Fürstenland or Alte Landschaft is the name of a historical territory of the Swiss
canton of St. Gallen
The canton of St. Gallen, also canton of St Gall (german: link=no, Kanton St. Gallen ; rm, Chantun Son Gagl; french: Canton de Saint-Gall; it, Canton San Gallo), is a canton of Switzerland. The capital is St. Gallen.
Located in northeastern ...
, corresponding to the modern districts of
St. Gallen
, neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach
, twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic)
, website = ...
(without the city proper),
Wil
Wil () is the capital of the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
Wil is the third largest city in the Canton of St. Gallen, after the city of St. Gallen and Rapperswil-Jona, a twin city that merged in ...
and
Rorschach.
It was a subject territory of the
Abbey of St. Gallen until 1798.
Its population, known as the ''Gotteshausleute'', came into conflict with the Abbey after the
Swiss Reformation, during 1525–1531.
After the defeat of Zürich in the
Second War of Kappel, the Fürstenland was forced to return to Catholicism.
After the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
, the territory was granted increased autonomy in a treaty of 1795, and in 1797 additionally its own seal and the right to elect a local parliament.
On 14 February 1798, it constituted itself as a "Free Republic" (''Freie Republik der Landschaft St. Gallen''), which was absorbed into the
Canton of Säntis three months later.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Furstenland
Abbey of Saint Gall
History of the canton of St. Gallen