Rathaus Stans, Tagsatzung, 1481 (detail). — **Rathaus Stans, u003cemu003eTagsatzungu003c/emu003e, 1481 (detail).** Korporation Luzern, Diebold Schilling-Chronik, S 23 fol.

Stans 1481 – perhaps that’s us

Five years of acrimonious struggle, city-cantons versus rural cantons, six attempts at a resolution, and finally an agreement stamped with the seals of the eight old towns, valid at the same time for the two new ones, Fribourg and Solothurn. It’s pretty special. It’s probably part of who we are, even now. A derivation with possible interpretations.

Kurt Messmer

Kurt Messmer (1946-2025) was a historian with a focus on history in public space.

On 30 November 1481, the decision was made at the Tagsatzung in Stans. The representatives of the eight towns of the Confederacy and the negotiators from Fribourg and Solothurn were in agreement. All the governing regimes, to which the result was delivered immediately, also agreed, all of them.

But once again, Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden got in the way. In order to be admitted to the Confederacy, Fribourg and Solothurn had to accept restrictions on their rights. So back they all went to Stans. Negotiations commenced on 18 December, and agreement was reached on the 22nd. An arduous process for all involved. Typically confederate, Swiss? Could well be. Here’s the backstory.

Burgundy. Bern. War

Burgundy in the “autumn of the Middle Ages”: court culture at its most refined, political aspirations rather coarser. The main objective of Charles the Bold (1433-1477) was to establish a territorially continuous kingdom uniting territories in France and the German Empire, stretching from the Netherlands in the north via Luxembourg and Lorraine to the Burgundian heartland. Directly to the south, Savoy, which was allied with Burgundy, extended to the Mediterranean Sea.

The political situation prior to the Burgundian Wars 1474-1477. When territories in Alsace, Breisgau and south of the Rhine were seized by Austria, Burgundy became a direct neighbour of the Swiss Confederacy. As a foil to Burgundy and Savoy in the west, the “Lower League”, also known as the League of Constance, was formed in the east in 1474-1475. It was a union of the four imperial cities on the Upper Rhine – Strasbourg, Basel, Colmar and Sélestat – which were being pressed by the Burgundian governor. The bishops of Strasbourg and Basel soon joined the League; the alliance also included the eight towns of the Old Swiss Confederacy and Solothurn, as well as Archduke Sigismund of Austria. Fribourg and the County of Gruyere (Gruyère) were situated in a buffer zone. Allies of the Confederacy, they were within the Savoyard sphere of influence. Marco Zanoli / Wikimedia

In the Bern Council, there was talk of expansion – and thus of war. Under Schultheiss (mayor) Niklaus von Diesbach, the war party gained the upper hand. The leader of the moderates, Adrian von Bubenberg, was expelled from the council. The way was clear. On 25 October 1474, Bern declared war on the Duke of Burgundy – without informing the other confederate towns.

Several days later a Bernese commander led the anti-Burgundian league, on campaign to the Free County of Burgundy (Franche-Comté), to victory over a Burgundian army at Héricourt. 16 enemy leaders were taken to Basel and publicly burned at the stake. “Der Alte Schweizer und sein Krieg” – a glorious history?

The following year, Bern and Fribourg, encouraged by Lucerne, had bands of fighters move into western Switzerland. These groups swiftly captured 16 cities and 43 castles. Everywhere, they forced people to swear the oath of allegiance.

For the time being, the other Swiss towns distanced themselves from Bern’s ruthless expansion. In the looming war, they only hastened to Bern’s aid at the last moment. According to the mnemonic, the only casualty was the noble duke: “Karl der Kühne verliert bei Grandson das Gut, bei Murten den Mut, bei Nancy das Blut” (Charles the Bold lost his goods at Grandson, his mettle at Murten, his blood at Nancy). It wasn’t like that.

