Days of horror in Nidwalden
Map of the Helvetic Revolution 1798
| date | September 9, 1798 |
|---|---|
| place | Canton of Nidwalden , Switzerland |
| output | French victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
General Schauenburg |
Council of war |
| Troop strength | |
| 10,000 men | 1,600 men |
| losses | |
|
100–150 dead and wounded (in legend 2000) |
435 dead |
Lengnau · Grenchen · Ruhsel · Büren · Col de la Croix · St. Niklaus · Fraubrunnen · Neuenegg · Grauholz · Hägglingen · Wollerau · Stucketen-Chäppeli · Schindellegi · Rothenthurm · Morgarten · Pfyn I · Nidwalden · Pfyn II
The days of horror in Nidwalden , also known as the Nidwalden uprising or attack in Nidwalden , were a military conflict between Nidwalden and France during the French invasion . They found from 7. - 9. September 1798 held in Nidwalden.
prehistory
Under the influence of the French invasion, the old governments and constitutions were overthrown in most areas of the Old Confederation in January and February 1798 . After the fall of Bern on March 5, there was hardly any resistance to the introduction of the French-supported Swiss standard constitution for the Swiss Confederation. In Aarau, twelve cantons then constituted the Helvetic Republic on April 12, 1798 under pressure from France . The rural community cantons of Uri , Schwyz , Nidwalden , Glarus and Zug as well as the areas facing Wallis and Drei Bünde were not represented . They wanted to hold on to cantonal sovereignty at all costs and were bothered by the liberal order of the new constitution, especially religious freedom ; on the other hand, the Helvetian constitution stipulated that church services would be under police supervision and that sermons would be censored if necessary .
It was not until the end of April 1798 that the five cantons, under the leadership of Alois von Reding from Schwyz, set up an army of around 10,000 men, consisting of Schwyz, Urners and Unterwaldners. Between April 30th and May 3rd, Reding's troops were able to hold their ground successfully against the 12,000 French. On May 3, however, Reding was also forced to conclude an armistice with the French General Schauenburg . In view of the military superiority of the French, the rural communities of central Switzerland decided to adopt the constitution of the Helvetic Republic . As a punishment for the resistance, the central Swiss cantons were combined to form the new Helvetic canton Waldstätte and did not remain as independent cantons as originally intended. As the most important consequence of this measure, the weight of the votes of the conservative Central Switzerland in the Senate, the second chamber of the Helvetic Republic, was drastically reduced. Only after the subjugation of central Switzerland did the Valais rise unsuccessfully against France on May 17th .
On August 29th, at the instigation of the Capuchin Father Paul Styger, the Nidwalden parish rejected the introduction of the Helvetic Constitution and its incorporation into the new canton of Waldstätte. He did not want to allow "the bloodthirsty Franconian Gesslers to snatch the precious gem of religion and freedom from them [the Nidwalden]." The main reason for the resistance of the Landsgemeinde was the propaganda of the conservative circles, especially the Catholic clergy. She referred in particular to the oath of allegiance to the Helvetian constitution, in which the traditional invocation of God was absent, as well as the freedom of establishment and religion anchored in the constitution, and aroused fears of the collapse of the traditional Catholic faith. Furthermore, emigrants gave the Nidwalden hopes of an Austrian intervention in favor of central Switzerland if France or the Helvetic Republic were to take military action against central Switzerland.
The Directory of the Helvetic Republic decided to seek help from France and immediately intervene militarily in Nidwalden to prevent the uprising from spreading to the rest of the Helvetic Republic.
course
On September 9, around 10,000 French under General Balthasar Alexis Henri Antoine von Schauenburg attacked Nidwalden from all directions. From a military point of view, resistance was pointless. The people of Nidwalden were nevertheless driven into battle by the Catholic clergy, hoping that this would trigger the promised Austrian intervention. About 1600 Nidwalden fought against the troops of Schauenburg. On the Kehrsitenberg, 30 people from Nidwalden managed to keep 800 French at bay for about five hours, but Nidwalden's complete defeat was inevitable. The desperate resistance made a great impression on the French General Schauenburg; he reported on the “unbelievable tenacity of these people, whose boldness went to frenzy. People hit each other with clubs. You crushed yourself with pieces of rock. "
The dogged resistance of the Nidwalden had the consequence that the French troops, contrary to the instructions of their leader, Schauenburg, responded with attacks on the civilian population. Large parts of Nidwalden were looted and burned. The towns of Ennetmoos , Stansstad and Buochs were completely destroyed, the main town of Stans partially.
consequences
The battle and the subsequent massacre claimed around 400 victims from Nidwalden, including over a hundred women and 26 children. Legend has it that the French lost around 2,000 men in this battle, but they were probably significantly fewer (100–150). Numerous villages and hamlets of Nidwalden were devastated, 600 houses and many churches burned down, and the people looted. The misery of the survivors was so great that even the opponents, under the war-experienced hardened Schauenburg, were overwhelmed by pity for the disaster and distributed food among the population, financed by the general's victory fee of 60,000 francs at the time. The Directory in Paris levied a voluntary "love tax", and there was great solidarity in the other cantons. Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was commissioned to build a home for war orphans in Stans.
Schauenburg took the support of Nidwalden from Schwyz and Uri as an opportunity to occupy and disarm the rest of central Switzerland. The Nidwalden had to compete on the main square in Stans, where they had to take the oath under a freedom tree. The spear and sword were removed from the Winkelried figure, symbol of resistance (→ Battle of Sempach ). The uprising in Nidwalden became known far beyond the borders of Switzerland because of the reports about the suffering of the Nidwalden population; the fighters were celebrated as heroes in the coalition countries hostile to France.
literature
- Peter Dürrenmatt : Swiss History. Swiss publishing house, Zurich 1963.
- Karin Schleifer-Stöckli: Nidwalden, Section 4.1.1 - From Helvetic to the Federal State (1798–1848). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Hansjakob Achermann: All way. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Franz Joseph Gut: The raid in Nidwalden in 1798 in its causes and consequences. Stans 1862 (digitized at Google Books and at the Bavarian State Library ).