The Old Zürich War (Alter Zürichkrieg), 1440–1446, was a conflict between the canton of Zürich and the other seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy over the succession to the Count of Toggenburg. For alternative meanings, see number 1440. ... Events Mehmed II Sultan of the Ottoman Empire is forced to abdicate in favor of his father Murad II by the Janissaries. ... Zürich IPA (in English often Zurich, which is also the standard French form of the name) is the largest city in Switzerland (population: 364,558 in 2002; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and capital of the canton of Zürich. ... 1550 illustration for the Sempacherbrief of 1393, one of the major alliance contracts of the Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland. ... The Counts of Toggenburg (Grafen von Toggenburg) ruled the Toggenburg region of todays Canton of St. ...

In 1436, Count Friedrich VII of Toggenburg died, leaving neither heir nor will. The canton of Zürich claimed the Toggenburg lands; the cantons of Schwyz and Glarus made counter-claims, backed by the other cantons. In 1438 Zürich occupied the disputed area and cut off grain supplies to Schwyz and Glarus. In 1440, the other cantons expelled Zürich from the confederation and declared war. Zürich retaliated by making an alliance with Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor of the house of Habsburg. Events April - Paris is recaptured by the French End of the Hussite Wars in Bohemia. ... Events Pachacuti who would later create Tahuantinsuyu, or Inca Empire became the ruler of Cuzco January 1 - Hungary March 18 - Germany Eric of Pomerania, King of Sweden, Denmark and Norway looses direct control of Sweden. ... For alternative meanings, see number 1440. ... Detail of Aeneas Piccolomini Introduces Eleonora of Portugal to Frederick III by Pinturicchio (1454-1513) Frederick III of Habsburg (born September 21 in Innsbruck, 1415; died August 19, 1493 in Linz) was elected as German King as the successor of Albert II in 1440. ... Habsburg (sometimes spelled Hapsburg, but never so in official use) was one of the major ruling houses of Europe. ...

The forces of Zürich were defeated in the Battle of St. Jakob an der Sihl on 22 July 1443 and Zürich was besieged. Frederick appealed to Charles VII of France to attack the confederates and the latter sent a force of about 30,000 Armagnac mercenaries under the command of the Dauphin via Basel to relieve the city. In the Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs near Basel on 26 August 1444 a blocking force of roughly 1,600 Swiss confederates were wiped out, but inflicted so heavy losses on the French (8,000 killed) that the Dauphin decided to retreat. July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... Events Albanians, under Turks John Hunyadi defeats Turks at the Battle of Nis Vlad II Dracul begins his second term as ruler of Wallachia, succeeding Basarab II. Births May 31 - Margaret Beaufort (mother of Henry VII of England) December 5 - Pope Julius II Marriages Deaths August 16 - Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, Ashikaga... Charles VII the Victorious, a. ... The hilly Armagnac region in the foothills of the Pyrenées, between the Adour and Garonne rivers is a historic comté of the Duchy of Gascony (Gascogne), established in 601 CE in the southwest of Aquitaine (now France). ... Louis XI Louis XI the Prudent (French: Louis XI le Prudent) (July 3, 1423 - August 30, 1483), also informally nicknamed luniverselle aragne (old French for universal spider), was a King of France (1461 - 1483). ... Basel (English traditionally: Basle [ba:l], German: Basel [ba:z@l], French Bâle [ba:l], Italian Basilea [bazilE:a]) is Switzerlands third most populous city (188,000 inhabitants in the canton of Basel-City as of 2004; the 690,000 inhabitants in the conurbation stretching across the immediate... The Battle of St. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). ... Events March 1 - Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg proclaimed commander of the Albanian resistance April 16 - Truce of Tours. ...

In May, 1444, the confederacy laid siege to Greifensee, and captured the town after four weeks, on May 27, beheading all but two of the 64 defenders on the next day, including their leader, Wildhans von Breitenlandenberg. Even in times of war, the mass execution was widely considered a cruel and unjust deed. Events March 1 - Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg proclaimed commander of the Albanian resistance April 16 - Truce of Tours. ... Greifensee is a small lake 20 km to the northeast of Lake Zurich and the city of Zurich. ...

By 1446, both sides were exhausted, and a preliminary peace was concluded. The confederation had not managed to conquer any of the cities of Zürich except Greifensee; Rapperswil and Zürich itself withstood the attacks. In 1450, the parties made a definitive peace and Zürich was admitted into the confederation again, but had to dissolve its alliance with the Habsburgs. Events Mehmed II Sultan of the Ottoman Empire is forced to abdicate in favor of his father Murad II by the Janissaries. ... Rapperswil is a small town in the canton of St. ... Events March - French troops under Guy de Richemont besiege the English commander in France, Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, in Caen April 15 - Battle of Formigny. ...

The significance of the war is that it showed that the confederation had grown into a political alliance so close that it no longer tolerated separatist tendencies of a single member.

External links

• Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz/Historical Encyclopedia of Switzerland - Old Zurich War (http://www.dhs.ch/externe/protect/textes/d/D8877.html) (in German)