You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons:

This IP address has been blocked from editing Wikipedia.
This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages.
Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and can sometimes affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. Review the information below for assistance if you do not believe that you have done anything wrong.

The IP address or range 34.205.0.0/16 has been blocked (disabled) by ‪ST47‬ for the following reason(s):

The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts may be blocked from editing Wikipedia.
You will not be able to edit Wikipedia using a web host provider because it hides your IP address, much like a proxy or VPN.
We recommend that you attempt to use another connection to edit. For example, if you use a proxy or VPN to connect to the internet, turn it off when editing Wikipedia. If you edit using a mobile connection, try using a Wi-Fi connection, and vice versa. If you are using a corporate internet connection, switch to a different Wi-Fi network. If you have a Wikipedia account, please log in.
If you do not have any other way to edit Wikipedia, you will need to request an IP block exemption.

How to appeal if you are confident that your connection does not use a web host's IP address:
If you are confident that you are not using a web host, you may appeal this block by adding the following text on your talk page: ((unblock|reason=Caught by a web host block but this host or IP is not a web host. My IP address is _______. Place any further information here. ~~~~)). You must fill in the blank with your IP address for this block to be investigated. Your IP address can be determined here. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your IP address private you can use the unblock ticket request system. There are several reasons you might be editing using the IP address of a web host (such as if you are using VPN software or a business network); please use this method of appeal only if you think your IP address is in fact not a web host.

Administrators: The IP block exemption user right should only be applied to allow users to edit using web host in exceptional circumstances, and they should usually be directed to the functionaries team via email. If you intend to give the IPBE user right, a CheckUser needs to take a look at the account. This can be requested most easily at SPI Quick Checkuser Requests. Unblocking an IP or IP range with this template is highly discouraged without at least contacting the blocking administrator.

This block will expire on 05:44, 30 September 2026.

Even when blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page, as well as email administrators and other editors.

For information on how to proceed, please read the FAQ for blocked users and the guideline on block appeals. The guide to appealing blocks may also be helpful.

Other useful links: Blocking policy · Help:I have been blocked
Your IP address is in a range that has been blocked on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis. The block was made by ‪Tks4Fish‬. The reason given is Open Proxy/Webhost: Contact stewards if you are affected. .
- Start of block: 04:09, 17 February 2021
- Expiry of block: 04:09, 17 February 2024
Your current IP address is 34.205.37.3. The blocked range is 34.205.0.0/16. Please include all above details in any queries you make. If you believe you were blocked by mistake, you can find additional information and instructions in the No open proxies global policy. Otherwise, to discuss the block please post a request for review on Meta-Wiki. You could also send an email to the stewards VRT queue at stewards@wikimedia.org including all above details.

You can view and copy the source of this page:

((Short description|Privileged social class in Switzerland))
((Use dmy dates|date=March 2023))
((Multiple issues|
((cleanup rewrite|date=November 2011))
((More citations needed|date=March 2023))
))

[[Switzerland]], officially the Swiss Confederation, is a collection of semi-autonomous [[cantons of Switzerland|cantons]]. As membership of the confederation has fluctuated throughout history, each of these cantons has its own unique history and nobility. Typically, each canton had its own constitution, currency, jurisdiction, habits, customs, history, and nobility.

In the [[Middle Ages]], various cantons had families with only local and, in the broad scheme of things, insignificant lands, whereas other cantons had ennobled families abroad. In Switzerland, there was a great number of families of dynasties who were members of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Other cantons had rulers from the [[House of Savoy]], or from the ruling dynasty of the [[Kingdom of Burgundy]]. This diversity prevented the birth of a state with monarchical central authority.

As a general rule, '''Swiss nobility''' since the 14th century can be divided into three categories:

#nobility acquired by inheritance, under the terms of the family right;
#nobility resulting from the [[ennoblement]] of a commoner, or from the creation of a new title for someone who is already a noble;
#nobility acquired by integration, as was the case in Reyff (1577) or Pontherose (1443). This integration frequently results from a social event, or from one or more alliances with families which already belong to the nobility. Sometimes this was accompanied by the acquisition of a noble domain, for example when the seigniory of [[Mézières Castle|Mézières]] was bought by Jost Freitag in 1547. As a result of this, Jost consequently became a noble.

