginning (the Tirolerkrieg or Engadinerrieg) to the other and final acts of war (the Schwabenkrieg or Schweizerkrieg and the battle of Dornach). He also published his chronicle as early as 14 January 1500, only four months after the Peace of Basel. The chronicle begins with the words:
“Chronigk disz kriegs gegen dem allerdurchlüchtigsten herrn Römischen konig als ertzrhertzogen zu Osterich vnd dem schwebyschen pundt dero sich das heylig Romisch rich angenommen hat eins teilß, und stett und lender gemeiner eidgenosschafft andern“.
Nikolaus Schradin, woodcut 23, f. 81, the battle of Dornach, 22 July 1499, Sursee 1500. Collection: Zentral Bibliothek Zürich, Graphische Sammlung
The acts of war consisted of battles (Triesen (on 12 February, Bregenz (on 22 February), Bruderholz (on 22 March), Schwaderloh near Constance (on 11 April), Frastanz (on 20 April), Calven near Glurns/Glorenza (on 22 May) and finally Dornach (on 22 July) and mutual looting by Confederate, Swabian and Tyrolean soldiers and/or mercenaries. The battles have one thing in common: Maximilian and the Schwäbische Bund lost them all.
The Peace of Basel of 22 September 1499 was a continuation of the peace of 1474 (die Ewige Richtung) between the Eidgenossenschaft and Habsburg. So, what happened in those 25 years to explain the War of 1499?
Diebold Schilling, the battle of Hard, 22 February 1499, Collection: Diebold Schilling-Chronik 1513, Eigentum Korporation Luzern, Standort:
ZHB Luzern Sondersammlung.
1474-1499
The antecedents are well known. In almost two centuries, the Orte (later called cantons) of the Eidgenossenschaft drove Habsburg almost entirely from Swiss territory in a series of battles: Morgarten (1315), Sempach (1386), Näfels (1388), Aargau (1415, except for the Fricktal), the Alte Zürichkrieg (1436-1450), and Thurgau (1460).
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and Habsburg concluded the Ewige Richtung with the Eidgenossenschaft in 1474 because of the rise of other enemies: the Dukes of Burgundy and Bavaria.
After the Eidgenossenschaft had defeated the Duke of Burgundy in 1476-1477, a new enemy loomed for Habsburg. The moribund French kingdom had just finished the 100-year war (1337-1453) and was no match for the Duke of Burgundy until 1477.
Morat/Murten, a monument of the battle on 22 June 1476.
However, after 1477, France (and the Habsburgs) acquired the large and rich territories of this duchy. France and Bavaria united against Habsburg. After 1494, France waged war in Italy to capture the Habsburg’s territory (including the Duchy of Milan) and met resistance from the Habsburg.
Although the Habsburgs did not formally accept the loss of Swiss territories until 1499, this dynasty had other (military) concerns. In addition to France, threats arose from the Turkish Sultans following the conquest of Byzantium/Constantinople in 1453, the advance in southeastern Europe, the Duke of Gelre in the Netherlands, and, above all, the complex political and geographical situation in Vorderösterreich and Swabia.
Basel, Constance and the Swabian League
The two bishoprics and cities symbolise the complicated situation. The secular area of the Basel bishopric encompassed Alsace, the present-day cantons of Jura, Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, and Baden (now part of Baden-Württemberg).
However, the chapter and the bishop supported Habsburg, while the citizens and guilds supported the Eidgenossenschaft. In Constance, the situation was the opposite: the bishop sought membership in the Eidgenossenschaft, while the citizens and guilds supported the Habsburgs. However, both cities were formally neutral in the Habsburg-Eidgenossenschaft relationship.
Heraldry of the Swabian Alliance. Image: Wikipedia
Vorderösterreich was Habsburg territory, and the Swabian towns concluded the Swabian Alliance (SSchwäbischeBund) in 1488. For the Habsburgs, it was primarily a defensive alliance against Bavaria and France. As a result, the bishop of Constance sought rapprochement with the Eidgenossenschaft.
However, Constance joined the Swabian Alliance in 1498, mainly under pressure from the Roman-German king Maximilian I and the Constance city council. The Eidgenossenschaft viewed it as a provocation and threat, and therefore did not accept membership from the neutral city of Constance.
