Vogt (Switzerland)
A Vogt (plural "Vögte") was a title and office in the Old Swiss Confederacy, inherited from the feudal system of the Holy Roman Empire, corresponding to the English "reeve". The German term "Vogtei" is ultimately a loan from Latin "[ad]vocatia". Section::::"Vogtei". There were two basic types of "Vogteien": "Obervogteien" (also "Landgerichte", "innere Vogteien") were administered by reeves ("Obervögte", "Venner") residing in the city, usually elected from among the city parliament, who visited their territories on certain fixed days to act as judges or collect taxes. They were represented by local lieutenants ("Untervögte"). Section::::"Reichsvogt". "Reichsvogt" was the term for  a "Vogt", that was nominated by the king as the representative of the Holy Roman Empire, and was especially in today's Switzerland in the High Middle Ages a very influential position. Section::::"Landvogt". The second type of "Vogtei" was a "Landvogtei" where the "Landvogt" ("sheriff" or "bailiff") resided permanently, usually in a castle within the "Landvogtei" known as "Landvogteischloss". There are several buildings still so identified, e.g. in Baden and in Willisau. A "Landvogt" was an official acting on behalf of the Confederacy or one or several cantons, ruling a condominium ("Gemeine Herrschaft") of several cantons, notably acting as a  judge for capital crimes (Blutgericht). The title first appears in 1415. The cantons took turns in appointing a "Landvogt" for a period of two years. In exceptional cases, the population of the "Landvogtei" was allowed to elect their own "Landvogt". This concerned Oberhasli in particular, which was nominally a subject territory of Bern, but enjoyed a special status as a military ally. The office of "Landvogt" was abolished in 1798, with the foundation of the Helvetic Republic. The notion of "fremde Vögte" ("foreign reeves") is central to Swiss national mythology, since the early Confederacy in the 14th century is commonly  believed to have had the main purpose to expel imperial judges. One of the core points of the Federal Charter of 1291 is that the "Eidgenossen" "will accept or receive no judge in the aforesaid valleys, who shall have obtained his office for any price, or for money in any way whatever, or one who shall not be a native or a resident with us." The "foreign "Vögte"" were replaced by native "Ammänner" called into office by the Landsgemeinde. The term "fremde Vögte" is still in use polemically in Swiss politics, particularly by conservatives, in the context of Switzerland and  the European Union.