County of Sargans

County of Sargans
Grafschaft Sargans
State of the Holy Roman Empire, Condominium of the Old Swiss Confederacy
11th century? – 1798
Coat of arms of Sargans Coat of arms of the Werdenberg counts
The County of Sargans, shown in turquoise — with the Imperial Abbey of Pfäfers, of which the counts were Vögte, protectors — in the south of this map of what became the canton of St. Gallen
Capital		Sargans
Government		Principality
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Established	← before 1200 11th century
•	County pawned to     Habsburgs	→ 1396
•	County redeemed from     Toggenburgers	← 1436
•	Allied with Switzerland     in the Old Zürich War	1440–46
•	Condominium of the     Old Swiss Confederacy	→ 1458–1798
•	Annexed to Helvetic     canton of Linth	→ 1798
•	Joined St Gallen	→ February 19, 1803
Preceded by Succeeded by Duchy of Swabia Canton of Linth

The County of Sargans was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. From 1458 until the French Revolutionary War in 1798, Sargans became a condominium of the Old Swiss Confederacy, administered jointly by the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Lucerne, Zürich, Glarus and Zug.

In 1396, the counts of Werdenberg-Sargans pawned Sargans to the Habsburg dukes of Austria, who passed the territory to Friedrich VII, count of Toggenburg. After the death of the last Toggenburgers the counts of Werdenberg-Sargans redeemed the pledge, to rule over the county anew, with Walenstadt and Quarten remaining as Vogtei (protectorates) of the Habsburgs. The inhabitants of the country refused, however, to recognise the counts of Werdenberg-Sargans as their lords and, in 1436, made a treaty with the city of Zürich.

In the Old Zürich War, a civil war between Zürich and the cantons of Glarus and Schwyz, the counts allied themselves with the opponents of Zürich. Schwyz and Glarus conquered the county and forced the population to carry out, for the count von Werdenberg-Sargans, the Oath of Loyalty.