In Switzerland, where the social classes were historically closer than they were in other countries, there was neither a misalliance nor a loss of nobility due to a noble engaging in manual work or taking up a trade. This is why, for example, the noble Jean Gambach was able to be a manufacturer of scythes in 1442, and the noble Louis de Daguet was able to be a carter at the end of the 18th century. The only cases where individuals lost their nobility were due to illegitimacy or voluntary renunciation.

==Bern, Fribourg, Solothurn, Lucerne==

From the 15th c. onwards, rising economic and political pressure from the city states enticed more and more families of the traditional feudal nobility to seek membership in the higher echelons of the citizenry. These late-mediaeval urban upper classes were already composed of wealthy commoners (merchants, landowners, and craftspeople) but also of aristocrats from nearby [[fiefdoms]] or the descendants of ''[[ministeriales]]'' (i.e. knightly, originally unfree nobles in the service of eccleastical or secular fiefs). While a ((lang|la|de jure)) distinction between noble and common [[Patrician (post-Roman Europe)|patrician families]] was still upheld for some time, with quotas for certain government positions reserved for each group, these distinctions became ((lang|la|de facto)) less and less rigid in the early modern era. Non-noble families could still be [[ennoblement|ennobled]] by [[letters patent]], be it through the favour of foreign monarchs (most notably the kings of France) or by the cities themselves. For instance, in 1547 Bern set up the ((lang|fr|seigneurie)) of Batie-Beauregard as a barony for one Jacques Champion; in 1665 Solothurn granted letters of nobility to the brothers Marcacci of [[Locarno]]; in 1712 Bern created the ((lang|fr|seigneurie)) of Bercher for a member of the de Saussure family.

===Bern===
In [[Canton of Bern|Bern]] a constitutional law created in 1643 the privileged class of the eligible families to the Great Council. Since 1731 the Sovereign prohibits to use titles of nobility conferred by foreign sovereigns; Since 1761 the patricians were authorised to be called ((lang|de|wohledelgeboren)); then on 9 April 1783 the patricians were authorised to use the nobiliary particle "von" (or "de").<!-- if we had a source for any of this we could figure out what it means and write it in clearer English. With a reference citation. -->

===Fribourg===
The city-state of [[Canton of Fribourg|Fribourg]] defined its patrician ruling class through the so-called ''Lettre des Deux-Cents'' in 1627, and closed their ranks to non-privileged families in 1684. Towards the end of the Ancien Régime, this aristocracy comprised four categories:
*titled noble families (Affry, Alt, Diesbach, Maillardoz, Castella de Berlens)
*untitled noble families (Boccard, Fégely de Vivy, Fivaz, Gléresse, Griset de Forel, Lenzbourg, Maillard, Praroman, of Prel, Reyff de Cugy, Reynold)
*patrician families of noble origin whose nobility is not taken into consideration by the state (Fégely de Prez, for example)
*patrician families of common origin (Buman, Castella, Reynold, Weck, Wild, etc.)
As defined in the constitution of 1404, members of the first two categories were barred from certain higher offices (''banneret'' and ''secret'', i.e. secret council) unless they renounced their noble privileges.

In 1782 the Sovereign of Fribourg decided to standardise the situation of these families. He removed all the titles except "noble", authorised all the patricians to use the [[nobiliary particle]] "de" (or "[[von]]"), and specified that henceforth the loads of "bannerets", "secrets" and "grand-sautier" would be opened to all the patricians. By confirming that all the patricians families were noble either by origin or by being member of the privileged class, this "Règlement relativement à l'introduction de l'égalité des familles patriciennes et de leurs titulatures" (17 and 18 July 1782) is not really a collective ennoblement but the official confirmation of a state of things.

