Oberallmeindkorporation Schwyz

Oberallmeind municipality 2016: “Brüggli” with board of directors and vote counter

the area of the Schwyz district largely coincides with that of the Oberallmeindkorporation

The Oberallmeindkorporation Schwyz (OAK) (short form: Oberallmeind) is a corporation in the canton of Schwyz . It is the largest corporation in Switzerland in terms of area and, at over 900 years, older than the Confederation.

history

In the 7th century at the latest, the Alemanni immigrated to the land at the foot of the two myths , where they created an economic and cultural area through generational clearing. New agricultural production techniques (cattle breeding, cheese production, alpine pasturing , three-field farming , etc.) led to the fact that they began - in addition to their private farm settlements - to use commons , alps, forests, paths, footbridges, waters and inhospitable land in joint work as common property on a cooperative basis .

Old country Schwyz

The Oberallmeind goes back to the medieval Schwyz settlement and field cooperative, which comprised the Schwyz , Steinen , Sattel , Rothenthurm , Alpthal , Muotatal , Riemenstaldnertal and Ybrig basins . The expansion of the settlement area took place in the sometimes armed tale dispute with the Einsiedeln monastery , which is historically documented as early as 1114 and in 1350 led to the demarcation of the boundary that is essentially still valid today. The area of the district of Schwyz with an area of 506.6 km² and 47,696 inhabitants (2001) coincides with the historical "Old State of Schwyz", the formerly sovereign state that combined with Uri and Unterwalden to form the Swiss Confederation.

Schwyz state seal from 1294

In Schwyz, the extension of the land and the administration and use of the common goods were not, as in many other places, with the church or villages, but with the Talgenossenschaft. The entire Schwyz basin consisted of the Schwyz parish, in which all settlers were united, such as the oldest state seals and emblems of the state of Schwyz (the oldest surviving seal of the Schwyz state seal was in use from 1294) with St. Martin, the patron of the Schwyz parish church , testify. The valley was able to maintain its independent position and the free disposal of the common goods all the time and did not lose it to noble or monastic rule. The area was divided into quarters to make it easier to administer the land. In the course of the 13th century the political community of the state of Schwyz developed from the settlement and economic community of the Talgenossen, which was directly imperial, gave itself a state municipality constitution, which elected state officials and judges and passed laws. All questions concerning the cooperative property were also discussed and decided by these authorities. The canton (state) and corporation (common cooperative) formed a unit. The political and administrative center of power in the country with its extensive common march has been located at the Landsgemeindeplatz in Ibach and in the town hall on the village square of Schwyz since the late Middle Ages.

Helvetic

The history of the Oberallmeind ran parallel to the history of the old country of Schwyz until the early 19th century . During the Helvetic (1798 to 1803) the sovereignty of the old country of Schwyz was destroyed and two Helvetic cantons (Waldstätten and Linth) were assigned. Because the mediation constitution of 1803 did not correct the centralized Helvetic order here, the old Schwyz began to restore the pre-revolutionary conditions. They managed to maintain their supremacy in the canton until 1830. In 1833, the federal assembly decreed the reunification of the parts of the canton, which had been separated for a short time. The constitution of 1833 ensured the equality of the state of Schwyz with the other six districts. The ongoing factual supremacy of the Schwyz district within the canton was not ended until the new constitution of February 18, 1848, which assigned the canton Schwyz and the clearly defined Schwyz district their place in the new federal state.

Separation of Oberallmeind and district / canton

In 1814 the Oberallmeind broke away from the political links with the district and the canton. After long years and many struggles, the modern Oberallmeindkorporation came into being. It was about the right to use the common goods, to summer the cattle on the alp, to cut wood and to cultivate lands. Until 1798 the peasants in the Landsgemeinde had alone decided over common questions. In 1816 a higher general court (today a board of directors) and the first independent ordinances were created. The low-lying Bodenallmeinden as well as some Alps were added to the Oberallmeindgenossen of the individual parishes as co-owners in 1882, in 1933 several forests were added.

