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Theearly history of Switzerland begins with the earliest settlements up to the beginning ofHabsburg rule, which in 1291 gave rise to the independence movement in the centralcantons ofUri,Schwyz, andUnterwalden and thegrowth of the Old Swiss Confederacy during theLate Middle Ages.
A hand-axe fashioned byHomo erectus has been found inPratteln, which has been dated to 300,000 years ago.[1]Neanderthal presence is known from the Grotte de Cotencher inNeuchâtel, dating to 70,000 years ago[2] and from the caves ofWildkirchli in theAppenzell Alps, dated to about 40,000 years ago.[3]
Anatomically modern humans reached Central Europe 30,000 years ago,[4] but most of what is now Switzerland was covered by glaciers during theLast Glacial Maximum (Würm glaciation). The ice-free parts, northern Switzerland along theHigh Rhine and part of theAar basin, were exposed topermafrost.
Human habitation in theSwiss Plateau can be shown for the beginningMesolithic, inWetzikon-Robenhausen beginning around 10,000 years ago.
TheNeolithic reached the Swiss plateau before 7,000 years ago (late 6th millennium BC), dominated by theLinear Pottery culture.
The area was relatively densely populated, as is attested to by the many archeological findings from that period. Remains ofpile dwellings have been found in the shallow areas of many lakes, attributed to archaeological cultures such asCortaillod,Pfyn andHorgen. Artifacts dated to the 5th millennium BC were discovered at theSchnidejoch in 2003 to 2005.[5] The pre-Indo-European population of the Alpine region is typified byÖtzi the Iceman, an individual of the late 4th millennium BC found in theAustrian Alps (some 25 km east of theSwiss border). TheBell Beaker culture marks the transition from the Chalcolithic to the early Bronze Age.
In the 3rd millennium BC, Switzerland lay on the south-western outskirts of theCorded Ware horizon, entering the earlyBronze Age (Bell Beaker culture) in step with Central Europe, in the late centuries of the 3rd millennium. The Early Bronze AgeRhône culture in western Switzerland (c. 2200-1500 BC) developed from the Bell Beaker culture and was closely related to theUnetice culture in central Europe. This was followed by theTumulus culture (c. 1500-1300 BC) in the Middle Bronze Age, and theUrnfield culture in the Late Bronze Age (c. 1300 BC). Settlements includedlakeside villages and fortified settlements on elevated sites.
TheBronze Hand of Prêles dating from the 16th-15th century BC, is a unique find from the Tumulus culture period.[6] Described as "the earliest metal representation of a human body part ever found in Europe",[7] it may have been a ritual object, or mounted on astandard like similar metal hands known from theIron Age,[8] or possibly aprosthesis.[9] It was found in a grave along with a bronze hair-ring, pin and dagger. The hand had a golden bracelet or cuff decorated with solar motifs.[10]
The Swiss plateau lay in the western part of the Early Iron AgeHallstatt culture,[11] and it participated in the earlyLa Tène culture (named for the type site atLake Neuchâtel) which arose out of the Hallstatt background from the 5th century BC.[12]
By the final centuries BC, the Swiss plateau and Ticino were settled byContinental Celtic speaking peoples (Gauls): theHelvetii andVindelici inhabited the western and eastern part of the Swiss plateau, respectively, and theLugano areaby theLepontii.The interior Alpine valleys of eastern Switzerland (Grisons) were inhabited by the non-CelticRaetians.
The distribution of La Tène culture burials in Switzerland indicates that the Swiss plateau betweenLausanne andWinterthur was relatively densely populated. Settlement centres existed in theAare valley betweenThun andBern, and betweenLake Zurich and theReuss. TheValais and the regions aroundBellinzona andLugano also seem to have been well-populated; however, those lay outside the Helvetian borders.
