Republic of Gersau

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Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor with haloes (1400-1806) .svg
Territory in the Holy Roman Empire
Republic of Gersau (1390 / 1433–1798, 1814–1817)
coat of arms
The coat of arms of the Free Republic of Gersau
map
Map of Gersau District 2007.png
Map of Gersau within Switzerland
Alternative names Altfrye Republic of Gersau
Arose from 1332: Alliance with Lucerne , Uri , Schwyz and Unterwalden
Form of rule republic
Ruler / government Landammann
Today's region / s Canton of Schwyz


Reichskreis circular
Capitals / residences Gersau
Denomination / Religions Roman Catholic
Language / n German
surface 23.7 km²


Incorporated into 1798: Canton Waldstätten
1803: Canton Schwyz
1814–17: Republic of Gersau
from 1818: Canton Schwyz


The Republic of Gersau ( called “altfrye Republic of Gersau” in the early modern times ) was an independent small state in the area of ​​today's Canton of Schwyz in Switzerland . It was created in 1390 when the residents of the village of Gersau bought themselves free from the rule by bailiffs from Lucerne and from then on exercised their rights themselves. In 1433 they were officially granted the status of a direct imperial free state in the Holy Roman Empire by Emperor Sigismund . After that, Gersau took care of its internal affairs for over three and a half centuries. Within the Confederation , the republic was a place that was turned towards and under the protection and patronage of the four forest sites (Lucerne, Schwyz, Uri and Unterwalden ).

With the French invasion of 1798, the republic fell and was assigned to the canton of Waldstätten during the time of the Helvetic Republic . The mediation constitution decreed by Napoleon Bonaparte attached the village to the canton of Schwyz. After the end of Napoleon's rule, the residents again proclaimed the Republic of Gersau in 1814, which was recognized by the old umbrella towns. Based on the provisions of the Congress of Vienna and the federal treaty of 1815, the canton of Schwyz sought to incorporate the 23.7 square kilometer republic , located between the southern slope of the Rigi and the northern shore of Lake Lucerne . This was achieved in 1817 with the approval of the Diet . On January 1, 1818, the republic was dissolved; their area today forms the Gersau district .

history

Emergence

Map of the Swiss Confederation in 1536 (the Republic of Gersau in the middle of the picture, outlined in purple)

Gersau belonged to the founding estate of the Muri monastery in Aargau (first mention of Gersouwe in 1064 in the subsequently created Acta Murensia ). Patrons of the village were the previous owners, the Counts of Lenzburg , after their extinction in 1173, the Counts of Habsburg (who in turn were the founders of the monastery). The Habsburg Urbar , created around 1300, designated Gersau as a pledged place. After the death of the pledgee Gelwan Kaverschin, the village fell back to the Habsburgs in 1332. This, in turn, pledged on Nov. 15, 1333 advocacies on two Junker in Lucerne , Rudolf von Freienbach and Jost von Moos . This secured a large loan that Rudolf's brother Heinrich (who was pastor at St. Stephen's Cathedral at the time ) had granted to the Austrian Duke Albrecht II .

A year earlier, on November 7, 1332, Gersau had been included in the alliance treaty between the city of Lucerne and Uri , Schwyz and Unterwalden , without being mentioned by name. This failure was remedied on August 31, 1359 with a formal federal letter. In it the "respectable people, the good neighbors and fellow Kilchs of Gersau and Weggis " confirmed the content of the earlier alliance. A few years after the pledge, Jost von Moos came into the sole possession of the bailiff's rights. His son Heinrich died in 1386 in the battle of Sempach . Four years later, on June 3, 1390, the village and his siblings Johann, Peter and Agnes agreed to redeem the pledge and thereby buy themselves out. For 690 pounds pfennigs Gersau took over the rights of the bailiwick, so that the villagers as free country people could exercise their tax rights and jurisdiction themselves.

