A S Bhalla- Glimpses of Medieval Switzerland

8/20/2019 A S Bhalla- Glimpses of Medieval Switzerland

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About the Author

A.S Bhalla (MA Cantab; Ph.D. Manchester), based in Switzerland for decades, is aformer ellow of Sidne! Susse" Colle#e, Cambrid#e, $%. &is recent 'ublicationsinclude the Royal Tombs of India: 13 th to 18th Century (Ma'in, *); Poverty and Exclusionof Minorities in China and India (Pal#ra+e Macmillan, -); uddhist !rt in !sia (AustinMacaule!, ); and Monuments" Po#er and Poverty in India: $rom !sho%a to the Ra& (/B0auris, 1), amon# others.

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02 3A45A4 A4D A3MA4 who were born and brou#ht u' in Switzerland and who treat it as their

home

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Co'!ri#ht © A.S. Bhalla (1)

0he ri#ht of A.S. Bhalla to be identified as author of this wor6 has beenasserted b! him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Co'!ri#ht,

Desi#ns and Patents Act *88.

All ri#hts reser+ed. 4o 'art of this 'ublication ma! be re'roduced, stored ina retrie+al s!stem, or transmitted in an! form or b! an! means, electronic,mechanical, 'hotoco'!in#, recordin#, or otherwise, without the 'rior'ermission of the 'ublishers.

An! 'erson who commits an! unauthorized act in relation to this

'ublication ma! be liable to criminal 'rosecution and ci+il claims fordama#es.

A C/P catalo#ue record for this title is a+ailable from the British 9ibrar!.

/SB4 *7878111:8* (Pa'erbac6)/SB4 *7878111:*: (&ardbac6)

www.austinmacaule!.com

irst Published (1) Austin Macaule! Publishers 9td.1 Canada SuareCanar!

Printed and bound in ?reat Britain

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Contents

reface iii

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1

Switzerland in the Middle Ages

Chapter 2 10

Growth of medieval towns

Chapter 3 17

Origin of decorative fountains

Chapter 4 29

Berne sets the tone

Chapter 5 48

Franco-Italian Solothurn

Chapter 6 56

Fribourg, a seat of Catholicism

Chapter 7 67

Zurich and Winterthur, seats of the Reformation

Chapter 8 78

Basel, a commercial and industrial centre

Chapter 9 86

Aargau, land of the counts

Chapter 10 94

Lucerne, a Catholic heartlandChapter 11 103

Zug, central Switzerland

Chapter 12 108

Schwyz and Einsiedeln, Catholics’ Mecca

Chapter 13 112

William Tell’s Altdorf and Bürglen (Uri)

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Chapter 14 118

Schaffhausen and Stein-am-Rhein, northern Switzerland

Chapter 15 125

St Gallen, eastern Switzerland

Chapter 16 130

Chur, Raetian capital in the southeast

Chapter 17 135

Jura, northwestern Switzerland

Chapter 18 140

Neuchâtel, a Prussian principality

Chapter 19 147

Farel’s Protestant Lausanne and VaudChapter 20 160

Calvin’s Geneva

List of Illustrations 166

Illustration Credits 169

Bibliography 170

Index 177

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Preface

Switzerland is one of the most 'icturesue tourist countries not onl! in =uro'e but

also in the entire world. 0his is easil! seen in the streets of /nterla6en or @ermatt whichare thron#ed in winter and summer b! swarms of Chinese, /ndians, 5a'anese and Arabnationals amon# other tourists.

0he idea of writin# an illustrated boo6 on Switzerland arose out of m! lon# sta! (o+er1 !ears) in the countr!. A curiosit! for Swiss art led me to e"tend the sco'e of theboo6 to its medie+al art, architecture and culture. /ts 'icturesue castles, massi+ecathedrals and decorati+e fountains described in different cha'ters are the li+in#s!mbols of that herita#e.

0he boo6 differs from other 'ictorial wor6s on Switzerland. 4one of the a+ailableboo6s in =n#lish focuses on the histor! of its cities and towns, and its medie+alfountains. /t 'resents histor! and illustrations of 1- cities, towns and +illa#es in 7Swiss cantons. 0hus it will fill a #a' in the e"istin# literature.

