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Freie Ämter
The Freiamt or Freie Ämter (English: Free Office or Free Administrative Unit, though it is not usually translated into English) is a region in Switzerland and is located in the southeast of Canton of Aargau. It comprises the area between the Lindenberg and Heitersberg and from the terminal moraine at Othmarsingen to Reuss river in Dietwil. Today the area of the Bremgarten and Muri Districts are called the Freiamt. Previously, the area around Affoltern District in the canton of Zurich was called the (Zurich) Freiamt.
Bremgarten, Muri, Sins, Villmergen and Wohlen are among the main towns of the Freiamt. The metropolitan area around the Mutschellen pass is another important population center.
According to statistical criteria, there is only one city, Wohlen. During the Middle Ages, Bremgarten had city rights, but it is not currently classed as a city. The Freiamt lies in a central position in the Swiss plateau. The large cities of Zurich, Zug and Lucerne are all within a half-hour's drive from the Freiamt.
A Freiamt in the Middle Ages is not a specified area, but a union of persons or free peasants who had a local court or limited self-government. The term is found in the Alamanni populated areas, including the Black Forest of southern Germany (from the 3rd century) and the Swiss plateau (from the 6th Century). The term comes from the Alemannic legal breakdown between free and unfree, which in the Early Middle Ages included the rights of autonomy.
The Aargau Freie Ämter were territories that were under Habsburg rule but were independent with respect to low justice and common law, and so under the medieval definition, they were "free".
In the Frankish-Carolingian era the territories to the left of the Reuss belonged to Aargau, while those to the right were part of Thurgau. Starting in the mid 9th century this area became known as the Zürichgau. After the extinction of the Counts of Lenzburg in 1170, their land in the Aargau went to the Habsburgs. During the 10th century, they acquired vast tracts of land in the region. The Habsburgs granted the low justice rights over many of the villages to Hermetschwil and Muri Abbeys.
After the Swiss Confederation became independent from the Habsburgs, the new Confederation began to expand. After the expansion to the Acht Orte (Eight Cantons), they began looking for additional territory. As the city of Lucerne grew in power, they became interested in the southern portion of what would become the Freie Ämter. In 1394 they acquired the Amt of Merenschwand which gave Lucerne an exclave west of the river Reuss. In the Battle of Sempach, the Habsburg villages of Aristau and Meienberg were destroyed. Following the defeat of 1386, and despite the 1394 peace between the Habsburgs and the Confederation, the Habsburg city of Bremgarten entered into an alliance with Bern in 1407.
On 16 November 1414, Emperor Sigismund called the Council of Constance to settle the Western Schism between the three popes (Benedict XIII, Gregory XII, and John XXIII), all of whom claimed legitimacy. Frederick IV of Habsburg sided with John XXIII. When John XXIII was declared an antipope, he fled the city with Frederick's help. The emperor then declared the Habsburg lands forfeited and ordered the neighboring countries to conquer those lands for the emperor. The city-state of Bern had already pledged their support of the emperor against the Habsburgs in 1414, and so they were ready to invade. The rest of the Confederation quickly followed.
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Freie Ämter
The Freiamt or Freie Ämter (English: Free Office or Free Administrative Unit, though it is not usually translated into English) is a region in Switzerland and is located in the southeast of Canton of Aargau. It comprises the area between the Lindenberg and Heitersberg and from the terminal moraine at Othmarsingen to Reuss river in Dietwil. Today the area of the Bremgarten and Muri Districts are called the Freiamt. Previously, the area around Affoltern District in the canton of Zurich was called the (Zurich) Freiamt.
Bremgarten, Muri, Sins, Villmergen and Wohlen are among the main towns of the Freiamt. The metropolitan area around the Mutschellen pass is another important population center.
According to statistical criteria, there is only one city, Wohlen. During the Middle Ages, Bremgarten had city rights, but it is not currently classed as a city. The Freiamt lies in a central position in the Swiss plateau. The large cities of Zurich, Zug and Lucerne are all within a half-hour's drive from the Freiamt.
A Freiamt in the Middle Ages is not a specified area, but a union of persons or free peasants who had a local court or limited self-government. The term is found in the Alamanni populated areas, including the Black Forest of southern Germany (from the 3rd century) and the Swiss plateau (from the 6th Century). The term comes from the Alemannic legal breakdown between free and unfree, which in the Early Middle Ages included the rights of autonomy.
The Aargau Freie Ämter were territories that were under Habsburg rule but were independent with respect to low justice and common law, and so under the medieval definition, they were "free".
In the Frankish-Carolingian era the territories to the left of the Reuss belonged to Aargau, while those to the right were part of Thurgau. Starting in the mid 9th century this area became known as the Zürichgau. After the extinction of the Counts of Lenzburg in 1170, their land in the Aargau went to the Habsburgs. During the 10th century, they acquired vast tracts of land in the region. The Habsburgs granted the low justice rights over many of the villages to Hermetschwil and Muri Abbeys.
After the Swiss Confederation became independent from the Habsburgs, the new Confederation began to expand. After the expansion to the Acht Orte (Eight Cantons), they began looking for additional territory. As the city of Lucerne grew in power, they became interested in the southern portion of what would become the Freie Ämter. In 1394 they acquired the Amt of Merenschwand which gave Lucerne an exclave west of the river Reuss. In the Battle of Sempach, the Habsburg villages of Aristau and Meienberg were destroyed. Following the defeat of 1386, and despite the 1394 peace between the Habsburgs and the Confederation, the Habsburg city of Bremgarten entered into an alliance with Bern in 1407.
On 16 November 1414, Emperor Sigismund called the Council of Constance to settle the Western Schism between the three popes (Benedict XIII, Gregory XII, and John XXIII), all of whom claimed legitimacy. Frederick IV of Habsburg sided with John XXIII. When John XXIII was declared an antipope, he fled the city with Frederick's help. The emperor then declared the Habsburg lands forfeited and ordered the neighboring countries to conquer those lands for the emperor. The city-state of Bern had already pledged their support of the emperor against the Habsburgs in 1414, and so they were ready to invade. The rest of the Confederation quickly followed.
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