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Switzerland

country in Central Europe

69 dated entries naming Switzerland, drawn from 68 separate years between 1650 BCE and 2025 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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17th century BC

  • 1650 BCEc. 1650 BC—Between Rapperswil and Hurden, on the so-called Seedamm, a first wooden bridge was constructed on Lake Zürich in Switzerlandsource

1st century BC

  • 57 BCECaesar sends Servius Sulpicius Galba with Legio XII into the territory of the Nantuates, Seduni and the Veragri. He occupies Octodurus (modern-day Martigny) in Switzerland.source
  • 15 BCEThe Raeti tribes of the Alps are subjugated by Tiberius and Nero Claudius Drusus and the new Roman province of Raetia is established with Chur (in modern-day Switzerland) as its capital. During the campaign, Roman triremes destroy the fleet of the Vindelici in the Battle of Lake Constance. Augsburg is founded as Augusta Vindelicorum; and Legio XXI Rapax is stationed at Regensburg in the new province.source

1st century

  • 47Claudius founds the city Forum Claudii Vallensium (modern Martigny) in the Alpes Poeninae (Switzerland).source

3rd century

  • 288Emperor Diocletian launches a campaign into Germanic territory from the province of Raetia (Switzerland).source

4th century

  • 356Rhaetia (Switzerland) is invaded by the Alemanni.source
  • 360The Alamanni raid Raetia (Switzerland), but are pushed back behind the Rhine by Julian, into the Black Forest.source

5th century

  • 401Stilicho, Roman general (magister militum), leads his army in an extensive campaign against the Vandals in Rhaetia (Switzerland).source
  • 431Aetius campaign in the Alps: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum), fights the rebellion in Rhaetia (Switzerland) and Noricum (Austria). He is attested in the city of Vindelicia (modern Augsburg), reestablishing Roman rule on the Danube frontier.source

6th century

  • 515The St. Maurice's Abbey (Switzerland) is founded by Sigismund of Burgundy. He sets up five groups of monks to whom he entrusts the liturgy of the praise of God.source
  • 517King Sigismund of Burgundy is opposed by his son Sigeric, and has him strangled. Overcome with remorse, he retreats to the monastery that he founded, St. Maurice's Abbey (modern Switzerland).source

8th century

  • 741Ufenau island in Switzerland is first mentioned in 741 as "Hupinauia", and in 744 as "Ubinauvia" — island of Huppan of Huphan. (Unclear significance)source
  • 744Ufenau island in Switzerland is first mentioned in 741 as "Hupinauia", and in 744 as "Ubinauvia" — island of Huppan of Huphan.source

9th century

  • 834The first mention is made of the Jona River ('the cold one') in Switzerland (approximate date).source
  • 853The Fraumünster Church in Zürich (modern Switzerland) is founded by Louis the German.source
  • 885Summer – Emperor Charles the Fat summons a meeting of officials at Lobith (modern Netherlands), and accuses Hugh, an illegitimate son of former king Lothair II, and his vassal Godfrid, Duke of Frisia, of plotting against him. Hugh is blinded, and exiled to the Abbey of Saint Gall (modern Switzerland). Godfrid is killed by a group of Frisian and Saxon nobles, at the connivance of Henry of Franconia. The local count, Gerolf, takes over the West Frisian coastline from the Danish, after the murder.source

10th century

  • 917The Hungarians, after attacking Swabia, sack and burn Basel (modern Switzerland). They invade Lorraine in Lotharingia, destroying Verdun and Moyenmoutier, and many monasteries in Alsace. Duke Arnulf I (the Bad) with Hungarian military aid, reconquers his land from King Conrad I of the East Frankish Kingdom. After this event, Bavaria and Swabia agree to pay tribute to the Hungarians.source
  • 926The Hungarians besiege Augsburg in Bavaria, then conquer the monastery of St. Gallen (modern Switzerland). After an unsuccessful battle with the locals, they burn the suburbs of Konstanz, then they cross westwards and defeat a Frankish army led by Duke Liutfred of Alsace.source
  • 934Einsiedeln Abbey, a Benedictine monastery, is founded (modern Switzerland).source
  • 937King Hugh of Arles (king of Italy) travels to Colombier (Switzerland) and marries Rudolph's widow Bertha. He takes Conrad I under his tutelage and betroths Rudolph's 6-year-old daughter Adelaide with his own son and co-ruler Lothair II.source

11th century

  • 1030The first mention is made of Thalwil, Switzerland, derived from Tellewilare and indicates the early medieval origins of Thalwil as an Alemannic farmstead.source
  • 1034March – Conrad II converges his armies on Lake Lemano and defeats Count Odo II in battle at Geneva (modern Switzerland). For his assistance, Conrad grants Humbert I with the Burgundian county of Maurienne.source

