![Bild Tag von Uster](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Bild_Tag_von_Uster.jpg)
The Ustertag occurred on 22 November 1830, when 10,000 men of the
Canton
Canton may refer to:
Administrative division terminology
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and ent ...
of
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
gathered on Zimiker hill and demanded a new constitution. Their primary concern was parity between the urban and rural areas. The Ustertag is described as a "revolution" due to its impact, its focus, and its speed of events, which caused great change in the Canton of Zurich.
The name
Ustertag refers to the name of the town (
Uster
Uster (High Alemannic: ''Uschter'') is a town and the capital of the Uster District in the Swiss canton of Zürich.
It is the third largest town in the canton of Zürich, with almost 35,000 inhabitants, and is one of the twenty largest towns ...
) where the meeting occurred, and ''
Tagung'' or political assembly.
Background
In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
the city of Zurich acquired a number of rural areas. The rural population were poor and uneducated while politically and economically under the control of the city. During the French controlled
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 ...
in 1798 the ideas of freedom and equality spread. The medieval idea of different laws for city citizens and countryside peasants was overthrown. However, in 1803 the Helvetic Republic collapsed and was replaced by the
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 ...
which struck a compromise between the ''
Ancien Regime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for "ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
** Ancien Régime in France
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word fo ...
'' and a Republic. In the following years, even the limited freedoms under the Act were undermined and following
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 ...
's defeat in 1813 the Act was overturned. In the
Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
, which started in 1814, the new constitution reduced the representation of rural areas in the cantonal councils.
[City of Uster-Ustertag]
accessed 6 January 2010
Following the French
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...
of 1830, revolutionary movements sprang up across Switzerland. The first assembly was held near
Weinfelden
Weinfelden is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. It is the capital of the district of the same name.
Weinfelden is an old town, which was known during Ancient Rome, Roma ...
in
Thurgau
Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld.
Thurgau is part ...
in October and November 1830. Followed in November by meetings in
Wohlenschwil
Wohlenschwil is a municipality in the district of Baden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
History
On June 3, 1653 Wohlenschwil was the site of the Battle of Wohlenschwil, which ended the Swiss peasant war of 1653. Despite a peace treaty ...
,
Aargau
Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...
then
Sursee
Sursee is a municipality in the district of Sursee in the canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. Sursee is located at the northern end of Lake Sempach, not far from where the ''Sure'' (or ''Suhre'') river exits the lake ("See"), hence the name "Sursee". ...
,
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
.
[ In November 1830, Dr. Ludwig Snellhalf wrote several pamphlets including the ''Memorial von Küsnacht'' (The Memorial of Küsnacht) which argued that the canton was known for its liberalism and the canton should embrace the changes that were sweeping Europe. A short time later, about a hundred men gathered in ]Stäfa
Stäfa is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
Geography
Stäfa has an area of . Of this area, 46.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 18.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 34% is se ...
, near Zurich, and decided to hold a meeting in Uster, the most central location in the canton of Zürich with the large St. Andreas Church
Reformierte Kirche Uster (native German name, literally: Uster Reformed Church) is an Evangelical Reformed church in the Swiss municipality of Uster in the Canton of Zürich that was built in 1824. The predecessor ''St. Andreas'' church, situated ...
. However, when 10,000–12,000 men attended, the church could not hold the crowd and the '' Tagung'' or assembly adjourned to the nearby Zimiker Hill.
While there were a number of different assemblies that met throughout Switzerland in 1830–31, each assembly called for two main changes in the new cantonal constitutions. First, they called for peacefully adjusting the constitutions by adjusting the way seats in local legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
s and the Tagsatzung
The Federal Diet of Switzerland (german: Tagsatzung, ; french: Diète fédérale; it, Dieta federale) was the legislative and executive council of the Old Swiss Confederacy and existed in various forms from the beginnings of Swiss independen ...
were allocated. In particular they objected to what they saw as the over-representation of the cantonal capital in the government. Secondly, they sought a way to amend the constitution. Very few cantons even had a way to amend or modify the constitutions, and none of them allowed citizen's initiative
In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...
s to be added.
Following a day of speeches, in the evening they went peaceably back to their homes, without rioting or violence.[
]
Effects of the Ustertag
Once on 6 December, a new Cantonal Council german: Grossräte was elected with two-thirds of the representatives coming from the rural areas. By March 1831 a new constitution was in force that addressed most of the points from the Ustertag.
The Ustertag of 1830 and other assemblies of 1830–31 had a significant impact on the former Swiss Confederation
). 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 ...
. The political reforms that came after these assemblies ended the period known as the Restoration and led to the Regeneration period which led to the Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
of 1848 and the creation of the Swiss federal state
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
. The Ustertag day is still celebrated by keynote speeches in the Swiss Reformed Church
The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...
.List of Ustertag speakers and sermons
accessed 6 January 2010
The assemblies of 1830–31 also led to the introduction of a new word into the German language
German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...
. These assemblies were collectively known in Swiss German
Swiss German (Standard German: , gsw, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no defined orthography for any of them, many different spelling ...
as '' Putsch'', which later made its way into standard German as a political term, popularized by Gottfried Keller
Gottfried Keller (19 July 1819 – 15 July 1890) was a Swiss poet and writer of German literature. Best known for his novel '' Green Henry'' (German: ''Der grüne Heinrich'') and his cycle of novellas called ''The People from Seldwyla'' (''Die Leu ...
. The word gained further use during the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, as the equivalent of the English "push," or "going over the top," from one's trenches into battle. The derived verb ''aufputschen'' remains common in Standard German
Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (not to be confused with High German dialects, more precisely Upper German dialects) (german: Standardhochdeutsch, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the standardized variety ...
for "to incite", "to excite", in political or in doping contexts.
See also
*Restoration (Switzerland)
The periods of Restoration and Regeneration in Swiss history lasted from 1814 to 1847. "Restoration" is the period of 1814 to 1830, the restoration of the ''Ancien Régime'' (federalism), reverting the changes imposed by Napoleon Bonaparte on t ...
*Züriputsch
The Züriputsch of 6 September 1839 was a putsch of the rural conservative population against the liberal rule of the city of Zürich on the eve of the formation of the Swiss federal state. The reason for the putsch was the appointment of the ...
*Freiämtersturm
The Freiämtersturm in December 1830 was a bloodless revolution in the Swiss canton of Aargau. The dissatisfied rural population of the ''Freie Ämter'' region in Aargau marched on the cantonal capital of Aarau to demand changes in the cantonal c ...
Sources
* ''Der Ustertag im Spiegel seiner Zeit''. Festschrift zur 150. Wiederkehr des 22. Novembers 1830. Uster, 1980.
External links
Offizielle Website der Stadt Uster zum Ustertag
*
{{Authority control
1830 in Switzerland
19th century in Switzerland
19th-century revolutions
November 1830 events
Canton of Zürich
Uster
Revolutions of 1830