After Lucerne came into the possession of Weggis and Vitznau through purchase in 1380 , the city tried to bring neighboring Gersau under its control. The people of Lucerne repeatedly demanded that the federal sworn be renewed in their city. Gersau refused to do this several times and relied on old customary law . Arbitration courts passed judgments in favor of Gersau in 1395, 1417 and 1430, which saved the village from Lucerne's grasp. The Gersau people strove to have their independence confirmed by the highest authorities. Emperor Sigismund took part in the Council of Basel from October 1433 to the beginning of 1434 . An embassy traveled to Basel and on October 31, 1433 received a certificate certified with the imperial seal. In it, Sigismund confirmed all the privileges, freedoms and rights of the village. Gersau was thus officially a direct imperial free state in the Holy Roman Empire . The document is now kept in Schwyz in the Federal Letter Museum.

State organization

After the ransom in 1390, the Gersau church members were largely free to shape their state system. On June 28, 1436, they issued the «court law», which regulated the traditional political and criminal law foundations of the small state. The "marriage law" enacted on the same day was the civil law that was binding for Gersau .

The Landsgemeinde was the highest political power . All citizens over the age of 14 (from the 17th century on from the age of 16) were obliged to participate under threat of punishment. The most important regional parishes took place on the first Sunday in May: legislative changes were discussed and passed, and elections were held, and the public officials and young citizens were sworn in. The rural communities in autumn concerned the use of alpine pastures and forests as well as the maintenance of the jointly constructed buildings. The rural parishes on Whit Monday, on which the citizens organized the organization of the market ships to Lucerne, were less important.

The Landsgemeinde elected a nine-member council for two years, consisting of the Landammann (head of the government), the governor (deputy) and seven other councilors. There was compulsory office; an elected person had to exercise the office. The first Landammann was Heinrich Camenzind, who was elected to this office in 1394. Of the 113 incumbents to 1798 60 came from the sex of Camenzind. Other Landammans were Nigg (14), Rigert (12), Schöchlin (12), Baggenstoss (6), Küttel (4) and Müller (3). The Landammann was at the same time governor and thus supreme warlord. Other important offices were Landessäckelmeister , Landesfähnrich (leader of the war team), Landschreiber and Landesweibel .

Gersau held the high level of jurisdiction and owned a place of execution with a gallows . The nine-member council also acted as a court; So there was no separation of powers . If a plaintiff or defendant disagreed with a judgment, he could appeal twice in an extended court. The last instance was a judicial parish before all citizens, in which the relatives of both parties were not allowed to participate. If a church member did not accept the final judgment, he could be expelled from the country.

Town hall of Gersau

A special feature is the «Genossame», the usage cooperative ( corporation ) of all long-established citizens, which from 1390 jointly administered the former feudal and bailiff's property. Later, the entire community, church, beneficiary and foundation assets as well as the commons were added. The comrades received sales proceeds, interest on capital, ohm money and other indirect taxes. It used it to finance church and benefice houses, the maintenance of paths and footbridges, police and women services, fire extinguishers and other expenses. For centuries there was practically no difference between the comrades and the community; It was not until 1838 that responsibilities and possessions were clearly divided.

Relationship with the confederates

Under constitutional law, the «altfrye Republic of Gersau» had the status of a place close to the Swiss Confederation . It had a close contractual relationship with the four forest sites , but was not an equal member. Likewise, it did not enter into any contractual obligations towards other parts of the Confederation. The four alliance partners took on the protection and patronage, while Gersau in return undertook to provide military assistance in the service of the Confederates. The small war team at the beginning numbered 24 men, from the 18th century 54 men. The bidding was mostly made by Schwyz or Lucerne. On the side of the umbrella locations, Gersau soldiers fought in the Battle of Sempach in 1386 (where they captured the banner of the Counts of Hohenzollern ), in 1440 in the Old Zurich War , from 1474 to 1477 in the Burgundy Wars , in 1531 in the Battle of Kappel , in 1653 in the Peasants' War and in 1712 in the Toggenburg War .