===Lucerne===
In [[Canton of Lucerne|Lucerne]] at the end of the 17th century the patricians were named with the title "Junker" and regularly made use of their nobility when they were abroad, particularly when they served in the foreigner armies. Some families also received foreigner letters of nobility.

===Solothurn===
In [[Canton of Solothurn|Solothurn]] the patriciate in fact was formed gradually. Some families set up the corporations to be able to control the co-optation. So the capacity passed to a definite number of privileged families who then formed a noble patrician whose members were qualified ((lang|de|Herren und Bürger)). Numbers of these families accepted letters of nobility abroad, particularly in France.
*Noble families of Bern:
**von [[Erlach family|Erlach]]
**von Graffenried
**von Gunten
*Noble families of Fribourg
*Noble families of Solothurn
**Glutz-Blotzheim 
*Noble families of Lucerne

==Uri, Schwyz, Unterwald==
In the cantons of [[Canton of Uri|Uri]], [[Canton of Schwyz|Schwyz]] and [[Unterwalden|Unterwald]], the political evolution from the Middle Ages to the 19th century was realised by a relatively similar way but really doesn't lead to the constitution of a "patriciate" but rather to the formation of a relatively closed class of new families sharing the political power with the ancient noble families. Some of the new families were ennobled abroad while others were incorporated to the Nobility by "integration".

*Noble families of Uri:<ref>Peter Hubler, ''Adel und führende Familien Uris im 13./14. Jahrhundert - Genealogische, gütergeschichtliche und politische Aspekte'', Lang Verlag, Bern/Frankfurt, 1973.</ref> 
**von Attinghausen-Schweinsberg ([[Freiherr|''freiherren'']], higher nobility; leading family of Uri in the 13/14th c.).
**A number of local families were appointed ''meier'' (''bailiffs'') by the [[abbess]] of [[Fraumünster]], the ruler of Uri, around the middle of the 13th century. These abbatial ((lang|la|[[ministerialis|ministeriales]])) grew more influential after the end of Attinghausen hegemony and are generally considered members of the lower nobility. They include the following families:
***Niemirschin (bailiffs of [[Bürglen, Uri|Bürglen]])
***Schüpfer (related to the Niemirschin; bailiffs of Bürglen, at times ''[[landammann]]s'' of Uri)
***Meier von Erstfeld (bailiffs of [[Erstfeld]], at times [[Serfdom|''eigenleute'']] of [[Wettingen Abbey]])
***Meier von Silenen (perhaps related to the Schüpfer; bailiffs of [[Silenen]] ca. 1256–1370; originally from [[Urseren]]; later also ((lang|la|ministeriales)) of the [[Bishopric of Sion|bishop of Sion]], with [[Jost of Silenen]] ascending to the bishopric itself; influential patrician family in the city of [[Lucerne]])
***von Moos (bailiffs of Silenen after 1370; originally most likely ((lang|la|ministeriales)) of [[Disentis]] in the [[Urseren]] valley; would later become an influential family of patricians and industrialists in the city of [[Lucerne]]; still extant)
*Noble families of Schwyz:
**Reding von Bibberegg (((lang|la|ministeriales)))
*Noble families of Unterwald:
**Rudenz (((lang|la|ministeriales)), originally from the [[Haslital]])

==Zürich==

In 1400 the city of [[Zürich]] formally became [[Imperial immediacy|autonomous within]] the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Before this date the only noble families were families of ministériaux. Quickly the political power came to the corporations while giving a dominant position to the noble corporation of the "Constaffel" in which was constituted a "noble chamber" called "adelige Stube zum Rüden Stübli". The members families of the Corporations were mainly in them by heredity.