&istorical landmar6s illustrated in the boo6 include medie+al castles, cathedrals,fortresses, #uild houses and town halls as well as fountains. ountains are #enerall! not

+iewed as 'ieces of art and scul'ture, which ma! e"'lain wh! no com'rehensi+e boo6 e"ists on the subect. et Switzerland, es'eciall! its ?ermans'ea6in# 'art (Basel, Berne,BielBienne, Schaffhausen and Solothurn), is re'lete with embellished, beautifull! scul'ted fountains which would certainl! ualif! as obects of art. /t is hard to findeuall! attracti+e fountains an!where else in =uro'e.

2ur main concern is not with sim'le undecorated fountains which e"ist in e+er! +illa#ein the countr!. /nstead, we are interested in decorated'ainted fountains more as'ieces of art and as s!mbols of wealth and 'ower than as mere sources of 'ublic watersu''l!. Colourful fountains are found mainl! in the cities whereas sim'le undecoratedones are found in abundance in rural areas. But there are e"ce'tions. =+en some smalltowns and +illa#es (for e"am'le, BErenontheAar and Muri) boast ornamental

fountains.

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/n =uro'e in the Middle A#es, decorati+e and colourful fountains became common in Austria, rance, ?erman!, /tal! and Switzerland. Man! 'arts of Switzerland were ruledb! the Austrian &absbur#s, ?erman 6in#s and rench countsdu6es of Sa+o! durin#different 'hases of its histor!. 0herefore, their influence on Swiss art, architecture andscul'ture was ine+itable. /ndeed, &ans ?ie#er, one of the main Swiss scul'tors of the

time, to whom man! old Swiss fountain statues are ascribed, is belie+ed to ha+eori#inated in former Swabia, the southwest of ?erman!.

0he term Fmedie+alG is defined rather broadl! to include the 3enaissance 'eriod fromthe si"teenth centur! onwards. 4arrowl! defined, the &i#h and 9ate Middle A#es#enerall! refer to the 'eriod from the be#innin# of the twelfth centur! to the middle of the fifteenth. Most of the Swiss ornamental fountains were built in the fifteenth andsi"teenth centuries. Such medie+al characteristics as feudal 'ro'ert! relations anddis'ersed centres of authorit! continued to e"ist in Switzerland till the end of the

ei#hteenth centur!. 0herefore, it is not unrealistic to ado't the term Fmedie+alG morebroadl!.

0he decorati+e fountains e"ist in most Swiss cantons, in both renchs'ea6in# and?erman s'ea6in# ones, in bi# cities as well as in medium and small towns, and e+en insome +illa#es. 0he boo6 co+ers such fountains in 7 out of : Swiss cantons. /n theother cantons, we were unable to find an! such fountains althou#h the! ma! ha+ee"isted in the Middle A#es but ha+e since disa''eared. /n such cantons as ?larus, a#reat fire com'letel! destro!ed them; in 0essin, onl! utilitarian fountains e"ist.

0he boo6 contains cha'ters. 0he first three deal with a brief histor! of Switzerland,the #rowth of medie+al towns and the ori#in of artistic and ornamental fountains. 0heremainin# cha'ters discuss medie+al buildin#s (castles, cathedrals, towers and townhalls) and fountains in cities and towns in different cantons. =ach cha'ter be#ins witha brief historical account of a canton, a cit! or a town before describin# and illustratin#im'ortant features of its architecture and scul'ture.

/n the 'rocess of writin#, / relied on both 'rimar! and secondar! sources of information. Haluable information on the medie+al buildin#s and fountains wasobtained from munici'al and cantonal archi+es, water de'artments, histor! museumsand local tourist offices. /n man! cases, corres'ondence was followed u' b! 'ersonal

+isits. / consulted man! secondar! sources includin# the !rtistic 'uide of (#it)erland andthe Monuments of the *istory of !rt in (#it)erland 'ublished b! the Swiss Societ! of Art&istor! (Berne). /n this latter series, se+eral +olumes e"ist on each canton with thee"ce'tion of 5ura which is of a recent ori#in.

