65-667: The Tamina is a river in the south of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland , running close to the border to the canton of Grisons . It has a length of almost 29 km (18 mi), flowing through the Tamina Valley, of which Tamina Gorge ( Taminaschlucht ) is an impressiv part, before it enters the Rhine as a left tributary . The river starts below the Sardona Pass (2,758 m (9,049 ft)) and between
130-574: A Catholic Appenzell Innerrhoden and a Protestant Appenzell Ausserrhoden . The division led to civil war (the Wars of Kappel ) and separate alliances with foreign powers by the Catholic and Protestant factions, but the confederacy as a whole continued to exist. A common foreign policy was blocked, however, by the impasse. During the Thirty Years' War , religious disagreements among the cantons kept
195-563: A federal state in 1848. The cantons retained far-reaching sovereignty but were no longer allowed to maintain individual standing armies or international relations. As the revolutions of 1848 in Western Europe had failed elsewhere, Switzerland during the later 19th century (and with the exception of the French Third Republic , until the end of World War I ) found itself as an isolated democratic republic, surrounded by
260-407: A federation of states was restored, at the time including 19 cantons (the six accessions to the early modern Thirteen Cantons being composed of former associates and subject territories: St. Gallen , Grisons , Aargau , Thurgau , Ticino , Vaud ). Three additional western cantons, Valais , Neuchâtel and Geneva , acceded in 1815. The process of "Restoration", completed by 1830, returned most of
325-632: A further enlargement of the confederacy; Fribourg and Solothurn were accepted in 1481. By defeating the Duchy of Burgundy in this war, the Confederacy managed to stop the growing Burgundian threat. In the Swabian War against Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I , the Swiss were victorious and exempted from imperial legislation. The associated cities of Basel and Schaffhausen joined the confederacy as
390-588: A large share of the bounty. The city-states of Fribourg and Solothurn wanted to join the confederacy, but were mistrusted by the central Swiss rural cantons. The compromise by the Tagsatzung in the Stanser Verkommnis restored order and assuaged the rural cantons' complaints, with Fribourg and Solothurn accepted into the confederation. While the treaty restricted freedom of assembly (many skirmishes arose from unauthorised expeditions by soldiers from
455-646: A major threat to the Swiss states. King Rudolf I added large amounts of territory in Switzerland and Swabia to his domain , and sieged down Bern in 1289 to enforce imperial taxes. This aggression from the Habsburgs would likely be a major factor in the creation of the Swiss Confederacy. The foundation of the Confederacy is marked by the Rütlischwur (dated to 1307 by Aegidius Tschudi ) or
520-482: A particular municipality (the place of origin ) and the canton in which that municipality is part. Cantons, therefore, have a role in and set requirements for the granting of citizenship (naturalisation), though the process is typically undertaken at a municipal level and is subject to federal law. Switzerland has only one federal public holiday (1 August); public holidays otherwise vary from canton to canton . The cantons are listed in their order of precedence given in
585-538: A popular vote to amend the cantonal constitution or laws or to veto laws or spending bills passed by the parliament. Other than in the instances of general popular assemblies in Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus, democratic rights are exercised by secret ballot. The right of foreigners to vote varies by canton, as does whether Swiss citizens living abroad (and registered to vote in a canton) can take part in cantonal voting. Swiss citizens are citizens of
650-478: A principality in 1848, all Swiss cantons can be considered to have a republican form of government . Some cantons formally describe themselves as republics in their constitutions. This applies to the Romance-speaking cantons in particular: Geneva (formally République et canton de Genève , 'Republic and canton of Geneva'), Jura , Neuchâtel , Valais , Vaud and Ticino . In the 16th century,
715-536: A result of that conflict, and Appenzell followed suit in 1513 as the thirteenth member. The federation of thirteen cantons ( Dreizehn Orte ) constituted the Old Swiss Confederacy until its demise in 1798. The expansion of the confederacy was stopped by the Swiss defeat in the 1515 Battle of Marignano . Only Bern and Fribourg were still able to conquer the Vaud in 1536; the latter primarily became part of
