This text is based on a history written by Peter Jehli (in German), and wastranslated by Sue Wolf.
With inserts onStraiff, Straif, Streiff history with dates in (RED) by David R Streiff.
The links in Italic Font and underlined in blue were all current at placement of this article.
Fridolin was an Irish monk, who, according to the legend, should have livedat the time of the,
Frankish king Clovis, around about 500 A.D.
Many learned people doubt whether Fridolin had reallylived.
According to tradition he (according to an apparition of St. Hilarius)founded the cloister,
Säckingen on the Rhine.
The land of Glarusbelonged to the cloister for a long time through a donation,
this is the likelyreason why Fridolin became the cantonal patron.
The landof Glarusoriginates
- The actual colonization ofthe valleys began a few centuries before Christ.
Celts and Raetians leftbehind traces of simple farming activity.
- Around the birth of Christthe Romans established estates and smaller,
fortified installations in ourvalley.
- In the 6th and 7thcenturies the Allemanns immigrated into our valley.
- In the 8th centurythe Carolingians assumed power, exercised jurisdiction in our canton,
and collected taxes. Since about 750 a quarter of the landbelonged as a donation
to the Säckingen cloister.
- Around 820 thename Glarona was first mentioned in the legend of Felix andRegula.
- 1264 - Rudolf ofHabsburg becomes the Holy Roman Empire officialover Glarus.
- 1270 - First Record of Straiff in Switzerland. Brothers Konrad andOtto Straiff witnesses,
signing cronical of Henry the IV ofChur 19th July 1270.
Straif is according to Robert Graves, Celtic, and means“Blackthorn Tree”,
and is the name of the Celtic letter “Z”.
- 1304 - St Gallen appears onthe family crest.
The opposition of the Glarner population was awakened under,
the increasing pressure of the Habsburgs.
Although they should haveparticipated on the Habsburg's side of it,
the Glarnese in 1315 stayed awayfrom the Morgarten war.
● 1335 – Vatzic War. BrothersHeins and Simon Streif joined,Hans Streif
in arms against the brothers Walter,Christof, Heinrich, and Donat von Rhazung
for the sum of 350 marks.
- 1350 – Albrecht soon after 1350won the citadel fortress NeuAspermount.
- 1351- Albrecht sold castleKapfenstein and his brothers and sisters to
Countess Kunigunde from Vaz.
- 1351 - the Zurichersand the Forest Cantons occupied Glarus.
- OnJune 4, 1352 the Glarnese sealed afirst federation, which was never recognized
by the Habsburgs. Since itawarded the confederation more rights than the Glarnese,
this signified tothem that it was a so-called inferior or bad federation.
- 1371- Straif were Lords ofCastles Fraklastein, Frakstein, and Strahlegg.
- In July 1386(Sempacher War) the Glarnese breached the Oberwindegg castle
nearNiederurnen. Filzbach [a commune] received the land rights.
With help ofthe confederation the town of Weesenis captured.
- OnMarch 11, 1387 the firstPopular Assembly [Landsgemeinde] in Glarus took place.
The Glarnesedeclared themselves free and drew up the first constitution.
- On the night of February21 and 22, 1388 the people of the Glarnese army,
of occupation inWeesen were murdered by troops loyal to the Habsburgs
- OnApril 9, 1388 there was a battle atNäfels
● 1403-Complete possession of Veste Stahlegg by Freidrich VII of Toggenburg,
withthat the Straiff, Straif, disappear from Churwalden (forests of Chur.)
● TheHabsburg army was crushingly defeated by the Glarnese, with the help,
of ahandful of confederates.
After that Glarus was considered a confederated canton of equal status.
- 1419 - the markettown of Glarus became the capital.
- As late as 1473the Glarnese now also received formal equality in the improvedfederation.
- 1476 - participation of the Glarnese in the battles against Karlden Kühnen [Karl the Bold].
- Battleof Fornovo 1495
- From 1506 till 1516, UlrichZwingli, the later Reformer, is pastor in Glarus.
- 1510 – Lux Streiff born fromwhich an unbroken descendant’s line exists.
- 1513 – Hans Streiff fromGraubunden, Captain Swiss Confederation League at Castleof Mailand.
- 1515 – Battleof Marginano, Hans Streiff killed in the battle.