The members of Stübli used the title "[[Junker]]". In 1798 the Stübli did not count any more than eleven families. The Bonstetten family came to [[Bern]] in 1463 and ended in 1606. Some still extant families of the nobility of [[Canton of Zürich|Zürich]] received additionally foreign titles such as the Hirzel, [[count]] in [[France]] in 1788.
*Noble families of Zurich:
**von [[House of Kyburg|Kyburg]]
**Bonstetten
**Brun
**Bürkli
**Daeschner
**Escher vom Glas
**Escher vom Luchs
**Hirzel
**[[von Jori]]
**Kilchsperger
**Landenberg
**Manesse
**Meiss
**Meyer von Knonau
**Mülner
**von [[Orelli]]
**Winterthur

==Schaffhausen, Zug==

In the cantons of [[Canton of Schaffhausen|Schaffhausen]]<!--Huh?--> and [[Canton of Zug|Zug]], the political power belonged to the corporations. So there was not real hereditary prerogative for the governmental loads.

In the canton of [[Zug]] the few families who had received letters of nobility abroad are extinguished. The very democratic system of this canton hindered a nobility expansion.

In the canton of Schaffhausen the noble families formed since the 13th century the "Herrenstube" which became during the 15th century one of the twelve corporations. Some ancient families were extinguished and replaced in the "Herrenstube" by new families of the "integration nobility". In 1864 these families were maintained in their right to be buried in the "Junkernfriedhof", their last privilege.
* Noble families of Schaffhausen
* Noble families of Zug

==Valais, Thurgau, Ticino==
In the cantons of [[Valais]], [[Thurgau]] and [[Ticino]], the former noble families were maintained and only some families were ennobled abroad.

The "patriciat valaisan" which provides in particular the [[Prince-Bishop|prince-bishops]], was formed with families of old nobility but also with some families incorporated into the [[nobility]] either by possession of a right of jurisdiction either by membership to the "nobility of integration". Some of these families also accepted letters of nobility abroad. This patriciate was not a patriciate of right but in fact.

Ticino, before becoming a Swiss canton in 1803, did not form a political and administrative unit and there is thus no "nobility of Tessin" in a strict sense, however there are some noble families originating from this area. In Locarno, at the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]], two of the three great feudal families of capitanei: Muralto and Orelli emigrated to [[Zürich]]. A branch of Muralt was established in Bern. The third great family, Magoria, remained in Locarno. The majority of the families of Ticino ennobled abroad were it by the dukes of Milan.
*Noble families of Valais
*Noble families of Thurgau
*Noble families of Ticino

==Graübunden==
In [[Graübunden]] there were a great number of families of dynasts and "ministériaux". From the 11th or 12th century, the dynasts owned seigniories on which they held power more in fact than by resulting of a constitutional law. These families maintained their privileges until the 15th century and some families preserved an important situation, in particular Salis and Planta, while some others were ennobles abroad.

In 1794 the Leagues enacted the radical cancelling of the nobility, titles and particles. This prohibition was confirmed in 1803 and 1848.
*Noble families of Graübunden:
**[[Count de Salis-Soglio|Counts de Salis-Soglio]] (Vienna, 1748)
**[[Count de Salis-Seewis|Comtes de Salis-Seewis]] (Versailles, 1777)

==Glarus, Appenzell==
The [[canton of Glarus]] never had of nobility of right. However, in [[Glarus]] there are some families ennobled abroad.

In the cantons the families descended from the "State's chief" and from the bailiffs formed in fact a class of "integration nobility".

As for the canton of [[Appenzell Innerrhoden]], there are known direct male decedents of the most elite noble Swiss family currently living abroad.

*Noble families of Glarus:
**[[von Glarus]]
*Noble Families of Appenzell
**von Sutter

==Aargau==
[[File:Neu-Homberg_ZH_Wappenrolle_1330-45.png|thumb|upright|Coat of arms of Frohburg-Homberg, from the [[Zürich armorial]]]]
[[Image:Codex_Manesse_052r_Walther_von_Klingen_%28detail_2%29.jpg|thumb|upright|Lord Walther of Klingen, [[Codex Manesse]] folio 52r]]
[[Image:Effinger_Family_Tree.png|thumb|upright|Family tree of the Effinger (1816), flanked by their castles of [[Möriken-Wildegg|Wildegg]] (l.) and Wildenstein (r.)]]

