Editing Solothurn (section)

===Early modern Solothurn===
[[File:Solothurn Baseltor.JPG|thumb|upright|The Basel gate was added in the 16th century]]
[[File:Herrliberger Solothurn.jpg|thumb|Solothurn in 1757]]
The medieval cooperative election of the mayor and councillors led to the creation of a nearly hereditary [[oligarchy]] by the 15th century. By the second half of the 16th century, the political voice of citizens was nearly totally suppressed. By the second half of the 17th century, the government was run by a small group of [[Patrician (post-Roman Europe)|patrician]]s. The oligarchs were weakened in the 18th century, when in 1718–21 the city council managed to regain some powers. However, in 1682, a new citizenship law prevented wealthy families who had moved into Solothurn from becoming members of the council. While this law reduced the number of people who could be on the city council, the introduction of a secret ballot procedure in 1764 and measures against vote-buying in 1774 allowed more and more non-patrician [[:wikt:burgher|burgher]]s to join the council.<ref name=HDS_government/>

During the heyday of the patricians in the 17th and 18th centuries, a number of elegant town houses (Reinert House 1692–93, [[Palais Besenval]] 1703–06) and summer residences outside the city (Sommerhaus Vigier 1648–50, [[Waldegg Castle]] 1682–86 (now in nearby [[Feldbrunnen-St. Niklaus]]), [[Steinbrugg Castle]] 1665–68 and [[Blumenstein Castle]] 1725–28) were built. A number of new public buildings were also added including; the Arsenal (1610–19), the town hall with its north staircase tower (1632–34) and its eastern façade (Archive tower 1624, completed 1703–14), the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] church (1680–89), the new Ambassadorenhof (1717–24), the Holy Spirit Hospital in a suburb (1735–1800) and the new [[Classicism|classicist]] Church of St. Ursus (1763–90). In the 16th century the town walls were reinforced with the Basel gate and three round towers.<ref name=HDS_Construction/>

Between 1667 and 1727, following plans by Francesco Polatta, Jacques Le Prestre Tarade and Sébastien de Vauban, the city built fortifications with eleven full and half [[bastion]]s. The new city wall increased the size of the city by including the eastern suburb of Kreuzacker. Until the 18th century, prisoners were housed in the towers of the medieval and early modern fortifications store. Between 1753 and 1761 a new prison was built outside the city walls, which remained in use into the 20th century. A gallows was first mentioned in 1460 and was located northeast of the city near Feldbrunnen. A second gallows was located to the southwest of the city.<ref name=HDS_Construction/>

From 1530 to 1792 it was the seat of the [[France|French]] [[ambassador (diplomacy)|ambassador]] to Switzerland.

The early modern period in Solothurn ended, as in the rest of Switzerland, with the [[Switzerland in the Napoleonic era|French invasion]] in 1798.