SWITZERLAND

Places that I visited in Switzerland:

Bern

Luzern

Zurich

Interlaken

Switzerland is a landlocked alpine country of roughly 7.5 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km². Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states. These states are called cantons. Berne is the seat of the federation and de facto capital, while the country's economic centres are its two global cities, Geneva and especially Zürich. Switzerland has high degrees of economic freedom, immigrants, and globally-oriented business. Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world.

It is bordered by Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein and has a long history of neutrality — it has not been at war since 1815 — and hosts many international organizations, including the Red Cross, the World Trade Organization and one of the U.N.'s two European offices. Switzerland is multilingual and has four national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. The country's Latin formal name, Confoederatio Helvetica is derived from the Helvetii, an ancient Celtic people in the Alpine region. It is rendered in German as Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, in French as Confédération suisse, in Italian as Confederazione Svizzera and in Romansh as Confederaziun svizra. The establishment of Switzerland is traditionally dated to August 1, 1291; the first of August is the national holiday.

The earliest known tribes of the area were members of the Hallstatt and La Tène cultures. The La Tène culture developed and flourished during the late Iron Age from around 450BC, possibly under some influence from the Greek, and Etruscan civilisations. One of the most important tribal groups in the Swiss region was the Helvetii. In 15 BC, Tiberius I, who was destined to be the second Roman Emperor, and his brother, Drusus, conquered the Alps, integrating them into the Roman Empire. The area occupied by the Helvetii first became part of Rome's Gallia Belgica Province and then of its Germania Superior Province, while the eastern portion of modern Switzerland was integrated into the Roman province of Raetia.

In the Early Middle Ages, from the 4th Century AD, the western extents of modern day Switzerland was part of the territory of the Kings of the Burgundiuns. The Alemanni settled the Swiss plateau in the 5th Century AD and the valleys of the Alps in the 8th Century AD, forming Alemannia. Modern Day Switzerland was therefore then divided between the Kingdoms of Alemannia and Burgundy. The entire region became part of the expanding Frankish Empire in the 6th Century, following Clovis I's victory over the Alemanni at Tolbiac in 504 AD, and later Frankish domination of the Burgundians.

By 561 AD, the Merovingian King Guntram, Clovis I's grandson, had inherited the Frankish Kingdon of Burgundy, which stretched East nearly as far as the Rhine. East of this, the Alamanni were ruled under a nominal dukedom within Frankia, as the Franks filled the vacuum caused by the declining Western reach of Roman Byzantium. By this time Frankia was beginning to form the tripartite character that would characterise the rest of its history. The territories were subdivided into Neustria in the West (referred to simply as Frankia at the time; the name Neustria did not appear in writing until some 80 years later), Austrasia in the North East and Burgundy.

Throughout the rest of the 6th and early 7th Centuries AD the Swiss regions continued under Frankish hegemony, with the Franks largely occupied with infighting about issues of succession amongst the Frankish sub-kingdoms (whose Kings were close blood relatives). In 632 AD, following the death of Chlothar II, the entire Frankish realm was briefly united under Dagobert, who is described as the last Merovingian king able to exercise real power. Under Dagobert, the Austrasians agitated for self governance as a means of countering the influence of the Neustrians, who dominated royal court. Dagobert was forced by the strong Austrasian aristocracy to appoint his infant son, Sigebert III, as sub-king of Austrasia in 633 AD. The weakness of the realm became clear, and this led to those subjucated by the Franks considering the risks and benefits of rebellion. After Sigebert III suffered a military defeat at the hands of Radulf, King of Thuringia in 640 AD, the Alemanni also revolted against Frankish rule. The period of Allemani independence that followed lasted more or less continuously until the middle of the 8th Century AD.

Mayors of the Palace had been appointed by the Frankish Kings as court officials since the early 7th Century AD to act as mediators between the king and the people. However following Dagobert's death in 639 AD, with infants on the throne in both Neustria (Clovis II - a babe in arms in 639 AD) and Austrasia (Sigebert III - about 4 years old in 639 AD), these court appointees assumed greater power, eventually to such an extent that they ended the rule of the Merovingian monarchs, and took over the Frankish throne themselves. The first step was taken by the Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, Grimoald I, who convinced the childless Sigebert III to adopt his own son, Childebert as heir to the throne.

Meanwhile in the Neustrian palace, the Mayors of the Palace, Erchinoald, and his successor, Ebroin, were likewise increasing their hold on power behind Clovis II, and his successor Chlothar III. Ebroin reunited the Frankish kingdom by defeating and removing Childebert (and Grimoald) from Austrasia in 661 AD.

