Freiämtersturm

Part of Swiss revolutions of 1830

Heinrich Fischer assembles his volunteers on the morning of 5 December 1830

Date	6 December 1830
Location	near Aarau, Canton of Aargau, Switzerland
Result	Decisive, bloodless Freie Ämter victory

Belligerents

Freie Ämter militia

Canton of Aargau

Commanders and leaders

Johann Heinrich Fischer

Johannes Herzog

Strength

6,000

unknown

Casualties and losses

The Freiämtersturm in December 1830 was a bloodless revolution in the Swiss canton of Aargau. The dissatisfied rural population of the Freie Ämter region in Aargau marched on the cantonal capital of Aarau to demand changes in the cantonal constitution. The Freiämtersturm, together with other uprisings in 1830–31 led to the end of the Restoration period and the beginning of the liberal Regeneration period. The changes during the Regeneration led to the creation of the Federal State in 1848.

The rural population of the Freiämter were poor and uneducated while politically and economically under the control of the cities. During the French controlled Helvetic Republic in 1798 the ideas of freedom and equality spread. The medieval idea of different laws for city citizens and countryside peasants was overthrown. However, in 1803 the Helvetic Republic collapsed and was replaced by the Act of Mediation which struck a compromise between the Ancien Regime and a Republic. In the following years, even the limited freedoms under the Act were undermined and following Napoleon's defeat in 1813 the Act was overturned. In the Restoration, which started in 1814, the new constitution reduced the representation of rural areas in the cantonal councils.

By 1830 the region was also experiencing great economic difficulties. After years of growth, the Freiämter straw industry experienced a major crisis. Many workers feared for their economic future. Adding to this concern, a poor harvest in late summer led many to worry about the possibility of starvation. While the constitution of the Aargau was relatively liberal for the time, the increasing power of the city aristocrats and diminishing power for the rural population added to the unrest in the Freiämter. Then, the July Revolution in France showed that the people could successfully force the government to change.

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