Читать книгу The River Rhone Cycle Route. From the Alps to the Mediterranean онлайн

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Early Swiss history

After the Romans departed, two tribes occupied the area: the Burgundians in the west and Alemanni in the east. This division lives on 1600 years later in the division between the French and German speaking parts of Switzerland. The Burgundian territory south of Lake Geneva passed through a number of hands before becoming part of Savoy in 1003. North of the lake the territory became divided between a number of city states, all part of the Holy Roman Empire. The Alemanni territory became part of Berne, also within the Holy Roman Empire. Expansionist Berne joined the Swiss Federation in 1353 and gradually absorbed all the city states (except Geneva), leaving Berne and Savoy facing each other across the lake. Most of the fortifications in western Switzerland are either Bernese or Savoyard and reflect regular tensions between these countries. Both were feudal states with a large number of peasants ruled over by noble elites.

Château de Chillon was a Savoyard castle captured by the Bernese (Stage 4)