Territorial evolution of Switzerland
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The territorial evolution of Switzerland occurred primarily with the acquisition of territory by the historical
The
in 1815.The restored Confederacy remained a union of nominally independent states until the formation of Switzerland as a federal state in 1848. Some territorial disputes remained, and were resolved in the 1850s and 1860s. Since then, the territory of Switzerland has remained fixed (with the exception of minor border corrections) by 1863.
There have since been a number of unsuccessful suggestions for further enlargement. The most realistic of these was the possible accession of Vorarlberg following a referendum held there in 1919, in which 81% of the people of Vorarlberg voted to join Switzerland; but Vorarlberg was instead incorporated into the First Austrian Republic. There was a brief and unsuccessful revival of Alemannic separatism after World War II, and in the later half of the 20th century, there were no serious political scenarios of any further enlargement of Switzerland. Since 2008, similar proposals have once again been discussed, at least as hypotheticals, as expressions of Euroscepticism, reflecting the wish of territories within European Union member states to leave the European Union.
Since there is currently no legal framework governing the admission of new cantons, any enlargement would, as a matter of Swiss law, require an amendment of the
Old Swiss Confederacy
Switzerland, a multilingual
In addition to the cantons, the Old Swiss Confederacy had several
Napoleonic era, Restoration and Regeneration
New cantons were added only in the modern period, during 1803–1815; this mostly concerned former subject territories now recognized as full cantons (such as Vaud, Ticino and Aargau), and the full integration of territories that had been more loosely allied to the Confederacy (such as Geneva, Valais and Grisons).
The territory of Geneva was fragmented, with various enclaves or exclaves of Savoyard and French territory, and it was not connected to Swiss territory. Due to the efforts of
The
Along with the Valtellina,
The Congress of Vienna distributed the remaining territory of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (intermittently annexed by France) to Bern and Basel.
The commune of Le Cerneux-Péquignot had been part the Franche-Comté and as such of the kingdom of France since 1678. It was to be ceded to Neuchâtel according to the treaty of Paris of 30 May 1814, but the necessary border correction did not become official until 1 February 1819. Similarly, Rhäzüns was restored from Austria to Switzerland on 19 January 1819.
Switzerland in 1815 was still a confederacy, not a fully integrated federation. The canton of Neuchâtel joined in 1815 as a member of the confederacy but was at the same time a monarchy, its sovereign being Frederick William IV of Prussia. Although Neuchâtel became a republic in a peaceful revolution in 1848, the same year Switzerland became a federation, Frederick William renounced his claims in the area in 1857, after several attempts at counterrevolution culminating in the Neuchâtel Crisis.
A number of territorial disputes remained along the
When
Modern Switzerland (1848–present)
After
There remained some territorial disputes after the formation of the Kingdom of Italy, resolved in the Convenzione tra l'Italia e la Svizzera per l'accertamento della frontiera fra la Lombardia ed il Cantone dei Grigioni of 1863.