Maximilian was crowned King in 1486, Archduke of Austria, Count of Tyrol, and Lord of Österreich vor der Enns. In 1508, the Pope anointed him emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Representative of the ten cantons in 1499, Collection: Nikolaus Schradin, Sursee 1500, Zentral Bibliothek Zürich, Graphische Sammlung
The Eidgenossenschaft, the Orte, Habsburg and the Holy Roman Empire
The ten Orte of the Eidgenossenschaft, Freiburg and Solothurn, joined in 1481 after the Stanser Verkommnis. They were divided among themselves and mostly had different interests. The Gotteshausbund and the Graue Bund concluded an association treaty (zugewandter Ort) with the Eidgenossenschaft in 1497 and 1498.
During this period, there was growing economic competition between Swabia and the increasingly powerful Eidgenossenschaft after its victory over the Duke of Burgundy. Bern was the largest republic north of the Alps, and Lucerne, Zurich, Solothurn, Freiburg, Zug, Glarus, Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden also manifested increasing strength. Moreover, after numerous victories over the Habsburgs (1315-1460) and the Duke of Burgundy. (1476-1477), The Eidgenossen did not lack self-confidence. The Eidgenossen and the Schwaben grew increasingly apart.
The ten Orte of the Eidgenossenschaft in 1499 in deep purple (Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden (Nidwalden and Obwalden), light purple (Bern, Zug, Lucerne, Zurich, Glarus), Solothurn and Freiburg, ‘Untertanengebiete’ and ‘Zugewandte Orte (Republic of the Seven Zehnden (Wallis), Gotteshausbund, Grauer Bund, Zehngerichtebund, Abbey and city of St. Gallen, Appenzell, Schaffhausen and Neuchâtel. Image: Marco Zanoli/Wikipedia
Moreover, Habsburg still had old accounts to raise with the Eidgenossenschaft, and some outstanding issues remained, including jurisdiction (Landgericht) over the Thurgau conquered by the Eidgenossenschaft (1460). In short, despite the Ewige Friede of 1474 and the changed international political circumstances, the situation remained unstable.
In addition, there were constitutional issues. The Orte of the Eidgenossenschaft and neutral Basel did not want to pay taxes to the Holy Roman Empire. However, they were still formally territories (free Imperial cities or Orte) of the Empire due to Reichsunmittelbarkeit.
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), the most famous portrait of Emperor Maximilian, 1519, Collection: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wenen. Image: Wikipedia
Thus, they were legally bound to the (tax) laws of the Empire promulgated by the Reichstag. The associate member Rottweil also refused to pay this tax and did not want to join the SSchwäbischeBund. Maximilian then threatened Rottweil, but the Eidgenossenschaft supported Rottweil.
The Orte no longer recognised the highest judges of the Empire, the Reichskammergericht and the Reichshofrat. Maximilian again did not accept it, especially since he desperately needed the money due to his ongoing wars.
In short, during this warlike period, when rulers were bent on acquiring territory, prestige, and revenge, and the desire for loot drove their mercenaries and soldiers, it didn’t take much to fan the flames.
Dornach, a monument of the battle on 22 July 1499
To put the balance of power in perspective, it is worth remembering that the SSchwäbischeBund had more than 500 members (towns, abbeys, knightships, counties, and other territories), while the Eidgenossenschaft had a few allies, no more than 15. Numerically, the Eidgenossenschaft was always far outnumbered, just as in the earlier battles against Habsburg and the Duke of Burgundy!
A recently published issue aptly articulates this:
“Die Schweizer Alpentäler und das grüne Hügelland der Nordschweiz sind die Heimat der bekanntesten und berühmtesten politischen Liga des Mittelalters, der Schweizer Eidgenossenschaft. Ihr Bündnisvertrag war insofern ungewöhnlich, als er, in den eigenen Worten der Vertragspartner, ‘Stadt und Land, Bürger und Bauern’ zusammenführte. Und das Bündnis florierte” (M. Rady, Vom Rhein bis zu den Karpaten). And it still does!
1499
However, the immediate cause of the war lay further east, in the Münstertal and the Lower Engadine, which were the property of Maximilian, Count of Tyrol. Troops of the Gotteshausbund and the Graue Bund, allies of the Eidgenossenschaft since 1498, occupied these areas.
Maximilian, supported by the Schwäbische Bund, intervened. The Eidgenossenschaft send troops to the Gotteshausbund and the Graue Bund.
