In
Swiss politics and the history of the
Old Swiss Confederacy, a
Talschaft is the body of
voting population in a certain
valley (as it were English ). The grouping of voters by valley rather than
municipality is a tradition harking back to before the establishment of the current administrative divisions with the foundation of
Switzerland as a federal state in 1848. A
Talschaft will typically include voters of several municipalities. For example, the
Talschaft of
Lauterbrunnen Valley includes the voting population of the municipalities of
Lauterbrunnen,
Wengen,
Mürren,
Stechelberg,
Gimmelwald and
Isenfluh. Similarly, the Talschaft of
Hasli consists of six miunicipalities,
Gadmen,
Guttannen,
Hasliberg,
Innertkirchen,
Meiringen and
Schattenhalb. In this case, the
Talschaft is coterminous with the Bernese
district of
Oberhasli.