Rights of residents

The residents of the state of Schwyz were not all legally equal. In addition to the country people , who were entitled to all political rights and to whom the co-operative property was open to use, there were those who had settled ( Beisassen ) and resident (inmates), who were excluded from the rural community and only had limited usage rights. When the survivors were admitted to land law in 1798 as "New Country People", they continued to be legally disadvantaged. After the upheavals of the Napoleonic era in 1814, the "old country people" decreed the separation of the Ober- and Unterallmeind from the district and canton of Schwyz.

The Landsgemeinde of the municipalities of the canton Schwyz from May 6th 1838 (Prügellandsgemeinde) on the Altmatt near Rothenturm had to be dissolved by the Landammann because there was a mass brawl. The reason for the dispute within the Oberallmeind corporation was a dispute between the claw men (small cattle owners) and the horn men (large cattle owners), because the latter the demand of the claw men for a change in the calculation of the cattle lift on the Alps according to a smaller unit (small cattle, claws) refused instead of cattle (horns). The Federal Diet intervened as an arbitration body and decided that another cantonal municipality had to be held under federal supervision.

Legal basis

The legal basis for the cooperating municipalities is set out in Article 75 of the Constitution of the Canton of Schwyz :

Corporations are independent corporations under cantonal public law. (Paragraph 1)
Their existence and self-administration within the framework of the legal system are guaranteed. (Paragraph 2)
They ensure the value of their goods and manage and use them independently. (Paragraph 3)

Statutes

Builder or Oberallmeind regulation from 1818

The predecessor of today's statutes came into force in 1818 as the building owner or Oberallmeind regulation . The comrades entitled to use were listed for the first time with their family names in the ordinance in 1894. In 1998 there were 97 names.

The statutes of January 1, 2006 regulate the name, seat, purpose, liability, membership, corporate benefits, organs and administrative and management principles. They have an appendix with ordinances on the sale of land parcels and the granting of building rights, forest and forestry, alpine pastures, wood chips and tourism.

Under the name "Oberallmeindkorporation Schwyz", there is a corporation under cantonal public law that emerged from the corporation families. It is formed by the corporation citizens.

The headquarters and meeting place of the corporation has always been in Schwyz. For a long time the Oberallmeind had its seat in the town hall. In 1926 they moved into the Oberallmeind administration building on Herrengasse in Schwyz, and in 1998 they moved into the new development in Brüöl.

The corporate property consists of land, securities, credit balances, rights and other assets.

The purpose of the corporation is to preserve the substance of the corporation and to use and increase it economically in the interests of the corporation. A corporation benefit can be paid out from the income and public, non-profit or charitable projects can be supported.

The organs of the corporation consist of Oberallmeindgemeinde, board of directors, managing directors and auditors.

Oberallmeindgemeinde

Oberallmeind community 2016, Ring Ibach

Oberallmeind parish 2016: traditional seating arrangements

Ring to Ibach

The supreme body of the Oberallmeind are the citizens of the corporation who meet every third Sunday in October for the OAK parish in the Ring near the rear bridge in Ibach and in bad weather in the Schwyz parish church. You choose the board of directors, decide on the invoice, budget and material proposals. They have the last word everywhere.

The first Oberallmeind Landsgemeinde took place in 1816. According to the traditional seating arrangement, the board of directors, managing directors and Oberallmeindschreiber sit in front on the «Landsgemeindbrüggli» and opposite in the ring sit clockwise:

Nidwässer district: Ingenbohl , Morschach , Riemenstalden
Steiner district: Steinen , Sattel , Steinerberg , Rothenthurm
New district: Urmiberg , Seewen , Alpthal
Arter district: Arth , Lauerz , Goldau
Muotathaler district: Muotathal , Illgau
Old quarter: Schwyz, Oberiberg , Unteriberg

The ring originally consisted of the Nidwässer (right of the Muota), Obwässer (left of the Muota), Steiner and Muotathaler districts . The Obwässerviertel was later divided into the old and new quarters and in 1353 (the time of the Morgarten War ) the Arther quarter was added. At that time Arth was able to keep his cooperative property and still forms the independent Unterallmeind Arth alongside Oberallmeind Schwyz.