12th century

  • 1191Berthold V, duke of Zähringen, founds the city of Bern (modern Switzerland).source

13th century

  • 1261Wurmsbach Abbey (located in Bollingen) is established by Count Rudolf V of Rapperswil in Switzerland.source
  • 1283June 1 – Treaty of Rheinfelden: The 11-year-old Rudolf II is forced to relinquish his claim on the Duchies of Austria and Styria to his elder brother, Albert I. According to the terms of the agreement, concluded at the Imperial City of Rheinfelden (modern Switzerland), Rudolf receives some territories in Further Austria in return.source

14th century

  • 1333The Kapellbrücke wooden bridge over the Reuss in Lucerne (Switzerland) is built; by the 20th century it will be the world's oldest truss bridge and Europe's oldest covered bridge.source
  • 1373January 15 – Majorie Castle in Switzerland becomes the official residence of the Roman Catholic Prince-bishop of Sion, Guichard Tavelli, and the bishops that follow.source

15th century

  • 1406September 11 – At Appenzell in what is now Switzerland, a group of nobles create the "Order of St. George's Shield" at Hegau in the Duchy of Swabia.source
  • 1408April 8 – Appenzell Wars: In the Appenzell region of Switzerland, the alliance of the region with St. Gallen, thesource
  • 1408January 13 – Appenzell Wars: In the Appenzell region of Switzerland, the alliance of the region with St. Gallen, the Bund ob dem See "alliance over the lake", referring to the nearby Lake Constance fails in its attempt to liberate the city of Bregenz from Austrian rule. The Bund is dissolved less than three months later.source
  • 1431July 25 – An ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, originally called by Pope Martin V before his death in February, convenes at Basel in Switzerland.source
  • 1437January 15– The Compacts of Basel are ratified by the Council of Basel in Switzerland, as the Roman Catholic Church ends its campaign against the Hussites. Among other things, the Church authorizes Hussite priests to administer sacramental wine to their congregations as part of the Communion during the Eucharist before Easter without declaring the same to be heresy, but stops short of allowing the Communion wafer.source
  • 1448May 24 – Under an agreement with the Holy Roman Emperor, Friedrich III, the city council of Basel in Switzerland votes to expel all persons attending the Council of Basel, a group of clerics opposed to the Roman Catholic Pope.source
  • 1479August 7 – The Battle of Guinegate is fought in the Duchy of Burgundy at what is now the French town of Enguinegatte, as at least 12,000 French infantry, 4,000 cavalry and 8,000 archers commanded by Philippe de Crèvecœur d'Esquerdes are confronted by Maximilian, Duke of Burgundy whose 16,000 men have superior weapons, including the pike. With 11,000 troops grouped in formations of 100 men apiece using the pike square formation" borrowed from Switzerland, the Burgundian troops defeat the French invasion.source
  • 1489October 2 – The Rorschacher Klosterbruch, a civil war in Switzerland, comes to an end after three months when the Abbey of Saint Gall (in the canton of St. Gallen) signs a peace with the canton of Appenzell.source

16th century

  • 1516November 29 – The "Treaty of Perpetual Peace" is signed in the city of Fribourg in Switzerland, between representatives of the Thirteen Cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy, and King Francis of the Kingdom of France, confirming the French victory in the 1515 Battle of Marignano. The Swiss Confederacy renounces all claims to the French protectorate of Milan in Italy, in for 700,000 gold crowns in compensation.source
  • 1522March 9 – In Zurich in Switzerland, the Affair of the Sausages begins as Pastor Huldrych Zwingli of Grossmünster publicly speaks out against the food restrictions during the Roman Catholic period of fasting during Lent, and advocating that followers of Martin Luther eat sausage, one of the prohibited foods. Zwingli defends his action in the sermon Von Erkiesen und Freiheit der Speisen ("Regarding the freedom of Choice of Foods"), in that the Bible does not prohibit the eating of meat during Lent. The public declaration sparks the Reformation in Zürich.source
  • 1525September 14 – In Switzerland, the burning of most of the book collection of the Stiftsbibliothek of the Grossmünster Abbey in Zurich begins, by order of Huldrych Zwingli, as part of the Swiss Reformation. After 20 days of destruction of a collection built since 1259 for over 250 years, only 470 volumes are left.source
  • 1527February 24 – The seven articles of the Schleitheim Confession are formally adopted by the Mennonite Anabaptist Christians at Schleitheim in the Canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland.source
  • 1528January 26 – The Canton of Bern becomes the second in Switzerland to officially adopt Protestantism after 21-day debate, the Bern Disputationsource
  • 1579September 28 – In Switzerland, a mutual assistance pact was signed at Lucerne between representatives of Roman Catholic cantons by the efforts of the Catholic Bishop of Basel, Jakob Christoph Blarer von Wartensee.source