- 1518 – STREIFF appear in GlarnerLand.
- Between 1525 and 1529the Reformation was introduced into the majority of the Glarner communes.
Mainly the wealthier northern communes remained true to the old faith,however.
- 1548 - the firstgame-shooting reserve of Switzerlandwas established : the Freiberg Kärpf.
- 1617- Peter Streiff ~ 1550 in Diesbach Glarus + 1619 in Glarus Switzerland
is recorded as envoyto Louis (Lougano)
- 1623 - cantonalagreement brings denominationally separate Popular Assemblies.
- 1647 – Joachim Streiff ~ September 26th 1607 purchased theTagwenrecht in Schwanden.
- 1658 – Death of Fridolin Streiff December 20 Ancestor ofall Glarus Streiff’s.
- 1674 – Joachim Streiff ~ September 26th 1607 Provincial Governor ofWerdenburg.
- 1682 – Evangelical andReligious feuds in the land of Glarus.
- 1693- FridolinStreiff. Leader of a company in the Peter Stuppa Regiment in France.
- 1721- Revolt by citizens of Werdenberger, Fridolin StreiffCommander of the march against them.
- 1739 – Streiff Seal. Joh. Christoph Streiff
- 1740 - Johann Heinrich Streiff founded the firstcotton and handkerchief,
fabric factory in Glarus, Switzerland.
- 1798 - the Frenchconquered Switzerland
.The defeat of the Glarnese near Wollerau. Glarner land wasoccupied.
- 1799 - the French,Austrians and Russians fought on Glarner soil.
- 1803 - the landof Glarus becameCantonGlarus by Napoleon's constitution.
- 1811 - theinauguration of the Escher canal.
- 1815 – Fridolin Streiff ~1815 + 1890 one of two scouts who founded NewGlarus USA was born.
- 1822 - theinauguration of the Linth canal.
- 1837 - new cantonalconstitution and elimination of the denominational land partition
- 1840 – In Glarus, Switzerland during the 1840’s,economic conditions were difficult,
poverty and unemployment wereprevalent. With a need for an effective solution,
to the declining welfareof Glarus citizens, an
Emigration Society was formed in 1844 which senttwo men,
Fridolin Streiff, and Judge Nicholas Dürst to America from Switzerland.
- 1845 -
Fridolin Streiff and Nicholas Dürst in March 1845 set out to Americato purchase land
for the settlement of a future Swiss colony. Theypurchased 1280 acres of land in Green County,
Wisconsin , USAon July 17th 1845 paying $1.25 per acre.
- 1845 – in April 1845 with no word from the scouts a party of nearly 200colonists,
set out from Switzerland for USA. after sailing for49 days with three deaths they reached the USA.
On the 15th August 1845 a party ofapproximately 108 colonists representing 17 families,
arrived in what isnow New Glarus.
- 1861 - the burningof Glarus
- 1864 - the first industrial law of Switzerlandwas passed in Glarus.
- 1881 - landslideof Elm
- 1887 - the Popular Assembly gave itself a new cantonalconstitution.
- 1899 - the "Klausenstrasse"between Linthal and Altdof, Uri was inaugurated.
- 1915 – 70 years ago. Monument to New Glarus pioneersettlers erected.
The monument stands practically twenty-two feet inheight, the pedestal being surmounted
with a life-sized statue of apioneer, with one hand resting across his forehead,
as if shading his eyesas he looked out upon the promised land.
The front of the monument bearsthe inscription: “1915. In Memory of the First Settlers,
of the SwissColony, New Glarus. August 16 1845.
On the sides of the monument, erected practically onthe site of the first log cabin built,
by the pioneers, are cut in theimperishable marble the names of the twenty-five families,
settling at NewGlarus. These names are:
Oswald Babler, Fridolin Babler, Jost Becker,Fridolin Becker, Mathias Düerst,
Balthasar Düerst, Fridolin Hefty,Heinrich Hosly, Fridolin Streiff, Heinrich Aebli,
Fridolin Legler, Sr,Fridolin Legler, Jr, George Legler, John Gasper Legler,
Abraham Schindler,Balthasar Schindler, Mathias Schind, Paulas Kundert,
Hilarius Wild, AntonStauffacher, Jacob Stauffacher, Rudolf Stauffacher and Jost Trumpi .
