The Rauracian Republic was a short-lived French occupation zone that included parts of modern Switzerland around the Jura mountains. It was created from the northern portion of the

Prince-Bishopric of Basel The Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Hochstift Basel, Fürstbistum Basel, Bistum Basel) was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled from 1032 by prince-bishops with their seat at Basel, and from 1528 until 1792 at ...

, which was part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. The Rauracian Republic existed for just a few months. It was inaugurated on 17 December 1792 and absorbed into

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

on 23 March 1793. Twenty-two years later, in 1815,

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

and Bern divided the territory of the former republic between them. The name of the Republic was taken from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

name of an ancient Celtic tribe, the

Raurici The Rauraci or Raurici were a small Gallic tribe dwelling in the Upper Rhine region, around the present-day city of Basel, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Rauracis'' and ''Rauracorum'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. ...

, who settled the southern part of the

Upper Rhine The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the ...

. The Raurici were related to the Helvetii, whose name was later bestowed on another French client state, the Helvetic Republic. The well-known students' fraternity AKV Rauracia at

Basel university The University of Basel ( Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universi ...

derives its name from the Rauracian Republic.

Chronology

Following the proclamation in September 1792 of the French First Republic, unrest quickly spread in the lands of the Prince-Bishop of Basel, leading to the creation of "revolutionary committees". On 17 December 1792, the Rauracian Republic was proclaimed as the first "daughter republic" of revolutionary France. Following the successive collapses of two national assemblies, a third voted for incorporation into France, backed by a referendum believed to have been supported by French pressure and manipulation. This was achieved on 23 March 1793 with the creation of the French Department of

Mont-Terrible Mont-Terrible was a department of the First French Republic, with its seat at Porrentruy. The Mont Terrible for which the department was named is now known as , a peak of 804 metres near Courgenay (now in the canton of Jura, Switzerland). The ...

which had its capital at

Porrentruy Porrentruy (, fc, Poérreintru , german: Pruntrut) is a Swiss municipality and seat of the district of the same name located in the canton of Jura. Porrentruy is home to National League team, HC Ajoie. History The first trace of human pre ...

. Administrative frontiers changed more than once in the ensuring two decades, but when the war finally came to an end, the territory of

, previously the Rauracian Republic, was divided by the victorious powers at the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

between the cantons of Bern and

. Unlike other "daughter republics" of France, the Rauracian Republic seems never to have acquired a national flag. It did, however, adopt a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

. In essence, this portrayed the old Lictors' Bundle which had been a favoured symbol of authority under the old

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

and which still appears in the

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

of the French state and on the cantonal shield of

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...

References

Canton of Jura 1792 establishments in Europe 1793 disestablishments in Europe 18th century in Switzerland War of the First Coalition {{Switzerland-stub