The modern canton of [[Aargau]] was only created in 1789 under [[Napoleon]], when the previously [[Further Austria|Austrian]] [[Fricktal]] was joined to the other districts that had been conquered by the [[Old Swiss Confederacy]] in 1415. The conquered territories were split into a [[Bern]]ese area of influence in the west, a small district under the rule of [[Zürich]] in the very east, and two larger districts, the ''[[Freiamt|Freie Ämter]]'' ("free administration districts") and the [[County of Baden]] making up the eastern half of the canton. The governance of the latter two districts alternated between the individual member states of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of ''[[Old Swiss Confederacy#Condominiums|condominiums]]''. With the [[house of Habsburg]] ousted, the Swiss states installed [[Vogt (Switzerland)|''landvögte'']] in several of the newly acquired castles, civil stateholders who wielded the legal and economic powers of the former feudal fief which they now administrated, for example in [[Lenzburg castle]] or in the ''Landvogteischloss'' (Governor's Castle) in Baden. In contrast, many of the smaller fiefs held by lower nobility (e.g. [[Hallwyl castle]], owned by the family of its founders; or [[Habsburg castle]] itself, held at the time of the conquest by the ''[[ministerialis]]'' Wernher von Wohlen) continued into the new order and were not directly affected by it; several nobles, such as the [[Reinach, Aargau|lords of Reinach]] on Wildenstein castle, were officially [[fief|enfeoffed]] by the conquering cantons, so that the only alteration in their title to the land was a change of [[liege lord]], in this case from the counts of Habsburg to the city-state of [[Bern]].