- 1916 - the first old people's and surviving dependent'sinsurance for Switzerland
was introduced in Glarus.
- 1972 - the first Popular Assembly with the participationof women took place.
The District of Chur
The district of Chur coincides with the territory of the commune of
the town. The name Curia is pre-Roman and is derived from the old
Celtic word "koria" meaning "tribe".
The important part which the settlement has played in the history of
Rhaetia throughout the centuries is chiefly due to its geographical
position: it controls the lower or Italian route to the Splügen and
Bernardin, the higher route to the Juliet and the Septimer, the
Lukmanier and Oberalp route, and also the route to Schanfigg
and the Strela pass.
In view of its favourable position it is not surprising that traces
of Neolithic settlement have been found in the area of Welschdörfli,
i.e., going back to the year 3000 B.C. Continuous settlement, however,
can only be proved from the late Iron Age (about 500 B.C.).
A Roman fragment excavated at Welschdörfli in 1965 proves that at the
time of the birth of Christ Chur was a Roman administrative centre;
the fragment refers to Lucius Caesar, the adopted son of the Emperor
Augustus. So far the excavations at the Roman settlement at
Welschdörfli date mainly from the lst and 2nd centuries A.D. It is
highly probable that the Romans built a fort on the Hof, but there is
no concrete archeological evidence to support this.
When the old province of Rhactia was divided in the middle of the 4th
century, Chur became the seat of the Governor. A short time after
the Romans left the territory north of the Alps, mention is made of a
Bishop of Chur, Asinio, in a document of the Synod of Milan dated 451.
After the turmoil of the Great Migration, Rhaetia became part of the
Frankish empire. Chur became "civitas publica ". It was the seat of
the Präses, the temporal lord of the country. In this independent
church state a local family, the Victorides, held the office of the
Bishop as well as the office of the Präses.
This combination came to an end when, around the year 800, the Franks
made a new division of the land and Chur became the seat of the Duke.
Thereupon the bishopric was separated from the duchy; the diocese
became part of the archbishopric of Mainz and was no longer joined to
the metropolitan alliance of Milan. This was also the beginning of a
period of Germanisation, which was probably completed in the 15th
In a document dated 831 the Emperor, Ludwig the Pious, conferred
immunity on the bishop's possessions in Chur-rhaetia, Alsactia and
Alemania which meant that he was exempt from paying various public
duties and taxes and that officials could not intervene. These
seignorial rights and immunity made it possible for the bishop to
become the actual master of the town.
The politics of the Ottonic emperors in Italy made Chur a very
important town again, as it held the key position to so many passes.
The bishop, as the guardian of these passes, was gradually given all
the fiscal rights of the duchy by the Emperor, rights of toll and
mint, half the town of Chur, and many other privileges. Under
Barbarossa he even became Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, a title he
held up to 1803.
The decline of the power of the Emperor also caused difficulties for
the bishop. The self-consciousness of the citizens of the town was
strengthened by trade and commerce. In 1282 the citizens and council
of the town are mentioned, who also had their own seal. With its
gate and three towers it refers to the walls, built in the first half
of the 13th century, which protected the mediaeval city at the foot
of the bishop's residence. In 1367 the citizens took an active part
in the foundation of the League of God's House, which opposed the
bishop, who had allied himself with Austria and sold a number of
In 1413 the town received the right to build a market-house and to
collect tolls and transport duties. After the catastrophe of the
great fire in 1464 the citizens of Chur were given the privilege by
the Emperor to introduce 5 guilds and lay down their rules. These
guilds helped in a decisive way to shake off the sovereignty of the
bishop. At the head of the city there were the Great and the Small
Council, whose members were elected from the guilds. The mayor was
responsible for current affairs.
Chur was the place where the League of God's House met, in rotation
with Davos and Ilanz, and assemblies of the highest authorities in
the Free State were held there. Ambassadors of foreign countries
such as Austria, Spain, France, and Nice, had their residences
there. In 1499 the victory over Austria and the Empire at Calven was
celebrated at Chur.
During. the Reformation Chur took a leading part under Johannes
Comander, a friend of Zwingli's. The spiritual and political
emancipation of the citizens from the bishop resulted in the Hof (the
residence of the bishop) becoming a religious and political enclave,
a situation which remained until the introduction of the cantonal
constitution in 1854 and which led to many disputes, for instance
concerning the right of sanctuary.