In its forms of democratic debate and decision-making in the Ring von Ibach, the age-old state parish constitution of Schwyz lives on.

Board of Directors (formerly Oberallmeindgericht) and management

The eleven-member board of directors manages the corporation strategically (structures, business areas, long-term financing) and handles all business that is not assigned to another body of the corporation by the statutes or ordinances. When elected, the six “quarters” will be adequately represented. The president leads the council and community and represents the Oberallmeind externally. The bag master supervises the accounting. Since the 19th century, the Board of Directors has formed special commissions for certain branches of administration. These are currently the forestry, finance and alpine commissions.

The managing director is responsible for the operational management within the framework of the objectives and political guidelines set by the board of directors.

Membership, corporate citizenship, old country folk

An authorized member can only be a person who is descended from a corporation member who is registered in the membership register, who is a Swiss citizen, is at least eighteen years old and has a place of residence in the canton of Schwyz. In 1998 the Oberallmeind had 97 genders entitled to use (old country people) with around 14,000 people. The women were granted corporate citizenship in 1993 that they have been able to pass on since 2006.

As of March 31, 2017, the Oberallmeindkorporation Schwyz had 18,970 corporate citizens. The large number of annual registrations is in line with the mission statement.

Corporate good

At 24,000 hectares, the Oberallmeind property is larger than that of the canton of Zug and, according to the constitution of the canton of Schwyz, it is obliged to preserve its holdings undiminished. As stated in the Oberallmeind Ordinance, she may “not squander” her property. The four business areas of Oberallmeind are forest (forestry), alpine (alpine economy), real estate / real estate and energy. In 2005, Oberallmeind had 80 jobs and around 9,031 hectares of forest, 8,000 hectares of productive alpine area with 162 Alps and real estate. In 2006, OAK Energie AG was founded to generate energy from wood and other local energy sources.

Stones, water, energy, wood

The natural resources in the Oberallmeind area serve as quarries for the production of building materials ( Kibag ), as drinking water for numerous communities and for energy generation with water and wood chips (Electricity Works of the District of Schwyz (EBS), OAK Energie AG). The forestry company of the Oberallmeindkorporation Schwyz produces not only energy wood (wood chips) but also larger quantities of logs and mainly supplies Swiss sawmills within a radius of 30 kilometers with Swiss wood. This secures many jobs in the region and the Swiss wood industry.

Buildings and developments

Originally, the state of Schwyz took care of the expansion of the basic transport network. When goods were separated between the canton and the corporations in 1836, Oberallmeind took on the maintenance of a large part of the traditional route network and gradually expanded it to meet the needs of the times (Holzegg, Ibergeregg, Pragelstrasse, etc.). In order to protect the habitat from the forces of nature, Oberallmeind maintains the mountain forest, as a member of over 40 Wuhr corporations, builds constructions for torrents, avalanche barriers and afforestation (Zinglen, Schwarzstock, Bisistal , etc.).

nature and landscape

Through the centuries of use of the meadows and the care of the forests, the agricultural areas and mountain forests have retained their natural character. The litter structure typical of the state of Schwyz gives it a special character. The Oberallmeind promotes the balance between the interests of agriculture and nature conservation, the protection of rare biotopes ( Bödmerenwald , Hochmoor von Rothenthurm), the typical landscape and the habitats of wild animals.

tourism

The landscape favors summer and winter tourism. The ancient paths became hiking trails, such as the Jakobsweg from Alpthal via Haggen to Schwyz or the old Schwyzerweg between Ibergeregg and Änglisfang. Nature lovers and sections of the SAC built huts in the ski touring, hiking and climbing areas on the Stoos , Lidernen, Glattalp , Ibergeregg and Furggelen . In 1968 the Hoch-Ybrig ski area was opened up. As a landowner and through financial investments, the Oberallmeind is intertwined with many of these tourism infrastructures.

