Waldstätte
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Waldstätte (German: [ˈvaltʃtɛtə], "forested sites;" Latin: civitates silvestres) is a term which has been used since the early thirteenth century to refer to the Stätte (singular: Statt, "sites"), or later Ort (plural: Orte, "place") or Stand (plural: Stände, "estate") of the early confederate allies of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden in today's Central Switzerland.[1]
From the 13th to 19th centuries, the term Waldstätte also synoptically referred to the nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden; later, the term was gradually replaced by the term Urschweiz.[2]
The term Wald ("forest; woods") is to be understood in contrast to Forst, the former in Middle High German terminology referring to cultivated land of alternating pastures, fields and woods, while the latter referred to deep, uncultivated forests (silva invia et inculta).[3]