The Tägermoos is an area of 1.54 km2 (380 acres) in Thurgau, Switzerland, wedged between the outskirts of the German city of Constance and the core village of the Swiss municipality of Tägerwilen. It lies on the south bank of the Seerhein. In the east, it borders the district Paradies of Constance. In the south-east, it borders the district Emmishofen of the municipality of Kreuzlingen.
The remarkable status of Tägermoos was fixed in 1831 by a treaty which is still in force today. Under this treaty, the area is part of Switzerland at the state level and part of the Swiss municipality of Tägerwilen. However, certain administrative tasks are exercised by the German city of Constance, in accordance with Thurgau municipal law. Other tasks are exercised by the authorities of Tägerwilen. In particular, land survey is the responsibility of Constance, making Tägermoos a of the city of Constance.
The City of Constance legally owns about two-thirds of the land; the rest is held by Swiss authorities and private citizens. It was once a marshy commons, but has since been drained and is now mostly used for agriculture, primarily vegetable production and allotments. At the Eastern edge, there are two border crossings, the larger Tägermoos crossing and the smaller .
History
Middle Ages and Early Modern Period
During the Early Middle Ages, the Tägermoos belonged to the possession in Thurgau of the Diocese of Constance, the so-called . Bishop Hermann I of Arbon (term 1138–1165), donated the land to the Scots Abbey St. James in Paradies, which had been founded in 1142. In 1293, the City Council of Constance purchased the Tägermoos from the Abbey, for use as a commons. It was used for cattle essentially unchanged from the 13th century until its privatisation in 1800.
Outside the Constance city walls, a gallows was built in 1384. It was used by the court in Constance until it was demolished in 1833. In 1466 a brickyard was constructed, which was later known as the Ziegelhof ("brick court").
In 1417, the Imperial Free City of Constance acquired the jurisdiction over the county of Thurgau as a pledge. In 1460, Constance lost the low justice over most of the Thurgau when the Old Swiss Confederacy conquered the area; Constance only retained low justice over the bailiwicks of Eggen, Raitigericht and Altnau. During the Swabian War of 1499, high justice in the Thurgau was lost to the court in Frauenfeld. During the 14th Century, the City of Constance managed to incorporate the neighbouring village of Paradies (at the time known as Eggenhusen). However, attempts to incorporate the Tägermoos failed.
During the Thirty Years' War, a fortress with a moat were constructed in Paradies, as a second line of defence against attacks from the southern side of the Rhine. The Tägermoos itself lay outside this ring, which was meant to protect the settlements of Paradies and the Brühl, the urban festival grounds, against enemy attacks. The Heerstraße ("army road") led from the "Outer Paradies Gate" through the Tägermoos to Ermatingen.
Helvetization and privatization around 1800
With the collapse of the Old Swiss Confederation and the founding of the Helvetic Republic in 1798, a Swiss national state was established, with its borders corresponding to the former areas of high justice. The existing rights of low justice were redistributed; only the right of high justice determined the borders of the new state. The right of high justice in the Tägermoos had been held by the Confederacy since 1499; the Tägermoos and surrounding parts of Thurgau were therefore awarded to the new Helvetic Republic, while maintaining habitual ownership and rights of use held by the city remained.
During the War of the Second Coalition, Constance was occupied by French troops and largely removed from the sovereignty of Further Austria. In 1800, the magistrate of Constance ordered the commons of Tägermoos surveyed and divided into plot. Leases for the plots were awarded to those interested using a lottery. What had previously been a public pasture, available to all, was now divided into plots of 18 are and leased out. Most of the new plots were cultivated are arable land and are so used to this day. This resulted in a small-scale surface with complicated and frequently changing contractual relationships.
Treaty of 1831
The City of Constance retained special rights in Tägermoos that went beyond what was otherwise the case for previous owners of a newly organized territory. The special status was defined in a bilateral treaty, signed in 1831, between the Grand Duchy of Baden and the Canton of Thurgau, which is still in force and can only be terminated by mutual agreement.