Lucerne

Lucerne was a city state at the outlet of Lake Lucerne, on the St Gotthard trade route. In 1332, after the Habsburgs acquired rights over the city, it joined Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden in an eternal alliance.

Victory over the Habsburgs at Sempach in 1386 opened the way to expansion, and Emperor Sigismund granted Lucerne imperial immediacy in 1415. It remained Catholic, leading its co-religionists after their victory at Kappel in 1531 until defeat in the Toggenburg War in 1712. French troops ended patrician rule in 1798, bringing Lucerne into the Helvetic order.