17th century

  • 1608December 20 – Karl of the House of Liechtenstein founds the Principality of Liechtenstein within the Holy Roman Empire, an independent nation that will continue more than 400 years later between Austria and Switzerland.source
  • 1639September 3 – The alliance of cantons in Switzerland known as the Three Leagues or Raetia agrees with Spain to bring Italy's Valtellina area back into the alliance, on the condition that the Catholic faith of the natives be respected.source
  • 1656March 7 – The First War of Villmergen in the Confederation of Switzerland ends with a peace agreement, mediated by France and the Duchy of Savoy, between the Protestant and Roman Catholic cantons.source
  • 1660May 27 – William Morice takes office as the first Secretary of State for the Northern Department in Great Britain, with responsibility for conducting foreign relations with the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Poland, Russia, and the Holy Roman Empire. Relations with France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, the Italian states, and the Ottoman Empire are assigned to the Secretary of State for the Southern Department. The position will eventually evolve into the office of the Foreign Secretary.source
  • 1667January 19 – The town of Anzonico in Switzerland is destroyed by an avalanche.source

18th century

  • 1712August 11 – The Peace of Aarau is signed by Catholics and Protestants, ending the Toggenburg War and establishing Protestant dominance in Switzerland, while preserving the rights of Catholics.source
  • 1723April 1 – In Switzerland, the attempt by Major Abraham Davel to make the canton of Vaud independent of the Swiss government, is put down, one day after he and 500 men had taken control of the Vaudois capital, Lausanne. Davel is arrested, tortured and tried for treason; he is beheaded on April 24.source
  • 1758J. R. Geigy, predecessor of Novartis, a global pharmaceutical brand, founded in Basel, Switzerland.source

19th century

  • 1802October 15 – French Army General Michel Ney enters Switzerland with 40,000 troops, on orders of Napoleon Bonaparte.source
  • 1811July 26 – Forest fires break out in the Tyrol region of Switzerland, reportedly destroying 64 villages and hamlets.source
  • 1815February 3 – The first commercial cheese factory is founded in Switzerland.source
  • 1818June 18 – At least 34 people are killed in Switzerland, when the melting of a glacier releases the natural dam of Lac de Mauvoisin, sending the waters of the lake and the Dranse River into the valley of Bagnes.source
  • 1832Global watch brand Longines is founded in Switzerland.source
  • 1848Watch brand Omega is founded by Louis Brandt in Switzerland.source
  • 1860TAG Heuer watchmaker founded in Bern Canton, Switzerland.source
  • 1862April 22 – Global financial group UBS is founded in Switzerland as the Bank in Winterthur.source
  • 1874Schindler Group, known for escalators and elevators, is founded in Switzerland.source
  • 1896The pharmaceutical and healthcare company Hoffmann-La Roche in Switzerland comes wholly under the control of Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche.source

20th century

  • 1905July 30 – At Basel in Switzerland, the International Zionist Conference delegates vote to reject the British offer of land in Uganda for a Jewish homeland.source
  • 1912August 1 – The Jungfrau Railway is inaugurated with the opening of the subterranean Jungfraujoch railway station in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, Europe's highest at 3450 m ft above sea level.source
  • 1915September 5 – The Zimmerwald Conference begins in Switzerland.source
  • 1938December 24 – Leading Korean dancer Choi Seung-hee arrives in Le Havre, France after her tour in the United States. This is to begin her European tour in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. She is the first Korean Wave entertainer.source
  • 1970March 12 – Citroën introduces the Citroën SM, the world's fastest front-wheel drive auto at this time, at the annual Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland.source

21st century

  • 2008June 7–29 – Austria and Switzerland jointly host the UEFA Euro 2008 football tournament, which is won by Spain.source
  • 2016July 26 – Swiss Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth.source
  • 2020April 17 – The China Securities Regulatory Commission approves a transaction in which Switzerland's Credit Suisse will take a majority interest in a China securities firm, making Credit Suisse the first foreign bank to own a majority of such a company since the easing of foreign ownership rules in 2018.source
  • 2022February 28 – 2022 Russian financial crisis: In an unprecedented move, Switzerland, Monaco, Singapore and South Korea impose unilateral sanctions over Russia including the introduction of export controls and asset freezes.source
  • 2025May 13–17 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 is held in Basel, Switzerland. Austrian contestant JJ wins with the song "Wasted Love".source

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