angloswiss genealogy

A Clunisian priory is founded at Bevaix by monks from Payerne.

First reference to Neuchâtel: it is part of the territories of Rodolphe III, King of Burgundy (Bourgogne). 

Burgundy becomes part of the Holy Roman Empire.

Henri III confirms all Cluny’s possessions in the kingdom of Burgundy, including Bevaix.

Foundation of the abbey of Fontaine-André at La Coudre.

First reference to Le Locle, as part of the property of the Lord of Valangin which is gifted to the monastery of Fontaine-André.

Ulrich de Neuchâtel swears loyalty firstly to the Duke of Zähringen, imperial representative in Burgundy, and secondly to the Bishop of Lausanne.

First reference to the title Count of Neuchâtel: Count Rodolphe de Neuchâtel-Nidau.

First rights (“franchises”) accorded to the inhabitants of Neuchâtel.

Neuchâtel is taken by the Bishop of Basle.

Conflict begins between Rodolphe de Habsbourg, German sovereign, and the Bishop of Basle.

Dedication of the Collegiate Church of Neuchâtel, whose construction began at the end of the 12th century.  Conflict between Neuchâtel and Guillaume d’Aarberg, Lord of Valangin.

Amédée, Lord of Neuchâtel, comes under the protection of Rodolphe de Habsbourg.

Pact signed at Rütli between Uri, Schwyz and Nidwald: regarded as the beginning of the Swiss Confederation.

Peace between Neuchâtel and Valangin.

Valangin subject to the Bishop of Basle.

First dwelling, with permission to clear the land, authorised at La Corbatière, near La Sagne.

Lucerne becomes the 4th Swiss canton.

First mention of La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Zürich becomes the 5th Swiss canton.

Glaris and Zug become the 6th and 7th Swiss cantons. First franchises accorded by Jean d’Aarberg, Lord of Valangin, to his subjects.

Bern becomes the 8th Swiss canton.

The inhabitants of La Sagne are accorded the right to dispose of their own land.

Similar rights are accorded to Le Locle.  More privileges follow in 1409 and 1412.

Conrad de Fribourg becomes Count of Neuchâtel after the death of Isabelle de Neuchâtel.

First witchcraft trials in Neuchâtel. Almost all the accused are men.

Neuchâtel is badly damaged by fire.

Death of Jean de Fribourg.  Rodolphe de Hochberg becomes Count of Neuchâtel.

Jean d’Aarberg accords further rights to the “franc-habergeants” of Le Locle and La Sagne.

Fribourg and Solothurn become the 9th and 10th Swiss cantons.

Basle and Schaffhausen become the 11th and 12th Swiss cantons.

The reformer Guillaume Farel preaches at Neuchâtel for the first time. The first Kappel War is resolved diplomatically without bloodshed, and results in a peace favourable to Protestants.

The Catholic Mass is abolished in Neuchâtel. Protestantism spreads along the lakeshore.

Death of the reformer Huldrych Zwingli in the second Kappel War; the ensuing peace favours the Catholics.

The first French-language Bible is published in Neuchâtel: the Olivétan Bible.

The Reformation is reluctantly accepted by the Valangin authorities: Le Locle and La Sagne become Protestant parishes.

Jean Calvin comes to live in Geneva.

François d’Orléans becomes count of Neuchâtel after the death of Jeanne de Hochberg.

Death of Calvin. The Catholic cantons apply the decisions taken at the Council of Trent which set in motion the Counter-Reformation.

Henri I de Longueville succeeds Léonor d’Orléans. His mother, Marie de Bourbon, acts as regent during his minority.

The River Seyon floods, and causes major damage in Neuchâtel, including the destruction of part of the archives. 

Poor harvests: famine in Switzerland until 1587.

The Swiss cantons accord Valangin to Marie de Bourbon.

Plague in Basle.

Major epidemic of plague throughout Switzerland.

Switzerland declares its neutrality in the Thirty Years War.

Jean-Louis-Charles d’Orléans becomes Prince of Neuchâtel after the death of Henri II d’Orléans-Longueville.

Final epidemic of plague in Switzerland; Neuchâtel is not affected.  Birth of Daniel JeanRichard, goldsmith and watchmaker, popularly regarded as the father of the watchmaking industry in Neuchâtel.

Marie de Nemours becomes Regent of Neuchâtel for her half-brother, the abbot of Orléans.

Protestant refugees flee from France to Switzerland after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Most of those who come to Neuchâtel, however, leave after a few months.

Jean-Frédéric Ostervald becomes Deacon of Neuchâtel. He modernises the liturgy and catechism of the Swiss Reformed Church, as well as its Bible.

