History of the Canton of St. Gallen
The canton of St. Gallen in its current form was re-established on February 19, 1803 through the act of mediation. On that day, Napoléon Bonaparte issued an act of mediation to establish the canton in the form proposed by Karl Müller-Friedberg , the “founding father” of the canton. The area of the canton emerged from the merger of those areas that were left over from the Helvetic cantons of Linth and Säntis after the restoration of Glarus, Schwyz and Appenzell . This "bankruptcy estate" consisted of the following areas, which had not formed a unit before 1798:
- The so-called "Old Landscape" , between Wil and Rorschach, which until 1798 was the core area of the monastery state of the Prince Abbey of St. Gallen . The abbey was since 1451 a facing site of the old Confederation .
- The county of Toggenburg was ruled between 1468 and 1798 by the prince abbots of St. Gallen as a kind of constitutional monarchy .
- The independent city republic of St. Gallen , since 1454 a part of the Confederation.
- The autonomous city of Rapperswil SG , since 1464 a protectorate of the federal towns of Zurich , Bern and Glarus .
The subject countries or common lordships of various federal locations:
- The county of Sargans and the rule of Freudenberg (Pfäfers Abbey), since 1483 a common rule of the eight places.
- The Vogtei Rheintal , a common rule under eight places and the prince abbot of St. Gallen.
- The county of Uznach , since 1437 a common rule of the places Schwyz and Glarus.
- The bailiwick of Windegg / Gaster , since 1438 common rule of the places Schwyz and Glarus; from 1497 including Gams (Hohensax) in the Rhine Valley.
- The county of Werdenberg , since 1517 a subject area of the canton of Glarus.
- The Freiherrschaft Sax-Forstegg , since 1615 a subject of the Canton of Zurich.
The creation of the canton 1798–1803
The canton of St. Gallen is therefore not a historically evolved state structure, but was put together "at the card table" by diplomats. The above list clearly shows how different the individual parts of the canton were. Neither culturally, economically, nor denominationally, the area formed a unit. There was also no political center, even if the former monastery state with the center of St. Gallen clearly represented a kind of core area.
The only thing all areas had in common was the will for freedom and independence, which was expressed in 1798 when the French invaded the Old Confederation when independent republics were proclaimed in all areas. The oldest freedom movement showed the old landscape between Wil and St. Gallen, which had wrested extensive freedom from the prince abbot as early as 1795. For this reason, this landscape was symbolically and politically very important.
As a result of the centralized Helvetic Constitution of 1798, these republics were incorporated into the newly created administrative cantons of Säntis and Linth together with Appenzell, Glarus and the Swiss March , but remained part of Switzerland within the Helvetic Republic . Between 1799 and 1802, during the coalition wars, the two cantons shared the fate of Switzerland with repeated marches of the French, Austrians and Russians, who brought hardship and destruction over the country. In addition, various local parties fought each other: On the one hand, the federalists and Unitarians , who supported the new order, but did not agree on whether Switzerland should be a central state or a federal state. On the other hand, the supporters of the old order, the so-called Ancien Régime , who, like the last Prince Abbot of St. Gallen, wanted to achieve a return to the conditions of before 1798.
On February 19, 1803, Napoléon Bonaparte decided on a reorganization of Switzerland in the sense of the federalists by decreeing the territorial and constitutional order of Switzerland and its cantons in the so-called mediation act . The reorganization of Eastern Switzerland was one of the hottest issues at the Helvetian Consulta , the consultation of the Helvetian envoys with Napoleon in Paris. Thanks to his good contacts with French diplomats, the Helvetic MP Karl von Müller-Friedberg , who wanted to restore Appenzell, Glarus and Schwyz to the old borders and create what is now the canton of St. Gallen, prevailed. There had also been other proposals, in particular a merger of the former prince abbey including Toggenburg and Rhine Valley with Appenzell, or an annexation of Sargans, Uznach and Gaster to Glarus.