Chlothar III's younger brother, Childeric II, was then installed as King of the Austrasians, and together they ruled the empire. When Chlothar III died in 673 AD, Childeric II became king of the entire realm, ruling from Austrasia, until he was assassinated two years later by members of the Neustrian elite. After his death, Theuderic III, son of Clovis II, ascended to the throne, ruling from Neustria. He and his Mayor of the Palace, Berthar, declared war on Austrasia, which was ruled by Dagobert II, son of Sigebert III, and Pepin of Heristal (Pepin II), the Arnulfing Mayor of Austrasia. Theuderic and Berthar were defeated by Peppin at the Battle of Tertry in 687 AD, whereafter Peppin was appointed the sole Mayor of all Frankia, nominating himself as Duke and Prince of all the Franks. Peppin was the product of the marriage of two very powerful houses; that of the Pippinids and the Arnulfings. His success at Tertry was to mark the end of Merovingian power.

Peppin again tasted military success in his campaign to bring the Frisians, of Europe's north coast, back under Frankish control. Between 709 AD and 712 AD he fought a similar campaign against the Alemanni, including those within the borders of present day Switzerland, and succeeded in re-imposing Frankish rule, the first since the Alemannian revolt of 640 AD. However Frankish control of this and other outlying areas was again lost when a Frankish civil war of succession followed Peppin's death in 714 AD.

The war was a continuation of the ageless Neustrian/Austrasian rivalry. Peppin's illegitimate son, Charles Martel (who was the son of Peppin's mistress Alpaida), had been proclaimed Mayor of Austrasia by the Austraian nobility in defiance of Peppin's widow, Plectrude, who preferred that her 8 year old grandson, Theudoald, be appointed. Neustria invaded Austrasia under Chilperic II who had been appointed by the Neustrians without the agreement of the rest of the Frankish peoples. The turning point of the war came at the Battle of Ambleve, when Charles Martel, using brilliant and unconventional tactics, defeated combined Neustrian and Frisian forces under Chilperic II and Mayor Ragenfrid. Charles struck when The Neustrians were marching home after triumphing at Cologne over Plectrude and the child Theudoald.

By 717 AD, Charles had confirmed his supremacy, with victory over the Neustians at the Battle of Vincy, thereby marking the beginning of Carolingian rule over the Frankish empire.

After 718 AD, Charles, who was a brilliant commander, embarked upon a series of wars to strenthen Frankish dominion over Western Europe. This included bringing the Alemannians back under Frankish hegemony, and even, in the 720's AD, forcing some Alemannian elements to participate in his wars against their Eastern neighbours, the Bavarians.

Alemannia, however, remained restless, with Duke Lantfrid in the late 720's AD, expressing independence by issuing revisions of the laws of the Alemans. Charles invaded again in 730 AD and subjugated the Alemannis by force.

Charles is perhaps best known for stopping the Arab advance into Western Europe at the Battle of Tours in 732 AD, in a military stand that arguably halted Islamist expansionism into the European homeland.

When Charles died in 741 AD, the dominion over Frankia was divided between his two sons from his first marriage; namely Peppin the Short and Carloman. Carloman was given Austrasia, Alemannia and Thuringen, while Peppen took control of Neustria, Provence and Burgundy (including present day Western Switzerland).

By 743 AD, Carloman was vowing to impose a greater degree of control over Alemannia, and this resulted ultimately in the arrst, trial and execution of several thousand Alemanni nobleman at the Blood court at Cannstatt in 746 AD.

Carloman retired to a monastery in 747 AD, leaving Peppin to assume the Frankish crown (after a vote of nobles) in 751 AD. Peppen further strengthened his position by forming an alliance, in 754 AD, with Pope Stephen II, who then came all the way to Paris to anoint him King in a ceremony at St Denis's Basilica. In return Peppin subdued the Lombards and donated the Exarchate of Ravenna and captured territry around Rome to the church. This was a turning point in the history of the Roman Catholic Church and Western Europe, as it foreshadowed later events under Charlemagne leading to the formation of the Holy Roman Empire. It is claimed that Pope Stephen II tabled the forged Donation of Constantine during his negotiations with Peppin. The Donation is a falsified imperial order purported to have been issued by Constantine to gift to Pope Sylvester I and all his successors dominion over not only the Western Roman empire, but also all of Judea, Greece, Asia, Thrace and Rome.

Upon Peppen's death in 768 AD, the Frankish empire was passed to his sons Charles and Carloman I. Carloman withdrew to a monastery and died shortly afterwards, leaving Charles, later known as the legendary Charlemagne, the sole ruler of the Franks. Charles expanded Frankish sovereignty to include the Saxons, Bavarians, and the Lombards in Northern Italy and he expanded the empire into today's Austria and parts of Croatia. He offered the Papacy the promise of enduring Frankish protection, and he patronised monastic centres of learning.

Charles therefore emerged as the leader of Western Christendom

By 1200 AD, the Swiss plateau comprised the dominions of the houses of Savoy, Zähringer, Habsburg and Kyburg. When the Kyburg dynasty fell in 1264 AD, the Habsburgs under King Rudolph I (Emperor in 1273) extended its territory to the eastern Swiss plateau.

Switzerland political map:

Switzerland location map:

July 2003

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Write by: AN - Monday, June 2, 2008