A number of [[Count|comital]] families and other high-ranking nobles are attested in the time before the Swiss conquest:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Coat of arms
! Family
! Comments
|-
| [[File:Seal_of_the_house_of_Lenzburg,_1167.png|45px]] 
| '''[[Counts of Lenzburg]]''' 
| Attested since the 10th century, died out in 1173; held extensive [[allod]]ial lands in Aargau and several counties and ''[[Vogt]]eien'' in the German and Italian-speaking parts of Switzerland; their inheritance was split between the [[counts of Kyburg]] and the [[counts of Habsburg]] in the presence of the emperor, [[Frederick I Barbarossa]].
|-
| [[File:Counts_of_Rheinfelden.png|45px]] 
| '''[[Rheinfelden (Aargau)|Counts of Rheinfelden]]''' 
| Attested only during the 10th and 11th centuries, died out 1090; they held lands around Rheinfelden and in the [[Oberaargau]]; their most prominent scion, [[Rudolf of Rheinfelden]], was [[duke of Swabia]] and was elected king of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] by the papal faction during the [[Investiture Controversy]]; their Argovian holdings were inherited by the [[dukes of Zähringen]], who died out in 1218.
|-
| [[File:Habspurg_ZW.png|45px]]
| '''[[Counts of Habsburg]]''' 
| First attested in the 10th century, died out in the male line in 1740 but continues as the [[house of Habsburg-Lothringen]] to the present day; by the early 15th century, they had become one of the most prominent noble houses of Europe through marriage, purchase, and force; before the conquest of 1415, they owned all of Aargau except for [[Zofingen]] and [[Laufenburg, Aargau|Laufenburg]], the latter of which belonged to their own cadet branch of Habsburg Laufenburg until their extinction in 1408.
|-
| [[File:Froburg_ZW.png|45px]]
| '''[[House of Frohburg|Counts of Frohburg]]''' 
| Attested since the 11th century, died out 1367; held lands in the northwest and southwest of the canton; founded [[Zofingen]] and [[Aarburg]]; split up into the branches Frohburg-Zofingen (†1307), Frohburg-Homberg (†1323), and Frohburg-Waldenburg (†1367); sold much of their land to the counts of Habsburg during the 14th century.
|-
| [[File:Thierstain-Wappen_ZW.png|45px]]
| '''[[House of Homberg|Counts of Homberg and Thierstein]]''' 
| Attested since the 11th century and died out in the male line in 1223; held the counties of Frickgau and [[Sisgau]]; their line was continued by a branch of the Frohburg, which included the famous ''[[minnesang|minnesänger]]'' [[Wernher von Homberg]], who was a key figure in the prelude to the [[battle of Morgarten]]; the line died out in 1323 with his young son, Werner III of Homberg, and the [[Fricktal]] went to Habsburg.
|-
| [[File:Tegerfelden,_Franz_Ulrich_von.jpg|45px]]
| '''[[Freiherr]]en of [[Tegerfelden]]''' 
| Attested since 1113; originally in the service of the [[dukes of Zähringen]]; Ulrich of Tegerfelden was [[Abbey of Saint Gall#List of abbots|abbot of St Gall]] from 1167 to 1199 and simultaneously [[Bishop of Chur]] from 1170 to 1179; Konrad of Tegerfelden was [[Bishop of Constance]] from 1208 to 1233. The house died out around the middle of the 13th century, but later a family of ''ministeriales'' in Habsburg services continued the name and, presumably, the fief. Though after the death of a Franz Ulrich of Tegerfelden in the [[battle of Sempach]], which occurred in 1386, the family disappears from our records.
|-
| [[File:Clingen-Wappen ZW.png|45px]]
| '''[[Freiherr]]en of [[Altenklingen Castle|Klingen]]''' 
| Split into two branches in the early 13th century, with one branch retaining lands in Aargau and the other settling in [[Hohenklingen Castle]] near [[Stein am Rhein]]; the family founded the town of [[Klingnau]] and included the ''[[minnesang|minnesänger]]'' Walther von Klingen; they died out in 1286, with most of their lands being joined to the county of Baden.
|-
| [[File:Siebmacher_Wessenberg_197.jpg|45px]] 
| '''[[Freiherr]]en of Wessenberg''' 
| Attested since 1029; perhaps originally ''ministeriales'' of the female [[convent]] of [[Säckingen Abbey]], they also held [[Burg im Leimental|Leimental castle]] as a fief of the [[Bishops of Basel]] since the 14th century; liege men of the House of Habsburg, they continued to hold titles in [[Further Austria]] and were raised to the rank of ''Reichsfreiherren'' in 1681; '''still extant''' in Austria.
|-
| [[File:Hallwyl_Scheibler104ps.jpg|45px]]
| '''[[Hallwyl Castle|Lords of Hallwil]]''' 
| Attested since the 12th century, probably as ''[[ministeriales]]'' of the counts of Lenzburg; later ''ministeriales'' of the counts of Kyburg, they possessed large landholdings around [[lake Hallwil]] by the late 14th century; though their castle was burnt during the conquest of 1415, the lords of Hallwil had it rebuilt shortly after; having attained comital rank in later times, the house is '''still extant''' today.
|-
| [[File:Reinach-Wappen_ZW.png|45px]] 
| '''[[Reinach, Aargau|Lords of Reinach]]'''
| Attested since 1210; a branch of their family in Habsburg service settled in [[Sundgau]] and [[Alsace]], where they were given the rank of ''[[Freiherr]]'' and held several prominent fiefs and offices; they sold their last titles in Switzerland by 1545; '''still extant'''.
|-
| [[File:Von Russegg Zurich Armorial.jpg|45px]]
| '''Lords of Rüssegg'''
| Also '''Reussegg''', named after a castle in [[Sins, Aargau|Sins]]; owned rights and territories in Sins, Aettenschwil, and [[Auw, Aargau|Auw]], and had connections to various other noble families, including the lords of Reinach; in later generations citizens of [[Luzern]]. Rising to some prominence in the later 13th century (amongst others the [[Reichsvogt|imperial advocacy]] over [[Zürich]]), they were forced to sell their titles in 1429; extinct in the male line in 1483.
|-
| [[File:Siebmacher_Mülinen.jpg|45px]]
| '''Lords of Mülinen''' 
| First attested around 1280 as ''[[schultheiß]]en'' of [[Brugg]]; ''ministeriales'' of the counts of Habsburg, they held a large number of fiefs in Aargau; they acquired [[Bern]]ese citizenship in 1407 and slowly shifted the focus of their allegiance and marriages towards Bern, where they became an important family within the city's own aristocracy; with a number of important historical figures in recent generations, such as [[Helene von Mülinen]], the family is '''still extant''' today.
|-
| [[File:Wappen_Effinger.jpg|45px]]
| '''(von) Effinger''' 
| Attested since the 14th century as citizens of [[Brugg]]; acquired a knighthood and a coat of arms in the late 15th century; holding several castle fiefs in [[Bern]]ese territory, they became citizens of Bern and were established members of the city state's aristocracy by the 17th. century; died out in 1912.
|}