It was primarily a regional conflict, known as the Engadinerkrieg (from the Austrian perspective) or Tirolerkrieg (from the Swiss perspective). The battle near Calven (Tyrol) and Maximilian’s defeat ended the regular war in this area, apart from looting by mercenaries and loose groups of soldiers. At Hard near Bregenz, Maximilian had also already suffered another defeat.
Chur, Benedikt Fontana (1450-1499)
The war did not become the Schwabenkrieg (Swiss perspective) or Schweizerkrieg (Swabian perspective) until April 1499. This month, the ten cantons concluded a peace treaty with France. Maximilian then declared the Eidgenossenschaft the ‘Reichskrieg’ on behalf of the Holy Roman Empire.
Maximilian was less concerned about his territory in Vorderösterreich than his possessions in Italy. He feared the combination of Swiss mercenaries and French military power, so the passes in Val Münstertal and Unterengadin were of vital importance.
‘Ritter-Landsknechte Fürstenbergs Heere Sie fechten nicht mehr für Kaiser und Reich. Sie fechten rasenden Löwen gleich’. Count (Graf) Heinrich VII von Fürstenberg (1464-1499) was the army commander of Habsburg
Dornach, the monument of the battle on 22 July 1499. The Beinhaus with skulls and bones of the fallen of both sides in the Schwabenkrieg: ‘Die Edlen müssen bei den Bauern liegen’.
Subsequently, the war gained momentum along the Rhine, the Bodensee, and the Jura in the Sundgau. Basel remained neutral; Konstanz, however, as a member of the SSchwäbischeBund, sided with Maximilian. Solothurn and Freiburg were eager to present themselves as loyal members of the ‘invincible’ Eidgenossen.
Maximilian’s final battle was fatal. On 22 July 1499, his army suffered a devastating defeat at Dornach, having previously been defeated at Bruderholz near Basel.
The war lasted less than six months. After much mutual plunder and several defeats by Maximilian and the Swabian Alliance, the Peace of Basel ended the war.
Basel, Bruderholz today
The Treaty of Basel
This peace confirmed the status quo. The Orte, the Eidgenossenschaft, and (still neutral) Basel were exempted from imperial taxes and the jurisdiction of the Reichskammergericht and the Reichshofrat. The Eidgenossenschaft did not gain territory on the right bank of the Rhine. Unterengadin and Münstertal only freed themselves from the county of Tyrol in 1652.
Rathaus Basel, member of the Confederation since 1501
The political consequences were substantial, however. In 1501, Basel and Schaffhausen joined the Eidgenossenschaft, including the territory (and later acquisitions) on the right bank of the Rhine. Appenzell joined in 1513. Konstanz remained Swabian, Rottweil on the other hand stayed a loyal ally (zugewandter Ort) of the Eidgenossenschaft until 1798 (!). After 1499, the Rhine was not so much a border river as a (mental and political) buffer between the Schwaben and the Swiss.
“Hinter dem Gegensatz Schwaben-Eidgenossen stand letztlich auch die alte Feindschaft zwischen dem Teils habsburgischen, teils schwäbischen Adel und den städtisch-bäuerlichen Eidgenossen. Der Schweizer- oder Schwabenkrieg, der kaum territoriale Veränderungen mit sich brachte, der die Rheingrenze aber verfestigte, war ein markanter Schritt im Auseinanderleben von Schwaben und Eidgenossen. Die Eidgenossen sahen sich als “Schweizer”, die ihre Freiheit gegen Habsburg erkämpft hatten. Die Schwaben hingegen betonten ihre Verbundenheit mit dem Adel und dem Reich und die Treue zum Königtum” (B. Meier, Ein Königshaus aus der Schweiz, p. 212).
Nikolaus Schradin’s chronicle ends with the following words, leaving no doubt about his support of the Confederation:
“Gott wirt von inen geerot fru vnd spat
Mit grosszem gepet von wib vnd mann,
die gnad gottesz mengklich wol trachten kan
dasz die stergki nit flüsszdt vss der eidgenosschaft
Allein so hat sy von Gott die krafft
dasz ist wol gethon alsz man das Gott zulegt
Gmein eidgenosschaft sol alltzit sin bewegt
Sich selbsz zu enthalten in gehorsamy vnd einikeit”
Schwaben and the Eidgenossenschaft
The Swabian town and the
Swiss city of Laufenburg
Conclusion
After 1500, the Eidgenossenschaft could no longer expand to the north. The Orte and the Eidgenossenschaft turned to Italian areas instead. Chiavenna, Bormio, Veltlina(1512), Tessin (1513), and for a short time (1512), even the Duchy of Milan were the spoils.