Almost all the Celticoppida were built in the vicinity of the larger rivers of the Swiss plateau.About a dozen oppida are known in Switzerland (some twenty including uncertain candidate sites), not all of which were occupied during the same time. For most of them, no contemporary name has survived; in cases where a pre-Roman name has been recorded, it is given in brackets.[13]The largest were the one inBern-Engehalbinsel (presumablyBrenodurum, the name recorded on theBern zinc tablet[14]), on theAare, and the one inAltenburg-Rheinau on theRhine.Of intermediate size were those of Bois de Châtel,Avenches (abandoned with the foundation ofAventicum as the capital of the Roman province),Jensberg (nearvicus Petinesca,Mont Vully, all within a day's march from the one in Bern, theOppidum Zürich-Lindenhof at theLake Zurich–Limmat–Sihl triangledLindenhof hill, and theOppidum Uetliberg, overlooking the Sihl and Lake Zurich shore.Smaller oppida were atGeneva (Genava),Lausanne (Lousonna) on the shores ofLake Geneva, atSermuz on the upper end ofLake Neuchâtel, atEppenberg andWindisch (Vindonissa) along the lower Aar,and atMont Chaibeuf andMont Terri in theJura Mountains, the territory of theRauraci.
A female who died in about 200 B.C was found buried in a carved tree trunk during a construction project at the Kern school complex in March 2017 inAussersihl. Archaeologists revealed that she was approximately 40 years old when she died and likely carried out little physical labor when she was alive. A sheepskin coat, a belt chain, a fancy woolen dress, a scarf and a pendant made of glass and amber beads were also discovered with the woman.[15][16][17]
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In 58 BCE, theHelvetii tried to evade migratory pressure fromGermanic tribes by moving intoGaul, but were stopped and defeated atBibracte (near modern-dayAutun) byJulius Caesar's armies and then sent back. In 15 BCE,Tiberius and Drusus conquered the Alps, and the region became integrated into theRoman Empire:[18] the Helvetii settlement area became part first ofGallia Belgica and later of the province ofGermania Superior, while the eastern part was integrated into the Roman province ofRaetia.
The following 300 years saw extensive Roman settlement, including the construction of a road network and the founding of many settlements and cities. The center of Roman occupation was atAventicum (Avenches), other cities were founded atArbor Felix (Arbon),Augusta Raurica (Kaiseraugst near Basel),Basilea (Basel),Curia (Chur),Genava (Geneva),Lousanna (Lausanne),Octodurum (Martigny, controlling thepass of theGreat St. Bernard),Salodurum (Solothurn),Turicum (Zürich) and other places.Military garrisons existed atTenedo (Zurzach) andVindonissa (Windisch).[18]
The Romans also developed theGreat St. Bernard Pass beginning in the year 47, and in 69 part of the legions ofVitellius used it to traverse theAlps. The passes were expanded from dirt trails to narrow paved roads.[18] Between 101 and 260, the legions moved out of the region, allowing trade to expand. In Raetia, Roman culture and language became dominant.[18] Nearly 2,000 years later, some of the population ofGraubünden still speakRomansh which is descended fromVulgar Latin.
In 259,Alamanni tribes overran theLimes and caused widespread devastation of Roman cities and settlements. The Roman empire managed to reestablish theRhine as the border, and the cities on Swiss territory were rebuilt. However, it was now a frontier province, and consequently the new Roman cities were smaller and much more fortified.
In the late Roman period in the 3rd and 4th centuries, theChristianization of the region began. Legends of Christian martyrs such asFelix and Regula inZürich probably are based on events that occurred during thepersecution of Christians underDiocletian around 298. The story of theTheban Legion, which was martyred nearSaint Maurice-en-Valais inValais, figures into the histories of many towns in Switzerland.[18]
The first bishoprics were founded in the 4th and 5th centuries inBasel (documented in 346),Martigny (doc. 381, moved toSion in 585),Geneva (doc. 441), andChur (doc. 451). There is evidence from the 6th century for a bishopric inLausanne, which may have been moved from Avenches.