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#1732794238264780-864: A temperature of 36.6 °C (97.9 °F). Discovered in 1240, it was used on site and later in Altes Bad Pfäfers between the years 1350 and 1969, and since then it is used in the Valens medical clinic and the spa in Bad Ragaz. Historically, the Tamina Valley ( Taminatal , also Vättnertal ) was owned by the Pfäfers Abbey , joined to the canton of St. Gallen at its formation in 1803. [REDACTED] Media related to Tamina (Fluss) at Wikimedia Commons 47°01′N 9°31′E / 47.017°N 9.517°E / 47.017; 9.517 This Canton of St. Gallen location article
845-566: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in Switzerland is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Cantons of Switzerland The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the Swiss Confederation . The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the Waldstätte . Two important periods in
910-565: The Acht Orte (Eight Cantons)—consolidated its position. The members (especially the cities) enlarged their territory at the expense of local counts—primarily by buying judicial rights , but sometimes by force. The Eidgenossenschaft , as a whole, expanded through military conquest: the Aargau was conquered in 1415 and the Thurgau in 1460. In both cases, the Swiss profited from weakness in
975-795: The Freie Ämter ("Free Districts"), the Thurgau , the Rhine valley, and Sargans , and furthermore the Catholic cantons were excluded from the administration of the County of Baden . The "German bailiwicks" ( German : Deutsche Gemeine Vogteien, Gemeine Herrschaften ) were generally governed by the Acht Orte apart from Bern until 1712, when Bern joined the sovereign powers: Several bailiwicks ( Vogteien ) were generally referred to as "transmontane bailiwicks" ( German : Ennetbergische Vogteien , Italian : Baliaggi Ultramontani ). In 1440, Uri conquered
1040-522: 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 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. After the Swabian War of 1499 the confederacy
1105-641: The Holy Roman Empire , they had become de facto independent when the Swiss defeated Emperor Maximilian I in 1499 in Dornach. In the early modern period, the individual confederate allies came to be seen as republics ; while the six traditional allies had a tradition of direct democracy in the form of the Landsgemeinde , the urban states operated via representation in city councils, de facto oligarchic systems dominated by families of
1170-797: The Leventina Valley from the Visconti , dukes of Milan . Some of this territory had previously been annexed between 1403 and 1422. Further territories were acquired in 1500; see History of Ticino for further details . Three bailiwicks, all now in the Ticino , were condominiums of the Forest cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden: Four other Ticinese bailiwicks were condominiums of the Zwölf Orte (the original 13 cantons, minus Appenzell) from 1512: Another three bailiwicks were condominiums of
1235-649: The Old Swiss Confederacy was composed of 13 sovereign confederate allies (the Thirteen Cantons ; German : Die Dreizehn Alten Orte ), and there were two different kinds: five rural states ( German : Länder ) – Uri , Schwyz (which became eponymous of the confederacy), Unterwalden , Glarus , Appenzell – and eight urban states ( German : Städte ) – Zürich , Bern , Luzern , Zug , Basel , Fribourg , Solothurn , Schaffhausen . Though they were technically part of
1300-653: The Surenstock (3,057 m (10,030 ft)) and the Trinserhorn (3,028 m (9,934 ft)) of the Glarus Alps . Within its first half, the river flows eastwards through the valley Calfeisen and the reservoir Lake Gigerwald ( Gigerwaldsee ) until it reaches Vättis at 943 m (3,094 ft), where it is joined by the Gorbsbach and where it turns sharply towards the northeast. Further below,
1365-476: The Swiss Confederacy , was a loose confederation of independent small states ( cantons , German Orte or Stände ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire . It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerland . It formed at the end of the 13th century, from a nucleus in what is now Central Switzerland , expanding to include the cities of Zürich and Bern by the middle of
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#17327942382641430-600: The Swiss Constitution of 1848. The term Stand ( French : état , Italian : stato ) remains in synonymous usage and is reflected in the name of the upper chamber of the Swiss Parliament, the Council of States ( German : Ständerat , French : Conseil des États , Italian : Consiglio degli Stati , Romansh : Cussegl dals Stadis ). In the modern era, since Neuchâtel ceased to be
