County of Gruyeres

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Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor with haloes (1400-1806) .svg
Territory in the Holy Roman Empire
County of Gruyères (around 1100–1555)
coat of arms
The coat of arms of the Counts of Gruyères



Form of rule county
Ruler / government Count of Gruyeres
Today's region / s CH-FR, CH-BE


Reichskreis circular
Capitals / residences Gruyère FR
Denomination / Religions Roman Catholic , Protestant Reformed (1536: Saanenland )
Language / n German , French


Incorporated into Dissolution and sale in 1555 to: Bern (Landvogtei Saanen) and Freiburg ( Vogtei Gruyères )


The county of Gruyères was an important rulership in western Switzerland from the 11th century until 1555 and included the upper Saane valley . In 1555 it was divided into the two bailiwicks of Greyerz and Saanen. The heraldic animal of the Gruyère was the crane (French la grue ), which today also adorns the coat of arms of Gruyère FR .

Gruyères Castle

Position and extent

The core area of ​​the county of Gruyères comprised the entire upper Saane valley from the source of the Saane in the area of ​​the Sanetsch Pass to today's Lake Gruyère in the area of Broc and La Tour-de-Trême . The Jauntal was one of them. Thus, the county, whose center was always the town of Gruyères, formed a self-contained area surrounded by mountain ranges. The county was in the Kastlaneien divided Gruyères, Montsalvens and Vanel with the same castles. It was only later that Château-d'Œx and La Tour-de-Trême were raised to the status of Kastlanei.

history

The origins of the Counts of Gruyères are largely in the dark. In the 10th century, the later area of ​​the county of Gruyères belonged to the Kingdom of Burgundy . From the Gruyères region, the ancestors of the counts conquered the Pays-d'Enhaut and the Saanenland.

Wilhelm I, who was born in the second half of the 11th century, is documented as the first count of Gruyères. Around 1100 he took part in the Crusades with numerous young men from Gruyères . The prince-bishop of Lausanne was the spiritual leader of the Gruyères region . There were often disputes with the prince-bishops of Lausanne due to overstepping of competencies and claims to power, which ultimately led to Bulle , Riaz and Albeuve being spun off from the county of Gruyères at the end of the 12th century and placed directly under the rule of the prince-bishops. These expanded Bulle to the market place of the region, whereupon Gruyères temporarily lost its market rights in 1196.

The county of Gruyères, located in the foothills of the Alps, enjoyed extensive independence for a long time thanks to its seclusion until Count Rudolf II came under the suzerainty of Peter II of Savoy in 1246 . In the following period Gruyères was a Savoy fiefdom until 1536.

Since the 13th century, the Counts of Greyerz, together with other aristocrats, fought several conflicts against the cities of Bern and Freiburg. They therefore took part in the Laupenkrieg and the Grüningen war, in which the castle of La Tour-de-Trême was destroyed. In the first half of the 14th century, however, there was a reconciliation with Freiburg after Count Peter III. around 1330 had concluded a castle rights contract with this city. For the first time in 1401, a castle rights contract was settled , especially at the request of Saanen and also with the city of Bern. Shortly afterwards in 1404, when Anton became Count of Gruyères as a minor, the Savoy appointed an administrator. This was against a renewal of the castle rights treaties, which is why Bern then invaded the Saanenland and the Pays-d'Enhaut and destroyed the castles there. In 1407 the territory came back to the county of Gruyères in the peace treaty of Bern.

The county of Gruyères reached its peak around 1400, both in terms of the extent of the area and the power of the counts. They acquired property through marriages and purchases in various parts of western Switzerland, including Oron , Palézieux , Aubonne and Hauterive . During the Burgundian Wars , the Count had to allow the Confederates to march through against his will and fight on the side of Bern in Vaud.

However, the lavish lifestyle of the Counts of Gruyères gradually resulted in financial difficulties. So after 1500 different areas had to be sold: 1502 the rule Aigremont to Bern, 1504 the rule Jaun and 1553 the rule Corbières to Friborg. There was renewed tension with Bern when the city introduced the Reformation in the Vaudois areas of the county of Gruyères from 1536 .

From 1548 the county of Gruyères was a place facing the Confederation . Only a little later, on November 9, 1554, the bankruptcy of the county was announced at the Federal Diet in Baden because Count Michael was heavily in debt near Freiburg and Bern. Its creditors divided the county among themselves. The Saanenland and the Pays-d'Enhaut came to Bern and were henceforth combined in the Landvogtei Saanen, while Freiburg took over control of the rest of the (Friborg) parts of the county and established the Vogtei Greyerz. The Oron rule, which had been under the feudal rule of Bern since 1536, finally came to Bern in 1555 through purchase.

The Bailiwick of Gruyères was converted into a prefecture in 1798. After a few changes in the area around 1800, when the new Friborg canton constitution came into force in 1848, Bulle was designated the new capital of the Gruyère district .

List of the Counts of Gruyeres

During the 480 year rule of the Counts of Gruyères, 19 counts are historically documented:

  • 1075 (?) - 1115 Wilhelm I.
  • 1115-1136 Raymond
  • 1136–1157 Wilhelm II.
  • 1157–1196 Rudolf I.
  • 1196–1209 Peter I
    1196–1226 Rudolf II.
  • 1226–1270 Rudolf III.
  • 1270–1304 Peter II.
  • 1304-1342 Peter III.
  • 1342–1365 John of Montsalvens
  • 1365–1403 Rudolf IV.
  • 1403-1433 Anton
  • 1433–1475 Franz I.
  • 1475–1492 John III. from Montsalvens
  • 1492–1499 Franz II.
  • 1499–1500 Francis III.
  • 1500–1514 John I.
  • 1514–1539 John II.
  • 1539–1554 Michael (last count of Gruyères)

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