A.S. Bhalla, Switzerland

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Acknowle!e"ents

A lar#e number of indi+iduals and institutions in Switzerland offered +aluable hel' inthe 're'aration of the boo6. / owe a s'ecial debt of #ratitude to Berthold


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- Marcus Casutt, +en%mal,fle-e .anton (Cantonal 2ffice for the Preser+ation of &istorical Monuments), @u#.

- 5ean5acues =##ler, !rchives de la /ille de 0ausanne (9ausanne Cit! Archi+es).- Amrein ?abi, (taatsarchiv ri ($ri Archi+es), Altdorf.- 3e#ula ?eiser, (tudienbibliothe% (Academic 9ibrar!),


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C#a$ter %

Switzerland in the Middle Ages

/n the Middle A#es, Switzerland was a con#lomeration of cit! states and forest cantonsruled b! counts and du6es. 0he 'eriod witnessed #rowth of se'arate 6in#doms, tradeand towns as well as the emer#ence of the Church as a 'owerful force. Most reli#iousbuildin#s cathedrals, monasteries and churches built at the time are li+in# s!mbols of this 'ower.

A word is in order on what are the Middle A#es since there is no definite +iew aboutthe 'eriod. 0he! are defined b! the 2"ford Dictionar! as 'ertainin# to the F=uro'eanhistor! from the fall of the 3oman =m'ire in the


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3udol'h of &absbur# became the ?erman 6in# in 7- and asserted im'erial ri#htso+er Schw!z, $ri and $nterwalden (or


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Swiss defeated the em'eror in two battles at Cal+en (Ma! **) and Dornach (5ul! **), followin# which the Peace 0reat! of Basel was si#ned in Se'tember of the same

!ear. /t ensured Swiss inde'endence from the &ol! 3oman =m'ire.

Stron# reli#ious faith of the Swiss 'o'ulation in the Middle A#es influenced not onl! dail! life but also the nature and t!'es of medie+al buildin#s and fountains in differentcities and towns (Cha'ters and -). Christianit! was 6nown and 'ractised andbisho's, installed in Au#st, A+enches, Chur, ?ene+a and Marti#n!, mo+ed to Basel and9ausanne res'ecti+el! followin# the ad+ent of Alemans and the destruction of Au#stand A+enches (Bradfield, *:K-). 2+er time, the! acuired si#nificant 'ower not onl! as heads of their dioceses but also as 'rince bisho's of the em'ire. Bradfield (/bid.K-1)obser+es that the! were Fin command of e"tensi+e 'ro'erties, sometimes of towns. 0he!

were of the ran6s of feudal lords, e"ercisin# similar ri#hts and eno!in# similar'ri+ile#esG. /ndeed, the 'rince bisho's and the feudal lords such as the &absbur#, the

@Lhrin#er, the %!bur# and the Sa+o! were the de facto rulers of the countr!. 0heir lon#autocratic and o''ressi+e rule led to 'o'ular unrest and re+olt, which ma! ha+econtributed to the 3eformation of the Catholic Church.

0he Catholic reli#ion in =uro'e had become do#matic, corru't and di+isi+e (from-78 to 7, there were two Po'es, one in 3ome and the other in A+i#non). Martin9uther in ?erman! and $lrich @win#li in Switzerland challen#ed the corru't Catholic'ractices, which led to the 3eformation and the establishment of Protestant faith.

$lrich @win#li, who went to @urich as a 'reacher in 1*, foresaw the need for

wides'read reli#ious as well as social and 'olitical reforms. So did Martin 9uther in?erman!. But @win#liGs =+an#elical Mo+ement in Switzerland was +er! different from9utherGs 3eformation in ?erman!. @win#li was not a disci'le of 9utherK he belon#ed toa #rou' of humanists such as =rasmus of 3otterdam. &is influence #rew ra'idl! andthe mo+ement s'read across the ?erman territor!. A Protestant 9ea#ue wasestablished, which included the new 9utheran territories of the =m'ire to#ether withthe 'olitical enemies of the &ouse of &absbur#.