Karl Müller-Friedberg (1755–1836) came from the canton of Glarus, but his father had already served as Prime Minister in the service of the Prince Abbot of St. Gallen and was ennobled. As the last prince bailiff of Toggenburg, he had released it into freedom in 1798 and entered national politics in the era of the Helvetic Republic. The culmination of his career was the office of the first Landammann of the Canton of St. Gallen in 1815.
Mediation and Restoration 1803–1831
The constitution of the canton of St. Gallen is contained in chapter 9 of the French mediation act. It agrees in every detail with that of the canton of Aargau, whose situation was largely comparable to that of St. Gallen. The canton was divided into 8 districts:
- St. Gallen
- Rorschach
- Gossau
- Obertoggenburg
- Untertoggenburg
- Rhine Valley
- Sargans
- Uznach
The districts in turn were divided into 44 districts. The legislature was formed by the Grand Council, consisting of 150 members. This appointed the executive, the nine-member Small Council, which was entitled to appoint important officials and the sole right to propose laws. The Small Council was the leading cantonal authority until 1831. The judicial power lay with the 8 district courts, a criminal court and a final court of appeal.
On February 15, 1803, Napoleon handed over the mediation acts for the reorganization of the canton to the parties delegated in Paris (including in the presence of Karl Müller-Freidberg). On March 15, 1803, the Swiss authorities in the cantons of Säntis and Linth resigned, and on April 15, the Grand Council met for the first time. One of the greatest problems of the young state was the settlement of the claims of the former prince abbot of St. Gallen, Pankraz Vorster , to the territory as well as to the property and the land of the canton. The abbot relied on the act of mediation according to which the monasteries were to be restored. It was clear, however, that the canton of St. Gallen could not exist next to a completely restored St. Gallen monastery - even if this remained without state sovereignty. Any compromise was made impossible by the tough demeanor of the exiled former abbot. In 1805, Napoleon decided in favor of the canton.
The abbey, steeped in tradition, was considered to be abolished and the foundation's assets were liquidated by a law of May 8, 1805. State property and Catholic property were separated.
This gave the canton the last two domains of the abbey, Ehaben and Norsingen near Freiburg im Breisgau , as territory. The two exclaves, which are located far from the canton, were sold to the Grand Duchy of Baden for 140,000 guilders as early as 1806 .
The foundation's assets, defined as Catholic property, were retained for Catholic religious and social purposes and were handed over to a Catholic guardianship until in 1813 it came into the hands of the Catholic denomination part of the canton of St. Gallen , which was established to regulate all Catholic affairs . This denominational corporation under public law with its great powers and rich funds from the liquidation of the monastery soon became an actual subsidiary government in the canton. In general, the denominational contradictions soon began to break up again, which was particularly evident in the dispute over the educational system, which ultimately had to be organized denominationally separate.
The defeat of France in 1813/14 put the existence of the canton of St. Gallen in serious danger. In various regions of the canton there was an emphasis on representation in the constitution, which did not succeed. Motivated by the constitutional struggle, the young canton saw itself threatened as a whole; the Sarganserland, for example, wanted to reconnect with Glarus or Graubünden. While in 1814, after the abolition of the mediation constitution, the long agenda in Zurich was preparing a new federal federation, it came about in the canton. St. Gallen to a serious political crisis. Only through the veto of the Allied powers initiated by Müller-Friedberg and the resulting intervention of federal troops could the existence of the canton be saved. The Sarganserland was under heavy military occupation for more than a hundred days, and those involved were convicted in an arbitrary process.
On August 31, 1814, the Grand Council (Cantonal Council) adopted the second cantonal constitution, which, in keeping with the general zeitgeist, was much more authoritarian, undemocratic and centralized than the previous one. It also clearly showed the incipient confessionalisation of politics: From now on, a Protestant and a Catholic Landammann were elected to head the government. The Grand Council also split into two denominationally separate colleges. All political authorities became equal , i. H. in equal parts from both denominations, ordered. The period of restoration in the canton of St. Gallen was marked by Müller-Friedberg's authoritarian leadership style. The neglected demand of the liberal and democratic opposition for more people's rights remained a problem that ultimately led to his overthrow.
