Weesen

Weesen

State :	Switzerland Switzerland
Canton :	Canton of St. Gallen Canton of St. Gallen (SG)
Constituency :	Sea gasterw
BFS no. :	3316i1 f3 f4
Postal code :	8872
Coordinates :	726 035 / 221 595 coordinates: 47 ° 8 '0 " N , 9 ° 6' 0" O ; CH1903: 726035 / two hundred and twenty-one thousand five hundred ninety-five47.133329 9.100003 423
Height :	423 m above sea level M.
Height range :	418–1206 m above sea level M.
Area :	5.40 km²
Residents:	1724 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	319 inhabitants per km²
Website:	www.weesen.ch
Weesen
Location of the municipality
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Aerial photo from 100 m by Walter Mittelholzer (1923)

Weesen is a municipality in the canton of St. Gallen . It is located in the constituency of See-Gaster on the west bank of the Walensee on the Linth Canal .

geography

The municipality extends to the west almost to Ziegelbrücke , but the eastern district of Fli already belongs to the municipality of Amden .

history

There are several old settlements in today's municipality. To the east, the former Oberweesen farm on the Autis or Othis plain with the Catholic parish church of St. Martin, along the Gmähl hill, the former Weesen area with the harbor, the Dominican monastery “Maria Zuflucht” and the urban centers of Bühl, Widen, im Village and Lochbrunnen and in the west until 1388 the town of Niederweesen at the outlet of the Maag from the Walensee. The bridge settlement Biasche was originally located on the left side of the Maag and thus belonged to the canton of Glarus. The appearance of the whole community was significantly changed by the Linth correction 1807–1823. The Maag river lost its function as a link between Lake Walen and Linth and was replaced by the Linth Canal, which connects Lake Walen and Lake Zurich and added a large piece of land southwest of the old patch to the municipality. The lake level of the Walensee was lowered by approx. 5 m, whereby a wide shore zone with new land was created between the old patch of Weesen and the lake and so the old settlement cores lost their original shore location.

The earliest archaeological finds in the municipality date from the Latène period . A permanent settlement was presumably established during the time of Roman rule. In 1962 the remains of a Gallo-Roman temple were discovered on Hüttenböschen, a hill on the left side of the Linth Canal, which formerly formed an island in the lake. In the 6th century, the settlement began by the Alemanni and the Germanization of the original population and the field names, some of which reveal Roman origins. Weesen, however, still belonged to Churrätien and remained subordinate to the Diocese of Chur in church matters until 1823/47. In the Rhaetian Imperial Surbar of 824/43, the existence of a basilica and a port that belonged to the Pfäfers monastery is documented for the first time, but the name Weesen is first mentioned on August 28, 1232 in a document that bartered the monastery with members of the The noble families of Kyburg and Rapperswiler are recorded in "Oberwesin" and "Niderwesin". The Rapperswiler founded the convent in 1259.

In the Middle Ages, Oberweesen and Niederweesen belonged to different noble families and monasteries until 1283 when the Habsburgs united both courts through inheritance and made them subordinate to their bailiwick of Windegg . Niederweesen was expanded to become a customs and transhipment point as well as a bridgehead over the Maag river and was walled. From 1288 the place is called a city in documents. The Habsburgs privileged their founding with tax exemption (1370), the right to vote (1379) and lower jurisdiction. After the alliance between the State of Glarus and the Confederation in 1352, Weesen's strategic importance for the Habsburgs increased, as it now blocked the exit from the Glarus region and at the same time allowed east-west traffic from Walenstadt to Rapperswil and Zurich via the Walensee-Maag- Linth checked. After the Battle of Sempach in 1386, the Confederates occupied the city and forced the inhabitants to pay homage. According to tradition, however, in 1388 the inhabitants opened the troops of the Austrian Duke Albrecht III. von Habsburg secretly opened the city gates, so that on the night of February 21st to 22nd, the “Weesen Murder Night” came, in which a large part of the federal occupation was killed. After the defeat of the Duke near Näfels on April 9, 1388, the people of Glarus and Switzerland destroyed the Habsburg city as an act of revenge and in the peace treaty in 1394 enforced that the city could not be rebuilt. On the area of the old town, the school was rebuilt for the first time in 1838. Today the whole area is built over.

Extensive excavations took place in 1993–1994 in the area of Ziegelbrücke, Wismet and Höfenstrasse. At a length of 60 m, the 1.5 m thick and partially still 1.6 m high preserved city wall and the ditch 8 m wide and 5 m deep could be determined. Several buildings were attached to the wall. A thick layer of fire lay on the whole area, which contained charred beams, stones, mortar and numerous small finds. Further excavations took place on the Speerplatz on the occasion of the construction of a water pipe in May 2008. Well-preserved foundation walls and floors of three cut buildings with stable walls that stood close to the former city wall were found. The remains of a tiled stove were found in one house. The site was only half a meter under the asphalt.

