Bernese Aargau
As Unteraargau refers to those areas in the western part of the Swiss canton of Aargau , the 1415-1798 peasant lands of the city and Republic of Berne were.
area
The Aare valley between Aarau and the Klingnau reservoir , the side valleys of the Aabach , the Suhre , the Wigger and the Wyna as well as some areas in the Jura belong to the Bernese Aargau . The area essentially comprises the current districts of Aarau , Brugg , Kulm , Lenzburg and Zofingen .
term
The term Berner Aargau is not of historical origin and was never an official area name. In the language of the city of Bern, these subject areas were called Unteraargau from 1628 onwards . Oberaargau is still the name for the area between Langenthal and Burgdorf in the canton of Bern .
history
In 1415 the Austrian Duke Friedrich IV of Habsburg was ostracized by King Sigismund . The Confederates were asked to wrest Aargau from the Habsburgs . The Bernese were the fastest and had already occupied the western half of the Habsburg territory before the other places even reacted. The eastern half was divided into the common lords of Grafschaft Baden and free offices as well as the cellar office controlled by Zurich alone . Lucerne received a few offices in the south.
By 1514, the Bernese took possession of various smaller domains on the southern edge of the Jura, which had previously belonged to local nobles or monasteries. In doing so, they gained control of the strategically important Benkerjoch , Bözberg , Staffelegg and Salhöhe passes on the border with the Fricktal , which was then part of Upper Austria .
The Bernese Aargau consisted of seven bailiffs ( called offices ). At the beginning, the bailiff of Aarburg administered the entire area. Only later, when Bern pushed back the rights of the nobility and clergy more and more, were further offices added: Lenzburg (1442), Schenkenberg (1460), Biberstein (1499), Zofingen (1528), Königsfelden (1528) and Kasteln (1732) .
The four so-called municipal cities of Aarau , Brugg , Lenzburg and Zofingen were allowed to retain the high level of jurisdiction and thus a certain degree of autonomy. The bailiff and the land clerk were both citizens of the city of Bern, the lower administrative positions could also be filled by locals. Under pressure from the City of Bern, the Reformation was introduced in all subject areas in 1528 .
The economy of the Bernese Aargau was initially based almost entirely on agriculture . The new bailiffs were the granaries of the city of Bern. From the late 17th century onwards, Bern encouraged trade and early forms of industry for economic reasons. In the second half of the 18th century, the Bernese Aargau was one of the most industrialized areas in the Confederation. Instrumental in the revival of the industry were involved Huguenot refugees from France .
After the French conquered Switzerland in March 1798, the Helvetic Republic was proclaimed. The canton of Aargau was created from the Bernese Unteraargau, but without the Aarburg office, which initially remained with Bern. Aarau was Switzerland's first capital for five months. The canton was expanded with the act of mediation signed by Napoléon Bonaparte in 1803 : the canton of Aargau emerged in its current form from the Bernese Aargau, the canton Baden , the canton Fricktal and the Amt Aarburg.
Web links
- Dominik Sauerländer: Bernese Aargau. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .