Highest mark

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The Höchst Mark is a historical territory on Lake Constance , which today is divided into the three countries Vorarlberg (Austria), St. Gallen and Appenzell Ausserrhoden (both Switzerland).

Geographical expansion

The Höchst Mark represented a double courtyard on both sides of the Rhine and was part of the Duchy of Swabia .

The core of the territory was made up of the two farms St. Johann-Höchst (today's Höchst in Vorarlberg) and St. Margrethen-Höchst (today's St. Margrethen in St. Gallen). There were also some smaller settlements and farms, including Walzenhausen , Gaißau , Altenrhein SG and Fußach .

history

In the year 881 there is a first documentary mention as "Hostetharro marcha" (highest mark). Emperor Otto II handed the mark over to the St. Gallen monastery in 980 . Fortifications were also built during this time. Part of the keep from Grimmenstein Castle has been preserved.

In 1375 the Höchst Mark came under Habsburg rule, but at the same time the influence of the St. Gallen monastery persisted. In the course of the Swabian War and the detachment of the Confederation from the Holy Roman Empire , the individual farms grew more and more apart and ultimately separated.

literature

  • Helmut Tiefenthaler: Paths into the past in the Alpine Rhine Valley , Tyrolia Verlag