Hanging and drowning of the garrison of Grandson by the troops of Charles the Bold. Evidence of the brutality of warfare in that age. 1572 copy by Christoph Silberysen, after Werner Schodeler’s u003cemu003eSwiss Chronicleu003c/emu003e, 1510. Aargauer Kantonsbibliothek

Detail of the monumental panorama “Battle of Murten” (also known as the Battle of Morat) by German historical painter Louis Braun, 1893, exhibited at Expo.02 in Murten, then put back into storage. In this detail, the war looks like something of a fancy dress party. murtenpanorama.ch

The first stirrings of Swiss power politics? In 1476, the Confederates returned Vaud to Savoy for a paltry sum. In 1479 they sold the Free County of Burgundy to France for a little bit more. The rural cantons in particular distrusted Bern. The divide within the Confederacy was already noticeable. If Bern’s power continued to increase, what then?

Jerusalem in the West

The Confederates imagined themselves to be “in des almechtigen gottes schirm” (under the shield of Almighty God), and soon afterwards the feeling was that “der frommen eidgenossen bleib keiner tot im velde, das schuof das göttlich recht” (none among the pious confederates will remain dead in the world, who accomplished God’s will). Who would make that sort of assertion about themselves? One thing was certain: Burgundy was being extinguished, there was no territorially continuous kingdom, the momentum was on the Confederates’ side. Three victories against the most powerful military force in Europe. “But no one knows these Swiss, their country, their customs and deeds”, lamented Albrecht von Bonstetten (1442-1504), Dean of Einsiedeln Abbey. His remedy: four maps that scan like a history of the creation of the Swiss Confederacy.

On the first map Atlas makes the sun rise and set; on the second Affrica, Asia and Europa are placed in situ. The third map focuses on Europe: the Alps between Italia, Alamania and Gallia. On the fourth map, the incredible happens: Bonstetten places the Rigi in the centre of the world and surrounds it with the eight old towns of the Swiss Confederacy. The work was completed, the “usserwelte” peoples of the Confederacy in the centre of the globe.

After the Burgundian wars, the hermit monk and dean Albrecht von Bonstetten elevated the Confederacy to the Jerusalem of the Western World; the Rigi, “Regina montium, Rigena”, became the Temple Mount as Queen of the Mountains. The cardinal points are: Meridies (South, above), Occidens (West), Septentrio (North, below), Oriens (East); the names of the eight cantons, clockwise from the top: u003cemu003eUrania (Uri), Underwaldia, Berna, Lucerna, Thuregum (Zurich), Zug, Clarona (Glarus), Zwitta (Schwyz)u003c/emu003e. Bibliothèque nationale de France

Once is as good as never, but three times is three times. After three victories over Burgundy, Swiss mercenary soldiers were sought-after throughout Europe. Their price increased. “Und kam vil geltz in das lant” (And lots of money came into the country), noted the Zürcher Chronik. The road ahead seemed paved with gold. It led the country to the brink of the precipice.

Bands of fighters

The Burgundian booty was beyond the scope of anything imagined, including 400 cannon, 800 firearms and 300 tons of gunpowder. There was also the “roupguot” – the Raubgut, or plunder – but that was “wicked and cursed”. Irregular troops from Uri and Schwyz, who returned from the battle of Nancy after New Year’s Day 1477, were unhappy with the distribution of the spoils. They founded the “Gesellschaft vom torechten [törichten] Leben” (Society of the foolhardy guild – ‘Leben’ at the time being a term for a guild or corporation), and during the Fasnacht season set out for western Switzerland with 1,700 men. Many years ago, they had spared Geneva on a raid. The city hadn’t had the extortionate sum required. Now, this band of disgruntled men-at-arms was determined to collect the outstanding money. The situation was explosive.

u003cemu003eKolbenbanneru003c/emu003e, not u003cemu003eSaubanneru003c/emu003e. The flag of the “u003cemu003etorechte Gesellenu003c/emu003e” (foolhardy fellows) from 1477 depicted a boar and a club or mace, the sign for discontent, on a dark blue ground. The better-known u003cemu003eSaubanneru003c/emu003e (hog banner) featuring a fool, a sow and three piglets didn’t appear until two hundred years later, as a jester flag for a band of Zug youths. Replica of the original u003cemu003eKolbenbanneru003c/emu003e in the Zug Castle Museum, based on a depiction in the u003cemu003eBern Chronicleu003c/emu003e by Diebold Schilling the Elder, Vol. 3 (1478–1483), p. 873 and others. Kurt Messmer

The official standards of Uri and Schwyz were carried in the procession, or even went ahead of it. By order of the Bern authorities, these pennants were required to be removed from the city’s official chronicle. But there was no glossing over the fact that a rowdy horde had got out of hand. The war among the governing regimes and the war brought by armed bands intermingled.

