Treaty of Zurich

In the eastern district of Zurich, the only landmark building that escaped looting and destruction was the Grossmünster.

This church, famous for its unique twin towers, stands on the east bank of the Limmat River, with a bridge leading to the opposite bank right in front of its entrance.

On the other side of the bridge is the Fraumünster, the center of Zurich's western district.

It belongs to the Benedictine nunnery and is the oldest church in Zurich, holding significant meaning for the Swiss.

These two magnificent churches faced each other across the river, and the land around them became a rare sanctuary amidst the burning city of Zurich.

Laszlo explicitly forbade the army from destroying the Grossmünster, only demanding that Johannes, the Bishop of Zurich, expel all Swiss who had taken refuge in the church.

Normally, Laszlo would not seek trouble, and the clergy calmly accepted the Emperor's clemency.

Fighting continued in the city, with the army advancing from east to west, finally capturing the entire city on the third day.

Smoke filled the air, mixed with the smell of blood; the pungent odor and the ruined landscape made Laszlo want to leave from the moment he stepped into the city.

More than half of Zurich had been reduced to ruins and scorched earth by the war, and most citizens who could flee escaped by lake or through the west gate, fleeing towards the Swiss interior.

Some of the remaining citizens died in the chaos, and about two thousand became prisoners of the Imperial Army.

This most prosperous city of the Swiss Confederation, once an important center of Outer Austria, was now finally ruined in two brutal wars fought over it in more than twenty years.

On the eve of the Zurich War, in 1436, Zurich had over twelve thousand permanent residents, making it one of the most prosperous cities in Swabia.

Now, twenty-eight years later, Zurich was almost erased from the map.

Laszlo personally came to the city to meet with several important figures from Zurich to discuss the city's future.

Originally, this discussion should have been extended to the Zurich City Council, but this institution was now practically defunct.

Among the three political groups that originally ruled Zurich, the strongest noble faction suffered the most severe losses in the war, and the guilds were also heavily hit, while only the Church remained unscathed.

However, Zurich had fallen, and Laszlo had no intention of wiping them out completely.

He hoped to transform Zurich into a vital border town for Outer Austria on the south bank of the Rhine River, limiting the power of the Swiss.

Inside the Grossmünster, Laszlo sat at a table with several anxious city representatives.

Presiding over the meeting was Johannes, the Bishop of Zurich, who sat directly opposite Laszlo.

To Laszlo's left sat the representatives of the Zurich textile guild and the noble representatives, and to his right sat the abbess of the Fraumünster nunnery.

Significant conflicts of interest existed between them, but these contradictions seemed trivial when facing the Emperor.

In the 11th century, the nuns of the Fraumünster were granted the rights to mint coins, exercise judicial power, and hold markets by the Emperor.

By the end of the 13th century, the nunnery's power reached its peak, and its abbess once served as the Mayor of Zurich for decades.

At that time, the abbess of the nunnery even received the title of "Margravine" and had the right to occupy a seat in the Imperial Conference as a religious prince.

However, good times did not last; the rapid development of Zurich led to the emergence of six or seven wealthy merchant oligarchs in the city.

They controlled the economic and political lifelines of Zurich, replacing the nunnery in wielding the city's highest power.

However, these individuals' glory lasted only a few decades; in 1336, the Guild Revolution broke out in Zurich.

Discontented Zurich nobles and guilds united to launch a revolt, overthrowing and expelling the wealthy merchant oligarchs, and electing the noble Brun as lifetime Mayor.

However, over the next decade, the expelled merchants sought help from the Habsburg Family.

In a battle in 1337, the fragmented Habsburg-Laufenburg Count unfortunately died, completely igniting the conflict between the Habsburg Family and Zurich.

Zurich, in turn, sought the help of the Three Forest Cantons alliance; this was the first time Zurich formed an alliance with the Swiss.

During the duration of this war, the Habsburg Family continuously annexed Carinthia and Carniola on the eastern border of the Empire, almost doubling the size of their Austrian homeland.

After more than a decade of war, Albrecht II, the crippled head of the Habsburg Family, who was dedicated to managing the Austrian homeland, lost interest in this unprofitable war.

Finally, under the mediation of Emperor Charles IV, both parties signed the Treaty of Regensburg in 1355.

In this treaty, the Habsburg Family formally recognized the independence of the Three Forest Cantons and promised to guarantee Brun's rule over Zurich. Brun quickly reciprocated, abandoning the Three Forest Cantons, who had strongly supported him in the war, and instead swore allegiance to the Habsburg Family, providing them with military services.