Alpine ordinance

For the use of the upwelling Alps, the guiding principle is decisive, which also determines the pre- and post-statute. The modalities of use of the litter, hay or zinc parts (wild hay fields) are based on the special contractual agreements or on tradition and practice. Every alpine manager is obliged to sustainably manage the alp that has been assigned to him for use, which also includes the agreed work for the proper operation and maintenance of the alp. The OAK can determine professionally suitable Alpine bailiffs for the Alps or Alpine regions .

Comrades

Early on, the state of Schwyz entrusted the administration of most of the land and the planting land to the village communities, which entrusted their bodies (e.g. church councils, community councils) with this. The Oberallmeind-Genossamen (association of all Oberallmeind-Comrades of the individual parishes) came into being in 1882 by accepting the partition project. This gave rise to the comrades in all the communities in the Schwyz district. The comrades received the low-lying Bodenallmeinden up to "middle mountain" (approx. 800 m above sea level) as property. With that the comrades broke away from the communities and exist today as independent legal entities with their own authorities and statutes. The high and middle Alps remained as a whole and were considered a property of the Oberallmeindkorporation. The distribution of the forests has been waived for the time being. In the years 1909 and 1933, there were smaller areas of separation (forests). Since then, the division of the Oberallmeind has been completed.

Oberallmeindgebiet

After a total of 2717 ha of alpine area was given to the comrades in addition to the Bodenallmeinden, 40 alpine areas with 13,209 ha remained as indivisible Oberallmeind area. 6500 ha of this are alpine areas, 2,800 ha of pasture / reed areas and 3909 unproductive land. The 40 Alps consist of 18 cow and 18 cattle Allmeinden as well as four high Alps. An average of 7500 head of cattle and 5000 sheep are summered on these Alps. The Oberallmeind's most interesting source of income is the 9000 hectare forest with its 8000 hectare productive area.

Shared use as an object of scientific research

In the 1980s, shared use was the subject of scientific research by Elinor Ostrom, who later won the Nobel Prize for Economics . After her studies in the Valais community of Törbel and some other communities around the world, Ostrom put forward the thesis that collective property manages natural resources better in the long term than private or state property. Ostrom presented the results of the studies in her main work, Governing the Commons .

The seven principles recognized by Ostrom for successful solutions to local commons problems also apply to the Oberallmeind: There are clearly defined boundaries (area, membership) and an effective exclusion of external unauthorized persons. The appropriation and provision of commons resources are adapted to local conditions. The users can take part in agreements to change the rules for the purpose of adapting to changing conditions (Oberallmeindgemeinde). Compliance with the rules is monitored (Board of Directors, Alpvogt). There are graduated sanction options in the event of rule violations (loss of membership, compensation for damages by hackers). There are mechanisms for resolving conflicts (public courts, federal dietary statute in the horn and claw dispute ). The self-determination of the community is recognized by higher government agencies (cantonal constitution).

literature

Josef Wiget: Oberallmeind. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Erwin Horat: horn and claw dispute. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Hans Stadler-Planzer: The Oberallmeindkorporation Schwyz . Oberallmeindkorporation Schwyz, Schwyz 2002, DNB 969888120 .
Elinor Ostrom: Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1990, ISBN 0-521-40599-8 . (on-line)
- German: The constitution of the commons: beyond state and market. Mohr, Tübingen 1999, ISBN 3-16-146916-X .
Andreas Meyerhans: The Canton of Schwyz 1798 to 1848 . Verlag Schwyzer Hefte, Schwyz 1998, ISBN 3-909102-34-4 .
Paul Betschart: Theodor Ab-Yberg and the politics of Schwyz in the years 1830–1848 . Einsiedler Anzeiger printing house, Einsiedeln 1955.
Josef Wiget: The Canton of Schwyz in the Sonderbund 1847 . Announcements of the Historical Association of the Canton Schwyz 89/1997.
Paul Wyrsch: Landammann Nazar von Reding-Biberegg (1806–1865), builder of the Canton of Schwyz . Announcements from the Historical Association of the Canton of Schwyz 69/1977.