The Canton of Baden () was a canton of the

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 ...

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

ic-era precursor of modern-day

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

). Its capital was the town of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

Formation

The canton was created in 1798 from the merger of the County of Baden with the Freie Ämter (free bailiwicks) and Kelleramt, all of which had until then been

condominiums A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

(''gemeine Herrschaften'') of the

Old Swiss Confederation The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...

. The canton was divided into five districts —

, Bremgarten, Muri,

Sarmenstorf Sarmenstorf is a municipality in the district of Bremgarten in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History The earliest settlement in the municipality built the Neolithic burial mound at ''Zigiholz''. The next known settlement was a Roman e ...

and

Zurzach Zurzach () is a municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the sou ...

. The canton, like the others of the Helvetic Republic, was administered by a governor () and an administrative chamber (), a vice-governor () in each district, as well as agents in the municipalities. In 1799, there were 45,982 residents, though the

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish population was not counted in the census.

Dissolution

Since the majority of

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, conservative population were indifferent to the new state, officials and politicians had to be imported from neighboring cantons. The canton was divided and some municipalities sought affiliations with other cantons: the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

congregations in the

Limmat The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the southern part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, continuing a further 35 km until it reaches the river A ...

tal wanted to affiliate with

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, the ''Amt'' of

Hitzkirch Hitzkirch is a municipality in the district of Hochdorf in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. On 1 January 2009, Gelfingen, Hämikon, Mosen, Müswangen, Retschwil and Sulz joined Hitzkirch. On 1 January 2021, Altwis merged into Hitzkir ...

with

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

, and the upper Freiamt with

Zug Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; ; ; ; )Named in the 16th century. is the largest List of cities in Switzerland, town and capital of the Swiss canton of Zug. Zug is renowned as a hub for some of the wealthiest individuals in the wor ...

Schwyz Schwyz (; ; ) is a town and the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ''Bundesbriefmuseum''. The of ...

. The canton was not politically viable, notably due to its lack of an economic base; in both 1801 ( Constitution of Malmaison) and 1802 ( Second Helvetic Constitution), it was decided to merge the canton into

Aargau Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau. Aargau is one of the most nort ...

, but the move was not completed.

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

signed the

Act of Mediation The Act of Mediation () was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte, French Consulate, First Consul of the French Republic on 19 February 1803 to abolish the Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion of Old Swiss Confederacy, Switzerland by F ...

on 19 February 1803 and, in the process, the canton of Baden was dissolved and united with the cantons of

and

Fricktal The Fricktal ("Frick Valley") is a region on Northwestern Switzerland, comprising the Laufenburg and Rheinfelden districts of the Swiss canton of Aargau. The region was known as ''Frickgau'' in the medieval period, ultimately from a Late Lati ...

, forming the contemporary canton of Aargau. Some parts of the canton of Baden at this point were transferred to other cantons: the ''Amt'' of Hitzkirch to Lucerne, whilst Hüttikon,

Oetwil an der Limmat Oetwil an der Limmat is a Municipalities of the canton of Zürich, municipality in the district of Dietikon (district), Dietikon in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley (German: ...

Dietikon Dietikon is the fifth biggest city of the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, after Zürich, Winterthur, Uster and Dübendorf. It is the capital of the same-named district of Dietikon and part of the Zürich metropolitan area. Geography The ...

and

Schlieren Schlieren ( ; , ) are optical inhomogeneities in transparent media that are not necessarily visible to the human eye. Schlieren physics developed out of the need to produce high-quality lenses devoid of such inhomogeneities. These inhomogeneit ...

went to Zürich. In return, Lucerne's ''Amt'' of

Merenschwand Merenschwand is a municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. The municipality of Benzenschwil merged on 1 January 2012 into Merenschwand.

was transferred to Aargau (district of Muri).

Contemporary districts

The former canton can still be identified with the contemporary Aargau

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

, Bremgarten and Muri (albeit with the gains and losses in 1803 as detailed above).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baden, Canton Cantons of the Helvetic Republic Former cantons of Switzerland Aargau