Regeneration and Sonderbund 1830–1861
After the French July Revolution in 1830, tensions increased, which is why the Grand Council decided to revise the constitution. Large popular assemblies in Altstätten , Wattwil and St. Gallenkappel forced the election of a constitutional council, which drafted the third cantonal constitution in spring 1831. In March 1831 this was accepted by the people, albeit accompanied by tumults and irregularities. According to the principle «whoever remains silent seems to agree», those who did not vote were rated as acceptors.
The new constitution, edited by the Rheintaler Gallus Jakob Baumgartner , laid down popular sovereignty and general civil rights in a liberal-democratic manner. Thanks to the efforts of the Constitutional Councilor Franz Anton Good , St. Gallen became the first canton to include a right of veto for the people in the constitution. In 1830 he became a model for the other liberally " regenerated " cantons. However, it was not possible to overcome the denominational division in administration and school. For the occupation of all offices even the consideration of the denominational balance of power was prescribed. Karl Müller-Friedberg was no longer proposed for election to the Small Council (government), which is why he, offended, withdrew to Constance, where he died in 1836.
Instead of the previous 8 districts, 15 were added:
- St. Gallen
- Tablat (merged with the St. Gallen district in 1916)
- Rorschach
- Lower Rhine Valley
- Upper Rhine Valley
- Werdenberg
- Sargans
- Guest
- Lake district
- Obertoggenburg
- Neutoggenburg
- Alttoggenburg
- Untertoggenburg
- Wil
- Gossau
At the executive level, the previously almost omnipotent Small Council had to cede its supremacy to the Grand Council. In line with the new membership of the Small Council, seven departments of the cantonal administration were formed. The liberal figurehead Gallus Jakob Baumgartner came to the head of the government, but not unlike Müller-Friedberg, he led an autocratic regime. At the Federal Diet, there was even talk of the “Canton Baumgartner”. For years the canton was in the hands of the Liberals, which is why St. Gallen also joined the Seventh Concordat in 1832 to protect the liberally regenerated constitutions. A liberal Swiss federal constitution drafted by Baumgartner then failed due to the disagreement between the cantons, so that Switzerland had to wait until 1847 for a liberal renewal at the national level.
In the following years, the establishment of an independent diocese of St. Gallen was the central political question for the canton of St. Gallen . After 1815, contrary to St. Gallen's wishes, the Pope had annexed the canton area to a bishop in personal union with the diocese of Chur . After the death of Chur Bishop Karl Rudolf von Buol-Schauenstein , the Grand Council decided in 1833 not to recognize the dual bishopric any longer. The Pope tried to meet the wishes of St. Gallen in 1836 by abolishing the double diocese and appointing an apostolic vicar for the diocese of St. Gallen. However, the fronts between the liberal cantonal government and the conservative-Catholic opposition broke again in 1838, when the abolition and liquidation of the Pfäfers monastery was ordered by the Grand Council. The final settlement of the diocese question with the Vatican was delayed until 1845/47 (→ Diocese of St. Gallen ).
The st. Gaulish politics was determined after 1840 by the complete change in the political attitude of their Landammann Baumgartner, who turned more and more towards the conservative camp and finally - like his predecessor Müller-Friedberg - became the head of the conservatives. The liberal-radical side was hit hard by this, which was evident in the so-called directorial trade from 1840–1843. It was about the nationalization of the commercial directorate in St. Gallen. In contrast to Baumgartner, the younger leaders of the Liberals took the view that the assets of the Directory, some of which had been won from the postal monopoly, were public goods and had to be administered by the state. After fierce party battles, nationalization in the sense of Baumgartner was rejected by the Grand Council.
The canton of St. Gallen, which was divided along denominational and party lines, was severely affected by the general federal party conflicts that arose in the course of the abolition of the Aargau monastery from 1841. In 1843, St. Gallen voted with the majority of the daily statutes, which, with the restoration of the four women's convents, regarded the whole Aargau monastery issue as settled. When the elections to the Grand Council in 1845 resulted in a balance between liberals and conservatives, the unrest grew, especially since in 1846 the whole of Switzerland was waiting for a clear statement from the «Destiny Canton» of St. Gallen to answer the question of the forced dissolution of the Catholic- Conservative Sonderbund to decide. As a result, the elections to the Grand Council of 1847 became important throughout Switzerland, and the reorganization of Switzerland depended on their outcome.