1495-604: The Swiss peasant war of 1653 in Lucerne, Bern, Basel, Solothurn and the Aargau. The revolt was put down swiftly by force and with the help of many cantons. Religious differences were accentuated by a growing economic discrepancy. The Catholic, predominantly rural central-Swiss cantons were surrounded by Protestant cantons with increasingly commercial economies. The politically dominant cantons were Zürich and Bern (both Protestant), but
1560-604: The Treaty of Westphalia (1648) until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848, with a brief period of centralised government during the Helvetic Republic (1798–1803). The term Kanton has been widely used since the 19th century. The number of cantons was increased to 19 with the Act of Mediation (1803), with the recognition of former subject territories as full cantons. The Federal Treaty of 1815 increased
1625-590: The canton of Bern , with a small portion under the jurisdiction of Fribourg. The Reformation in Switzerland led to doctrinal division amongst the cantons. Zürich, Bern, Basel, Schaffhausen and associates Biel, Mulhouse, Neuchâtel, Geneva and the city of St. Gallen became Protestant ; other members of the confederation and the Valais remained Catholic . In Glarus, Appenzell, in the Grisons and in most condominiums both religions coexisted; Appenzell split in 1597 into
1690-541: The patriciate . The old system was abandoned with the formation of the Helvetic Republic following the French invasion of Switzerland in 1798. The cantons of the Helvetic Republic had merely the status of an administrative subdivision with no sovereignty. The Helvetic Republic collapsed within five years, and cantonal sovereignty was restored with the Act of Mediation of 1803. The status of Switzerland as
1755-782: The "Forest States", had been granted imperial immediacy and autonomy during the reign of the Hohenstaufens . The region was endowed with these privileges because the Gotthard Pass went through the area. This pass was important in the Hohenstaufen struggle against the Italian Lombard League . Due to the fragmentation of Swabia following the collapse of the Hohenstaufens, many nations began to compete for land. The Habsburgs in particular were
1820-518: The 1315 Pact of Brunnen . Since 1889, the Federal Charter of 1291 among the rural communes of Uri , Schwyz , and Unterwalden has been considered the founding document of the confederacy. The early Swiss Confederacy was simply a defensive pact, but over time the states grew closer and closer. Following a victory against the Habsburgs in 1315, the members of the Confederacy vowed not to form alliances with outside states without consent of
1885-538: The 14th 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
1950-611: The Burgundian Wars), it reinforced agreements amongst the cantons in the earlier Sempacherbrief and Pfaffenbrief . The civil war during the Reformation ended in a stalemate. The Catholic cantons could block council decisions but, due to geographic and economic factors, could not prevail over the Protestant cantons. Both factions began to hold separate councils, still meeting at a common Tagsatzung (although
2015-487: The Catholic cantons were influential since the Second War of Kappel in 1531. A 1655 attempt (led by Zürich) to restructure the federation was blocked by Catholic opposition, which led to the first battle of Villmergen in 1656; the Catholic party won, cementing the status quo . The problems remained unsolved, erupting again in 1712 with the second battle of Villmergen . This time the Protestant cantons won, dominating
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2080-570: The Confederation, a directorial system of government is followed by the cantons. The cantonal legislatures are unicameral parliaments , with their size varying between 58 and 200 seats. A few legislatures also involve or did involve general popular assemblies known as Landsgemeinden ; the use of this form of legislature has declined: at present, it exists only in the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus . The cantonal executives consist of either five or seven members, depending on
2145-642: The Eight Cantons ( Acht Orte ), then in 1481 to ten, in 1501 to twelve, and finally to thirteen cantons ( Dreizehn Orte ). Associates (Zugewandte Orte) were close allies of the Old Swiss Confederacy, connected to the union by alliance treaties with all or some of the individual members of the confederacy. Three of the associates were known as Engere Zugewandte : Two federations were known as Ewige Mitverbündete : There were two Evangelische Zugewandte : Condominiums ( German : Gemeine Herrschaften ) were common subject territories under
