Catholicism in the Canton of Solothurn

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The history of Catholicism in the Canton of Solothurn goes back to late antiquity .

At that time, parts of the area belonged to the dioceses of Aventicum and Augusta Raurica , which were already installed in the late Roman period. However, the population of this region also tended towards paganism for a long time . That is why missionaries like Fridolin von Säckingen (in Schwarzbubenland ) and Columban von Luxeuil (in Gäu ) are said to have preached here. Simple wooden chapels have stood in the region since at least the 7th century, documented with certainty in Biberist , Oberdorf SO , Schönenwerd and Zuchwil in the 8th century, in Solothurn in the 9th century. The patron saint of St. Michaels Chapel in Oberdorf points back to the migration period, which is an indication , but not conclusive evidence, that it was already there at that time.

Since the early Middle Ages , the cantonal area was then divided into three dioceses: the diocese of Basel , which included the area east of the Siggern and the northern part of today's canton, the diocese of Lausanne with the area west of the Siggern and the diocese of Constance with the area south of the Aare . It should be emphasized that these dioceses naturally extended far beyond what is today the canton. Its borders followed old Gau - or sometimes even principality borders. This constellation was preserved until the early modern period .

In the Middle Ages, several ecclesiastical manors emerged in the canton , in the first place the Solothurn St. Ursenstift and the Schönenwerd Monastery .

The Reformation also marked a major break in the history of the Church in Solothurn . It only took hold when the neighboring cantons of Bern and Basel had definitely changed to the new faith. Around half of the canton's population had been reformed by 1529; in the capital Solothurn, the councils felt compelled to leave the Franciscan church to the Bern reformer Berchtold Haller to preach. After the defeat of the Reformed in the Battle of Kappel , a re-Catholicisation began in the canton, which, however, was unable to encompass the Bucheggberg , which was under the protection of Bern . The decisive battle of retreat of the Reformed within the Solothurn city walls was prevented at the last moment by the mayor Niklaus Wengi without bloodshed. Testimony of the Counter - Reformation that followed here was z. B. the appearance of the Jesuits .

In 1828 Solothurn became the seat of the diocese of Basel. As a result, the city later largely became the center of the Swiss culture war between Catholicism and liberalism. It was conducted quite violently here, in the form, for example, that the bishop was expelled from the canton by the police and had to settle in the canton of Lucerne . In addition, the St. Ursenstift was officially dissolved and exponents from Solothurn played a key role in the separation of the Christian Catholic Church from Roman Catholicism. In the canton of Solothurn, a special regulation was also introduced with regard to the election of the bishop, who resides here after a while, which is still valid today: the cantonal government may reject any candidate appointed by the Pope if it is not acceptable.

Today the entire canton is only part of the diocese of Basel.

literature

  • Bruno Amiet : From the history of Solothurn , 1943
  • Thomas Wallner: History of the Canton of Solothurn , Volume 4.1