The League of God's House (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Gotteshausbund'', Italian: ''Lega Caddea'', rm, ) was formed in what is now

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

on 29 January 1367, to resist the rising power of the Bishopric of Chur and the House of Habsburg. The League allied with the Grey League and the League of the Ten Jurisdictions in 1471 to form the Three Leagues. The League of God's House, together with the two other Leagues, was allied with the

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy (German language, Modern German: ; historically , after the Swiss Reformation, Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ...

throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. After the Napoleonic wars the League of God's House became a part of the Swiss canton of Graubünden.

Before the League

The region that would become the League of God's House has always been heavily influenced by the Diocese of Chur. The Bishop of Chur is first mentioned in 451 when its Bishop St. Asimo attended the Synod of Milan, but probably existed a century earlier. During the 5th and 6th centuries there is evidence of an extensive Romanisation and conversion to Christianity in the region around Chur. In 536 the region was conquered by the Merovingian Kingdom, but due to distance and isolation it quickly fell back into '' de facto'' independence. During this time the region was known as ''

Churrätien Raetia Curiensis (in Latin; german: Churrätien, rm, Currezia) was an early medieval province in Central Europe, named after the preceding Roman province of ''Raetia prima'' which retained its Romansh culture during the Migration Period, while ...

'' or ''Churwalchen'' and occupied politically virtually the same territory that the Bishopric of Chur spiritually led. In 773 the political and spiritual power in the region was consolidated into a single family. However this situation only lasted until 806 when Charlemagne split the political and spiritual power into two. This split and the resulting conflicts let to the collapse of ''Churrätien'' and the creation of numerous small independent communities, with the power center of Chur in the middle. For centuries after the split, the Bishops of Chur wished to expand their power both politically and spiritually.

Foundation of the League

In the 14th century the core communities of the Bishopric of Chur lay along the north–south road on the Septimer- Julier route. The bishop ruled the region around Chur and had the right of high judgement in the Fünf Dörfer, Chur, Oberhalbstein, Oberengadin, Bergell, Schams, Rheinwald, Unterengadin and Vinschgau. After 1363 relationships between the bishop of Chur and his subjects worsened.

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

dukes from the House of Habsburg had acquired the County of Tyrol which included Münstertal and Unterengadin and were trying to expand into the Bishopric of Chur. The foreign and frequently absent bishop

Peter Gelyto von Böhmen Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, who had driven the bishopric deep into debt, was willing to sell the political leadership of the area in exchange for a yearly salary. As a first step, in 1366 he rented out the Fürstenburg fortress at

Burgeis Burgeis ( it, Burgusio, rm, ) is the largest ''frazione'' of the comune of Mals, Italy, and sits at an altitude of 1216m in Vinschgau in South Tyrol beneath the mountain Watles (2557) on the upper reaches of the Adige. The name goes all the wa ...

in the Vinschgau. In response to this development representatives from the cathedral church of St. Luzius, the valley communities and the city of Chur met in 1365 in Wildenberg Castle in Zernez. On 29 January 1367 they met again in Chur, with revolution in mind. The meeting represented the three sources of power in the area: first, the spiritual community, represented by personnel from the bishop's cathedral; second, representatives of the large valley communities (six representatives each from Domleschg, Schams, and

Bergell The Val Bregaglia ( lmo, Val Bregaja; german: Bergell, ; rm, ) is an alpine valley of Switzerland and Italy at the base of which runs the river Mera ( lmo, Maira in Switzerland). Most of the valley falls within the Swiss district of Maloja i ...

; four from Oberhalbstein; three from

Oberengadin The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ' ...

; and two from

Unterengadin The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ''G ...

); and third, representatives of the citizens of Chur. The group met without the bishop and voted to limit his power sharply and to demand authority over financial matters. The decision of 1367 was not a formal federation or alliance, but represented a desire to stick together in a crisis. However the decision included a desire to hold future assemblies and to closely monitor the power of the bishop. These future meetings set the stage for closer alliances between the individual communities. In 1409 they established a standing council and appointed a ''Vogt'' or bailiff over the bishop. In the spring of 1468 Bishop Ortlieb von Brandis angered the League. They assembled an army, attacked several of the Bishop's estates, including

Riom Riom (; Auvergnat ''Riam'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History Until the French Revolution, Riom was the capital of the province of Auvergne, and the se ...

and

Greifenstein Greifenstein is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Its administrative seat is Beilstein. Greifenstein covers 67.43 km² on the eastern slope of the Westerwald range. It was named for the castle of the same name in th ...

, and occupied them. The Bishop was forced to ask the city of Zürich to intervene. Zürich negotiated with the League and convinced them to return the castles to the Bishop. Between 1524 and 1526 the Ilanzer Article removed the last vestiges of the bishop's political power.

Expansion of the League

Throughout the 15th century the League continued to expand. The '' vier Dörfer'' (the four villages, the rest of the five or fünf Dörfer) joined the League, along with Avers and the uppermost part of the Albula valley. The Münster valley (Münstertal) and Puschlavs valley joined about 1498. During the mid-15th century the League of God's House began to pursue a common foreign policy with the other two Leagues ( Grey League and League of the Ten Jurisdictions). In 1499 during the Swabian War the League together with the other two Leagues defeated a Habsburg army at the

Battle of Calven The Battle of Calven ( Romansh: ''Chalavaina'') took place on 22 May 1499 at the exit of the Val Müstair in the Grisons (now part of Switzerland) to the Vinschgau in County of Tyrol (now part of Italy) between the forces of King Maximilian I ...

and took the Vinschgau from the Bishopric of Chur. Over time the power of the Bishop of Chur weakened, but Chur became the center of the League of God's House. After about 1700, the mayor of Chur automatically became the leader of the League of God's House.

Three Leagues

After about 1471 the three separate Leagues were allied together as the Three Leagues. The ''Bundesbrief'' of 23 September 1524 created a constitution for the Three Leagues that would remain until the

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

ic dissolution of the League. However the League was not a unified state in the modern sense. The Three Leagues worked together as a federation of three states and virtually all affairs of the League were settled by referendum. The Three Leagues were also unique in

early modern Europe Early modern Europe, also referred to as the post-medieval period, is the period of European history between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, roughly the late 15th century to the late 18th century. Histori ...

for practicing a form of

communalism Communalism may refer to: * Communalism (Bookchin), a theory of government in which autonomous communities form confederations * , a historical method that follows the development of communities * Communalism (South Asia), violence across ethnic ...

, in which each League was founded, governed and defended through collective decisions. The Three Leagues were normally allied with the

. Initially this was a response to the expansion of the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

. The

Musso war The Musso War (or War of Musso) was an armed conflict between the federation of the Three Leagues (german: Drei Bünde), which functioned as an associate state of the Old Swiss Confederacy, and the Duchy of Milan early in the 16th century. The co ...

against the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...

in 1520 pushed the League closer to the Swiss Confederacy. The League remained in association with the Swiss until the Napoleonic Wars, when it was absorbed into the Swiss

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (, , ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

founded in 1798. After the Napoleonic

Act of Mediation The Act of Mediation () was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the French Republic on 19 February 1803 establishing the Swiss Confederation. The act also abolished the previous Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion ...

in 1803, the Three Leagues became the canton of Graubünden. The League of God's House remained a distinct part of the political organization of the canton from 1803 until 1854.

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