On the site of the town in Niederweesen, a village settlement was built near the monastery, to which the Dukes of Austria granted the right to hold a weekly market in 1399. After a brief pledge to the Counts of Toggenburg 1406–1436, Weesen came together with the bailiwick of Windegg in 1438 as a pledge to the federal cantons of Glarus and Schwyz. In 1474 Glarus appropriated customs and shipping rights from Weesen. Weesen joined the Reformation in 1529, but had to reintroduce the Catholic faith after the Kappel Wars in 1531 and lost its political autonomy until 1564. During the reign of Glarus and Schwyz, a subordinate resided in Weesen, who represented the governor of Gaster and mostly came from local bourgeois families. 1660–1749 this was always a member of the Betschart family, originally from Schwyz, who resided at Halde Castle. Although the settlement lost its importance politically and economically compared to the Habsburg era, Weesen remained an important transshipment point for goods for the canton of Glarus and as a station for through traffic. Only in the 18th century did a sharp decline set in, because the rising lake level of the Walensee caused constant flooding due to the backwater of the Maag by the Linth. It was not until the opening of the Linth Canal in 1816 and the lowering of the lake level that the trend reversed.

In the 19th century, Weesen's importance rose again through the establishment of regular steamboat services in 1837 and Weesen became a tourist destination. In 1848 shipping traffic began to decline because the road over the Kerenzerberg was opened and there was thus a land connection to Chur. In 1859, Weesen received a rail connection to Rapperswil through the United Swiss Railways and Näfels through the Swiss Northeast Railway . The connection to Näfels was shut down in 1918 and broken off in 1938. In 1969 the “Weesener Loop” was straightened and the Weesen train station was relocated to the left side of the Linth in the municipality of Mollis .

In 1945 Marshal Pétain , the former head of state of Vichy France, spent a short time in Weesen before he left Switzerland for France.

According to tradition, there were three castles in the area of the municipality of Weesen:

The "Burg Bühl" was the seat of the officials of Merano and stood on the hill on which the Holy Cross Church stands today. It was mentioned in 1294 and 1354 was probably destroyed in 1388.
The "Chapfenberg Castle" stood northeast of Weesen. Kyburg servants probably resided here. It may have been destroyed in 1388. Remains of the castle were still visible in the 19th century, today no traces can be seen. The "Schloss Halde" later emerged from a bailey, which had been the seat of the governors of Glarus and Schwyz since the 15th century. Rebuilt into the Schlosshotel Mariahalden around 1830.
The “Weesenburg” stood on an island in the Maag at the outflow of the Walensee and secured the bridge from the city of Weesen to Glarus. In this castle, also known as "Zwingmüli", the Vogt of the Glarus Office temporarily resided. In 1386 it was razed by the Confederates.

Two other castles or noble residences are neither documented nor archaeologically proven. The "Meldburg" was supposedly on the hill Gmähl and the Schlösschen Othis near the parish church of St. Martin.

climate

Due to its protected location, Weesen has an extremely mild climate; the annual mean temperature is around 11.3 ° C and is milder than Walenstadt. Therefore, plant species such as various palms, figs, lemon trees and kiwis thrive here. Good wine is produced on several vineyards, which benefits from the numerous hours of sunshine and few ice days. Weesen does not achieve the almost Mediterranean climate of Quinten , but is reminiscent of a Ticino village due to its appearance and Mediterranean ambience. After Quinten, it is the warmest place on Lake Walen.

coat of arms

Blazon

A red sloping bar in silver, accompanied by two striding red lions, the upper one turned to the left

Attractions

at the Büel in Weesen

The church of the Dominican Convent Maria Refuge was built in 1688 and contains a rich interior.
The Holy Cross Church (Bühlkirche) from the 15th century is slightly elevated . The originally Romanesque complex has been rebuilt several times over the years. The interior contains works from the Gothic period to the 19th century.
Next to the Heiligkreuzkirche is the Evangelical Reformed Zwinglikirche .
The parish church of St. Martin in the district of Fli from the 13th century was redesigned in a classical style in 1823 .
The local museum in the Städtli was opened in September 2010.
The Hotel Schwert has existed since 1523 and is supposedly the oldest known inn on Lake Walen. The building received its current classical appearance in 1830.

traffic

With the railway connection in 1859 (opening of the Wald - Rapperswil- Brick Bridge and on to Glarus, see Weesen – Linthal railway ), Weesen became interesting for tourists. At that time, the station was in a tight curve on the emerging Ziegelbrücke-Chur railway line . The conductors did not look at the other end of the trains, and personal accidents often occurred as people stood on the running boards when the trains left. The station was later to the left of the Linth Canal in the municipality of Mollis / GL, but was closed at the end of 2013. The core of the town and the hamlet of Fli in the east are served by the Weesen-Amden car company. There is a boat station for passenger ships in Weesen.

Personalities

Huldrich (Ulrich) Zwingli (1484–1531), Swiss reformer, lived from 1489 to 1494 in the chaplain below the Bühlkirche Weesen
Katharina von Zimmer (1478–1547), last abbess of the Zurich Fraumünster, lived between 1488 and 1491 in the Schlössli below the Bühl Church Weesen
Max Bolliger (1929–2013), Swiss writer and children's book author, lived in Wessen
Paul Suso Holdener (* 1930), religious
Tino Kessler (* 1996), ice hockey player