After Brun's death, the Habsburg Family's influence along the Rhine River expanded significantly, and most of the Rhine Valley countships were annexed by the Habsburg Family.

This made the Swiss states feel threatened, and Zurich was soon persuaded by the Confederation to break away from Habsburg influence and ally with the Swiss Confederation.

The two sides finally clashed in major battles at Sempach in 1386 and Näfels in 1388, with the Habsburg Family suffering successive defeats.

With the death of Archduke Leopold III, the family gradually abandoned its ambitions regarding the Swiss Confederation.

However, as the old saying goes, a man with a weapon in hand will naturally harbor murderous intent.

After determining that the Habsburg Family's strategic focus had completely shifted to the Austrian homeland in the east, the Swabian territories in the Rhine Valley became a tempting target for the Swiss Confederation.

Among them, Zurich had the strongest desire for expansion within the Confederation.

After entering the 15th century, the Swiss proactively attacked, occupying a large area of territory originally belonging to the Habsburg Family, including Kyburg, Aargau, Winterthur, Thurgau, and St. Gallen.

Zurich's expansion directly led to the complete severance of communication between the Austrian homeland and Outer Austria, with almost half of Outer Austria's territory falling into Swiss hands.

However, Zurich's extensive expansion first caused dissatisfaction among the Confederation members and was soon ostracized by the Swiss cantons, leading to the outbreak of the Zurich War.

After the defeat, Zurich's territory was partitioned, and large areas of Aargau, Kyburg, St. Gallen, and Thurgau were relinquished and designated as federal condominiums.

This significantly weakened Zurich's power, and it continued until this point, when Zurich finally reached the brink of destruction.

And the ultimate fate of this important northern stronghold of the Swiss Confederation would be decided by the Emperor and the representatives present.

"Bishop Johannes, I heard that the Mayor of Zurich has abandoned the city and fled, is that true?"

Laszlo actually still wanted to negotiate directly with the Mayor of Zurich, as that would save a lot of trouble.

However, after dealing with more than half of Zurich's citizens, the remaining elderly, weak, sick, and disabled could not cause any trouble.

The obviously overweight Bishop of Zurich was sweating profusely, whether from the heat or nervousness.

He wiped the fine sweat from his face with a handkerchief and respectfully replied, "Yes, Emperor.

However, from the moment he abandoned the citizens and fled, he ceased to be the Mayor of Zurich."

As he spoke, Bishop Johannes's mind kept recalling the scene of a living hell he had witnessed from the high tower of the Grossmünster that day.

The Imperial Army swept through the entire city like a storm, leaving behind only wails and shattered walls.

"Alright, it seems that cowardly fellow is not worth my attention.

I think you should now be able to represent the will of the citizens of Zurich, so I have invited you here to discuss the future of this city."

Laszlo's words made the guild and noble representatives look at each other.

They had thought the Emperor was determined to completely destroy Zurich, but they had not expected there to be room for a turnaround.

The two church representatives on the other side were much calmer.

The Emperor had already communicated with them in advance, hoping they could support the reconstruction of Zurich.

The two church representatives, who managed the two great cathedrals, both agreed to the Emperor's request.

Perhaps the Emperor chose to destroy Zurich to vent his anger or for the so-called "washing away of family disgrace."

However, Zurich's important strategic position could not be replaced.

Therefore, the Emperor ultimately decided to rebuild Zurich, a Zurich belonging to Austria.

"Emperor, you have completely conquered this city; please state your demands," the abbess of the nunnery, Elisabeth, said unhurriedly.

The Emperor had not made things difficult for her and her nuns, so she naturally did not mind helping the Emperor.

In terms of managing and developing a city, the Church was quite experienced.

"Hmm, I have a treaty here," Laszlo took a piece of paper from Albrecht, his attendant, and began to personally read the contents of the treaty to the representatives. "The core of the treaty has only two points.

First, all citizens of Zurich must swear allegiance to the Archduke of Austria, which means to me and my successors, and henceforth be incorporated into the Outer Austria border region, under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Outer Austria.

The Mayor must be personally appointed by the Archduke of Austria, and representatives from all social strata will assist him in reorganizing the city council and managing the city.

Second, Zurich must sever all alliances with the Swiss Confederation and be permanently prohibited from joining the Swiss Confederation, as well as all other forms of city alliances.

Regarding the above two points, please state any opinions you may have."

Silence fell upon the scene for a moment.

For some reason, the representatives present all felt that the terms of the treaty were self-evident.

After all, the Emperor had now completely captured Zurich, and his single thought could decide the fate of the thousands of surviving citizens.

Although the Guards behind the Emperor did not literally hold knives to their throats, the reality was just that.