With the fall of theWestern Roman Empire, Germanic tribes moved in.Burgundians settled in theJura, theRhône valley and the Alps south ofLake Geneva; while in the north,Alemannic settlers crossed theRhine in 406 and slowly assimilated theGallo-Roman population, or made it retreat into the mountains. Burgundy became a part of theFrankish kingdom in 534; two years later, the dukedom ofAlemannia followed suit.
The Burgundy kings furthered the Christianization through newly founded monasteries, e.g. atRomainmôtier orSt. Maurice in theValais in 515. In the Alaman part, only isolated Christian communities continued to exist; theGermanic faith including the worship ofWuodan was prevalent. The Irish monksColumbanus andGallus re-introduced Christian faith in the early 7th century. TheBishopric of Konstanz also was founded at that time.
Under theCarolingian kings, thefeudal system proliferated, and monasteries and bishoprics were important bases for maintaining the rule. TheTreaty of Verdun of 843 assigned the western part of modern Switzerland (Upper Burgundy) toLotharingia, ruled byLothair I, and the eastern part (Alemannia) to the eastern kingdom ofLouis the German that would become theHoly Roman Empire. The boundary betweenAlamania, ruled by Louis, and westernBurgundy, ruled by Lothar, ran along the lowerAare, turning towards the south at theRhine, passing west ofLucerne and across theAlps along the upperRhône toSaint Gotthard Pass.
Louis the German in 853 granted his lands in theReuss valley to the monastery of St Felix and Regula in Zürich (modern dayFraumünster) of which his daughter Hildegard was the first abbess.[19] According to legend this occurred after astag bearing an illuminatedcrucifix between hisantlers appeared to him in the marshland outside the town, at the shore ofLake Zürich. However, there is evidence that the monastery was already in existence before 853. The Fraumünster is across the river from the Grossmünster, which according to legend was founded by Charlemagne himself, as his horse fell to his knees on the spot where the martyrsFelix and Regula were buried.
When the land was granted to the monastery, it was exempt from all feudal lords except the king and later theHoly Roman Emperor (a condition known asImperial immediacy; in GermanReichsfreiheit orReichsunmittelbarkeit). The privileged position of the abbey (reduced taxes and greater autonomy) encouraged the other men of the valley to put themselves under the authority of abbey. By doing so they gained the advantages of the Imperial immediacy and grew used to the relative freedom and autonomy.[19] The only source of royal or imperial authority was theadvocatus orVogt of the abbey which was given to one family after another by the emperor as a sign of trust.
In the 10th century, the rule of the Carolingians waned:Magyars destroyedBasel in 917 andSt. Gallen in 926, andSaracens ravaged theValais after 920 and sacked the monastery of St. Maurice in 939. TheConradines (vonWetterau) started a long time rule overSwabia during this time. Only after the victory of kingOtto I over the Magyars in 955 in theBattle of Lechfeld were the Swiss territories reintegrated into the empire.
KingRudolph III of theArelat kingdom (r. 993–1032) gave the Valais as his fiefdom to theBishop of Sion in 999, and when Burgundy and thus also the Valais became part of the Holy Roman Empire in 1032, the bishop was also appointed count of the Valais. The Arelat mostly existed on paper throughout the 11th to 14th centuries, its remnants passing toFrance in 1378, but without its Swiss portions,Bern andAargau having come underZähringer andHabsburg rule already by the 12th century, and theCounty of Savoy was detached from the Arelat just before its dissolution, in 1361.
The dukes ofZähringen founded many cities, the most important beingFreiburg in 1120,Fribourg in 1157, andBern in 1191. The Zähringer dynasty ended with the death ofBerchtold V in 1218, and their cities subsequently thus becameindependent, while the dukes ofKyburg competed with the house ofHabsburg over control of the rural regions of the former Zähringer territory. When the house of Zähringen died out in 1218 the office of Vogt over the Abbey of St Felix and Regula in Zürich was granted to the Habsburgs, however it was quickly revoked.[19]
The rise of the Habsburg dynasty gained momentum when their main local competitor, theKyburg dynasty, died out and they could thus bring much of the territory south of the Rhine under their control. Subsequently, they managed within only a few generations to extend their influence throughSwabia in south-eastern Germany toAustria.