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Gersau was a popular meeting place for meetings of the five Catholic towns of Lucerne, Schwyz, Uri, Unterwalden and Zug , especially during the time of the Counter Reformation . The first Gersau Diet took place on September 30, 1575. By April 1687, the five towns met a total of 87 times in Gersau, but never again after that. It is not known why there were no further meetings here. This situation did not change when Gersau built a stately town hall in 1745, which would have provided a worthy representative setting. Gersau had its own court, but this was limited to internal matters. Civil disputes between Gersauers and country people from other places as well as border disputes were handled by the umbrella locations. This showed that Gersau was not completely independent, but was in a certain dependent relationship.

Fall of the Republic

View of Gersau on an engraving (c. 1780)

Towards the end of the 18th century, the "altfrye Republic of Gersau" seemed at least outwardly to be a haven of equality and freedom, but the social life of the inhabitants was restricted by numerous religious and church obligations and strict police regulations. Besides the alpine and agriculture and fisheries, only the from 1730 offered silk processing in homework earning potential. The village could only be reached by water across Lake Lucerne (a road connection has only existed since 1867) and thus isolated from the neighborhood. The ideals of the Enlightenment and the events of the French Revolution received little attention. Civil rights possessed only the old-timers, but not the numerous add-drawn tenants .

In April 1798 Schwyz and Unterwalden warned of the French invasion , whereupon Gersau called up all men capable of armed forces. After the two places asked for help, the company marched towards the Brünig Pass . When Lucerne, Schwyz and Zug surrendered and adopted the constitution of the new Helvetic Republic , they returned without fighting. In the meantime, Gersau set up guard posts and unceremoniously granted the rear occupants citizenship, provided that they undertook military service. Landammann and governor traveled in vain to Zurich to see the French General Alexis von Schauenburg in order to save their independence. In May 1798, the republic was dissolved and Gersau was now an ordinary municipality that belonged to the Schwyz district in the canton of Waldstätten .

On August 26, 1798, the people of Gersau reluctantly took their citizens' oath on the constitution of the Helvetic Republic. On September 17th, two French companies billeted themselves in Gersau and disarmed the war team, as well as confiscating the national flag and the treasure chest. After four years the troops withdrew, after which the old traditions found their way back into the village. The Municipal Assembly rejected on 9 June 1802, the second Helvetic Constitution unanimously, and called explicitly to the ancient liberties. On August 27, a rural parish again determined a war team by drawing lots. With the mediation constitution dictated by Napoleon, this rebellious phase ended after a few months, because Gersau was assigned as a district to the canton of Schwyz on February 19, 1803 .

Temporary resurgence

In view of Napoleon's defeats, the Diet declared the Mediation Constitution to be repealed on December 29, 1813, and the Cantonal Council of Schwyz repealed the Constitution on January 19, 1814. The Gersauer Landsgemeinde decided unanimously on February 2nd to put the pre-revolutionary constitution into force and to place itself again under the patronage of the four forest sites. Unterwalden recognized the “altfrye republic” on February 3rd, Schwyz on March 8th, Uri on April 6th and the canton of Lucerne on April 22nd. The solemn constitution took place on April 24th in the parish church. After Napoleon landed again in France and the rule of the Hundred Days had begun, Schwyz asked on March 23, 1815 "the dear neighbors and allies of Gersau" to provide a contingent of 24 soldiers. Half of them marched with a hunter company to Pontarlier , but with Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo , the last deployment of the Gersau war team had already ended.

During the deliberations on the federal treaty , which had begun in the meantime, to establish the Confederation as a loose confederation of 22 independent cantons, the existence of the Republic of Gersau was not even noticed. When the federal treaty came into force on August 7, 1815, it was not mentioned. The republic was also not mentioned in the declaration of the great powers at the Congress of Vienna on November 20, 1815, which secured the continued existence of the Confederation. Schwyz increasingly felt this situation to be untenable and asked in a letter on April 11, 1816, that Gersau should join in again. The Gersauers agreed to negotiate, but these were unsuccessful. A Schwyz letter of October 12, 1816, for the first time explicitly drew attention to the declaration of the Congress of Vienna, which guaranteed the territory of the cantons of 1813. Schwyz therefore invoked overriding law and ignored the hasty recognition of 1814.