The surprising election victory of the Liberals in the Gaster district then brought about a free-thinking majority in the Grand Council (77:73), which also meant the end of Baumgartner. The council therefore spoke out against the Sonderbund and, in October 1847, after a heated debate, also agreed to the military execution. During the Sonderbund war, there were mutinies in Catholic troops, but they were quickly overcome. The St. Gallen contingent of approx. 6000 men under Colonel Dominik Gmür was deployed during the fighting in Meierskappel , but did not lose a single man. In 1848, St. Gallen adopted the new Federal Constitution of the Confederation with 16,893 votes to 8,072 and was represented in the first Federal Council by Wilhelm Matthias Naeff .
The cantonal party struggles did not come to a standstill due to the national upheavals. In 1849-1851 a constitutional revision was fought and the revision was rejected twice by the people. When the Liberals received a particularly strong majority in the Grand Council in 1855, they enforced a law to strengthen state authority over the denominations. As an indirect consequence of this law, the non-denominational contract canton school in St. Gallen came into being in 1856 . For the first time since 1831, 1859 brought a conservative majority in the Grand Council and also in the Constitutional Council appointed at the time. The conservative draft constitution was rejected by the people on 1860. After the elections of 1861, the conservative majority increased and rumors of a planned radical-liberal coup circulated. On the initiative of its member Arnold Otto Aepli (1816–1897), however, the government managed to get through a mediation proposal for a constitutional revision. The elections to the Constitutional Council should no longer take place according to district parishes, but rather according to political parishes, whereby the liberal minorities, which are strong in many places, would better come into their own. As expected, the Constitutional Council was then dominated by liberals, but managed to work out a compromise constitution.
The canton of St. Gallen until the end of the world wars
The fourth, so-called "Peace Constitution" of the Canton of St. Gallen of 1861 brought about a new electoral system (constituency is the political, no longer the district municipality), the abolition of denominational parity in appointing the authorities and the complete autonomy of the church bodies in their internal affairs. The school system was subordinated to an interdenominational joint education council and the creation of a state canton school was decided. The Small Council was renamed the Government Council.
In 1862 the Great Council recognized the denominational organizations that the Protestant and Catholic cantons had given themselves in accordance with the new constitution. The party struggle continued, however, including the canton school (opened in 1865), the question of notarizing civil status, the cantonal bank, etc. The fact that the culture war of the 1870s in St. Gallen was fought with passion resulted from the tradition of this state . The bishop of St. Gallen, Karl Greith, contributed significantly to an additional tightening through his combative attitude.
The democrats separated from the liberals after 1880 over the dispute between the representative system and people's democracy. The impetus for a democratic constitutional revision was a democratic party assembly in Wil in 1888, which, in addition to the older democratic demands such as a mandatory legal referendum , popular initiative , popular election of the government and council of states, also demanded the obligatory financial referendum, the proportional electoral procedure, jury courts and a more decisive social policy .
But the Constitutional Council, which met in 1889, did not go that far. The fifth cantonal constitution of 1890 was a compromise between the program of the alliance between the Democrats and the Catholic Conservatives and the program of the liberals: expansion of popular rights (popular initiative, popular election of the government), expansion of social policy and the civic school system. The elections of 1891 resulted in a liberal grand council majority, but the conservative-democratic alliance dominated the government council. In 1892, St. Gallen signed a state treaty with Austria in order to implement a joint correction to the Rhine
During the First World War , the canton was affected by the affair over the st. Gaulish Federal Councilor Arthur Hoffmann badly hit in 1917. Hoffmann had to resign due to strong pressure from western Switzerland. After the collapse of Austria-Hungary, an annexation of Vorarlberg to Switzerland was considered and strongly supported by St. Gallen. In 1919, however, the Allies decided that Vorarlberg should remain with Austria.
