The Toggenburg War, also known as the Second War of Villmergen or the Swiss Civil War of 1712, was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

during the

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy ( Modern German: ; historically , after the Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or In the charters of the 14th centur ...

from 12 April to 11 August 1712. The

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

"inner cantons" and the Imperial Abbey of Saint Gall fought the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

cantons of

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

and

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Z ...

as well as the abbatial subjects of

Toggenburg Toggenburg is a region of Switzerland. It corresponds to the upper valley of the river Thur and that of its main tributary, the Necker. Since 1 January 2003, Toggenburg has been a constituency (''Wahlkreis'') of the canton of St. Gallen ( ...

. The conflict was a

religious war A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to ...

, a war for hegemony in the Confederacy and an uprising of subjects. The war ended in a Protestant victory and upset the balance of political power within the Confederacy.

Background

The war was caused by a conflict between the prince-abbot of St Gall, Leodegar Bürgisser, and his Protestant subjects in the County of Toggenburg. It had belonged to the Imperial

Abbey of St Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall (german: Abtei St. Gallen) is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot ...

since 1460 but was simultaneously connected to the Swiss Cantons of

Glarus , neighboring_municipalities= Glarus Nord, Glarus Süd, Muotathal (SZ), Innerthal (SZ) , twintowns= Wiesbaden-Biebrich (Germany) } Glarus (; gsw, Glaris; french: Glaris; it, Glarona; rm, Glaruna) is the capital of the canton of Glarus ...

and Schwyz through '' Landrecht'' since 1436. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, about two thirds of the Toggenburg population were Protestants, but they were not the majority in every municipality. After the transaction of sovereignty to the Imperial Abbey, the Reformed inhabitants of Toggenburg were promised by their Swiss allies of the Cantons of

and

and by the prince-abbot that the principle of equal treatment in religious matters would be respected. However, the abbots of St Gall undertook attempts to return Toggenburg to Catholicism in the frame of the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

. In all municipalities, including those that were almost completely Reformed, the position of Catholics was strengthened, and new Catholic churches were built in several towns, which made the common usage of parish churches no longer required. In the 17th century the prince-abbots and their worldly magistrates, the ''Landeshofmeister'', began to organise the abbatial sovereign territories more strictly and to subject them to an at least tentatively modern governance in the frame of the absolutist practice of the day. That resulted in conflicts by the infringement of the Protestant clergy by the abbatial authorities. In 1663, for example, the abbatial governor of Toggenburg in Lichtensteig, Wolfgang Friedrich Schorno, sentenced a vicar, Jeremias Braun, to death because he had allegedly committed

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...

during a Reformed sermon. Only through interference by the Protestant Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden was Braun's punishment reduced to banishment. Four years later, through the intervention of their protector cantons, the Toggenburgers succeeded in having abbot Gallus Alt (r. 1654–1687) remove Schorno from office. In 1695, in the framework of the Counter-Reformation, the seven Catholic cantons of the Confederacy and the prince-abbot of St Gall formed an alliance for the salvation of

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

against the "un-Catholic religion". To strengthen the connections between the Imperial Abbey and Catholic

Central Switzerland Central Switzerland is the region of the Alpine Foothills geographically the heart and historically the origin of Switzerland, with the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Lucerne and Zug. Central Switzerland is one of the NUTS 2 Stat ...

, Schwyz proposed to Prince-Abbot Leodegar Bürgisser (r. 1696–1717) in 1699 the construction of a new road over the

Ricken Pass The Ricken Pass is a mountain pass in the canton of St. Gallen in eastern Switzerland. At a maximum altitude of , it connects the Linth valley and the Toggenburg Toggenburg is a region of Switzerland. It corresponds to the upper valley of t ...

between Uznach and

Wattwil Wattwil is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the municipality of Krinau merged into Wattwil.Imperial City of St. Gallen in 1697, Bürgisser ordered the municipality of Wattwil to start constructing the road over the Ricken Pass on the Toggenburg side through

socage Socage () was one of the feudal duties and land tenure forms in the English feudal system. It eventually evolved into the freehold tenure called "free and common socage", which did not involve feudal duties. Farmers held land in exchange for cle ...

