Appenzell Innerrhoden is a German speaking Canton and belongs to the Swiss Confederation. Its main town is called Appenzell.
The peculiarity of the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden is that it has the canton with the lowest population in all of Switzerland and the second smallest area. Only 15,000 people live here.

The neighborhood

The canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden is right next to the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden and St. Gallen.
The Almauftrieb and Almabtrieb is a spectacle every year. It not only maintains the tradition of mountain farmers who take their animals to the alp or fetch them from there, but it also shows a colorful game of costumes. The mountain farmers wear the traditional costumes for the summer and the cattle drive and are accompanied by Appenzeller Blässen (Appenzeller Mountain Dogs).

The history of the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden

Scientists discovered objects in the region from 45,000 years ago. Worked stones were found in the Weissbach-Schwende valley, which can be dated to this time.
This means that the area of ​​today’s Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden has been populated for a very long time. The first residents were definitely hunters and gatherers, this can also be deduced from the tools found. The tool that was discovered later also comes from a long time ago. Tools from the Bronze Age were found in the canton. Among other things, a bronze ax was discovered that was made between 1200 and 1100 BC. Christ is likely to come. However, scientists do not agree on whether the area was permanently populated or just a passage area for the people of that time.

The Appenzellerland and today’s canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden was spared by the Romans in antiquity. People from the early Middle Ages called today’s canton the Arbon Forest, which means something like undeveloped wilderness.

The St. Gallen Monastery plays an important role in the history of the canton. As early as the High Middle Ages, i.e. from the 11th to 14th centuries, the St. Gallen Monastery began to gain more and more legal competence. The monastery soon owned a large part of the farms and the monastery was allowed to decide the fate of the parish of Appenzell.
The abbot bailiffs of the monastery acted as judges. Over time, people even belonged to the monastery. So the power of the monastery grew and became a real rule.
However, the monastery had to hand over the right to act as judge to Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa in 1180. This made the Appenzellerland an imperial bailiwick. However, this situation did not last very long, as the abbot Hermann von Bonstetten bought back the jurisdiction of the monastery as early as the 14th century.

The Sutter trade played an important role in Innerrhoden’s history. This reflects society, which has actually changed after a certain lead time. Anton Joseph Sutter, namesake and surprisingly elected bailiff of the Rheintal bailiff, had many envious and enemies who did not allow him his career. In 1767 Sutter wanted Alp Sämtis to the area of ​​the Innerrhoden, he would have benefited well from it himself. He was allowed to do this, but a little later he was dropped. Sutter was persecuted and eventually sentenced to death. However, many fought for Sutter’s innocence and so he was subsequently exonerated and rehabilitated in 1829 from the charge of treason.
This case showed how much the people and society as a whole changed. Sutter trading is still an important topic in the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden today.