After a while, the guild representative timidly spoke, raising a small concern: "Your Majesty, if all alliances with the Forest Cantons are severed, then the trade route to Milan…

3

"You can go through Graubünden or Tyrol; this will not significantly increase costs, but it will guarantee sufficient safety."

Laszlo knew that an important reason for Zurich joining the Confederation was that Uri controlled the trade route to Italy.

The Swiss had made a fortune by reselling Italian goods in Swabia.

The city's textile and banking industries also flourished during this period, becoming a textile center in the southwest of the Empire.

However, everything was now ruined, and they needed to start over.

Hearing the Emperor's words, the guild representative could only nod resignedly.

Whether they went through Graubünden or Tyrol, Zurich's economic lifeline would be entirely controlled by the Emperor in the future.

How they developed, whether they prospered or declined, would depend entirely on the Emperor's mood.

Not to mention, the reconstruction of Zurich now required the Emperor's financial assistance; they essentially had no right to refuse.

Only at this point did the people of Zurich realize the severe consequences of Zurich and the Swiss Confederation's recklessness over the years.

They should not have constantly provoked the Habsburg Family for petty gains back then.

However, the Swiss have always been like this. In the past hundred years of history, they have shown a strategic shortsightedness completely contrary to their formidable fighting power.

Within the Confederation, they elbowed each other, and the centrifugal force was so great that they were willing to kick out an ally from the Confederation to dispute a piece of land.

This time, five of the eight Swiss cantons chose to gather in Aargau.

Only Zurich, with the weakest Zug and Glarus, resisted the Emperor's army.

Such a tragic defeat in the end was actually to be expected.

The four representatives quickly signed the Treaty of Zurich.

Johannes, the Bishop of Zurich, was appointed by Laszlo as the first Mayor of New Zurich, under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Outer Austria.

Laszlo then took the representatives to visit the concentrated Swiss citizens, conveying the good news of peace to them.

When people heard that Zurich would no longer be a member of the Swiss Confederation but part of the Outer Austria border region, even the scattered cheers disappeared.

The citizens of Zurich who survived the hellish ordeal now only wore numb expressions; everything else had been plundered by the Imperial Army.

Even so, life had to go on.

The citizens quickly began rebuilding Zurich on the ruins under the organization of the provisional city government, and the Church of Zurich provided relief and aid to these impoverished people.

Laszlo left the Austro-Hungarian Army to temporarily garrison Zurich, guarding against a highly unlikely counterattack by the Swiss.

He then personally led the rest of the army along the Limmat River towards Brugge in the northwest, preparing to reclaim the Habsburg castle, lost for centuries.

Although Habsburg was occupied and burned by the Swiss in 1415, the Habsburg Family had actually sold the castle in the early 13th century.

At that time, the Zähringen family, the absolute rulers of the central highlands, died out without heirs, and the Habsburg Family took the opportunity to greatly expand its sphere of influence.

After gradually prospering, the Habsburg Family moved to Brugge, near the castle.

The castle, having been uninhabited for a long time, suffered extensive collapse and was later sold to the Wöllen family, vassals of the Habsburg Family.

It was this family that handed over the castle to the Swiss in 1415, and then the castle was set ablaze.

Four days later, Laszlo led his army to Brugge, by which time the news of Zurich's fall had already spread throughout the surrounding areas with the flight of Zurich refugees.

Along the way, the Imperial Army did not encounter any strong resistance.

Most of the combat-ready forces in the entire canton of Zurich had been exhausted in Niederwyl and Zurich, and the towns along the way were simply unable to resist.

They surrendered at the mere sight of the army.

Even Aargau-Baden, the seat of the Swiss Confederation Council, did not resist; the Council had evacuated to the Confederation's interior before Zurich fell.

In Brugge, an important town in eastern Aargau, three hundred Swiss defenders put up a stubborn resistance.

However, facing the Imperial Army with a huge numerical advantage, Brugge fell three days later, and the old site of Habsburg on the hill west of the city also fell into Laszlo's hands.

On the day Brugge fell, Laszlo finally received news from the western allied army.

Matthias and others were currently leading the Austria-Swabia allied army, blocked by the Swiss in the Frick Valley, dozens of miles northwest of Brugge.

Brugge was not far from the battlefield; if they abandoned the slow-moving chariots and artillery, the infantry and cavalry could reach it in a day of forced march.

Should he risk a surprise attack on the Frick Valley, flanking the main Swiss Confederation force with the western army to decide the outcome in one battle; or play it safe, rest in Brugge, and wait for supplies and follow-up troops to arrive.

Laszlo was momentarily undecided.