2210-488: The Federal Constitution). The cantonal constitutions determine the internal organisation of the canton, including the degree of autonomy accorded to the municipalities , which varies but almost always includes the power to levy taxes and pass municipal laws; some municipalities have their own police forces. As at the federal level, all cantons provide for some form of direct democracy . Citizens may demand
2275-701: The Habsburg dukes. In the south, Uri led a military territorial expansion that (after many setbacks) would by 1515 lead to the conquest of the Ticino .None of these territories became members of the confederacy; they had the status of condominiums (regions administered by several cantons). The reason for these Swiss victories was their innovative military tactics. Their perfection of the Pike Square made them excellent defensive warriors in their home mountain terrain, and they became highly sought after mercenaries throughout Europe (ex Swiss Guard ). At this time,
2340-638: The Tamina flows into the Mapraggsee . The lower section, heading northwards through Pfäfers , forms a deep and narrow gorge called the Taminaschlucht (English: Tamina Gorge ). The river then flows through Bad Ragaz before it finally merges with the Alpine Rhine . Between Valens and the hamlet of Bonadivis, the water of the Tamina digs up to 200 m (660 ft) into the ground. Over
2405-413: The administration of several cantons. They were governed by reeves ( Vögte ) delegated for two years, each time from another of the responsible cantons. Bern initially did not participate in the administration of some of the eastern condominiums, as it had no part in their conquest and its interests were focused more on the western border. In 1712, Bern replaced the Catholic cantons in the administration of
2470-562: The canton. For the names of the institutions, see the list of cantonal executives and list of cantonal legislatures . The cantons retain all powers and competencies not delegated to the Confederation by the federal constitution or law: most significantly the cantons are responsible for healthcare , welfare , law enforcement, public education , and retain the power of taxation . Each canton defines its official language(s). Cantons may conclude treaties not only with other cantons but also with foreign states (respectively Articles 48 and 56 of
2535-472: The common council was deadlocked by disagreements between both factions until 1712, when the Protestant cantons gained power after their victory in the second war of Villmergen ). The Catholic cantons were excluded from administering the condominiums in the Aargau, the Thurgau and the Rhine valley; in their place, Bern became co-sovereign of these regions. The confederation expanded in several stages: first to
2600-602: The confederacy neutral and spared it from belligerents. At the Peace of Westphalia , the Swiss delegation was granted formal recognition of the confederacy as a state independent of the Holy Roman Empire. Growing social differences and an increasing absolutism in the city cantons during the Ancien Régime led to local popular revolts . An uprising during the post-war depression after the Thirty Years' War escalated to
2665-487: The confederacy. This expansion greatly changed the social climate in the Confederacy. In the original 3 cantons, citizens all held equal rights, but in the newly acquired urban cities, power was in the hands of the wealthy Burgomeisters . This led into a shift away from the traditional Swiss egalitarianism enjoyed by citizens in the original Confederacy. From 1353 to 1481, the federation of eight cantons —known in German as
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2730-578: The confederacy. The individual interests of the cantons clashed in the Old Zürich War (1436–1450), caused by territorial conflict among Zürich and the central Swiss cantons over the succession of the Count of Toggenburg . Although Zürich entered an alliance with the Habsburg dukes, it then rejoined the confederacy. The confederation had become so close a political alliance that it no longer tolerated separatist tendencies in its members. The Tagsatzung
2795-445: The confederation. True reform, however, was impossible; the individual interests of the thirteen members were too diverse, and the absolutist cantonal governments resisted all attempts at confederation-wide administration. Foreign policy remained fragmented. The (Alte) Eidgenossenschaft was initially united not by a single pact, but by overlapping pacts and bilateral treaties between members. The parties generally agreed to preserve
2860-446: The development of the Old Swiss Confederacy are summarized by the terms Acht Orte ('Eight Cantons'; from 1353 to 1481) and Dreizehn Orte ('Thirteen Cantons', from 1513 to 1798). Each canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy , formerly also Ort ('lieu/locality', from before 1450), or Stand ('estate', from c. 1550 ), was a fully sovereign state with its own border controls, army, and currency from at least
