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Gemeine Herrschaft

Republic of the Swiss
Eidgenossenschaft
République des Suisses
Republica Helvetiorum
c. 1300 – 1798


Swiss cross
(field sign 1470–1798)

The Old Swiss Confederacy in the 18th century
Capital see Vorort
Languages Middle French / French, Alemannic German, Lombard, Rhaeto-Romansh
Political structure Confederation
Legislature Tagsatzung
History
 •  Death of Rudolf I 15 July 1291
 •  Rütlischwur, Burgenbruch 1307/1291 (traditional dates) 1291
 •  Charles IV's Golden Bull 1356
 •  Battle of Marignano 13–14 September 1515
 •  Wars of Kappel 1529 and 1531
 •  Formal independence from the HRE 15 May/24 October 1648
 •  Swiss peasant war January–June 1653
 •  Collapse 5 March 1798
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Holy Roman Empire
House of Habsburg
Duchy of Swabia
House of Zähringen
House of Kyburg
Imperial Abbey of Saint Gall
Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Savoy
County of Burgundy
Helvetic Republic


Swiss cross
(field sign 1470–1798)

The Old Swiss Confederacy (Modern German: Alte Eidgenossenschaft; historically Eidgenossenschaft, after the Reformation République des Suisses, Republica Helvetiorum "Republic of the Swiss") was a precursor of the modern state of Switzerland. It was a loose confederation of independent small states (cantons, German or ) which formed during the 14th century. From a nucleus in what is now Central Switzerland, the confederacy expanded to include the cities of Zurich and Berne by the middle of the century. This formed a rare union of rural and urban communes, all of which enjoyed imperial immediacy in the Holy Roman Empire.

This confederation of eight cantons (Acht Orte) was politically and militarily successful for more than a century, culminating in the Burgundy Wars of the 1470s which established it as a power in the complicated political landscape dominated by France and the Habsburgs. Its success resulted in the addition of more confederates, increasing the number of cantons to thirteen (Dreizehn Orte) by 1513. The confederacy pledged neutrality in 1515 and 1647 (under the threat of the Thirty Years' War), although many Swiss served privately as mercenaries in the Italian Wars and during the Early Modern period.


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