The Urseren (also ''Ursern'') is the valley of the upper

Reuss Reuss may refer to: *Reuss (surname) * Reuss (river) in Switzerland * Imperial County of Reuss or Reuß, several former states or countries in present-day Germany, and the People's State of Reuss * Principality of Reuss-Greiz and Principality of R ...

in Uri,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, running southwest to northeast, from

Realp Realp (archaic : ''Frialp'') is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Uri, Uri in Switzerland. History Realp is first mentioned in 1363 as ''Riealb''. Geography Realp has an area, , of . ...

to Hospental and

Andermatt Andermatt () is a mountain village and municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland. At an elevation of above sea level, Andermatt is located at the center of the Saint-Gotthard Massif and the historical center ...

. Separated from the main valley of Uri, it connects to the

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

via the Furkapass, to the

Grisons The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include: * ; *Romansh language, Romansh: ** ** ** ** ** **; * ; * ; * . See also list of European regions with alternative names#G, other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton ...

via the Oberalppass and to the

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

via the Gotthard Pass. The valley was in possession of

Disentis Abbey Disentis Abbey () is a Benedictine monastery in the Grisons, Canton of Grisons in eastern Switzerland, around which the present town of Disentis () grew up. Early history Formerly the date of the foundation of this abbey, attributed to the local s ...

from 800. It was colonized by Walser settlers prior to the 12th century. The '' Blutgericht'' lay with the

counts of Rapperswil The House of Rapperswil respectively Counts of Rapperswil (''Grafen von Rapperwil'' since 1233, before ''Lords'') ruled the upper ''Zürichsee'' and ''Seedamm'' region around Rapperswil and parts of, as of today, Swiss cantons of St. Gallen, ...

from 1232, in 1283 passing to the

house of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

, and in 1317 to local nobility of Uri. In 1332, there was a skirmish between settlers and troops of the abbey's at Oberalp, resulting in a defeat of Disentis. Urseren became ''

reichsfrei In the Holy Roman Empire, imperial immediacy ( or ) was the status of an individual or a territory which was defined as 'immediate' () to Emperor and Empire () and not to any other intermediate authorities, while one that did not possess that stat ...

'' in 1382 and joined the

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...

in 1410, and associated itself with Uri for purposes of defence and external representation, however retaining privileges as an independent territory. In 1649, Urseren bought itself out of the last remaining ties to Disentis. In 1798, the Urseren became part of the canton of Waldstätten of the Helvetic Republic, and in 1803 became part of the

canton of Uri The canton of Uri ( ; ; ; ) is one of the cantons of switzerland, 26 cantons of Switzerland and a founding member of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is located in Central Switzerland. The canton's territory covers the valley of the Reuss ...

. In 1946, there were riots over a disputed dam project which intended to flood the entire valley. The project was never realized; instead, Göscheneralpsee reservoir was built in the upper Göschenen Valley in 1960. The project was proposed in 1941, after a first project of 1920 had to be abandoned. In 1946, engineer Karl Fetz was "chased out of town" and the architect's office was vandalized. It is known as the ''Krawall von Andermatt'' on 19 February 1946. The project was abandoned in the early 1950s in favour of the Göschenen dam.

References

Valleys of Switzerland Valleys of the Alps Landforms of the canton of Uri Reuss basin 15th-century establishments in the Old Swiss Confederacy 1410s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1410 establishments in Europe {{Uri-geo-stub