. The refusal of the Wattwilers to collaborate in building the road, which they regarded as a threat to their religious freedom and as leading to their financial suppression, caused a serious conflict with the prince-abbot, who eventually resorted to incarcerating the highest Toggenburg magistrate, the ''Landweibel'' Josef Germann, in order to break the opposition. Because Germann was a Catholic, the Toggenburgers' complaints were heard by the protector cantons, which began acting on behalf of the Toggenburgers. In that situation, ''Landeshofmeister'' Fidel von Thurn moved Bürgisser to seek diplomatic ties within the Holy Roman Empire, and a treaty of protection was concluded with Emperor

Leopold I of Habsburg Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria An ...

in 1702. Bürgisser even received the investiture as

Imperial Prince Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. '' Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors ...

in 1706. Those events threatened to raise the conflict to a European level. Moreover, that constituted a grave breach of the structure and sovereignty of the Confederacy since the Imperial Abbey of St Gall seemed to escape all of the influence of the Confederacy (despite St Gall being a member since 1451) and to enter into the Austrian sphere of influence (the Swiss had fought for centuries to uphold their independence from the Habsburgers). Especially both Appenzells but also Zürich could not accept such a turn of affairs. Also, the Princely Lands housed the fourth greatest population within the Confederacy, and they had essential economic importance in eastern Switzerland. The Toggenburgers sought and found allies, mainly in their protector cantons, Schwyz and Glarus, with which they renewed their ''Landrecht'' in 1703 and 1704. Moreover, the Protestant outposts of Zürich and Bern were becoming more and more supportive of the Toggenburg cause. In 1707, they presented the prince-abbot with a mediation proposal in which Toggenburg would be granted far-reaching autonomy, but Bürgisser did not respond. A series of events then began, which would eventually escalate to war.

Escalation of crisis

The first step towards escalation was made by the Toggenburgers, with the approval of Bern and of Zürich, by adopting a design for a constitution on 23 March 1707 at a ''

Landsgemeinde The ''Landsgemeinde'' ("cantonal assembly"; , plural ''Landsgemeinden'') is a public, non-secret ballot voting system operating by majority rule, which constitutes one of the oldest forms of direct democracy. Still at use – in a few places � ...

'' at Wattwil, which installed an autonomous governance for Toggenburg and maintained the sovereignty of the Imperial Abbey of St Gall over it. The Toggenburgers thus acted upon the example given by Appenzell as a ''Landsgemeinde'' democracy. All abbatial magistrates and the governor were extradited and freedom of religion was promulgated, which obviously threatened the Catholic cantons' interests. The Catholic protector canton of Schwyz defected to the camp of the prince-abbot, and the conflict now assumed a clearly religious character. The Confederacy chose sides along its fault lines of faith for either the prince-abbot of St Gall or the Reformed Toggenburgers. Attempts at mediation by both Imperial and French envoys to the Confederacy failed, and the Reformed cantons urged for settling the conflict before the end of the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

to reduce the chance of a foreign intervention. The struggle reached such a peak that the Toggenburgers armed themselves with the support of Zürich, and they occupied the abbatial fortresses at

Lütisburg Lütisburg is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Lütisburg is first mentioned in 1214 as ''Liutinsburch'' Bereits früher belegt sind. The hamlet of Rindal was fir ...

, Iberg and Schwarzenbach in 1710. Religious strife was now splitting the Toggenburgers themselves along religious boundaries in the moderate " Lime Tree" (''Linde'') and the radical "

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

" (''Harte''). In 1711, several Catholic municipalities once again subjected themselves to the abbot. The "Pines" then militarily occupied the municipalities, the abbatial goods and the monasteries of Magdenau and Neu St. Johann with the tacit approval of Bern and Zürich. That incident definitively forced the prince-abbot to take military counteractions and spread the crisis throughout Confederacy. On 13 April 1712, Bern and Zürich published a manifesto against the prince-abbot of St Gall and so revealed their support for the Toggenburgers. The five Catholic inner cantons of

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label= Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital o ...

, Schwyz, Uri, Zug and

Unterwalden Unterwalden, translated from the Latin ''inter silvas''(''between the forests''), is the old name of a forest-canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne, consisting of two valleys or '' Talschaften'', no ...

published a countermanifesto, and armed themselves for war. Bern and Zürich found support with the city of

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

and the

Principality of Neuchâtel A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...

as well as its allies in the

Prince-Bishopric of Basel The Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Hochstift Basel, Fürstbistum Basel, Bistum Basel) was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled from 1032 by prince-bishops with their seat at Basel, and from 1528 until 1792 at ...

Biel , french: Biennois(e) , neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin , twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany) ...

Moutier Moutier () is a municipality in Switzerland. Currently, the town belongs to the Jura bernois administrative district of the canton of Bern. On 28 March 2021, the population voted to secede from the canton of Bern and join the Canton of Jura; the ...

and

La Neuveville La Neuveville (; german: Neuenstadt) is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland, located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (''Jura Bernois''). History La Neuveville is first mentioned ...