Under theHohenstaufen rule, the alpine passes in Raetia and theSt. Gotthard Pass gained importance. Especially the latter became an important direct route through the mountains. The construction of the "Devil’s Bridge" (Teufelsbrücke) across theSchöllenenschlucht in 1198 led to a marked increase in traffic on the mule track over the pass.Frederick II accorded theReichsfreiheit toSchwyz in 1240[19] in theFreibrief von Faenza in an attempt to place the important pass under his direct control, and his son and for some time co-regent Henry VII had already given the same privileges to the valley ofUri in 1231 (theFreibrief von Hagenau).Unterwalden wasde factoreichsfrei, since most of its territory belonged to monasteries, which had become independent even earlier in 1173 underFrederick I "Barbarossa" and in 1213 under Frederick II. The city of Zürich becamereichsfrei in 1218.
While some of the "Forest Communities" (Waldstätten, i.e. Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden) werereichsfrei the Habsburgs still claimed authority over some villages and much of the surrounding land. While Schwyz wasreichsfrei in 1240, the castle ofNeu Habsburg was built in 1244 to help controlLake Lucerne and restrict the neighboring Forest Communities.[19] In 1245 Frederick II wasexcommunicated byPope Innocent IV at theCouncil of Lyon. When the Habsburgs took the side of the pope, some of the Forest Communities took Frederick's side. At this time the castle of Neu Habsburg was attacked and damaged.[19] When Frederick failed against the Pope, those who had taken his side were threatened with excommunication and the Habsburgs gained additional power. In 1273 the rights to the Forest Communities were sold by a cadet branch of the Habsburgs to the head of the family,Rudolf I. A few months later he becameKing of the Romans, a title that would become Holy Roman Emperor. Rudolph was therefore the ruler of all thereichsfrei communities as well as the lands that he ruled as a Habsburg.
He instituted a strict rule in his homelands and raised the taxes tremendously to finance wars and further territorial acquisitions. As king, he finally had also become the directliege lord of the Forest Communities, which thus saw their previous independence curtailed. On 16 April 1291 Rudolph bought all the rights over the town of Lucerne and the abbey estates in Unterwalden fromMurbach Abbey inAlsace. The Forest Communities saw their trade route over Lake Lucerne cut off and feared losing their independence. When Rudolph died on 15 July 1291 the Communities prepared to defend themselves. On 1 August 1291 an Everlasting League was made between the Forest Communities for mutual defense against a common enemy.[19]
In the Valais, increasing tensions between thebishops of Sion and the Counts of Savoy led to a war beginning in 1260. The war ended after the Battle at theScheuchzermatte nearLeuk in 1296, where the Savoy forces were crushed by the bishop's army, supported by forces fromBern. After the peace of 1301, Savoy kept only the lower part of the Valais, while the bishop controlled the upper Valais.