The part of the
In 1918 after the First World War, a
In a 1919 referendum, 81% of the people of Vorarlberg voted to join Switzerland, but the effort failed because of the ambivalent position of the Swiss government and the opposition of the Allied powers. The Swiss government expressed willingness to consider the accession of Vorarlberg to Switzerland, mostly in order to prevent its incorporation into Germany.[16]
Changes to the Swiss border made after 1945 include the addition of the Lago di Lei barrage to Switzerland in the 1950s,[17] and the exchange of an area of 1,578 square meters with France in 2002.[18]
Proposals for expansion
Since the formation of Baden-Württemberg in 1952, there have no longer been any serious political scenarios of southern German territories seceding to Switzerland. The idea was revived, at least in popular discourse, in the context of growing Euroscepticism since the late 2000s.[citation needed]
A poll by ORF radio in October 2008 reported that about half of the population of Vorarlberg would be in favour of joining Switzerland.[19]
In the
- In Como, an online poll in June 2010 by the La Provincia di Como newspaper found 74% of 2,500 respondents in favor of accession to Switzerland, which the local regionalist party Lega Lombarda has long been advocating.[24]
- Another online poll by the South German Südkurier newspaper found that almost 70% of respondents replied "yes, the Swiss are closer to us in outlook" to a question whether the state of Baden-Württemberg should join Switzerland. The paper noted that seldom had a topic generated so much activity by its readership.[26]
- The Lombard eco-nationalist party Domà Nunch replied to Baettig's motion proposing an integration between Switzerland and the Italian border-area of Insubria in order to join into a new Confederation.[27]
In Sardinia, the Associazione no-profit Sardegna Canton Marittimo was formed in April 2014 with the aim of advocating Sardinia's secession from Italy and becoming a "maritime canton" of Switzerland.[28][29][30]
Die Welt in June 2014 based on an OECD study published an article arguing that Southern Germany is more similar to Switzerland than to Northern or Eastern Germany. In the wake of the article, there were once again reports on high levels of support for accession to Switzerland in Southern Germany. Schwäbische Zeitung reported 86% of participants in an online survey expressing approval.[31]
Also in 2014, there were reports of a movement in South Tyrol (headed by a South Tyrolean living in Switzerland) proposing annexation by the Alpine country. The 6th "Global Forum Südtirol" held in Bolzano was dedicated to the question.[32]
In 2018 the Swiss Head of the
Maps showing the territorial evolution of Switzerland
-
Territorial development of Old Swiss Confederacy, 1291–1797.
-
Switzerland in 1315, just before the Battle of Morgarten.
-
Switzerland in 1385, just before the Battle of Sempach.
-
Switzerland in 1474, just before the Burgundian Wars.
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Switzerland in 1515, just before the Battle of Marignano.
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Switzerland in 1536, during theFribourg.
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Switzerland in the 18th century.
-
Another map of Switzerland in the 18th century.
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Provisional constitution of the Helvetic Republic, 15 January 1798.
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Constitution of the Helvetic Republic, 12 April 1798.
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Helvetic Republic, with borders as at the Second Helvetic constitution of 25 May 1802.
-
Switzerland after Act of Mediation, during Napoleonic Era, until 1815.
-
Re-organization and enlargement of Switzerland during the Congress of Vienna in 1814.
-
Switzerland during the Restoration, 1815–1847.
See also
Notes and references
- ^ Collex-Bossy, Genthod, Le Grand-Saconnex, Meyrin, Pregny, Vernier, Versoix, with a total area of 49.3 km2 (19 sq mi) and a population of 3,343 at the time. Antoine Morin: Précis de l’histoire politique de la Suisse. Paris, 1856. T. 2, Pièces justificatives, No 15, 423–425. cited after Salamin, Documents d’Histoire suisse (1969), 69–70.
- ^ resolved in the Convenzione tra l'Italia e la Svizzera per l'accertamento della frontiera fra la Lombardia ed il Cantone dei Grigioni of 1863 (original text at admin.ch). Other Swiss-Italian treaties regarding the course of the border date to 1873/4 (BS 11 83, SR 0.132.454.1), 1936/7 (SR 0.132.454.1 / AS 1969 1308) and 1941 (0.132.454.2, Abkommen zwischen der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft und dem Königreich Italien über die Festlegung der italienisch-schweizerischen Grenze auf der Strecke zwischen Run Do oder Cima Garibaldi und Mont Dolent, 24 July 1941), with an additional exchange of about half a square kilometer of territory for the construction of the Lago di Lei barrage in 1955, "Convenzione tra la Confederazione Svizzera e la Repubblica Italiana concernente una modificazione di confine nella Valle di Lei" (PDF) (in Italian).
- ^ Josef Inauen, Brennpunkt Schweiz: die süddeutschen Staaten Baden, Württemberg und Bayern und die Eidgenossenschaft 1815-1840, Saint-Paul (2008), p. 208.
