Switzerland In Focus - Discover Switzerland: Experience the Best of Switzerland - page 565

Confoederatio Helvetica: Modern
Switzerland
Rudolph died in 1291, prompting local leaders to make an immediate grab for independ-
ence. On 1 August that year, the forest communities of Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden - so
the tale goes - gathered on Rütli Meadow in the Schwyz canton in central Switzerland to
sign an alliance vowing not to recognise any external judge or law. Historians believe this
to be a slightly distorted version of events but, whatever the scenario, a pact does exist,
preserved in the town of Schwyz. Displayed at the Bundesbriefmuseum in Schwyz, the
pact is seen as the founding act of the Swiss Confederation whose Latin name, Confoeder-
atio Helvetica, survives in the 'CH' abbreviation for Switzerland (used, for example, on
car number plates and in internet addresses).
William Tell: Man or Myth?
Regardless of whether or not the patriotic William Tell existed or was responsible for even half the deeds attributed
to him, the 14th-century crossbow maker from the Uri canton is a key figure in the Swiss identity. A national le-
gend, the man who helped drive out Switzerland's foreign rulers by shooting an apple off his son's head has per-
fectly embodied the country's rather singular approach to independence throughout the ages.
In 1315, Duke Leopold I of Austria dispatched a powerful army to quash the growing
Swiss nationalism. Instead, however, the Swiss inflicted an epic defeat on his troops at
Morgarten, which prompted other communities to join the Swiss union. The next 200
years of Swiss history was a time of successive military wins, land grabs and new mem-
berships. The following cantons came on board: Lucerne (1332), Zürich (1351), Glarus
and Zug (1352), Bern (1353), Fribourg and Solothurn (1481), Basel and Schaffhausen
(1501), and Appenzell (1513). In the middle of all this, the Swiss Confederation gained
independence from Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I after a victory at Dornach in
1499.