Old Swiss Confederacy

1291–1798 confederation of Swiss cantons

The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (German: Orte or Stände, French: cantons), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerland. It formed at the end of the 13th century, from a nucleus in what is now Central Switzerland, expanding to include the cities of Zurich and Bern by the middle of the 14th century.

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