republic · Germany and Central Europe
Canton of Glarus
Origins
The Linth valley belonged to the abbey of Säckingen, whose rights passed to the Habsburgs. In 1352 the valley joined the Confederacy, though on unequal terms. The Glarners' victory over a Habsburg army at Näfels in 1388, still commemorated each April, secured their independence, and they gained full equality with the other cantons in 1473.
Rule and society
Sovereignty lay with the Landsgemeinde, the open-air assembly of all men, which still meets in Glarus. The valley lived from cattle, mercenary service and later textiles. Huldrych Zwingli was parish priest at Glarus before moving to Zürich. The Reformation divided the canton, and from 1623 Catholics and Protestants kept separate assemblies and officials alongside a common government.
Decline and legacy
The old canton dissolved in 1798 under the Helvetic Republic, becoming part of the canton of Linth. Restored in 1803, Glarus remains a Swiss canton and one of two still governed by a Landsgemeinde.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Canton of Glarus was part of Old Swiss Confederacy1352 CE – 1798 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Canton of Glarus. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/canton-of-glarus
- MLA
- “Canton of Glarus.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/canton-of-glarus. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Canton of Glarus.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/canton-of-glarus.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Canton of Glarus’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/canton-of-glarus (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