The Gregorian Calendar is introduced in Neuchâtel: the first day of the year is January 12th.

Friedrich I, King of Prussia, becomes Prince of Neuchâtel after the death of Marie de Nemours.

Several hundred Neuchâtel families respond to an appeal from Friedrich I, and set off for Prussia to recolonise an area devastated by the plague.

The Catholic cantons sign an alliance with France.

Jean-Pierre Pury recruits colonists for Purrysburg, South Carolina.

The newspaper Feuille d’Avis de Neuchâtel is first published.

Birth in Zürich of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, pioneer in child-orientated pedagogy.

Public presentation of 3 “automates” (animated figures) built by the Jaquet-Droz brothers.

Final renewal of the alliance between the Swiss cantons and France.

Last witchcraft trial in Switzerland (Glaris).

Under threat from revolutionary activity in France, Neuchâtel proclaims itself “essentially Swiss”, and is included in Swiss neutrality.

La Chaux-de-Fonds is seriously damaged by fire. Birth there of the artist Léopold Robert (d.1835 in Italy.)  The rebuilt main street of La Chaux-de-Fonds will be named in his honour.

Invasion of Switzerland by French revolutionary troops.

Aargau, Graubünden, St-Gallen, Ticino, Thurgau and Vaud become Swiss cantons.

Friedrich-Wilhelm III cedes the principality of Neuchâtel to Napoléon.

Napoléon’s marshal Alexandre Berthier becomes Prince of Neuchâtel.

The first Catholic chapel since the Reformation is built in Neuchâtel.

Neuchâtel is occupied by foreign troops as the allies pursue Napoléon.

Friedrich-Wilhelm III reasserts his right to the principality of Neuchâtel. At the same time, Valais, Neuchâtel and Geneva are accepted as Swiss cantons.

Neuchâtel is recognised by the Congress of Vienna as having double status: Swiss canton and Prussian principality.

Foundation of Nova Friburgo in Brazil.

Philippe Suchard installs his first cocoa mill in the valley of La Serrière.

Birth of Johanna Spyri, author of the “Heidi” books (first published in 1881).

Le Locle is badly damaged by fire. Basle is separated into two half-cantons.

Creation of the Neuchâtel Academy.

Work begins to divert the River Seyon.

The first Jewish synagogue in the canton of Neuchâtel is created in a private home at La Chaux-de-Fonds.

On March 1st, Neuchâtel rebels against the Prussian monarchy under the impulsion of republicans from La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle. A republican constitution is accepted on April 30th.

Creation of the Swiss franc.  Schooling becomes obligatory from age 7-16.

A royalist uprising in Neuchâtel fails.

The King of Prussia renounces his rights over Neuchâtel in the Treaty of Paris. The railway between Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds is inaugurated.

Liberty of worship is accorded to the Mennonite church, but its pacifist members are not exempted from military service. Many leave for America.

Opening of the railway between Le Locle and Neuchâtel.

Henri Dunant (b.1828 in Geneva) founds the Red Cross. The first Geneva Convention is adopted the following year, and he receives the Nobel Peace prize in 1901.

Births of the author Blaise Cendrars and architect Le Corbusier at La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Birth of artist and sculptor Alberto Giacometti in Borgonovo (GR), son of neo-impressionist Giovanni Giacometti, and nephew of another artist, Augusto Giacometti.

Absinthe is banned in Switzerland.

The Academy becomes Neuchâtel University.

The Swiss army is mobilised to close the borders at the outbreak of World War I. Taken by surprise, the country suffers under rationing and greatly increased prices.

General strike; flu epidemic. The Armistice is celebrated throughout Switzerland.

Birth of the sculptor in iron Jean Tinguely.

Switzerland is better prepared at the outbreak of World War II. Total neutrality is maintained.

After unsuccessful initiatives in 1919, 1941 and 1948, Neuchâtel is one of the first cantons to give women the right to vote in local elections.

Women obtain the vote nationally in Switzerland.

In Neuchâtel, the voting age is lowered to 18. Part of the French-speaking region of the canton of Bern obtains independence and becomes the canton of Jura.

Equality of the sexes is adopted as a principle of the Swiss Constitution.

The road tunnel under La Vue-des-Alpes (linking Neuchâtel to La Chaux-de-Fonds) is finished. The canton of Neuchâtel votes 80% in favour of adhesion to the European Free Trade Zone, but the initiative is refused nationally.

In a national referendum, Switzerland votes narrowly in favour of UN membership.  Expo 02 is held at sites on the lakes of Neuchâtel and Bienne.

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