The ‘forest cantons’ (Waldstätten ) with communal assembly and virtual guide
Switzerland in the Making
A view of central Switzerland – Feuding | Communes | Alliances
On the ground floor the visitor almost stumbles over the body of a dead cow killed wilfully. Around the year 1300, conditions in central Switzerland were a bit like the ‘Old Wild West’. Robbery, murder, and devastation were common methods for dealing with troublesome opponents. What lay behind the widespread practice of feuding, and how did the communities come to grips with these unbearable conditions. On a stroll through an artificial forest the visitors learn more about the communal associations the people inhabiting the valleys around the Lake of Lucerne established, the significance of the treaties they entered into with the growing towns, and the role that the early rural assemblies played.
Finally, the exhibition deals with William Tell, Arnold von Winkelried, and the Rütli legend. How and when the myth of the legendary foundation of Switzerland emerged is shown with the aid of images and literary sources in the last section.
print page
send article
to the top