Dappental question
The Dappental question revolved around the ownership of the Dappental (French Vallée des Dappes ) on the border between Switzerland and France .
History of the Dappental, 1648 to 1862
The Dappental has belonged to the Bernese area since the agreement between the Free County of Burgundy and the city-state of Bern in 1648. This affiliation was not denied by international treaties with the French king in 1752 and 1761. Napoléon Bonaparte did not care about these treaties, took advantage of the weakness of Switzerland, which was dependent on him, and annexed the Dappental in 1805 to build a military strategic road between Les Rousses and the Pays de Gex .
After the defeat of France, the peace treaties of Paris ( 1814 and 1815 ) left an unclear legal situation. The Dappental belonged again to Switzerland and was under the administration of the Canton of Vaud. But France was unwilling to renounce its claims. Years of quarrels followed, including imperial saber rattling on the part of Paris. Finally, the French Emperor Napoléon III. in 1861 troops march into the Dappental.
Solution to the Dappental question
Probably because of this pressure, the status of the Dappental was clarified in 1862 in the form of an exchange of territory covering an area of seven square kilometers. France received the western part of the Dappental and the road it had built, including a strip of land "with an average width of around 500 Swiss feet or 150 meters" east of the road. As a replacement for this, Switzerland was given areas of the same total area along the slope of the Noirmont of the French communes of Les Rousses and Bois-d'Amont east of La Cure to the existing border with the Vallée de Joux .
In addition, it was stipulated in the contract that no military installations may be built in the Dappental area. This does not call into question the right of passage for the French army. In return, France is obliged to bring the connection (located on French territory) from La Cure to the Vallée de Joux into a passable condition (not a matter of course at the time) and grants a passage free of all transit, customs and toll fees, which also applies to the postal traffic of the Swiss Post Administration (the then PTT ).
The treaty also stipulated that those residing in the exchanged territories could freely choose their citizenship and stay in the place.
See also
literature
- Germain Hausmann: Dappental. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Mogeon, L .: La question de la Vallée des Dappes d'après les Mémoires du landammann Muret . In: Revue historique vaudoise. 45 (1937), pp. 98-115 and 183-184
Web links
- Article by L. Mogeon in Revue historique vaudoise. 45 (1937), doi : 10.5169 / seals-35160
- State treaty between the Swiss Confederation and France on the membership of the Dappental from 1862
- Swisstopo, time travel through maps from 1845 until today with the border corrections