Werner Stauffacher was supposedly the name of the representative of the
canton of Schwyz
The canton of Schwyz (german: Kanton Schwyz rm, Chantun Sviz; french: Canton de Schwytz; it, Canton Svitto) is a canton in central Switzerland between the Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne to the west and Lake Zürich in the north, centred on ...
, one of the three founding
cantons
A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...
at the legendary
Rütlischwur of 1291, as told by
Aegidius Tschudi
Aegidius (or Giles or Glig) Tschudi (5 February 150528 February 1572) was a Swiss statesman and historian, an eminent member of the Tschudi family of Glarus, Switzerland. His best known work is the Chronicon Helveticum, a history of the early S ...
.
Many members of the Stauffacher family held the office of
Landammann
''Landammann'' (plural ''Landammänner''), is the German title used by the chief magistrate in certain Cantons of Switzerland and at times featured in the Head of state's style at the confederal level.
Old Swiss Confederacy
''Landammann'' or ''A ...
of Schwyz during the 13th and 14th century, most notably among them a certain Werner Stauffacher, leader of the
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
troops at the
Battle of Morgarten. According to legend, his wife was
Gertrud Stauffacher
The Stauffacherin (sometimes given the names Gertrud Stauffacher, Hedwig Stauffacher, or Hanna Stauffacher) is a Swiss legendary figure. According to Swiss folklore, she was the wife of Werner Stauffacher, the Landammann of the Canton of Schwyz and ...
.
In
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
, a tram stop (
Stauffacher), a street, a bridge and a quai are named for Stauffacher. In December 2003, the city renamed a square from "Stauffacherplatz" to
Ernst-Nobs-Platz, as it was confused with the tram stop. In other Swiss towns, there are "Stauffacherstrasse" (
Arbon,
Bätterkinden
Bätterkinden is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is about north of Bern.
History
Bätterkinden is first mentioned in 1261 as ''Beturchingen''.
During the High Middle Ages the ...
,
Berne,
Emmenbrücke,
Schaffhausen,
St. Gallen), "Via Stauffacher" (
Lugano
Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...
), "Im Stauffacher" (
Bennau) or a "Stauffacherweg" (
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
,
Solothurn,
Zuchwil).
13th-century Swiss people
William Tell
{{Switzerland-bio-stub