County of Sargans

County of Sargans
Grafschaft Sargans
State of the Holy Roman Empire,
Condominium of the Old Swiss Confederacy
←
11th century? – 1798 →
Coat of arms of Sargans Coat of arms of the
Werdenberg counts
The County of Sargans, shown in turquoise — with the Imperial Abbey of Pfäfers, of which the counts were Vögte, protectors — in the south of this map of what became the canton of St. Gallen
Capital Sargans
Government Principality
Historical era Middle Ages
 -  Established before 1200
 - County pawned to
    Habsburgs
1396
 - County redeemed from
    Toggenburgers
1436
 - Allied with Switzerland
    in the Old Zürich War
1440–46
 - Condominium of the
    Old Swiss Confederacy
1458–1798
 -  Annexed to Helvetic
    canton of Linth		 1798
 - Joined St Gallen February 19, 1803

The County of Sargans was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. From 1458 until the French Revolutionary War in 1798, Sargans became a condominium of the Old Swiss Confederacy, administered jointly by the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Lucerne, Zürich, Glarus and Zug.

History

In 1396, the counts of Werdenberg-Sargans pawned Sargans to the Habsburg dukes of Austria, who passed the territory to Friedrich VII, count of Toggenburg. After the death of the last Toggenburgers the counts of Werdenberg-Sargans redeemed the pledge, to rule over the county anew, with Walenstadt and Quarten remaining as Vogtei (protectorates) of the Habsburgs. The inhabitants of the country refused, however, to recognise the counts of Werdenberg-Sargans as their lords and, in 1436, made a treaty with the city of Zürich.

In the Old Zürich War, a civil war between Zürich and the cantons of Glarus and Schwyz, the counts allied themselves with the opponents of Zürich. Schwyz and Glarus conquered the county and forced the population to carry out, for the count von Werdenberg-Sargans, the Oath of Loyalty.

In 1458, the counts renewed their association with Schwyz and Glarus. Nevertheless the Eidgenossen kept Walenstadt, Nidberg and Quarten, which they had conquered from the Habsburgs. In 1482–83, the last count sold Sargans to become a shared territory of the seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederation. (Whilst there were eight cantons to Switzerland, Berne was not involved in this transaction.) The purchase of 1483 stood at the conclusion of a decades-long expansionist policy of the Confederation in the east of Switzerland.

The joint administration of the Landvogtei was quite normal for the 15th century acquisitions of Switzerland. The administration alternated, every two years, between Zurich, Luzern, Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Zug and Glarus. From 1712, after the second war of Villmergen, Berne became involved in the condominium, with the Lordship of Freudenberg (Imperial Abbey of Pfäfers) and Walenstadt joining the jointly-administered territories. From 1483, Quarten became part of the Vogtei of Windegg, but it remained subordinate to the blood court (Blutgerichtsbarkeit) of Sargans.

A special case was the area of the today's municipality of Wartau. It belonged to the County of Sargans, with exception of the Lordship of Wartau, which covered only Wartau Castle and the village of Gretschins. The Lordship was legally closely interlaced with the remaining area of the today's municipality Wartau, but was subordinate to the jurisdiction of the County of Werdenberg. In 1517, when Werdenberg became a part of Glarus, this legal situation led to numerous conflicts in 1694–95 between the Landvögte of Werdenberg and Sargans over "Wartauer trade", which was taken as far as the Tagsatzung, a Swiss confederal council.

In 1798, most of the County was given liberty as an independent canton of Sargans, until the County was annexed to the Canton of Linth in the Helvetic Republic, later in the same year. When Napoleon's Act of Mediation restored the Old Swiss Confederation in 1803, Sargans passed to the newly established canton of St. Gallen.

Gallery

Eastern Switzerland in 1798, with shared territories in grey and associate members of the Confederacy outlined. The County of Sargans can be seen in the south, between the two parts of Glarus (green).
Sargans Castle, with the coats of arms of the seven cantons sharing jurisdiction visible on the left-hand side
Country of Sargans, with the coats of arms and fortifications

References