The history of this canton is dominated by religion. The people who lived in the Linth Valley were converted to Christianity in the 6th century by the Irish monk Saint Fridolin. He is still in the coat of arms of the canton today. He started Säckingen Abbey near Basel. The area around Glarus was owned by the abbey starting in the 9th century. By 1288, the Habsburgs slowly took over all the abbey's rights. Then the people of Glarus joined the Swiss Confederation in 1352.