Prehistory to the Roman era on
Obersee between
Rapperswil and
Hurden, near the site of the ancient bridges The earliest traces of humans in Schwyz are from the Upper
Paleolithic and Early
Mesolithic, or about 12,500 BC. An excavation of the
karst caves in the valley of the
Muota river (
Muotatal) revealed numerous sites, some dating to the
Younger Dryas period (). The alpine meadows at Bödmeren, Twärenen and Silberen were Stone Age hunter-gatherer camps.
Ibex and
red deer bones, along with charcoal, indicate that the animals were butchered and cooked in these camps. In 2009 the first Stone Age tool in the canton, a stone drill, was discovered. The Hurden sites are related to the western
Cortaillod culture (c. 4500–3500 BC). Sites on the island of Lützelau and the shore zone at Freienbach are eastern
Pfyn culture (4000–3300 BC) and
Corded Ware culture (2750–2450 BC). During the Bronze Age, several bridges were built between the promontory of Endingen in
Rapperswil,
St. Gallen and the settlements at Hurden. Over 200,000 posts and seven bridges have been discovered, along with several settlements and ritual sites. On the Schwyz side of the lake, ten different settlements from 4300–2700 BC have been discovered. It soon controlled many of the surrounding lands, many of which are outside the area today covered by the canton of Schwyz. The outer or lake side parts of the canton were partly controlled by the monasteries of St. Gallen,
Pfäfers,
Rüti and
Schänis, along with the Lords of Habsburg,
Toggenburg and Rapperswil. Both
Pfäffikon Castle and
Alt Rapperswil Castle were built by these landlords to control their landholdings. In contrast to the
Swiss Plateau, where the local nobility and knights ruled extensive landholdings for the regional counts, in Schwyz there were few local nobles. They were generally poorer and less important than the monasteries' representatives or the leaders of the local livestock collectives. Much of the farming or grazing land in the inner portion of Schwyz was not privately owned but was
common land. To administer the land, the local collectives developed into regional collectives that covered several towns and villages. The collectives helped create a sense of unity throughout the farming towns and villages of the valleys and developed a tradition of independence. With the extinction of the Kyburgs and the decline of the Lords of
Rapperswil in the second half of the 13th century, the Habsburgs attempted to claim sovereignty over the Kyburg and Rapperswil lands in Central Switzerland. They succeeded in acquiring the
parishes of Schwyz,
Steinen,
Muotathal and
Morschach and, in 1283, the patronage over the monastery of Einsiedeln. In 1240,
Emperor Frederick II granted the Schwyz valley
imperial immediacy for services that they had rendered to the Emperor. While the farming villages of the valleys drew closer together, the expansion of the Habsburgs and changing relationships between the farmers of the alpine valleys and the monasteries led to conflicts such as the
Marchenstreit between Schwyz and Einseideln Abbey. The
Marchenstreit started around 1100 over grazing rights around the Mythen mountains. It dragged on, accompanied by court cases and violent raids, until about 1350.
Eternal alliance Perhaps on 1 August 1291, the cantons of Schwyz,
Uri, and
Unterwalden entered into an Eternal Alliance: this would eventually become the
Swiss Confederation. The
Federal Charter of 1291 was probably prompted by the death of
Rudolf I of Habsburg on 15 July 1291 and created a defensive alliance. The
Rütlischwur (Oath of the
Rütli) was another alliance among the
Forest Cantons in or around 1308 and brought the cantons closer together. The canton of Schwyz took leadership in the confederation early on. As early as 1320, the name of the canton was applied to the whole of the confederation. It was only in 1803, however, that the name
Schweiz, as derived from the canton of
Schwyz, became the official name of Switzerland. The flag of
Switzerland is derived from the banner of Schwyz. With the Eternal Alliance, the three cantons remained politically independent, with a central council to deal with disputes among the members, and with promises of military assistance. The cantons became
de facto independent from the Habsburgs at the same time as the Habsburgs were attempting to expand into the Forest Cantons. When the century-old
Marchenstreit between Schwyz and Einseideln Abbey led to a Schwyz attack on the Abbey in 1314, the Habsburgs, as patrons of the Abbey, had an opportunity for military action against them. , the first battle of the new Confederation against the Habsburgs On 15 November 1315, Leopold of Austria led a large army of knights to crush the rebellious confederates, planning a surprise attack from the south via
Lake Aegeri and the Morgarten pass, and counting on a complete victory over the rebellious peasants. The chronicle of Johannes von Winterthur concerning the battle puts the Austrian forces at 20,000, though that number is certainly inflated. Another account says that there were 9,000 men in the Austrian army, while
Delbrück holds that the Austrian army was only 2,000-3,000 but mostly knights. The Confederates of Schwyz — supported by the Confederates of Uri, who feared for their autonomy, but not supported by the Confederates of Unterwalden — expected the army in the west near the village of
Arth, where they had erected fortifications. The size of the Confederate army is also disputed, with some chronicles placing it at 1,500, while others state that it was 3,000-4,000. After the
victory at Morgarten, the Forest Cantons met at
Brunnen on 9 December 1315 to renew the promise of mutual military assistance. The
Pact of Brunnen, which emerged from the meeting, changed the pragmatic defensive alliance into a full confederacy. During the following forty years, five nearby cities (
Lucerne in 1332,
Zürich in 1351,
Glarus and
Zug in 1352 and
Bern in 1353) joined the Pact and began the
growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy.