2925-553: The eight cantons gradually increased their influence on neighbouring cities and regions through additional alliances. Individual cantons concluded pacts with Fribourg , Appenzell , Schaffhausen , the abbot and the city of St. Gallen , Biel , Rottweil , Mulhouse and others. These allies (known as the Zugewandte Orte ) became closely associated with the confederacy, but were not accepted as full members. They would be known as Swiss Associates . The Burgundian Wars prompted
2990-555: The eight members of the confederacy was the Sempacherbrief [ de ; fr ] of 1393, concluded after victories over the Habsburgs at Sempach in 1386 and Näfels in 1388, which forbade a member from unilaterally beginning a war without the consent of the other cantons. A federal diet , the Tagsatzung , developed during the 15th century. Pacts and renewals (or modernizations) of earlier alliances reinforced
3055-461: The fashion of calling individual urban cantons republics (such as the Republics of Zürich , Berne and Basel ). The nucleus of the Old Swiss Confederacy was an alliance among the valley communities of the central Alps to facilitate management of common interests (such as trade) and ensure peace along trade routes through the mountains. Previously, the communities, also known collectively as
3120-1498: The federal constitution. This reflects the historical order of precedence of the Eight Cantons in the 15th century, followed by the remaining cantons in the order of their historical accession to the confederacy. Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy , also known as Switzerland or
3185-483: The former feudal rights to the cantonal patriciates , leading to rebellions among the rural population. The Radicals embodied these democratic forces calling for a new federal constitution. This tension, paired with religious issues ("Jesuit question") escalated into armed conflict in the 1840s, with the brief Sonderbund War . The victory of the Liberal-Radicals resulted in the formation of Switzerland as
3250-406: The last 15,000 years, the small river has eaten its way into the rock and, between Valens and Ragol, it is sometimes even completely covered by natural bridges . The narrow crevice is around 750 m (2,460 ft) long and 70 m (230 ft) deep. The gorge, which is accissible by a pedestrian bridge, also contains a hot spring used for a spa . At Pfäfers, the gorge widens so much that for
3315-494: The last 4 km (2.5 mi) there is also space for a single-lane road next to the river, which since 1838 connects Bad Ragaz with Altes Bad Pfäfers (a former spa and hotel, now a museum and restaurant). The road is closed to cars, but a bus operates on it. There are two hypotheses about the origin of the Tamina Gorge: In the upper part of the Tamina Gorge there is a hot spring, pumping out 8,000 L (1,800 imp gal; 2,100 US gal) of water per minute with
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#17327942382643380-399: The members of the early confederacy is recorded in the mid-14th century, used interchangeably with Stett und Lender ('cities and lands', 'city cantons and rural cantons') until the late 15th century. Ort was increasingly replaced by Stand (plural: Stände ) ' estate ' about 1550, a term taken to imply liberty and sovereignty. Abolished in the Helvetic Republic, the term 'Stand'
3445-444: The number to 22 due to the accession of former associates of the Old Swiss Confederacy . The canton of Jura acceded as the 23rd canton with its secession from Bern in 1979. The official number of cantons was increased to 26 in the federal constitution of 1999 , which designated former half-cantons as cantons. The areas of the cantons vary from 37 km (15 sq. mi.) ( Basel-Stadt ) to 7,105 km (2743 sq. mi.) ( Grisons );
3510-424: The peace, aid in military endeavours and arbitrate disputes. Slowly, the members began to see the confederation as a unifying entity. In the Pfaffenbrief , a treaty of 1370 among six of the eight members (Glarus and Bern did not participate) forbidding feuds and denying clerical courts jurisdiction over the confederacy, the cantons for the first time used the term Eidgenossenschaft . The first treaty uniting
3575-433: The populations (as of 2018) range from 16,000 ( Appenzell Innerrhoden ) to 1.5 million ( Zürich ). The term canton , now also used as the English term for administrative subdivisions of other countries, originates in French usage in the late 15th century (recorded in Fribourg in 1467), from a word for "edge, corner", at the time the literal translation of Early Modern High German ort . After 1490, canton