After the First World War
The textile industry has been the largest branch of the economy in the canton of St. Gallen since the beginning of industrialization . In 1801 the first spinning machines were set up in the buildings of the St. Gallen monastery, laying the foundation stone for later development at an early stage. With its textile industry, eastern Switzerland played a major role in Switzerland's economic rise. In St. Gallen, the focus was on embroidery , which recorded a high level of added value and required a lot of staff, since, in addition to machine embroidery in factories, hand embroidery survived as home work and in small businesses. Entire regions, especially Obertoggenburg and Werdenberg, were exclusively geared towards this craft. In 1912, embroidery was Switzerland's largest export sector. Around 45% of employees in the canton of St. Gallen (approx. 60,000 people) work in and around embroidery. The great demand for embroidery products arose because of the women's fashion of the Belle Epoche , which was entirely geared towards fine St. Gallen embroidery. The importance of the city of St. Gallen as an international fashion metropolis can still be seen today in the monumental main post office and the station building of the city, which were built between 1911 and 1915 shortly before the boom ended.
The First World War brought an abrupt end to the export of luxury goods such as embroidery. Then there were the changes in women's fashion and the global economic crisis. As a result, 55,000 embroidery employees lost their jobs by 1930. The strong dependence on the textile industry could not be compensated for in any other way, which is why over 50,000 people had to leave the canton to find work elsewhere. The population of the canton fell sharply and it was not until 1950 that the population of 1910 could be reached again.
The question of proportional suffrage , which was postponed when the fifth constitution was drafted, was decided after several attempts in 1911. Since then, the seats in the Grand Council have been distributed proportionally to the parties according to the number of votes, which means that smaller movements such as the Social Democratic Party have also been able to move into parliament.
The ongoing economic crisis of the interwar period pushed the party disputes between liberals and conservatives into the background. Instead, the focus was now on the contrast between the " citizens' bloc " and social democracy. The class struggle mood could only be resolved by the peace agreement in the metal and watch industry in 1937. As a border canton, St. Gallen was confronted with the refugee issue in particular during the Second World War . The exemplary behavior of police commander Paul Grüninger , who probably saved thousands of lives through his career, should be mentioned here as an example. Grüninger was dishonorably dismissed in 1939 and only rehabilitated posthumously in 1997. In the second half of the 20th century, too, several waves of refugees reached the canton. First in 1956 after the Hungarian uprising , then from Tibet (1961), Czechoslovakia (1968), Chile (1973), Indochina (1979–1981), Poland (1982) and finally Yugoslavia (after 1985). While these refugees were initially received very warmly and their work was willingly accepted, the mood gradually changed in the 1980s - "too many came, and the wrong ones came". When protests broke out in Bronschhofen, for example, against the temporary conversion of an army accommodation as a transit camp for “asylum seekers”, the federal government had to mobilize troops to protect the refugees from the population.
In 1972 women were given cantonal voting rights .
The sixth cantonal constitution of 2001 brought about the abolition of the districts and the new division of the canton into eight constituencies, which has been in effect since 2003:
See also
literature
- Wolfgang Göldi, Regula Steinhauser-Zimmermann, Alfred Zangger, Max Baumann, Max Lemmenmeier: St. Gallen (Canton). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Let it be St. Gallen! Revolution, Helvetic, mediation and founding of the cantons 1793–1803 . Office for Culture of the Canton of St. Gallen, St. Gallen 2003 ISBN 3-908048-42-7 .
- Sankt-Gallen history 2003 in nine volumes. Office for Culture of the Canton of St. Gallen, St. Gallen 2003, ISBN 3-908048-43-5 (complete edition).
Web links
- Federal Mediation Constitution of 1803
- Mediation constitution of the canton from 1803
- The current cantonal constitution (PDF file)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Online source at Wilnet.ch
- ↑ Leo Pfiffner, Leo: The constitutional struggle and the separation movement in the Sarganserland. Dissertation Friborg / Freiburg 1956.
- ^ Max Lemmermeier: Boom and medium-sized social order. In: Sankt Galler Geschichte 2003, Volume 8, Page 17.
- ↑ Meyers Enzyklopädisches Lexikon, 1977, Volume 20, p. 686.
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