Old Swiss Confederation (1513) As the Confederation expanded, Schwyz took a leading role in the new organization. The aggressive, expansionist foreign policy of Schwyz led to its name being applied to the entire Confederation. Even in the 14th century, the chronicles of the surrounding countries referred to the Confederation as
Schwyzer or
Schweizer (the modern German spelling). While Schwyz gained no territory from the battle, both Bern and Lucerne gained significant territories at the expense of the Habsburgs. In 1402/3, Schwyz signed an alliance with
Appenzell, which was seeking independence from the Abbey of St. Gall. In May 1403, the Abbot and the Habsburgs sent a force to defeat the rebellious Appenzellers while Schwyz and Glarus sent troops to defend their ally. On 15 May 1403, the Abbot's forces entered the pass leading to
Speicher, and outside the village of Vögelinsegg they met the Appenzell army. A detachment of about 80 Appenzellers started the attack from a hill over the valley, with about 300 soldiers from Schwyz and 200 from Glarus moving around the flanks of the army. When the League's cavalry charged up the hill, they met 2000 Appenzellers and were forced to retreat. During the retreat, about 600 horsemen and many of the 5000 infantry were killed by the Appenzell army. The League signed a peace treaty with Appenzell at
Arbon, but the peace was short-lived. Appenzell formed an anti-Habsburg alliance, the
Bund ob dem See, with several cities including
Bregenz. In 1408 the Habsburgs besieged Bregenz, and the
Bund, including Schwyz, marched out to support Bregenz. However, when they met the Habsburgs, the
Bund was decisively defeated and the
Bund collapsed. Schwyz paid the Habsburgs off to avoid an attack and Appenzell retained some independence but eventually became an associate of the Confederation. In 1440–1446, Schwyz and six other cantons fought against Zürich and the Habsburgs in the
Old Zürich War. The eventual peace brought Zürich back into the Confederation and forced them to cancel their treaty with the Austrians. After the war, Schwyz acquired the villages of
Wollerau and
Pfäffikon (now in
Freienbach) and shared control of
Uznach and Gaster (both now in St. Gallen) with Glarus. The war also showed that the confederation had grown into a political alliance so close that it no longer tolerated separatist tendencies of a single member. In the 15th century, Schwyz joined Uri and Nidwalden in attempting to expand south of the
Gotthard Pass to gain the revenue from trade over the pass. By the 16th century they controlled, as a
federal condominium, the
Riveria valley, the
Blenio valley, the
Maggia valley and the towns of
Bellinzona,
Lugano,
Mendrisio and
Locarno. While the
Tagsatzung had successfully mediated in 1529, on this occasion the attempt failed, not least because the reformation leader
Huldrych Zwingli was eager for a military confrontation. The Catholic cantons declared war on Zürich on 9 October 1531. On 11 October 1531, Schwyz, Uri and Zug decisively defeated the army of Zwingli. Hundreds of soldiers were killed, including Zwingli himself. Schwyz remained staunchly Catholic following the war. Zürich's forces laid a fruitless siege of
Rapperswil, while Catholic forces separated Zürich from Bern, beating the Bernese at the
First Battle of Villmergen on 24 January 1656. Hostilities ceased on 20 February and the treaty of Villmergen of 7 March reinstalled the status quo preceding the outbreak of hostilities, wherein each canton could specify the religion of all its residents. However, religious tensions continued to rise. When the abbot of St. Gallen proposed to build a "Catholic" road from Schwyz to Austria that would cut off the Protestant part of Glarus from its support in Zürich, the Protestant cantons declared war on the Abbot. After the Protestant victory at the Second Battle of Villmergen, religious equality was established in the Confederation. Throughout the time of the Old Swiss Confederation, the direct democracy of the Landsgemeinde in Schwyz was seen as the most important political institution in the canton and the municipalities of the canton. The Landsgemeinde generally met on the last Sunday in April. Mayors and other government officials were elected, new laws were discussed and voted on and traditional rights were reconfirmed. The Landsgemeinde usually met at
Ibach outside Schwyz town, though there were several alternative locations. In the towns, the Landsgemeinde was made up of all land holding males or citizen. By the 16th century this class had begun to develop into an elite class that tended to lead the Landsgemeinde and be appointed as mayors. Below the citizens there was a class of residents, who were allowed to use the
common land but had limited rights or political power. In the 16th century it was possible for a resident to buy his way into citizenship, however by the 17th century this had become almost impossible. To pay for the Second Battle of Villmergen, Schwyz allowed residents to once again buy citizenship. The Landsgemeinde meetings sometimes collapsed and led to riots. There were often many parties represented and the alliances and factions changed quickly and unpredictably. Schwyz was often characterized as an
enfant terrible due to the unyielding Catholicism along with the political chaos of the Landsgemeinde. To help break the political power of the Inner Cantons, Uri (without the
Leventina but with the
Urseren), Schwyz (without March and Höfe), both half-cantons of
Unterwalden,
Zug, the
Republic of Gersau and
Engelberg Abbey were merged into the
canton of Waldstätten. The new canton only had 4 seats in the Tagsatzung instead of the 16 that its members had held before the invasion. Initially, the victorious French army only lightly occupied the old core of the canton of Schwyz, but plundered the Einseideln Abbey. However, after a failed uprising in Nidwalden in the fall of 1798, Schwyz was forced to hand over all weapons and to provide supplies and housing to French troops. The heavy demands of the occupying French led to the uprising known as the
Hirthemmli War in April 1799. After the French suppressed this uprising, they moved the capital of the canton of Waldstätten to Zug. ==Geography==