/n 11, @urich formall! ado'ted @win#liGs reformed Protestant reli#ion. ?raduall!, thenew reli#ion was also ado'ted b! such other cities as Basel, Berne, St ?allen andSchaffhausen as well as in 'arts of A''enzell, ?larus and the ?risons. &owe+er, it didnot s'read to Central Switzerland where 9ucerne, @u#, Schw!z, $nterwalden and $riremained firml! Catholic. /n 1-, the 3eformation too6 hold in renchs'ea6in#4euchOtel under the influence of ?uillaume arel, and in 1-:, in ?ene+a under thatof 5ean Cal+in. 0he new reli#ion s'read ra'idl! to the cities whereas the Catholic faithremained stron# in the rural areas.

0he ?reat Catholic Church Council in 0rent (11:-) 'ro'osed a counter3eformation, which was desi#ned to 'reser+e Catholicism b! reformin# the Catholic

Church. /n 187, the Catholic cantons entered into treaties with the %in# of S'ain todefend themsel+es a#ainst attac6s from Berne and other reformed cantons.

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3eli#ious conflicts between the Catholics and Protestants came to a head when @win#liur#ed the central Catholic cantons to #i+e as!lum to the &u#uenots ('ersecutedProtestants from rance) in 1, but the! refused. 0he! also banned Protestantismfrom the commonl!administered territories ('emeine *errschaften) such as 0hur#au in

which administration chan#ed biannuall! between Catholic and Protestant rule

(Steinber#, *7:). 0his led to wars between the Catholic cantons and Protestant ones at%a''el near @u# in 1* and 1-. @win#li was 6illed in the second war won b! theCatholics. &owe+er, the 3eformation continued to #ain momentum des'ite his death.

3eli#ious conflicts did not end, howe+er. 0here were two more reli#ious wars betweenCatholics and Protestants in Hillmer#en in 1:1 and 7. 0he Catholics won the first

war and retained their maorit! in the Diet, the 'arliament of the - Confederates. 2f the -, se+en (ribour#, 9ucerne, Schw!z, Solothurn, $nterwalden, $ri and @u#) wereCatholic; four (Basel, Berne, Schaffhausen and @urich) were Protestant and two,

A''enzell and ?larus, belon#ed to both reli#ious faiths. 0he Protestants won thesecond war in 7. 0he! had resented their minorit! status in the Diet. Second, in7 fi#htin# too6 'lace a#ain between the Catholics and the Protestants at Hillmer#en,and this time the latter won. inall!, the reli#ious conflicts came to an end wheneualit! of reli#ious obser+ance was #ranted b! the Peace 0reat! of Aarau. 0his brou#htan end to the Catholic dominance in the Confederation.

4e+ertheless, the Confederation be#an to disinte#rate into ri+al #rou'sK ruralurbandi+ide reo'ened. Man! cantons, for e"am'le, A''enzell, s'lit into two 'arts, Catholicand Protestant, which formed the basis for the two halfcantons (Asserhoden and/nnerhoden) of toda!. Different social #rou's were 'itted a#ainst each otherK baronsa#ainst 'easant farmers, Protestants a#ainst Catholics and one canton a#ainst another.

Thirty Years War (1618-48)

3eli#ious conflicts were not 'eculiar to Switzerland. Man! obser+ers consider the Thirty7ears ar in central =uro'e as F


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co''er mines, for e"am'le, also 'artl! e"'lains the start of the war, which was fou#htmostl! on what is ?erman soil toda!. 0he area was in ruins. As discussed in Cha'ter7, some Swiss 5ura towns were tem'oraril! occu'ied b! the Swedish %in# ?usta+ //.

Switzerland remained neutral throu#hout the lon# war. /t was the onl! 'eaceful and'ros'erous land surrounded b! hostile 6in#s and 'rinces. /ts neutralit! had its rewardsin the form of trade and li+in# standards, which were Fne+er as #ood in the se+enteenthcentur! as the! were durin# the 0hirt! ears


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cantons (such as A''enzell /nterhoden, 5ura, 0essin and Halais) are 'redominantl! Catholic; others such as A''enzell Ausserhoden, Berne, St ?allen and Schaffhausenare 'redominantl! Protestant. Some cantons are mi"ed in which both reli#ions are wellre'resented. or e"am'le, in the canton of ?risons, Catholics form about 'er centof the 'o'ulation and Protestants -1 'er cent.

