Rütli () or Grütli (; ) is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

meadow on

Lake Lucerne Lake Lucerne (, literally 'Lake of the four Waldstätte, forested settlements' (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), , ) is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country. Geography The lake has a compli ...

, in the Seelisberg municipality of the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

canton of

Uri Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), off Malakula Island in V ...

. It is the site of the Rütlischwur in traditional Swiss historiography, the

oath Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...

marking the foundation of the original

Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...

. As such it is treated as a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

of Switzerland. Since 1860, the ''Schweizerische Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft'' (SGG) has organized a celebration at the site on

Swiss National Day Swiss National Day (; ; ; ) is the national holiday of Switzerland, set on 1 August. Although the founding of the Swiss Confederacy was first celebrated on this date in 1891 and annually since 1899, it has only been an official holiday since ...

(August 1), since 1994 recognized as a public holiday. Rütli is only accessible by boat from Lake Lucerne or by foot from Seelisberg.

History

The Rütli became a site of symbolic importance for Swiss national identity in the early 18th century, with incipient National Romanticism. In the 1780s, there were (unsuccessful) proposals to erect a monument to Liberty at the site. Under the

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (; ; ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

, the Rütli became a site of pilgrimage for conservative dissidents. In 1804, the year after the dissolution of the Helvetic Republic,

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

published his ''Willam Tell'', which dramatized the Rütli oath. A patriotic ''Rütlilied'' was written by Johann Krauer and Franz Joseph Greith in 1820. In 1859, the Rütli meadow was bought by the ''Schweizerische Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft'' (SGG, "Swiss society for public utility, founded 1810) with the aim of preserving it as a site of national importance, among other reasons because there were plans to build a hotel at the site. The SGG turned ownership of the site over to the Confederacy under the condition of treating it as an unalienable national property and leaving its administration entrusted to the SGG. On July 25, 1940,

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Henri Guisan used the site for his speech, now remembered as the "Rütlirapport", to all commanding officers of the

Swiss Armed Forces The Swiss Armed Forces (; ; ; ; ) are the military and security force of Switzerland, consisting of land and air service branches. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are ...

in which he outlined the Reduit strategy and his aim never to surrender if invaded (see Switzerland during the World Wars): :"I decided to reunite you in this historic place, the symbolic ground of our independence, to explain the urgency of the situation, and to speak of you as a soldier to soldiers. We are at a turning point of our history. The survival of Switzerland is at stake." Since 1991, Rütli has also been the start of the Swiss Path hiking trail created to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Switzerland. The National Day celebrations at the Rütli were disrupted by

Neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

s in 2005. In reaction to this, access to the celebration was subject to pre-registration the following year. In apparent connection to this controversy, an individual caused a detonation at the 2007 celebration. The "attacker" was dubbed "Rütli-Bomber" in the popular press and spent a year in custody and while being investigated by

federal police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...

. It turned out that the "bomb" consisted of legal fireworks buried in the meadow at a depth of 20 cm. The case was closed without charges being filed in 2011.Nadja Ackermann
Rütli-Bomber
'' Année Politique Suisse'', October 11, 2011 (updated August 10, 2016).

Accessibility

In the old times the site was only accessible by boat. In 1869 a landing stage for steamers was built, and the next year the steamer 'Rütli' started its service. At the time, not all were satisfied with the development, a newspaper in Lucerne lamented the loss of the patriotic boat ride with a traditional Nauen from

Brunnen Brunnen is a resort on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, part of the municipality Ingenbohl (Canton of Schwyz), at . Brunnen railway station, on the Gotthard railway, is served by hourly InterRegio trains, and by lines S2 of the Stadtbahn Zug, wh ...

.Kreis, Georg; Wiget, Josef (2004),p.111 In 1880, a part of the rockface was removed at the shore of the lake to build a port and in 1884, the site was included in the timetable of the Navigation Company of Lake Lucerne which serviced the site once a day. The port was expanded in 1913 and the landing of private boats was initially prohibited as the view that access should only be possible through public transport should be possible was defended.Kreis, Georg; Wiget, Josef (2004),p.112 In 2000, the landing stage was enlarged to a capacity of three to four motorboats at the same time. Besides the access from the lake, Rütli is only accessible through a hiking trail from Seelisberg built in 1872/1873.

References

External links

Rütli Commission website
(English/French/German/Italian) * https://www.sgg-ssup.ch/en/ruetli-en.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Rutli Geography of Switzerland Geography of the canton of Uri Monuments and memorials in Switzerland Tourist attractions in the canton of Uri

History

Accessibility

See also

References

External links