Canton of Oberland

The Canton of Oberland was a Swiss canton that existed at the time of the Helvetic Republic ( 1798-1803 ) and the area of the Bernese Oberland included.

After the invasion of French troops in 1798 broke the old order in the canton of Bern, and from its territory the Vaud, the Oberland and the lower Aargau were separated. As in the uplands existed no strong separatist flow and the population had to be very conservative, the enthusiasm for the new canton remained low. 1801 was provided in the Constitution of Malmaison, that the upper country should belong to the canton of Bern again. The following two years, however, were marked by turmoil and military coups and the order of the Helvetic Republic broke practically all together. The Mediation Act of 1803 brought the final reunification of the Oberland including the canton of Bern.

The government headquarters was located in Thun. The canton was divided into ten districts ( capitals in brackets, if different from the district name ):

• Saanen
• Upper Simmental ( Zweisimmen )
• Low -Simmental ( Erlenbach )
• Frutigen
• Aeschi
• Thun
• Interlaken
• Interlaken ( Wilderswil )
• Brienz
• Oberhasli ( Meiringen )