The gravity of the situation can be gauged by the fact that the cities were doing everything they could to halt this procession. Negotiators from Bern, Geneva, Basel and Strasbourg hastened to placate the belligerent mobs, which had already reached Payerne and Lausanne. Efforts were made to woo the “Gesellschaft vom torechten Leben”. Geneva was forced to hand over the contents of all its coffers. Finally, four barrels of wine were carted in at the city’s expense and each member of the company was given two Gulden in cash. The undertaking was abandoned – a big U-turn.

A split?

The towns learned fast, especially those that aspired to conclude lucrative contracts with France and Savoy. It should not be thought, in other countries, that everyone just does what they want in the Confederacy. Bands of warlike ruffians are fine, but only if they are your own and they carry out their nefarious deeds at the right time and in the right place. The cities of Bern, Zurich, Lucerne, Fribourg and Solothurn took steps to safeguard against the rural cantons and entered into a Burgrecht, a medieval agreement most commonly used in southern Germany and the north of German-speaking Switzerland. A parallel organisation emerged, something like a second confederacy – an urban one.

The Kolbenbannerzug, the club banner campaign, prompted Bern, Lucerne and Zurich to form an alliance, known as a Städtebund, with Fribourg and Solothurn, both of which were not yet part of the Confederacy in 1477. The citizens of each individual city thus also became citizens of the other four cities. This led to fierce disputes with the five Landorte, the rural cantons, especially with Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. Because of its Landsgemeinde or “cantonal assembly”, Zug counted as a Landort. After a tough battle, and thanks also to the mediation of Brother Klaus, a solution was found at the Tagsatzung in Stans in December 1481. Kurt Messmer / Swiss National Museum

Resentment and fury from the rural cantons, who feared they could soon be fighting for their very existence. Obwalden added more fuel to the fire in 1478 with an attempt to entice neighboring Entlebuch away from Lucerne’s orbit. The Burgrecht conflict between Stadtorte and Landorte escalated, dragging on for five years. It was all finally to be straightened out in Stans.

Top: Flüeli-Ranft. In front of the chapel Heimo Amgrund, pastor of Stans (middle), shakes hands in farewell with Brother Klaus; on the left stands an attendant. Bottom: Council chamber in Stans. The attendant, in blue robe, delivers Brother Klaus’ message, the wording of which is not known, to the Tagsatzung. Next to him, Amgrund holds back the Unterwald bailiff, who is keen to proclaim the decision on the village square immediately. — Top: Flüeli-Ranft. In front of the chapel Heimo Amgrund, pastor of Stans (middle), shakes hands in farewell with Brother Klaus; on the left stands an attendant. Bottom: Council chamber in Stans. The attendant, in blue robe, delivers Brother Klaus’ message, the wording of which is not known, to the u003cemu003eTagsatzungu003c/emu003e. Next to him, Amgrund holds back the Unterwald bailiff, who is keen to proclaim the decision on the village square immediately. Korporation Luzern, Diebold Schilling-Chronik, S 23 fol.

The revered hermit Niklaus von Flüe helped to settle the Burgrecht dispute without going to Stans himself. The original preamble to the Stans Agreement read “like a sermon freely reproduced from Brother Klaus”.