During the wars of the Grisons the town was known as a Spanish-
Austrian nest. It was besieged by the people of Prätigau in 1622 and
the Austrian troops were forced to leave. A climax in the political
turmoil of those years was the murder of Jörg Jenatsch in the
"Staubigen Hüetli " during the pre-Lent carnival of 1639.
Of even greater consequence for the town than the political troubles
were the great fires of 1464, 1574 and 1674, and also the epidemics.
There was an outbreak of plague in the second half of the 16th
century, and the outbreak of bubonic plague in 1629 claimed over 1000
After Rhaetia had gained its freedom, a goal for which Jenatsch had
striven, quieter times returned to Chur. Service for foreign powers,
trade, and the leasing of fiscal rights, brought wealth to the
After the upheavals of the French Revolution, during which the town
was occupied and ransacked in turn by French and Austrian troops, the
town became the capital of the canton when the Grisons joined the
Confederation in 1803.
The bill on the division of the canton was passed in 1851, and the
town, with Masans and Araschgen, became the district of Chur.
Economically, agriculture dominated at Chur until the late Middle
Ages. The transport trade, which had always been a considerable
source of income, reached its climax in the first half of the 19th
century when the roads across the Alps in the Grisons were improved.
This lasted until the railway through the Gotthard was opened.
Crafts and trades were organised within the guilds, and the catering
and hotel trades were especially important to the economy. Of no
less importance were the tolls and duties, which brought the Salis,
Massner and Bavier families great wealth when these rights were
leased in 1716. The corn trade held a special position. In the
first half of the 17th century special corntrading companies came
into being. Many families gained profits from foreign service and
from the offices in the Valtellina.
Famous people from Chur:
Johannes Comander (1484-1557) from Maienfeld. After attending the
grammar school at St. Gall he studied at the University of Basle
together with Zwingli, where he took his bachelor's degree. In 1512
he became a parson at Escholzmatt in Entlebuch. In 1523 he was
elected by the council of Chur as minister of St. Martin's Church.
In his sermons he followed the teaching of Zwingli. At the diet of
the Three Leagues he was accused of heresy, but he managed to arrange
a disputation at Ilanz in 1526. Although no decision was taken,
Comander won a personal victory. Later he wrote the Chur Catechism
with Johannes Blasius, helped to found the Evangelical Rhaetian Synod,
and preached (in vain) against the purchase of offices, against the
so-called pensions from foreign countries, and against foreign
service as mercenaries. Comander is considered to be the leader of
the Reformation in the Grisons.
Simon Bavier (1825-1896) from Chur. After his studies abroad he
entered the services of the canton as an engineer and assisted La
Niccas to build a network of roads in the Grisons. Later he became
an ardent fighter for a railway across the eastern Alps, and his fame
as an expert in railway matters soon spread abroad. His main career,
however, was politics. He became Federal Commissioner in 1876, and
succeeded in settling the conflict at Stabio by means of mitigation
between the radical and conservative parties of the Ticino. In 1878
he was the first citizen of the Grisons to be elected to the Federal
Council, and he represented the government as its President when the
Gotthard railway was opened in 1882. When he left the Federal
Council in the same year he went to Rome as ambassador, an office
which he held up to his death.
District Coat of Arms: Silver, treble-crenellated city gate gules,
within the gate rampant ibex sable with claws gules. Blazonry: It is
the traditional coat of ams of the town of Chur, simplified and
reduced to the most important heraldic element. District colours:
NOTE: This document was taken from the book:
GRAUBÜNDEN GESCHICHTE SEINER KREISE
The District of Churwalden
This district extends from the slopes of Parpan, and
includes the whole catchment area of the Rabiusa up to the
point where it flows into the Plessur; it also includes the
left side of the valley of the Outer Schanfigg, up to the line
made by the ridges of the Parpan Weisshorn, the Arosa
Weisshorn, the Schariniser Grind, the Gireneggen, and the mouth
of the Sagenbach. The Political communes in this territory are
Churwalden, Malix, Parpan, Praden and Tschiertschen.
