During the War of the Spanish Succession, the city of Neuchâtel was captured by the French and converted into a fortress. After two years of occupation, the citizens were forced to leave their city in 1704, as the French planned to demolish the fortress and completely raze the city to the ground.
The people of Neuchâtel moved to Steinenstadt, located 6 km away, and asked the local ruler, the Prince-Bishop of Basel, to take them in.
The refugees arrived in Steinenstadt virtually penniless. They were exempt from the taxes and corvée labor that the local subjects were required to perform. Conflict was inevitable.
The town’s pastor at the time, Johann Jakob Christen, accompanied the people of Neuchâtel into exile, as recorded in the Seelen- und Jahrzeitbuch (1715).
The people of Neuchâtel moved to Steinenstadt, located 6 km away, and asked the local ruler, the Prince-Bishop of Basel, to take them in.
The refugees arrived in Steinenstadt virtually penniless. They were exempt from the taxes and corvée labor that the local subjects were required to perform. Conflict was inevitable.
The town’s pastor at the time, Johann Jakob Christen, accompanied the people of Neuchâtel into exile, as recorded in the Seelen- und Jahrzeitbuch (1715).
