The Battles of Villmergen were two battles between Reformed

Reformation in Switzerland

The Protestant Reformation in Switzerland was promoted initially by Huldrych Zwingli, who gained the support of the magistrate and population of Zürich in the 1520s. It led to significant changes in civil life and state matters in Zürich and spread to several other cantons of the Old Swiss...

 and Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 cantons

Cantons of Switzerland

The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...

. They occurred on January 24, 1656 and July 24, 1712 at Villmergen

Villmergen

Villmergen is a municipality in the district of Bremgarten in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.Two famous battles took place at Villmergen.In 2010 Hilfikon merged into Villmergen.-History:...

, Canton of Aargau, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 (47°21′N 8°15′E).

In 1655 the canton of Schwyz, which had elected to remain Catholic in 1531, began prosecuting those Protestant families who had remained in Schwyz. Some were turned in to the inquisition in Milan, some were beheaded, and the property of those who fled to Protestant Zurich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

 was confiscated. Zurich demanded compensation for this property. Schwyz demanded the return of the refugees. Zurich urged Berne to declare war on the Catholic cantons (Schwyz and its allies Uri, Unterwalden, Zug and Lucerne). Zurich's forces lay in a fruitless siege of Rapperswil

Rapperswil

Rapperswil-Jona is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.Besides Rapperswil and Jona, which were separate municipalities until 2006, the municipality includes Bollingen, Busskirch, Curtiberg, Kempraten-Lenggis, Wagen, and Wurmsbach.-Today:On...

 while Catholic forces separated Zurich from Berne, beating the Bernese at Villmergen on 24 January 1656. Hostilities ceased on 20 February and the treaty of Villmergen of 7 March reinstalled the status quo preceding the outbreak of hostilities, wherein each canton could specify the religion of all its residents.
Protestant resentment of the Catholic cantons grew as their own wealth, numbers and power grew, but their representation in the diet did not. Two votes for each canton assured the seven Catholic cantons political control over the four Protestant members (Two others were bi-confessional). Wars nearly broke out again in 1664, 1694 and 1697.

The abbot of St. Gallen proposed to build a "Catholic" road from Schwyz to Austria that would cut off the Protestant part of Glarus from its support in Zurich. In 1712 the abbot ordered the free inhabitants of Wattwil

Wattwil

Wattwil is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-Geography:Wattwil has an area, , of . Of this area, 52.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 37.3% is forested...

 in the Toggenburg

Toggenburg

Toggenburg is the name given to the upper valley of the Thur River, in the Swiss Canton of St. Gallen. Currently, it is one of the eight constituencies into which the canton is divided....

 district to work on this road in spite of their having long ago been relieved of such a duty. The rest of the district rose against the abbot, who refused to arbitrate, and blockaded his monasteries. Berne and Zurich declared war on the abbot who fled to Germany. The Protestants took Baden and started blockading the Catholic cantons. At peace negotiations in July, Lucerne and Uri were ready to reach an agreement, and the soldiers started to go home, but the pope renounced the terms and the Catholics renewed their attacks. This time, in the Toggenburg war, also called the second war of Villmergen, after the decisive battle again fought near Villmergen, on 24 July, the Protestant side was successful. The peace of Aarau (11 August 1712) brought more equality in religion, and thus an end to Catholic hegemony in the Swiss Confederation, staying the conflict until the renewed outbreak of civil war in 1847, the Sonderbundskrieg that led to the formation of Switzerland as a federal state

Switzerland as a federal state

The rise of Switzerland as a federal state began on September 12, 1848, with the creation of a federal constitution, which was created in response to a 27-day civil war in Switzerland, the Sonderbundskrieg...

.

The abbot eventually granted more religious freedom to the Toggenburg. Both Bernese and Zurich troops took booty from the Abbey Library of St. Gall. While Berne later returned their share, Zurich only returned part of the goods, while a number of manuscripts as well as a large astronomical globe remain in possession of the canton of Zurich. In the 2000s, the canton of St. Gallen prepared for a court case to claim these back, while Zurich held that ownership had long been passed to the canton of Zurich. The parties agreed to attempt mediation rather than confrontation in court, a possibility for the solution of intercantonal disputes envisaged in the Swiss Federal Constitution

Swiss Federal Constitution

The Federal Constitution of 18 April 1999 is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic of 26 cantons , contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights , delineates the responsibilities of the...

 of 2000. In the first case of such a mediation, led by Pascal Couchepin

Pascal Couchepin

Pascal Couchepin is a Swiss politician, former member of the Swiss Federal Council and President of the Confederation in 2003 and 2008...

, the cantons found an amicable compromise. The ownership of the objects in question remains with Zurich, but a number of manuscripts are given as long-term loans to St. Gallen. The globe remains in the Landesmuseum in Zurich, but the canton of Zurich will manufacture an exact copy, and present this to St. Gallen as a gift.