Medie+al churches, fortresses, castles and fountains e"ist in both Catholic (ribour#and Solothurn) and Protestant cities and cantons (Basel, Berne, 4euchOtel andSchaffhausen). &owe+er, as discussed in Cha'ter -, reli#ious themes and saints are#enerall! more 'rominent in the fountain scul'ture in the Catholic cantons.

As noted in Cha'ter -, it is sur'risin# that +er! old cantons such as A''enzell , 0essinand Halais ha+e few medie+al buildin#s, towns or fountains. 0hese cantons are 6nownmore for their scenic beaut!. &owe+er, althou#h Halais does not ha+e an! sur+i+in#medie+al fountains (e"ce't one), it does contain historic churches and other buildin#s.

or e"am'le, in Sion, its ca'ital, the 4otreDame church is 'erched on the hill to' in Halre. /t loo6s more li6e a fortress since it consists of a ram'art and a tower. /tsconstruction be#an in the twelfth centur! and lasted till the midthirteenth. Also Bri#(Halais) has a castle which belon#ed to the famil! of %as'ar 5odo6 +on Stoc6al'er(:**), 6nown as the #uardians of the Sim'lon Defile. /t was once the lar#est 'ri+ateresidence in Switzerland which consists of se+eral towers and bulbous domes. Similarl!,

A''enzell has a few castles such as the A''enzell castle in /nnerhoden and the ruins of 3osenbur# and $rstein castles in &erisau.

Switerland Today

Switzerland of toda! (Ma' ) is +er! different from what it was in the Middle A#es. /thas had o+er a centur! of 'eace and 'olitical stabilit! which it did not eno! then as it

was riddled with reli#ious wars or other 'olitical conflicts. 0his 'eace and stabilit! hasled to SwitzerlandGs 'ros'erit! and o'timism des'ite 'rolon#ed economic recession inthe rest of =uro'e. 0here are se+eral factors besides 'olitical stabilit!. 5onathan

Steinber#, author of hy (#it)erlandQ, has re+isited the subect and has come to thefollowin# conclusionsK () the 'olitical authorities in Switzerland ne+er had enou#h'ower to o''ress their 'eo'le; () FSwitzerland went from earl! modern to modern

without alteration of its medie+al structuresK its 5r-er-emeinden, its 'easant re'ublicsand its oli#archical 'atricians; (-) the wea6 #rowth of towns, ... a hi#h rate of sa+in#sand a hi#h de#ree of s'ecialization, and the absence of 'atent restrictions until *7e"'lain the countr!Gs sur+i+al in its 'resent formG (Steinber#, ).

Man! factors in SwitzerlandGs 'ros'erit! are rooted in its histor!. Besides 'olitical

stabilit! noted abo+e, a liberal le#al order encoura#es entre'reneurial acti+it!. Socialframewor6 and the im'ortance of small farms and enter'rises hel' reconcilecom'etin# interests of labour and ca'ital, minimizin# social conflict. 0he Swiss

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educational s!stem combines the scientific and 'ractical as'ects of education. 2therfactors such as traditional monetar! stabilit!; com'etent 'ublic authorities; a re#ime of financial res'onsibilit!; and hi#hualit! infrastructure, also contribute to Swiss'ros'erit! (Adler, ).

Switzerland learnt lessons from the real estate and financial crises of the earl! **s'erha's better and more uic6l! than man! other countries. 0his ma! e"'lain wh! thecountr! has weathered the recent #lobal financial crisis of 8. Adler (K*)obser+es that the financial crisis Ftri##ered a need for reca'italization and rere#ulationof the ban6in# s!stem ...in 'art because of international 'ressure for ta" com'lianceG.0hus, des'ite the 'rolon#ed =uro'ean economic and financial crisis, Switzerlandcontinues to do well. Since , it has been #rowin# at an annual rate of about 'ercent, after adustment for inflation.

A sur+e! of , eli#ible !oun# +oters was underta6en b! a research institute in Berne

(su''orted b! Credit Suisse) in Au#ust . /ts results show that the !oun# Swiss are +er! o'timistic about the sha'e of their econom! e+en thou#h the! remain concernedabout unem'lo!ment.

