Historical Foundings of Cities by Century

In Switzerland as in Europe generally, numerous cities arose in the High and Late Middle Ages whose origin can be traced back to a state-planned founding process and which are therefore known as founding cities.

The cities that emerged under Roman rule went into decline from late antiquity until the Carolingian period. The influence of Roman city culture was strongest felt in the dioceses: Basel, Chur, Geneva, Lausanne, Sion and Constance, the latter of which was important for German-speaking Switzerland and all of which still fulfilled the functions of a city.

The 10th century saw the beginning of an economic revival from which the dioceses were the first to benefit. However, it did take hold in other places, some of which also shared a Roman past and some of which had purely mediaeval origins. As a palatinate, Zurich developed very rapidly to the same level as the dioceses. In the 11th century, additional market and city-like centres began to emerge, followed by greater numbers in the 12th century. In French-speaking Switzerland, they were particularly located along the access roads leading to the Great St Bernhard Pass. In the north and east, the water ways which lead from Basel via the High Rhine, Lake Zurich or Lake Constance to the eastern Alpine passes had a similar significance, in that development in these regions was in part encouraged by imperial market and coin privileges. State initiative played an important role everywhere but only became the primary factor with the emergence of the founding city.

Freiburg and Bern were almost perfect embodiments of this city type. They were created by plan in the 12th century and equipped with a city’s structures right from the outset. Further development was the sole preserve of the founding cities. The number of cities rose within the territory of today’s Switzerland from 35 around the year 1200 to five times that by the year 1300. The total number of mediaeval cities, including those that disappeared again (abandoned cities), was around 200. The majority of the founding cities thus emerged in the 13th century. They were mostly small or even dwarf cities. Whereas it was initially the economic revival which had the main invigorating effect on city life, during the age of the founding city, it was above all the struggle to compete between rulers. Almost a third of founding cities can be traced back to the Zähringen, Kyburg, Habsburg and Savoy families who had visions of establishing control over large territories. In addition to this, numerous other rulers – both secular and spiritual – founded cities in the course of expanding their power.

The founding of cities became significantly less frequent in the first half of the 14th century and, in the latter half, practically ground to a halt. There was a deluge of smaller cities which lacked sufficient living space. Due to the crisis in the Late Middle Ages, namely the declines in population and wars starting in the mid-14th century, the smaller cities were placed under additional pressure. In many places, the displacement of streams of traffic or the dying out of noble lineages had a detrimental impact. The number of cities was already declining again and the poor outlook prevented new cities from being founded.

The repression of princes and the nobility by the Swiss Confederates was a decisive factor in further development. Their rural areas were averse to the city as a mode of organisation. Although the federal towns usually incorporated the small cities they had acquired into their territory without any significant reduction in their legal status, they were not interested in increasing the number of cities. Urban and rural areas adopted this hostile stance towards each other even in cases where they shared common rulers. Where economic expansion by way of additional spaces for trade and crafts may have proven necessary in the future, this was taken into account with the approval of rural markets. Overall, the history of the founding of cities in Switzerland came to an end in the 14th century because isolated later attempts by foreign princes to establish cities in the border area with the Confederation (such as Carouge) also failed or remained unfinished.