. The five cantons found support with

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...

At the time, Valais (known as the ''Republic of the Seven Tithings'') was still an associate of the Confederacy, not a Swiss canton, and so there were only five cantons on the Catholic side. It was only in 1815 that Valais became a full member of the new Swiss Confederacy. and in their ''

Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

eien'' in

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

as well as in the '' Freie Ämter''. The remaining cantons stayed neutral, the Catholic cantons of

Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () ...

and

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...

without regard to Bern and France, the Reformed city of St Gallen was surrounded by the abbatial territory and Glarus was internally divided. The

Three Leagues The Three Leagues, sometimes referred to as Raetia, was the alliance of 1471 of the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions, and the Grey League, leading eventually to the formation of the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grison ...

mobilised in favour of the Protestant cause because of their alliance with Zürich from 1707, but they did not participate in any combat actions.

Course of war

As Bern and Zürich had long been preparing for war, they seized the offensive. Bern opened the first war phase on 26 April, when its first troops crossed the river

Aar AAR or Aar may refer to: Geography * Aar, a river in Switzerland, tributary of the Rhine *Aar (Lahn), a tributary of Lahn river in Germany, descending from the Taunus mountains * Aar (Dill), a tributary of Dill river in Germany, also in the bas ...

at Stilli to support Zürich with the occupation of

Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is par ...

and the assault on the abbatial lands. In mid-May, about 3000 Zürichers, 2000 Bernese, 2000 Toggenburgers and 1800 Protestant Thurgauers marched into the Princely Lands. They hit upon the abbatial city of Wil, which fell on 22 May after a short siege. The allies then pushed forward to

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...

and occupied the

Abbey of Saint Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall (german: Abtei St. Gallen) is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot ...

and the Vogtei Rheintal. The abbot fled to Neuravensburg, a lordship north of

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Lak ...

that the abbey had acquired in 1699. The five Catholic cantons occupied

Rapperswil Rapperswil (Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dial ...

, but initially left the abbot without any support. According to the time's

laws of war The law of war is the component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war ('' jus ad bellum'') and the conduct of warring parties (''jus in bello''). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territ ...

, the abbey and its goods were put an under a military governance, and its chattel and riches were sent to Bern and Zürich. Vilmergue_battle_IMG_3159

Just like in the

First War of Villmergen The First War of Villmergen Encarta-encyclopedie Winkler Prins (1993–2002) s.v. "Zwitserland. §5.2 Reformatie". Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum. was a Swiss religious war which lasted from 5 January until 7 March 1656, at the time of the Ol ...

, the

Canton of Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capit ...

became the most important scene of combat. The five cantons occupied the cities of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

Mellingen Mellingen is a historic town and a municipality in the district of Baden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. The town is located on the Reuss. History Mellingen is first mentioned in 1045 as ''Mellingen'' though this comes from a 16th-cen ...

and Bremgarten with their strategic fords and thereby threatened to drive a wedge between Zürich and Bern. The Bernese immediately launched a counteroffensive under the command of General-Major Jean de Sacconay. On 22 May, the forces had clashed in the

County of Baden The County of Baden (German: ''Grafschaft Baden'') was a condominium of the Old Swiss Confederacy and is now part of the Swiss Canton of Aargau. The county was established in 1415 after the Swiss conquest of the Aargau and was ruled as a shared c ...

near Mellingen. The battle went in favour of the Bernese, who then took the city. On 26 May, they were also victorious at the Battle of Fischbach, and occupied Bremgarten. United with the Zürcher troops, the Bernese marched towards Baden, which was forced to surrender on 1 June. The fortress of the Catholic city, the Stein, which had been built after the First War of Villmergen despite protests from the Reformed cantons, was immediately destroyed to symbolise the Protestant victory. Bern and Zürich had now successfully prevented the five cantons from splitting them in Aargau. The five cantons moved towards peace negotiations on 3 June, and on 18 July 1712, Zürich, Bern, Lucerne and Uri signed a treaty in

Aarau , neighboring_municipalities= Buchs, Suhr, Unterentfelden, Eppenberg-Wöschnau, Erlinsbach , twintowns = Neuchâtel (Switzerland), Delft (Netherlands), Reutlingen (Germany) Aarau (, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the ...

. It decided that the five cantons would lose their share in the

Gemeine Herrschaften The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy ( Modern German: ; historically , after the Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or In the charters of the 14th centur ...

of the County of Baden and (partially) the Freie Ämter. The second and much bloodier phase of the war was triggered by the ''Landsgemeinden'' of Schwyz, Zug and Unterwalden who, after being influenced by the

papal The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

, Caraccioli, had rejected the Treaty of Aarau. In Lucerne and Uri, the people also demanded from the government to take up arms once more against the Protestant cantons. On 20 July, the first strike of the forces of the five cantons on the Bernese armed bands occurred at Sins, which then retreated to join the main guard of Bern at Muri ( Battle of Sins). On 22 July, the Schwyzer and Zuger troops launched a failed attack against the Zürcher

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...

s at

Richterswil Richterswil (Swiss German: ''Richtischwiil'' ) is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Richterswil is first mentioned in 1265 as ''Richtliswile''. During the 17th Century, a series of peasan ...

and Hütten. On 25 July,

Villmergen Villmergen is a municipality in the district of Bremgarten in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. Two famous battles took place at Villmergen. In 2010 Hilfikon merged into Villmergen.Samuel Frisching, Niklaus von Diesbach and Jean de Sacconay fought against 12,000 men from Central Switzerland under command of Franz Konrad von Sonnenberg and Ludwig Christian Pfyffer. The long-undecided battle was finally determined by the intervention of a fresh corps from Seengen and

Lenzburg Lenzburg is a town in the central region of the Swiss canton Aargau and is the capital of the Lenzburg District. The town, founded in the Middle Ages, lies in the Seetal valley, about 3 kilometres south of the Aare river. Lenzburg and the neig ...

as well as the superior Bernese artillery. During the battle 2,000 Catholics were killed. After their victory in the

Second Battle of Villmergen The Toggenburg War, also known as the Second War of Villmergen or the Swiss Civil War of 1712, was a Swiss civil war during the Old Swiss Confederacy from 12 April to 11 August 1712. The Catholic "inner cantons" and the Imperial Abbey of Saint ...

, the Bernese and the Zürichers advanced into the Lucernese territory, the land of Zug, across the Brünig Pass to Unterwalden and via Rapperswil to the Linthebene. That made the resistance of the five cantons finally collapse.

Peace of Aarau or "Fourth Landfrieden"

At the of 11 August 1712, the Fourth Landfrieden in the history of the Confederacy, Bern and Zürich secured their rule over the Gemeine Herrschaften. The political hegemony of the Catholic cantons in the Gemeine Herrschaften since 1531 thus came to an end. That simultaneously meant the restoration of a compromised religious peace within the Old Confederacy. The territorial conditions for peace were somewhat sharpened from those of the first peace treaty: * Zürich and Bern, together with Glarus, maintained their ownership of the

and the lower Freie Ämter, limited by a line between

Oberlunkhofen Oberlunkhofen is a municipality in the district of Bremgarten, in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History The earliest signs of a settlement in Oberlunkhofen are scattered Bronze Age items. In Schalchmatthau there is the foundation of a ...

and

Fahrwangen Fahrwangen is a municipality in the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History Prehistorical finds from various Neolithic eras, Roman and Alamanni ruins all testify to a long history of human habitation around Fahrwa ...

. That secured the military connection between Zürich and the Bernese land of Aargau and blocked the Catholic cantons' access to the north. * The lordship of Rapperswil was acquired by Zürich, Bern and Glarus. * The Schwyzer Hurden (in

Freienbach Freienbach is a municipality in Höfe District in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. History Freienbach is first mentioned in 972 as ''Friginbach''. Geography Freienbach has an area, , of . Of this area, 40.7% is used for agricultural purpos ...

) became a Gemeine Herrschaft of Zürich and Bern. * Bern now had coruled in all Gemeine Herrschaften in which it had not had a share:

, the Vogtei Rheintal, the County of Sargans and the upper Freie Ämter. * In the Gemeine Herrschaften and Toggenburg, subjects kept their right to exercise both the Catholic and the Protestant religions. Zürich's further claims to the County of Uznach, Höfe (lost in the

Old Zürich War The Old Zurich War (german: Alter Zürichkrieg), 1440–46, was a conflict between the canton of Zurich and the other seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy over the succession to the Count of Toggenburg. In 1436, Count Friedrich VII of T ...