3640-428: The rest of the Confederacy. They also agreed to resolve all disputes peacefully and to support one another in both external and internal affairs. At this point however, the Swiss were still subordinate to the Empire, and they acknowledged the authority of the Holy Roman Empire. The initial pact was augmented by pacts with the cities of Lucerne , Zürich , and Bern . This union of rural and urban communes, which enjoyed
3705-631: The restored monarchies of France , Italy , Austria-Hungary and Germany . The Swiss Federal Constitution declares the cantons to be sovereign to the extent that their sovereignty is not limited by federal law. Areas specifically reserved to the Confederation are the armed forces, currency, the postal service, telecommunications, immigration into and emigration from the country, granting asylum, conducting foreign relations with sovereign states, civil and criminal law, weights and measures, and customs duties. Each canton has its own constitution , legislature , executive , police and courts . Similar to
3770-449: The status of imperial immediacy within the Holy Roman Empire , was engendered by pressure from Habsburg dukes and kings who had ruled much of the land. Bern in particular had fought against local nobles, including the Habsburgs, on several occasions, and as such was eager to join the Confederacy. In several battles with Habsburg armies, the Swiss were victorious; they conquered the rural areas of Glarus and Zug , which became members of
3835-402: Was a de facto independent state throughout the early modern period , although still nominally part of the Holy Roman Empire until 1648 when the Treaty of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War . The Swiss Reformation divided the confederates into Reformed and Catholic parties, resulting in internal conflict from the 16th to the 18th centuries; as a result, the federal diet ( Tagsatzung )
3900-473: Was first used in the 1370 Pfaffenbrief . Territories of the confederacy came to be known collectively as Schweiz or Schweizerland ( Schwytzerland in contemporary spelling), with the English Switzerland beginning during the mid-16th century. From that time the Confederacy was seen as a single state, also known as the Swiss Republic ( Republic der Schweitzer , République des Suisses and Republica Helvetiorum by Josias Simmler in 1576) after
3965-557: Was increasingly used in French and Italian documents to refer to the members of the Swiss Confederacy. English use of canton in reference to the Swiss Confederacy (as opposed to the heraldic sense ) dates to the early 17th century. In the Old Swiss Confederacy, the term Ort (plural: Orte ) was in use from the early 15th century as a generic term for the member cantons. The founding cantons specifically were also known as Waldstätte 'forest settlements' (singular: Waldstatt ). The formulaic Stette und Waldstette for
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#17327942382644030-511: Was often paralysed by hostility between the factions. The Swiss Confederacy fell to a French invasion in 1798, after which it became the short-lived Helvetic Republic . The adjective "old" was introduced after the Napoleonic era with Ancien Régime , retronyms distinguishing the pre-Napoleonic from the restored confederation. During its existence the confederacy was known as Eidgenossenschaft or Eydtgnoschafft ("oath fellowship"), in reference to treaties among cantons; this term
4095-419: Was revived in 1815 and remains in use today. The French term canton adopted into German after 1648 , and then only in occasional use until the early 19th century: prominent usage of Ort and Stand gradually disappeared in German-speaking Switzerland from the time of the Helvetic Republic . Only with the Act of Mediation of 1803 did German Kanton become an official designation, retained in
4160-399: Was the confederation council, typically meeting several times a year. Each canton delegated two representatives (including the associate states, which had no vote). The canton where the delegates met initially chaired the gathering, but during the 16th century Zürich permanently assumed the chair ( Vorort ) and Baden became the seat. The Tagsatzung dealt with inter-cantonal affairs and
4225-512: Was the court of last resort in disputes between member states, imposing sanctions on dissenting members. It also administered the condominiums; the reeves were delegated for two years, each time by a different canton. A unifying treaty of the Old Swiss Confederacy was the Stanser Verkommnis of 1481. Conflicts between rural and urban cantons and disagreements over the bounty of the Burgundian Wars had led to skirmishes. The urban cantons of Bern, Zurich, and Luzern in particular wanted to keep
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