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C#a$ter &

Growth of medieval towns

/n the Middle A#es, Swiss towns were li6e small fortresses (as indeed in man! other=uro'ean countries), surrounded b! fortifications and round towers. Man! suchdefences a#ainst the enem! ha+e sur+i+ed till toda!. /n terms of street infrastructure andh!#iene, the! were not much better than toda!Gs towns in the /ndian subcontinent, fore"am'le. 2'en sewers and street filth were a common 'henomenon at the time.

After the fall of 3ome in the fifth centur!, urban life sur+i+ed there and elsewhere. Butman! tribes continued to lead a nomadic life, mo+in# from one 'lace to another.(Bec6man and Ac6er6necht, **-). 3omans li+ed in cities and towns such as 3ome,Pom'eii and &erculaneum. 0he! built se+eral towns in Switzerland (such as Au#usta3aurica, A+enticum, 4!on and 9ousanna) at the hei#ht of the 3oman =m'ire.Dic6inson (*:K*) notes that there were * 3omanera towns in Switzerland, of

which fi+e were in 5ura, nine in the central 'lateau and fi+e in the Al's. 2nl! ei#ht of these became towns a#ain in the Middle A#es.

After the fall of the 3oman =m'ire, the ancient towns, which were the centres of =uro'ean ci+ilization, were reduced to small fortified stron#holds under the authorit! of a lord. 0heir re+i+al did not start until the use of mone! was re+i+ed, and trade andmanufacture #rew a#ain.

/nitiall!, settlement 'atterns (of Celts and 0eutons, for e"am'le) Fconsisted mainl! of sin#le farm houses, hamlets or tin! +illa#es R.... 2nl! in times of dan#er did the'o'ulation come to#ether in refu#e castlesG (/bid.). /n fact, no word e"isted for Fcit!G orFtownG, onl! Fbur#G, meanin# castle. /n =uro'e, it too6 se+eral !ears for cluster

settlements to de+elo'.

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A #radual #rowth of small towns from the be#innin# of the ele+enth centur! su##eststhat rural 'eo'le had started mo+in# out of the countr!side. 4ew towns de+elo'edra'idl! between the be#innin# of the ele+enth centur! and the end of the fifteenth.0he founders of the towns, namel!, counts, du6es, bisho's and em'erors introducedcit! ri#hts and laws, which enabled urban dwellers to dominate rural 'o'ulations.

Durin# this 'eriod, about Fbour#adesG (small towns) flourished in the area now called Switzerland. /n the ?erman 'art of Switzerland, at the end of the twelfthcentur!, onl! towns e"isted but their number #rew to 88 b! the end of thefourteenth (=#li, *:7). =arlier the 3omans had established towns and militar! cam'sthere. 0herefore, man! urban settlements in Switzerland (such as Basel, ?ene+a,9ausanne and @urich) ha+e 3oman ori#ins. But entirel! new towns were also built,#enerall! b! the ri+ers and la6es, on the hills and in areas suitable for defence as well astrade. ?raduall!, these towns started, 'la!in# a 'rominent role when reli#ious

institutions (cathedrals and churches) as well as mar6ets, craft centres and #uilds wereestablished.

=arl! town life was not much better than that in the countr!side. =ach famil! culti+atedits own 'lot of land attached to the house. Peo'le were #enerall! 'oor in both townsand rural areas.

Se+eral factors accounted for urban #rowthK #rowth of 'o'ulation, im'ro+ements ina#ricultural technolo#! and cro' rotation, resultin# in hi#her a#ricultural !ields. 0hesefactors enabled such counts as the @Lhrin#ers, who owned much of the land, to

accumulate wealth and establish small towns. Se+eral Swiss towns were associated withthe e"'ansion of trade in the thirteenth centur!, followin# the o'enin# of the St?otthard Pass. Some obser+ers belie+e that the democratic s!stem of federal and state#o+ernments also fa+oured the #rowth of man! inde'endent towns.

&owe+er, man! small Swiss towns (for e"am'le, Aarau and others in the canton of Aar#au) did not #row much because there were too man! close to each other to ser+icea limited area. Also the! were not 'oliticall! inde'endent ruled as the! were b! thecounts, which ma! ha+e also inhibited their #rowth (Dic6inson, *:).

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A S Bhalla- Glimpses of Medieval Switzerland