- ^ Jacobs, Frank (15 May 2012). "Enclave-Hunting in Switzerland". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- ^ "Original text" (PDF). Admin.ch. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
- ^ BS 11 83, SR 0.132.454.1
- ^ SR 0.132.454.1 / AS 1969 1308
- ^ 0.132.454.2, Abkommen zwischen der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft und dem Königreich Italien über die Festlegung der italienisch-schweizerischen Grenze auf der Strecke zwischen Run Do oder Cima Garibaldi und Mont Dolent, 24 July 1941
- ISBN 978-1-107-62933-2.
- ISBN 978-0-521-19444-0.
- ^ Jean-Jacques Bouquet: Chablais in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ "Deutsche Insel in der Schweiz - Gemeinde Büsingen am Hochrhein die einzige Enklave / Exklave in der Schweiz". Buesingen.de. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
- ^ Büsingen, Dominic Wirth. "SCHAFFHAUSEN / DEUTSCHLAND: Büsingen – eine deutsche Enklave fühlt sich im Stich gelassen - Luzerner Zeitung". Luzerneraeitung.ch. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
- ^ "See Where Switzerland Has Germany Surrounded". Bigthink.com. 23 July 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
- ^ Krummenacher, Jörg (26 December 2016). "Büsingen, das intergalaktische Dorf - NZZ". Nzz.ch. Retrieved 28 November 2018 – via NZZ.
- ISBN 978-0-87169-103-3. "As far as Switzerland was concerned, she only considered Vorarlberg's Anschluss with herself, because the alternative, an Anschluss with Germany, seemed to constitute a clear threat to her."
- ^ treaty of 1952, ratified 1953 (Switzerland) and 1955 (Italy), entered into effect in 1955. "Convenzione tra la Confederazione Svizzera e la Repubblica Italiana concernente una modificazione di confine nella Valle di Lei" (PDF) (in Italian). Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ "Jeder zweite Vorarlberger wäre lieber Schweizer". 20 Minuten. 23 October 2008.
- ^ a b c Erleichterte Integration grenznaher Regionen als neue Schweizer Kantone, motion 10.3215 of 18 March 2010 by Dominique Baettig.
- ^ Renz, Fabian (11 June 2010). "SVP will der Schweiz Nachbargebiete einverleiben". Tages-Anzeiger. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ Maurisse, Marie (22 June 2010). "Quand un député suisse rêve d'annexer la Savoie". Le Figaro. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ "SVP-Forderung: Vorarlberg soll Kanton werden". Der Standard. 21 June 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ a b Coen, Leonardo (22 June 2010). "L'ultima tentazione di Como: "Vogliamo diventare svizzeri"". La Repubblica. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ "Nichts wie weg von den Pleitegeiern". Tages-Anzeiger. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ a b "Schweizer Idee sorgt für viel Wirbel". Südkurier. 19 June 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010. [dead link]
- ^ "Domà Nunch rilancia: lavoriamo insieme per una confederazione elvetico-insubre". Archived from the original on 25 July 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- ^ MARITTIMO, CANTON. "Canton Marittimo". Cantonmarittimo.com.
- ^ Chiara Albanese and John Letzing, In Sardinia, Secessionists Want to Leave Italy and Join... Switzerland? Mediterranean island would give Alpine nation access to the sea, supporters say; ‘a natural match’, Wall Street Journal, 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Italy: Campaign to sell Sardinia to Switzerland", BBC News, 28 February 2014.
- ^ Yannick Dillinger, 86 Prozent der Leser wollen Schweizer werden, Schwäbische Zeitung, 4 July 2014.
- ^ Nicolas Saameli, Das Südtirol will Schweizer Kanton werden, 20 Minuten, 28 July 2014.
- ^ "«Campione d’Italia passi in Svizzera». Il ministro: si può fare", La Provincia di Como, 19 September 2018
- ^ Ipotesi di annessione. Candiani: "Campione resta in Italia", TVSvizzera.it, 21 September 2018