The name Churwalden appears to be a direct translation
of the oldest Latin name-form "silva augeria", meaning sycamore
Because of its situation on one of the most important
pass-routes of the Grisons, the Julier-Septimer, the Churwald
area has been of great importance since the time of the
At the time of the Franks the territory was part of the
Ministerium Curisinum. In the Middle Ages a domain grew around
StrassbergCastle at Malix. The Lords of Strassberg, however,
soon became dependent subjects of the Barons of Vaz, who
appeared in 1275 as the masters. The subject-territory
included Churwalden, Malix, Parpan, and later Tschiertschen.
Praden was not included, however; it had been settled by
Walsers from Schanfigg, and probably because of this belonged
to the jurisdiction of Langwies. There were also settlements
of Walsers on the right of the valley, at Runcalier and Grida,
and on the left slope at Pradaschier.
The bailiwick of the monastery at Churwalden, which was
founded by Premonstratensian monks from Roggenburg in southern
Germany about the middle of the 12th century, was also subject
to the Strassbergs. The abbey was the traditional burial
ground of the Barons of Vaz, and they richly bestowed it with
gifts. There was a hospital in the abbey, which is not
surprising when one considers its position. After the line of
Vaz became extinct, the domain passed to the Toggenburgers in
1338, and after the death of the last of this line in 1338, and
after the death of the last of this line in 1436 it passed to
the Montfort-Tettnangs who, because of financial difficulties,
sold the property rights to Duke Sigismund of Austria in 1466.
The Duke sold the rights to Ulrich of Matsch, but reclaimed
them in 1479.
In 1436 the "Dusch of Tschiertschen" gave his pledge
for the land and court of Churwalden to the League of Ten
Jurisdictions. In the old division of the country of the
Rhaetian Free State, the jurisdiction of Churwalden, together
with the neighbourhoods Churwalden, Malix, Parpan and the two
half jurisdictions of Inner and Outer Belfort, formed the High
Court of Belfort. During the Swabian wars the castle of
Strassberg was taken from the Austrians by the people of the
Grisons. it was only in 1649, however, that the people of
Churwalden were able to purchase the Austrian rights.
During the Reformation Malix and Praden were the first
villages to accept the new belief, in 1526; followed after 1550
by Tschiertschen and Parpan. The prohibition of novices in the
Articles of Ilanz, 1526, caused great difficulties to the
monastery at Churwalden. In 1533 there remained only the abbot
and a monk, and from 1599 onwards the monastery's affairs were
managed by an administrator elected by the Roggenburgs. In
1616 the Protestants of the court did away with the
administrator and occupied the church, which, with the
exception of a short period of restitution forced by the
Austrians during the Wars of the Grisons, has served both
confessions ever since.
The law of 1851 on the division of the canton
transferred Praden from the jurisdiction of Langwies to the
district of Churwalden.
Economically the transit traffic was of importance.
Churwalden shared the "port" with Lenz; the port was a
transport co-operative organised by the communes. The customs
post at Strassberg, documentary evidence of which is first
given in 1348, seems to have benn extremely profitable,
otherwise it would not have been a bone of contention between
the Bishops of Chur and Austria for over 100 years.
Under the influence of the Walsers and also mainly, of
the monastery, the jurisdiction was partly Germanised before
the time of the Reformation. In spite of this Romansh was
spoken at Malix well into the 17th century. Today the whole
district of Churwalden is German-speaking.
Famous men from the District of Churwalden:
Deacon Luzius Pol (1754-1828) from Malix made a name
for himself as a botanist, entomologist, topographer, and
agronomist. He was deported to Graz by the Austrians, where he
remained from 1799 to 1801. He saw the need for harnessing the
torrents of the Grisons, and was successful in putting his
ideas into practive.
Friedrich Brügger (1854-1930) from Churwalden studied
law at Löwen and Munich and later became a lawyer at Chur. He
was elected to the Small Council in 1900, and to the Federal
Council in 1907; he was a member of the latter for 23 years and
its president from 1918 to 1919. In 1909 he was promoted to
the rank of Brigadier in the Army, and was in charge of the
Gotthard defences. He became Adjutant-General in 1914, and
later, in recognition of his services in strengthening the
striking power of the army, the Government promoted him to the
rank of General.
District Coat of Arms: Azure molet gold. Blazonry:
Taken from an old coat of arms of the district of Churwalden
found on the seal of the neighbourhood. District colours: