Rütli


Rütli

(rüt`lē) or

Grütli

(grüt`lē), meadows, Uri canton, central Switzerland, on the shore of the Lake of Lucerne. Here, according to the legend of William TellTell, William,
legendary Swiss patriot. According to legend, Tell was a native of Uri, one of the Swiss forest cantons. Gessler, the canton's Austrian bailiff, decreed that Swiss citizens must remove their hats before his hat, which he had posted on a stake in the canton's
..... Click the link for more information. , representatives of UriUri
, canton (1993 pop. 35,500), 415 sq mi (1,075 sq km), central Switzerland, one of the Four Forest Cantons. Altdorf is the capital. The most sparsely populated of the Swiss cantons, Uri is an Alpine region of glaciers and pastures, with forests and meadows in the Reuss River
..... Click the link for more information. , SchwyzSchwyz
, canton (1993 pop. 116,100), 351 sq mi (909 sq km), central Switzerland, one of the Four Forest Cantons. Bordering on the Lake of Zürich in the north and the Lake of Lucerne in the southwest, Schwyz is a mountainous and forested region, with meadows supporting
..... Click the link for more information. , and UnterwaldenUnterwalden
, canton, central Switzerland, one of the Four Forest Cantons. A mountainous, forested, and chiefly pastoral region, Unterwalden is divided into the half cantons of Obwalden (1993 pop.
..... Click the link for more information.  met in 1307 to swear the Rütli Oath, on which Swiss freedom was founded. However, the discovery in the 19th cent. of a written alliance of the three cantons, dated Aug. 1, 1291, has detracted from the historic importance of the Rütli meeting. The meadows and a nearby chalet are national monuments.