Squaring the circle

The Treaty of Stans ratified the Pfaffenbrief of 1370, a contract among six states of the Old Swiss Confederacy (Zurich, Lucerne, Zug, Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden), in which the participant states referred for the first time to “unser Eydgnoschaft”, as well as the Sempacherbrief of 1393, which aimed to curb the brutal practices of contemporary warfare. The agreement of 1481 wasn’t a constitution either. In the wake of the Burgundian wars and the Burgrecht dispute, the most essential principles were pragmatically agreed and arrangements put in place. For example, in future the towns or cantons involved were to have an equal share of conquered territories and sovereign rights. The spoils of such undertakings, on the other hand, were to be distributed according to the number of troops deployed.

The sticking point was the admission of Fribourg and Solothurn to the Confederacy. To begin with, the two cities were still envisaged as co-signatories of the charter, but by the end of 1481, at the urging of the three inner towns, this was no longer the case. The Treaty of Stans was authenticated only with the seals of the eight old towns – leaving out Fribourg and Solothurn.

**The Treaty of Stans, 22 December 1481. A document with eight seals, applying for ten cantons (facsimile).** Swiss National Museum

The stroke of genius: two documents. The ink was barely dry on the Stans Agreement when a second document was drawn up, under which Fribourg and Solothurn were admitted to the Confederacy, albeit with restrictions. The showdown at Stans ended in a draw – five all, five city-cantons, five rural cantons. So what did a draw mean? The Confederacy narrowly won – in stoppage time.

One of the keys to success was that both sides saved face. The rural cantons pushed through a ruling that the Städtebund was to be dissolved. In return, the city-cantons achieved their aim of having Fribourg and Solothurn admitted to the Swiss Confederacy. A major accomplishment. “Stans 1481” represents a compromise in the spirit of Niklaus von Flüe, the country’s national saint.

Power cartel

But before reverence and myth start clouding our judgement, let it go on record: in 1481 an authoritarian power cartel was formed, which in the ensuing three hundred years exhibited tolerably paternalistic behaviour, but closed the fronts across religious borders and lashed out mercilessly when its power was questioned.

The political bylaws in force were very effective. “Wilful violence” was prohibited. Subjects were not permitted to assemble without the consent of the authorities. This seriously limited their scope for political action. However, should there be resistance or open “apostasy”, the governing regimes mutually undertook to provide military assistance.

Stans, 1481: men engage in lively discussion on the village square as they await news on the progress of the Tagsatzung (detail). On the right is the town hall, the u003cemu003eRathausu003c/emu003e, refurbished in 1484, a stone structure with a wooden arcade along two sides. In the foreground is a solid fence, the Etter, a judicial boundary that also offered protection from livestock and predators. For a market town like Stans, in those days the Etter had a role similar to that of a city’s boundary wall. Korporation Luzern, Diebold Schilling-Chronik, S 23 fol.

Then. Now. Five possible interpretations

Firstly – What happened in Stans in 1481 is a perfect example of something that applies across the entire history of the Old Confederacy: the loose alliance of independent partners was held together not by patriotism, but by the sober assessment that union had more advantages than disadvantages.

Secondly – City and country are dependent on one another. Nevertheless, they are in a state of latent tension, up to the present day. It’s inevitable that cracks in the woodwork will appear from time to time. Overcoming differences and achieving a viable working relationship is crucial. As a basic approach, there is no alternative.

Third – Majority and minority are political twins. Both watch suspiciously, certain that they’re always being short-changed. According to the unwritten rule, the minority must be respected. But there’s an exception to every rule.

Fourth – The main drivers in the political tug-of-war are public spirit and self-interest. Public spirit has a tougher time, trying to keep self-interest within limits. Above all, knee-jerk responses and short-lived actions that undermine the public good should be avoided. The chances of success are there, but it’s not guaranteed.

Fifth – The Swiss all-purpose tool is compromise, the trade-off, the art of the possible. In 1481, a willingness to make compromises led to the ultimate solution. It’s also essential in consociational democracy. However, compromises come in 1481 shades.

Question – What about our mental collective characteristics? Do they, over centuries, have an impact on our political thinking and actions? How do collective identities develop in a country like Switzerland, which long ago moved from being a country people left to being a country people immigrate to? It’s all complicated, difficult, uncertain. But all the same, Stans 1481 – perhaps that’s us.

More of: Middle Ages Politics

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