==Vaud==
The canton of [[Vaud]], old county then country of Vaud, depended successively of Burgundy, [[House of Zähringen|Zähringen]], Savoy until 1536, then of [[Bern]]. In this canton there were some feudal noble families, families of Savoyard nobility, families of the patrician nobility of Bern, and families of "integration nobility".
*Noble families of Vaud:
**[[de Felice]]

==Neuchâtel==
Originally ''seigneurs'', the rulers [[Canton of Neuchâtel|Neuchâtel]] became counts in the late 13th century and assumed the rank of [[prince]] in 1618. Between 1707 and the formation of the modern state of Switzerland in 1848, the title of prince of Neuchâtel was held in personal union by the [[Kings of Prussia]]. Due to the continued absence of the rulers, the territory was administered by governors from 1529 onwards. Since the princes frequently [[Ennoblement|ennobled]] their burghers as a reward for civil service, the Swiss Heraldic archives list more than a hundred aristocratic families with ties to the principality, most of them ennobled after 1500. Older families include D'Arens, Dapifer, Du Donjon, or D'Estavayer.<ref>Franziska Hälg-Steffen; Bernard Andenmatten; Giuseppe Chiesi; Peter Hersche: "Noblesse", in: Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse (DHS), version du 1 March 2011, traduit de l'allemand. Online: https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/fr/articles/016368/2011-03-01/.</ref><ref>J. de PURY: Nobiliaire du pays de Neuchâtel. In Archives Héraldiques Suisses 1897-1899.</ref>

==Geneva==
Since the Reformation the [[Republic of Geneva]] did not officially recognise the nobility as an organised corps. There were families of old nobility, families of "integration nobility", families who were ennobled abroad, and a great number of noble families refuge at the time of the Reformation.

However, contrary to the generally accepted ideas, the Republic of Geneva made use of its capacity to ennoble. It is in particular what it did on 20 August 1680 by ennobling with a title of count the Noblet family.
*Noble families of Geneva:
**von [[Genf]]

==Basel==
In 1382 the constitution reserved four seats of the Council for the noble families. From the next century the corporations and thus the town's citizens took the power. The noble families of this time preferred to leave [[Canton of Basel|Basel]] which consequently will have a corporative system. The nobility was then prohibited in [[Basel]]. An exception was made for the "barons Wieland" in 1816 under the condition that they will not use their title in Basel. However, there are some noble families whose nobility and titles are earlier to their reception as citizen of Basel.

The canton of Basel had in place of a nobility a [[patrician (post-Roman Europe)|patriciate]] called the [[Daig (Switzerland)|Daig]], that dominated its political life. Its most prominent members were the families [[Bernoulli family|Bernoulli]], [[Burckhardt]], [[Faesch]], Iselin, Liechtenhan, [[Merian family|Merian]],<ref>((Cite web|url=https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/articles/020977/2008-10-30/|title=Merian|website=hls-dhs-dss.ch|language=de|access-date=28 September 2019))</ref> Sarasin, Vischer, and [[Von der Mühll]].<ref>((Cite web|url=https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/articles/020996/2009-09-08/|title=Mühll, Vonder|website=hls-dhs-dss.ch|language=de|access-date=28 September 2019))</ref>

