Old Zürich War

The Old Zürich War grew from a dispute over the inheritance of the counts of Toggenburg and widened into a struggle between Zürich, backed by Habsburg Austria, and other members of the Swiss Confederation.

The conflict brought raiding, sieges and hard fighting across the Swiss lands. The Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs in 1444 became one of its most remembered episodes, reinforcing the reputation of Swiss infantry for discipline and ferocity even in defeat.

The war belongs to the formative period in which the Swiss Confederation strengthened its military identity while remaining entangled in the politics of the late medieval Holy Roman Empire.