Canton of Waldstätten
The canton of Waldstätten was a canton in the Helvetic Republic that existed from 1798 to 1803.
When the cantons in the Helvetic Republic were redistributed in 1798, the cantons and republics of Central Switzerland were merged to form the canton of Waldstätten due to their negative attitude towards the unified French-style state. This also significantly reduced the political influence of central Switzerland, which according to the first draft for a cantonal division would have been significantly disproportionate in relation to the population, since each canton was allowed to have four members of the Swiss Senate. Instead of the 16 originally planned seats for the cantons of Zug (with Freiamt and Baden ), Schwyz (without March , with Gersau ),Unterwalden (Ob- and Nidwalden, Engelberg ) and Uri (without Leventina, with Ursern) therefore only met four senators for the canton of Waldstätten.
The name " Waldstätte " takes up the common name used by the original cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden since the Middle Ages.
The canton of Waldstätten consisted of the following territories, republics and cantons of the Old Confederation :
- Canton of Zug (later including parts of the Freiamt; now District of Zug )
- Canton Schwyz (without March and Höfe ; now divided into the 3 districts Schwyz, Arth and Einsiedeln )
- Canton Uri (without Leventina , with Ursern ; now divided into the 2 districts of Altdorf and Urseren [with Wassen])
- Canton of Nidwalden (now Stans district, with Engelberg)
- Canton Obwalden (now Sarnen District )
- Engelberg abbey (formerly part of the Confederation; now part of the Stans district )
- Republic of Gersau (formerly part of the Confederation; now part of the Schwyz district )
The main town of the canton of Waldstätte was initially Schwyz , and from May 1799 the town of Zug .
The canton of Waldstätten was divided up again in the later drafts of the Malmaison constitution and by the Second Helvetic Constitution of 1802. However, the canton was not finally abolished until the mediation act of 1803.
literature
- Beat Glaus: The canton of Waldstätten of the Helvetic Republic 1798–1801 (1803). In: Der Geschichtsfreund 170, 2017, pp. 112–151.
- Renato Morosoli: Waldstätten. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .