The Rorschacher Klosterbruch or St. Gallerkrieg was a war between the

Abbey of Saint Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall () 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 where Saint Gall had er ...

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

Schwyz Schwyz (; ; ) is a town and the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ''Bundesbriefmuseum''. The of ...

and

Glarus Glarus (; ; ; ; ) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Since 1 January 2011, the municipality of Glarus incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern.St. Gallen and

Appenzell Appenzell () was a cantons of Switzerland, canton in the northeast of Switzerland, and entirely surrounded by the canton of St. Gallen, in existence from 1403 to 1597. Appenzell became independent of the Abbey of Saint Gall in 1403 and entered ...

in 1489 to 1490.

Background

Following the Appenzell victory in 1408 during the

Appenzell Wars The Appenzell Wars () were a series of conflicts that lasted from 1401 until 1429 in the Appenzell region of modern-day Switzerland. The wars consisted of uprisings of cooperative groups, such as the farmers of Appenzell or the craftsmen of the c ...

, the Abbey of St. Gall lost much of their power and wealth. By 1412 there were only two monks left at the Abbey, one of which elected the other as Abbot. As a result, over the following decades the abbots of St. Gall aggressively expanded their lands and influence in the region. In 1442 the town used a visit of

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Frederick III to throw off much of the Abbey's power over them. The leaders of the town swore loyalty to the Emperor. Then, in the same year when Kaspar von Landenberg was appointed Abbot over the Abbey, they declared that they could not swear loyalty to him because they already had to the Emperor. Under Kaspar, the Abbey spent money wastefully and was quickly deep in debt. To help rein in the abbot's spending and to further expand their independence, in 1451 the Abbey allied with Zurich, Lucerne, Schwiz and Glarus and forced Kaspar to appoint a

cellarer A cellarium (from the Latin language, Latin ''cella'', "pantry"), also known as an ''undercroft'', was a storehouse or storeroom, usually in a medieval monastery or castle. In English monasteries, it was usually located in or under the buildings o ...

, Ulrich Rösch. In 1454 the town also allied with the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

. Abbot Kaspar fought often with Ulrich and in 1458 appealed to the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

to be rid of Ulrich. However, the decision was given to Cardinal Aeneas Sylvius, who sided with Ulrich and allowed Abbot Kaspar to retain the title, but turned day-to-day operations over to Ulrich. When Abbot Kaspar died in 1463, Ulrich appointed himself Abbot Ulrich VIII and began trying to force the town back under control of the Abbey. Over the next two decades, Abbot Ulrich continued expanding the power and land holdings of the Abbey. He repaired and expanded many of the monastery buildings. His ambitions often brought him into conflict with the town. At the same time the leaders of the town had become wealthy from weaving and trading fabric. In the early 1460s,

Ulrich Varnbüler St. Gallen is a Switzerland, Swiss List of cities in Switzerland, city and the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of St. Gallen, St. Gallen. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Tod ...

was a rising star in the town. During the

Burgundian Wars The Burgundian Wars (1474–1477) were a conflict between the Burgundian State and the Old Swiss Confederacy and its allies. Open war broke out in 1474, and the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was defeated three times on the battlefield in th ...

, he ably led the St. Gallen army and in the

Battle of Grandson The Battle of Grandson was fought on 2 March 1476, during the Burgundian Wars, and resulted in a major defeat for Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundian State, Burgundy, at the hands of the Old Swiss Confederacy. Background In 1475, the town of ...

(1476) his troops were part of the advance units of the Confederation and took part in their famous attack. A large painting of Ulrich returning triumphantly to a hero's welcome in St. Gallen is still displayed in St. Gallen. After the war, Varnbüler often represented St. Gallen at the various parliaments of the Confederation. In December 1480, Varnbüler was offered the position of mayor for the first time. From that time on, he served in several leadership positions and was considered the city's intellectual and political leader. His position as mayor often brought him into conflict with Abbot Ulrich Rösch. In late 1480, Abbot Ulrich Rösch began planning to move the abbey away from the city of St. Gallen to a new location near the village of Rorschach near

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) 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 Seerhein (). These ...

. By moving he hoped to escape the independence and conflict in the city. Additionally, by moving closer to the important lake trade routes, he could make Rorschach into a major harbor and collect a fortune in taxes. In turn Mayor Varnbüler and the city feared that a new harbor on the lake would cause trade to bypass St. Gallen and Appenzell. They would then be forced to go through the Prince-Bishop's harbor to sell their fabric. Though the city of St. Gallen and Appenzell opposed the new monastery, after the approval of

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

and protracted negotiations with Emperor Friedrich III the

corner stone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time a ...

of the new Mariaberg Abbey was laid on 21 March 1487.

The battles

The city created secret council to plan their response to the new abbey. As construction progressed they held secret negotiations with the Appenzellers. At first they simply protested the Abbot's plan, but when that went nowhere, they began planning an attack on the abbey. They believed that the Swiss Confederation would not intervene due to tensions between them and the

Swabian League The Swabian League () was a military alliance of Imperial State, imperial estates – Free imperial city, imperial cities, prelates, principalities and knights – principally in the territory of the early Middle Ages, medieval stem duchy of S ...

. On 28 July 1489 a group of 1200 Appenzellers and 350 St. Galleners assembled at Grub (now part of

Eggersriet Eggersriet is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of St. Gallen (Wahlkreis), St. Gallen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of St. Gallen (canton), St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Eggersriet is fi ...

) and marched on the Abbey. They had kept their planning so secret that they achieved total surprise. They quickly tore down the walls and burned everything they could find. After spending the night drinking and feasting on the abbot's supplies, they returned to their homes. The attack cost the Abbot the 13,000 gulden he had already spent on construction along with an additional 3,000 in furniture and supplies. The Abbey's

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

s were supportive of the actions of the city and Appenzell and on 21 October 1489 signed the ''Waldkircher Bund'' with the rebels. Soon after signing the alliance, a small force began an unsuccessful siege of Rorschach Castle. The Abbot spent the following months seeking support from his allies in the Old Swiss Confederation to punish St. Gallen and Appenzell. Initially he had little success. While the four allied cantons (Zürich, Lucerne, Schwyz and Glarus) generally supported the Abbot, the remainder of the Confederacy did not. However, the creation of the Waldkircher Bund appeared threatening to the Confederacy and moved it to support the Abbot. On 24 January 1490, the Confederacy allowed the four cantons to attack the city and Appenzell. On 27 January the city of Zug attempted to host another peace meeting, but was unsuccessful. The armies of the four cantons were already moving toward St. Gallen. On 4 February about 8,000 soldiers from the four cantons assembled in Wil. On the following day, St. Gallen and Appenzell troops were supposed to assemble at Gossau. However, Appenzell chose to keep their forces behind their

letzi A ''Letzi'' (plural: ''Letzinen'', also known in German as a ''Talsperre'' in the sense of a fortification, not a dam) or ''Letzimauer'' refers to defensive barriers whose purpose is to protect the entrance into a valley. The term is Swiss, and ...

or wall near

Herisau Herisau is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. It is the seat of the canton's government and parliament; the judicial authorities are situated ...

and the defenders near Gossau melted away. The four canton troops marched toward Gossau, relieving the siege of Rorschach Castle on 8 February. The following day Hermann Zidler, the Appenzell leader, appeared at the four cantons' camp and negotiated a peace treaty. Around the same time, the Abbey's vassals chose to leave the ''Waldkircher Bund'', leaving St. Gallen alone to face the Swiss Confederation. On 11–12 February the Confederation troops encircled St. Gallen and burned the town outside the city walls. By this time St. Gallen had requested support from the Swabian Bund, who sent 10,000 men toward St. Gallen; these did not arrive in time to have any impact, however. Over the next few days both sides fired on each other with limited effect. One chronicle records that within the city one man was killed and two wounded but over 30 were killed in the besieging army, though that number is probably exaggerated. After several days of negotiations, on February 15 both sides signed a peace treaty, ending the St. Gallen War.

Aftermath

The February treaty dissolved the ''Waldkircher Bund'' and returned all lands and possessions to everyone involved with one exception. Ulrich Varnbüler was stripped of all his property outside the city of St. Gallen and was banished from the Confederation. Additionally the town clerk, Hans Schenkli, was to be either tried and executed or banished. On 7 March both sides met in

Einsiedeln Einsiedeln () is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and Districts of Switzerland#Schwyz, district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century. Histor ...

to negotiate a final peace treaty. A treaty was signed between the city and the Abbot on 16 March, followed by a treaty with the Confederation and the city on 2 April. The treaties allowed the Abbot to build anything he wanted in Rorschach and to expand the Abbey in St. Gallen. The city had to pay the Abbot 4,000 gulden and the Confederation 10,000 gulden. The city lost the courts of Oberberg (by Gossau), Oberdorf,

Andwil Andwil is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of St. Gallen (Wahlkreis), St. Gallen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of St. Gallen (canton), St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Andwil is first ment ...

and Steinach. The Abbot also agreed to forgive everyone who joined the uprising, except for Varnbüler and Schenkli. Appenzell had to give the Rheintal Vogtei to the Confederation, which administered it as a

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

of the entire Confederation, except for

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. Schenkli was arrested, but never brought to trial. By June he was living in the city on

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

. At that time representatives of the four cantons met with him and demanded that the city exile him. The new mayor of St. Gallen and the city council convinced the representatives that they needed Schenkli and that he would not cause problems. The representatives accepted this and Schenkli returned to his office.Häne pg. 174 Varnbüler fled to

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

and then to

Lindau Lindau (, ''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, Germany. It is the capital ...

, where he lived until his death in 1495 or 1496. Mariaberg Monastery was rebuilt starting in 1497 and completed 1518. But it only served the monastery of St. Gallen as an administrative center and later became a school.

References

{{reflist Battles involving Switzerland History of the canton of St. Gallen Abbey of Saint Gall