A Swiss Vorarlberg

Vorarlberg following a referendum held there in 1919, in which 81% of the people of Vorarlberg voted to join Switzerland; but Vorarlberg was instead incorporated into the First Austrian Republic.

Suppose however it joned Switzerland.

I'm not sure why it didn't, the language there is Swiss German, its comparable in size to the existing Swiss cantons.

Doing so would have made the principality of Liechtenstein an enclave within Switzerland, but its partially controlled by them anyway.

So suppose it is, in 1920 it becomes a Swiss Canton.

Would Hitler demand its return? Or would it be like the area Denmark took, the Germans never took that back even while occupying Denmark.
 
Major reason why Switzerland didn't accept Vorarlberg as canton was that their French population was worried that Swiss Germans might form too markable group. So you should make Switzerland accept that with some way.
 
Major reason why Switzerland didn't accept Vorarlberg as canton was that their French population was worried that Swiss Germans might form too markable group. So you should make Switzerland accept that with some way.


Maybe it's independent for a few years, gradually integrated, like Saarland was with France but because of linguistic differences its easier.

Maybe Italy stays with its original alliance and they also get an Italian canton too, balance.

I'm thinking this one. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aosta_Valley
 
Maybe it's independent for a few years, gradually integrated, like Saarland was with France but because of linguistic differences its easier.

Maybe Italy stays with its original alliance and they also get an Italian canton too, balance.

I'm thinking this one. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aosta_Valley

The Valtellina would be a much more logical choice, since it used to be subject to the Grisons until Napoleon added it to the Cisalpine Republic, and before the Napoleonic Wars there had been proposals to turn the region into a fourth League of the Grisons, proposal that got shot down only because its population was equal to that of the other three Leagues combined.

There is a historical precedent for the annexation of the Val d'Ossola as well, and a few more small valleys adjacent to the Canton Ticino, too.

1024px-Historische_Karte_CH_1515.png


The Val d'Ossola is labeled as Eschental in the above map, and the Valtellina canton would be made up of the former bailiwicks labeled as Drei Pleven (Tre Pievi), Cleven (Chiavenna), Veltlin (Valtellina) and Worms (Bormio); Cuvio and Travaglio would just be added to the Canton Ticino.

The local population would not complain at all, since even today the locals would jump ship in a heartbeat if they were promised the level of autonomy of a Swiss canton and, honestly, I can't say it'd be a bad deal at all.

0SYYmSE.png


Flag of the Canton d'Ossola

Capital: Domodossola
Population: 66,746

Autonomia.jpg


Flag of the Canton Valtellina

Capital: Sondrio
Population: 181,257
 
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Could be both, two Italian and a German one.

Of course now its a greater POD.

I guess Italy would also loose its colonies and maybe, Sardinia.
 
Neoteros: why would the locals jump ship today? Are they not happy in Austria?

(I hope these questions are okay under forum rules.)
 
Vorarlberg following a referendum held there in 1919, in which 81% of the people of Vorarlberg voted to join Switzerland; but Vorarlberg was instead incorporated into the First Austrian Republic.

.
Why stop only at Vorarlberg, i remembered this map about how a Great Switzerland would look like, this was a idea by the SVP who had proposed that Switzerland annex ethnically compatible adjacent regions of France, Germany, Austria, and Italy, and thereby increase its population by 243%.

WCfkVuX.jpg
 
I've always been curious as to why Switzerland stopped growing where it did. There were plenty more Alpine lands which would probably have been quite at home as part of it.

I particularly wonder about Tyrol. Superficially it seems not very different, yet it stayed staunchly loyal to its dynasty where the Swiss got rid of theirs. Is there some social difference between Swiss and Tyrolese that I don't know about, or was it just historical accident?
 
I've always been curious as to why Switzerland stopped growing where it did. There were plenty more Alpine lands which would probably have been quite at home as part of it.

I particularly wonder about Tyrol. Superficially it seems not very different, yet it stayed staunchly loyal to its dynasty where the Swiss got rid of theirs. Is there some social difference between Swiss and Tyrolese that I don't know about, or was it just historical accident?

Perhaps Tyrol and Switzerland are just too different areas. And perhaps Swiss were happy with their borders and didn't want more land.
 
Neoteros: why would the locals jump ship today? Are they not happy in Austria?

(I hope these questions are okay under forum rules.)

I wasn't talking about Vorarlberg, but the Valdossola and the Valtellina. Culturally, they are closer to Lugano than Milan or Turin, being Alpine valleys, and they used to be Lega Nord strongholds back when the party advocated the secession of northern Italy.
 
Vorarlberg following a referendum held there in 1919, in which 81% of the people of Vorarlberg voted to join Switzerland; but Vorarlberg was instead incorporated into the First Austrian Republic.

Suppose however it joned Switzerland.

I'm not sure why it didn't

The Entente powers felt that the boundaries of Switzerland were an established part of the European order. Moreover, France was especially worried that if part of Austria could break off and join Switzerland, other parts might break off and join Germany.

Also, opinion in Switzerland itself was mixed. "Public and political opinion in Switzerland about an additional Catholic canton with strong rural links and a monopolised industry joining the Swiss Confederation was ambiguous. Some, especially conservatives such as Gonzague de Reynold (1880-1970), supported the idea and founded a so-called Pro Vorarlberg movement in Switzerland. Its goal was a popular initiative for a union. 50,000 signatures would have been required to move this idea forward, but Pro Vorarlberg only collected 29,000. Nevertheless, the campaigning went on until the mid-1920s when it petered off in both Vorarlberg and Switzerland. Within the Swiss Federal Government, only one out of seven members strongly favoured Vorarlberg joining the Swiss Confederation. This was Felix Calonder (1863-1952), Minister for Foreign Affairs. However, he failed in his efforts as Pro Vorarlberg had done previously..." https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/vorarlberg_referendum
 
Perhaps Tyrol and Switzerland are just too different areas. And perhaps Swiss were happy with their borders and didn't want more land.

This is what I'm getting at. To me they seem superficially similar, but are there differences that I don't know about?

Iirc Switzerland expanded pretty steadily down to the early 1500s. I thought it was only the religious differences triggered by the Reformation that ended it. Was I wrong?
 
Major reason why Switzerland didn't accept Vorarlberg as canton was that their French population was worried that Swiss Germans might form too markable group. So you should make Switzerland accept that with some way.
It wasn't the language divide. Switzerland has always been quite anachronistic in this: It was the denomination divide. Even in the Jura independence vote in 1979, not all French speaking parts of Bern seceded from that (German speaking, Reformed) canton - only the Catholic parts did. The Catholic French speaking parts stayed with Bern. Denomination has always been much more important than language. Consequently, in 1919, the reformed cantons feared that integrating Catholic Vorarlberg would upset that balance.

That also means that adding French speaking territories for balance will do nothing, since basically all French speaking territories anywhere outside Switzerland are Catholic. However, there is one protestant (Lutheran instead of Reformed, but close enough) territory nearby: The Markgräflerland, basically southwest-most Germany. The Bezirksämter of Lörrach, Mühlheim and Schopfheim on this map, showing the administrative structure of Baden at the time:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...f/VkDE-bd_1890.svg/717px-VkDE-bd_1890.svg.png
(deep in the southwest)

So I wonder if a Canton of the Markgräflerland would be possible, and if it could provide a balance for a Canton of Vorarlberg. Maybe the Markgäflerländer could see it as a way to escape the chaos of immediate post-WW1 Germany? Then again, as the name indicates, the area had been part of the Margraviate of Baden for centuries already, already before the mediations...
 
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