) and the Vogtei Gaster were not supported by Bern and the other cantons. Juridically, the Fourth Landfrieden made the Second Landfrieden of Kappel of 1531, confirmed at the Third Landfrieden in 1656, cease to function. Therefore, the Protestant religion was formally treated equally before the law in the

Tagsatzung The Federal Diet of Switzerland (german: Tagsatzung, ; french: Diète fédérale; it, Dieta federale) was the legislative and executive council of the Old Swiss Confederacy and existed in various forms from the beginnings of Swiss independen ...

as well as in the governance of the Vogteien, and all conflicts in which both religions were concerned now had parity. In the Landvogteien Thurgau, Baden, Sargans and Rheintal, the Reformed municipalities kept the guarantee of their religious exercise under Zürcher sovereignty, and the rights of the Catholics were secured. Instead of mere tolerance, the Protestants now received equal treatment before the law to the traditionally-favoured Catholic religion. A "Landfriedliche Kommission", composed of representatives from Zürich, Bern, Lucerne and Uri, began to oversee matters of religion.Im Hof: ''Ancien Régime.'' (1977) p. 699. The prince-abbot of

Saint Gall Gall ( la, Gallus; 550 646) according to hagiographic tradition was a disciple and one of the traditional twelve companions of Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. Deicolus was the elder brother of Gall. Biography The ...

, Leodegar Bürgisser, went into exile with his convent on 29 May to Neuravensburg Castle, the residence of a new lordship of St Gall north of

Lindau Lindau (german: Lindau (Bodensee), ''Lindau am Bodensee''; ; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Lindou'') is a major Town#Germany, town and Lindau (island), island on the eastern side of Lake Constance (''Bodensee'' in German) in Bavaria, Ge ...

. Zürich and Bern occupied the Princely Lands and governed it together. Many the monastic movable goods that were left behind in St. Gallen, including parts of the archive and the library, were taken away by them. Because of what he considered to be outrageous damage to the rights of the Imperial Abbey, as well as the danger posed to the Catholic religion in Toggenburg, Bürgisser obtained the Peace of Rohrschach, which was finally approved on 28 March 1714 after a series of negotiations with Zürich and Bern. After the death of Bürgisser, a new treaty, the Peace of Baden, was concluded with his successor, Joseph von Rudolphi (r. 1717–1740) on 16 June 1718. The Imperial Abbey of St Gall was restored, including its rule over Toggenburg, and its autonomy and freedom of religion were confirmed. Zürich and Bern ratified the Peace on 11 August 1718. The fact that

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

soon denounced the peace in a letter no longer had any effect on the settlement of the conflict. Abbot von Rudolphi returned to the monastery of St Gall on 7 September 1718 after a six-year exile. On 23 March 1719, he managed to retrieve a large part of the library that was removed to Zürich at the start of the war. Further objects from the Bernese spoils of war were returned to St Gallen in 1721. However, several valuable pieces of the monastic library of St. Gallen remained in Zürich, including manuscripts, paintings, astronomy tools and the Globe of St. Gallen. The conflict on the cultural goods (''Kulturgüterstreit'') between Zürich and St. Gallen flared up in the 1990s but was finally settled amicably in 2006. The animosity between the Imperial Abbey and Toggenburg increased further until the abolishment of the monastic state in 1798, after two abbatial magistrates had been murdered in 1735 and after a 1739 conference in

Frauenfeld Frauenfeld ( Alemannic: ''Frauefäld'') is the capital of the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. The official language of Frauenfeld is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic ...

between the parties had failed to yield any results.

References

Literature

* , ''Zürichs Anteil am Zweiten Villmergerkrieg, 1712'' (= ''Schweizer Studien zur Geschichtswissenschaft,'' Band 4, Nr. 1
ZDB-ID 503936-8
. Leemann, Zürich-Selnau 1912 (Zugleich: Zürich, Universität, Dissertation, 1911/1912). * , ''Ancien Régime.'' In: ''Handbuch der Schweizer Geschichte.'' Band 2. (Zürich 1977) p. 673–784. Berichthaus. . * ''1712. Zeitgenössische Quellen zum Zweiten Villmerger- oder Toggenburgerkrieg.'' Merker im Effingerhof (Lenzburg 2011) (2nd print, Lenzburg 2012, ). * , ''Unruhige Untertanen. Die Rebellion der Luzerner Bauern im zweiten Villmergerkrieg (1712)'' (= ''Luzerner historische Veröffentlichungen.'' Band 29). Rex-Verlag, (Luzern 1995) (Zugleich: Zürich, Universität, Dissertation, 1995). * ,
Villmergerkrieg, Zweiter
' (2013). ''

Historical Dictionary of Switzerland The ''Historical Dictionary of Switzerland'' is an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland that aims to take into account the results of modern historical research in a manner accessible to a broader audience. The encyclopedia is publish ...

''.

External links

*
Online Museum of Hütten: "Villmergerkriege 1656 und 1712 – Befestigte Grenze Kanton Zürich Süd"
{{Authority control 1712 in military history 18th century in the Old Swiss Confederacy Civil wars in Switzerland Religion-based wars 18th-century conflicts Toggenburg 18th-century Calvinism