- Urserental
The Urserental (also Urseren) is the valley of the upper
Reuss River in Uri,Switzerland , running southwest to northeast, fromRealp toHospental andAndermatt .Separated from the main valley of Uri, it connects to the
Valais via theFurkapass , to theGrisons via theOberalppass and to theTicino via theGotthard Pass .The valley was in possession of
Disentis Abbey from 800. It was colonized byWalser settlers prior to the 12th century. The "Blutgericht " lay with thecounts of Rapperswil from 1232, in 1283 passing to the house of Habsburg, and in 1317 to local nobility of Uri. In 1332, there was a skirmish between settlers and troops of the abbey's atOberalp , resulting in a defeat of Disentis. Urseren became "reichsfrei " in 1382 and joined theOld Swiss Confederacy in 1410, and associated itself with Uri for purposes of defence and external representation, however retaining privileges as an independent territory. In 1649, Urseren bought itself out of the last remaining ties to Disentis.In 1798, Urseren became part of the
canton of Waldstätten of theHelvetic Republic , and in 1803 became part of thecanton of Uri . In 1946, there were clashes between locals and theSwiss Army over a disputed dam project which intended to flood the entire valley.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