With the opening of theGotthard Pass in the 13th century, the territory ofCentral Switzerland, primarily the valley ofUri, had gained great strategical importance and was grantedReichsfreiheit by theHohenstaufen emperors. This became the nucleus of theSwiss Confederacy, which during the 1330s to 1350s grew to incorporate its core of "eight cantons" (Acht Orte)
The 14th century in the territory of modern Switzerland was a time of transition from the old feudal order administrated by regional families of lower nobility (such as the houses ofBubenberg,Eschenbach,Falkenstein,Freiburg,Frohburg,Grünenberg,Greifenstein,Homberg,Kyburg,Landenberg,Rapperswil,Toggenburg,Zähringen etc.) and the development of the great powers of the late medieval period, primarily the first stage of the meteoric rise of theHouse of Habsburg, which was confronted with rivals inBurgundy andSavoy. The freeimperial cities,prince-bishoprics and monasteries were forced to look for allies in this unstable climate, and entered a series of pacts. Thus, the multi-polar order of thefeudalism of theHigh Middle Ages, while still visible in documents of the first half of the 14th century such as theCodex Manesse or theZürich armorialgradually gave way to the politics of the Late Middle Ages, with the Swiss Confederacy wedged betweenHabsburg Austria, theBurgundy,France,Savoy andMilan.Bern had taken an unfortunate stand against Habsburg in thebattle of Schosshalde in 1289, but recovered enough to confront Fribourg (Gümmenenkrieg) and then to inflict a decisive defeat on a coalition force of Habsburg, Savoy andBasel in thebattle of Laupen in 1339. At the same time, Habsburg attempted to gain influence over the cities ofLucerne andZürich, with riots or attempted coups reported for the years 1343 and 1350 respectively. This situation led the cities of Lucerne, Zürich and Bern to attach themselves to the Swiss Confederacy in 1332, 1351, and 1353 respectively.
As elsewhere in Europe, Switzerland suffered a crisis in the middle of the century, triggered by theBlack Death followed by social upheaval andmoral panics, often directedagainst the Jews as in theBasel massacre of 1349. To this was added the catastrophic1356 Basel earthquake which devastated a wide region, and the city ofBasel was destroyed almost completely in the ensuing fire.
The balance of power remained precarious during the 1350s to 1380s, with Habsburg trying to regain lost influence;Albrecht II besieged Zürich unsuccessfully, but imposed an unfavourable peace on the city in the treaty of Regensburg. In 1375, Habsburg tried to regain control over theAargau with the help ofGugler mercenaries. After a number of minor clashes (Sörenberg,Näfels), it was with the decisive Swiss victory at thebattle of Sempach 1386 that this situation was resolved. Habsburg moved its focus eastward and while it continued to grow in influence (ultimately rising to the most powerful dynasty ofearly modern Europe), it lost all possessions in its ancestral territory with the Swiss annexation of the Aargau in 1416, from which time the Swiss Confederacy stood for the first time as a political entity controlling a contiguous territory.
Meanwhile, inBasel, the citizenry was also divided into a pro-Habsburg and an anti-Habsburg faction, known asSterner andPsitticher, respectively. The citizens of greater Basel bought most of the privileges from the bishop in 1392, and from this time on, though Basel nominally remained the domain of the prince-bishops until the Reformation, it was de facto governed by its city council, which since 1382 had been dominated by the city's guilds. Similarly, the bishop ofGeneva granted the citizenry substantial political rights in 1387.
Other parts of western Switzerland remained under the control of Burgundy and Savoy throughout the 14th century; theBarony of Vaud was incorporated into Savoy in 1359 and was annexed by Bern only in the context of theSwiss Reformation, in 1536. In theValais, thebishop of Sion, allied withAmadeus VI, Count of Savoy, was in conflict over theWalser-settled upper Valais during the 1340s. Amadeus pacified the region in 1352, but there was renewed unrest in 1353. In 1355, the towns of the upper Valais formed a defensive pact and negotiated a compromise peace treaty in 1361. This lasted until a renewed uprising in response to the 1383 accession ofAmadeus VII, Count of Savoy. Amadeus invaded the Valais in 1387, but after his death in a hunting accident, his mother, Bonne de Bourbon, made peace with the Seven Tithings of the upper Valais, restoring thestatus quo ante of 1301. From this time, the upper Valais was mostly independent de facto, preparing theRepublican structure that would emerge in the early modern period.In theGrisons, similar structures of local self-government arose at the same time, with theLeague of God's House founded in 1367, followed by theGrey League in 1395, both in response to the expansion of the House of Habsburg.
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