In February 1817 Gersau tried again to maintain his independence, but did not succeed with proposals for partial autonomy - in which Schwyz would have represented the republic in the diets. When Schwyz announced that the matter would be brought up in front of the local parish, Gersau sought support from the other umbrella locations. They refused to let the Schwyzer rush forward, with Uri being particularly indignant, and invited to a conference in Stans . But three days before this should have taken place, the Schwyzer Landsgemeinde decided on April 27th in Ibach to consider Gersau as part of the canton. In the justification it was claimed that the republic had joined the canton in 1803 "of its own accord" and that the process at that time was not a "work of Bonapartian mediation".

While Gersau asked again for help with the umbrella locations, Schwyz came to the canton of Bern , the suburb of that time , on May 30, 1817 , to have the decision of the local community confirmed by the next assembly. Gersau was only informed of this step three weeks later. Schwyz stepped up the pressure, filed tax claims for the last two years and informed the other cantons of the commune decision. The letters of reply suggest that the resurgence of the Gersau Republic was not even known in many places. Four ambassadors from Gersau traveled to Bern to attend the meeting . When they got there on the afternoon of July 22nd, they learned that the meeting had already taken place that morning. On the basis of the Congress of Vienna and the federal treaty , it was decided by 13½ to 8½ professional votes to unite Gersau with Schwyz.

The Gersauer Landsgemeinde on November 16, 1817 accepted this resolution. In the negotiations that followed, Gersau's demand for equal use of the common land in the Schwyz district was categorically rejected. As compensation, the community was awarded the status of a district, which was associated with more prestige. In addition, all debt claims were invalid. On December 27, the last Gersauer Landsgemeinde accepted the Unification Treaty, which came into force on January 1, 1818. The Schwyzer Landsgemeinde took until April 28th to ratify it.

External impact

The independent position of the small, relatively isolated republic aroused not only envy but also the ridicule of its neighbors. Similar foolish stories were told about the Gersauer as about the Schildbürger . Such were already handed down in 1513 in the Lucerne Chronicle by Diebold Schilling the Younger . The most famous story dates back to 1798: Before the French invaded, the people of Gersau sank their church bells in the lake so that they would not be stolen. In order to find the bells again after the departure, they marked the place with a clearly visible notch on the edge of the ship and returned to the bank. In central Switzerland , "gersauer" is still an expression for thoughtless, cumbersome, but also fun acting.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. P. 18.
  2. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. Pp. 22-23.
  3. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. Pp. 25, 27.
  4. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. P. 23.
  5. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. P. 24.
  6. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. Pp. 27, 29-30.
  7. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. Pp. 30-31.
  8. ↑ a b Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss History. P. 52.
  9. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. P. 47.
  10. ↑ Müller: Gersau at the time of the Helvetic Republic 1798–1803. P. 69.
  11. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. P. 49.
  12. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. Pp. 49-50.
  13. ^ Albert Müller: Gersau. In: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz ., Accessed on April 3, 2018.
  14. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. P. 54.
  15. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. Pp. 54-55.
  16. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. P. 55.
  17. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. P. 84.
  18. ↑ Müller: Gersau at the time of the Helvetic Republic 1798–1803. P. 70.
  19. ↑ Müller: Gersau at the time of the Helvetic Republic 1798–1803. Pp. 71-72.
  20. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. Pp. 86-88.
  21. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. Pp. 90-92.
  22. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. Pp. 92-94.
  23. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. P. 96.
  24. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. Pp. 94-95.
  25. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. P. 97.
  26. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. Pp. 98-101.
  27. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. Pp. 103-104.
  28. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. Pp. 105-107.
  29. ^ Müller: Gersau - Unique in Swiss history. Pp. 17-18.
  30. ^ Adi Kälin: History of Gersau: A free republic in the middle of the Confederation. Neue Zürcher Zeitung , April 19, 2013, accessed on January 18, 2017 .