However, Marignano put an end to the illusions in 1515. Napoleon did the rest in 1798, except for Tessin. After Bern’s conquest (1536) of Waadt and the Treaty of Thonon (1569) between Valais and France, the external borders of the Confederation were fixed, apart from the Fricktal (1803), Geneva (1815), Tarasp (1803), Rhäzuns (1819), and some minor border corrections. The main boundary changes were between cantons; even a new canton was created in 1979.
The relationship between the Confederation of 13 cantons and the Habsburgs remained peaceful and unchanged until 1798. The basis for this was the ‘Erbeinung’ (Hereditary Agreement) of 7 February 1511, effectively confirming the Ewige Richtung of 1474.
The Eidgenossenschat also concluded peace treaties with France in 1516 and 1521. These treaties guaranteed over 250 years of peace with surrounding countries. Internally, however, the Confederation was deeply divided.
City Hall in Fribourg/Freiburg, location of the Ewige Friede/la Paix perpétuelle
Internally, and even more so after the Reformation, the Confederation was divided, but this did not lead to its dissolution. Pragmatism, willingness to compromise, a common identity and shared (trade) interests, the same enemies and the ‘common’ (gemeine Herrschaft) administration of the subject territories (Untertanengebiete), a high (military and political) prestige in Europe, an entrepreneurial and trade spirit, and the integration of newcomers were and are the main conditions for its survival.
The Eidgenossenschaft and later Confederation of 1848 are not a creation of European superpowers, which, falsely and politically motivated, is claimed in certain circles; rather, they are a manifestation of a will to coexist and defend the country to the utmost. The cantons differ in many ways; however, the shared identity and interests prevail. Switzerland is a successful microstate within the European Union. The Schwabenkrieg confirmed this unity in diversity.
1555, the Habsburg Empire was split into a Spanish Habsburg (until 1702) and an Austrian Habsburg (until 1918). From then on, the Austrian Habsburgs ruled the Holy Roman Empire, which was part of the German Nation. The Austrian Habsburg concentrated particularly on Italy, Vorderösterreich, the Austrian territories, and Central and Southeastern Europe. Its main rivals were France, the Duke of Bavaria, and the Ottoman Empire.
Twenty-five years after the Peace of Basel, Vorderösterreich and Swabia were again the scene of wide-scale warfare. This time, it was not the Eidgenossenschaft, but rather about the peasant revolts and the Reformation.
The Confederation remained relatively peaceful, and neither the peasant uprisings in 1525 nor the Reformation caused much wartime suffering, apart from limited civil wars in 1529 and 1531. But that is another story.
The documentary “Dornach 1499” covers the battle at Dornach and the history of the Schwabenkrieg.
(Sources: B. Meier, Ein Königshaus aus der Schweiz.) Die Habsburger, der Aargau und die Eidgenossenschaft im Mittelalter, Baden, 2010; W. Meyer, Ein Krieg in Bildern und Versen. Der Schwaben- oder Schweizerkrieg von 1499, geschildert von Zeitgenossen, Oppenheim am Rhein, 2024; B. Marquardt, Die alte Eidgenossenschaft und das Heilige Römische Reich (1350-1798). Staatsbildung, Souveränität und Sonderstatus am alteuropäischen Alpenrand, Zürich 2007; T. Scott, The Swiss and their Neighbours 1460-1560, Oxford 2017; M. Rady, Vom Rhein bis zu den Karpaten. Eine neue Geschichte Mitteleuropas, Londen, 2024)
Rudolf Herri (1460-1515), around 1500. Woodcut of the battle at Dornach. The picture depicts several phases of the fight: in the centre, the primary struggle takes place underneath the castle of Dorneck; on the right, the Swiss infantry is positioned near Arlesheim, with the castles of Reichenstein and Birseck visible, and the fleeing troops of the Swiss are seen by the river Birs. Collection: Kunstmuseum Basel Kupferstichkabinett. Bild: Wikipedia
