The Middle Ages, Arts and State Building News

Swabians become Swiss

Johann Stumpf (1500-1578), Schlacht bei Schwaderloh. Foto: Meyer, F.: Schweizergeschichte von der Bundesgründung bis Marignano, Lehrmittelverlag des Kantons Thurgau, Frauenfeld 1976.

8 March 2021

Thurgau was first mentioned as a region in the Duchy of Swabia in the 9th century. After the extinction of the Counts of Kyburg in 1264, the Habsburgs inherited the rights. Medieval Thurgau was not yet a clearly defined region and it included large parts of the present-day cantons of St. Gallen, Zurich and the … Read more » “Swabians become Swiss”

Rottweil and the Swiss Confederation

Rottweil around 2000. Photo: www.rottweil.net

29 January 2021

The German city of Rottweil in Baden-Wurttemberg (Germany) became a close ally of the Swiss Eidgenossenschaft or Confederation in 1463. The Confederation consisted of nine cantons at this time and Rottweil (Ariae Flaviae in Roman times, Rottuvilla or red villa in the early medieval period) got the status of close ally and city or ‘Zugewandter … Read more » “Rottweil and the Swiss Confederation”

Swiss Bishoprics and their Cultural Heritage

Cathédrale de Bâle (Basler Münster), 11e -15e siècle. Photo: TES.

10 January 2021

In the centuries between the (slow) dissolution of the Roman Empire (5th century) and the rise of the great Monarchies and dynasties (10th thru12th centuries), the Church and the bishop were the most dominant social, economic and political institutions with secular power. The diocese was the new sovereignty based on an ecclesiastical (diocese) territory, and … Read more » “Swiss Bishoprics and their Cultural Heritage”