==St. Gallen==
In [[Canton of St. Gallen|St. Gallen]] some powerful families formed a kind of patriciat whose members belong to the ((lang|de|adelige Stube zum Notenstein)). Some of these families consolidated their position by receiving nobility's letters abroad. In 1778 the Sovereign Council fixed the list of the seven families of the "Notenstein" which constituted in fact the nobility of St. Gall. Some families which were not members of the "Notenstein" received nobility's diplomas abroad.
*Noble families of St. Gall:
**von [[Rapperswil]]
**von [[Toggenburg]]

==Current situation==
The privileges of the nobility were gradually suspended after 1798, save for a revival in Lucerne and Freiburg during the [[Restoration (Switzerland)|Restoration]] from 1814 to 1831. Article 4 on equality of the 1848 Swiss federal constitution, finally made a legal end to the Swiss nobility.<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F16368.php |title=Noblesse |trans-title=Nobility |language=fr |last=Hersche |first=Peter |date=16 November 2010 |website=Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse |access-date=22 October 2015))</ref> Nowadays the titles of nobility appear neither in [[registry office]]s nor in [[public instrument]]s. Sometimes they are tolerated in administrative documents and in the noble's professional life, that is to say in social relations.<ref name=Diesbach1998>((Cite web|url=http://www.diesbach.com/sghcf/n/noblesse.html|title = Noblesse en Suisse))</ref>

About 450 noble families are left in Switzerland, either Swiss or foreign. By counting 15 people per family about 1.06% of the population belongs to the nobility, which is comparable to the situation in France. There are large regional differences however: the [[canton of Appenzell]] for example has hardly any noble family left, while the [[canton of Vaud]] has over a hundred.<ref name=Diesbach1998/>

==See also==
* [[Swiss bourgeoisie]]
* [[Bourgeoisie of Geneva]]

==References==
((Reflist))

==External links==
*[http://www.schweiz-heraldik.ch/ Swiss Heraldry Society] ((in lang|de|fr))
*[http://asnobilitys.tripod.com/ Swiss Noble Society]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110724190450/http://nobleworldchrono.gq.nu/ Noble World Chronologies]
*[http://www.silverdragon.org/HERALDRY/ZurichRolls/zroaen0.htm Zurich Roll of Arms]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110724190445/http://swissrole.gq.nu/ Swiss Roll of Arms]
*[http://swissnobility.tripod.com/index.html Swiss Nobility]

((Nobility by nation))

((DEFAULTSORT:Swiss Nobility))
[[Category:Swiss nobility| ]]

Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):

Swiss nobility (edit)
Template:Ambox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Cite web (view source) (protected)
Template:Cleanup rewrite (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:DMCA (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Dated maintenance category (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Dated maintenance category (articles) (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:FULLROOTPAGENAME (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Hlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:In lang (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Lang (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main other (view source) (protected)
Template:More citations needed (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Multiple issues (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Multiple issues/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Nobility by nation (edit)
Template:Ns has subpages (view source) (protected)
Template:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:SDcat (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Short description (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description/lowercasecheck (view source) (protected)
Template:Use dmy dates (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Arguments (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/blacklist (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/shared (view source) (protected)
Module:Check for unknown parameters (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1 (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/COinS (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Date validation (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Whitelist (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Disambiguation (view source) (protected)
Module:Disambiguation/templates (view source) (protected)
Module:Exponential search (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/links (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/templates/Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:In lang (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Lang (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Lang/ISO 639 synonyms (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Lang/data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Language/data/iana languages (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Language/data/iana regions (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Language/data/iana scripts (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Language/data/iana suppressed scripts (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Language/data/iana variants (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Message box (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/ambox.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/configuration (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Ns has subpages (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Redirect (view source) (protected)
Module:SDcat (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:String (view source) (protected)
Module:TableTools (view source) (protected)
Module:Unicode data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Unicode data/scripts (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Unsubst (view source) (protected)
Module:Yesno (view source) (protected)

Return to Swiss nobility.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_nobility"