Page 226 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Switzerland

12
Schwyz
! E3 @ £ n Zeughaus
strasse 10; www.schwyz-
tourismus.ch
This quiet town, capital of the
canton of the same name, lies
EXPERIENCE Central Switzerland and Ticino and culture. steep-sided mountains the Urnersee resembles
at the foot of the twin peaks
of the Mythen. It has immense
importance in Swiss history
The canton of Schwyz gave
Switzerland both its name and
its flag. Having sworn their
mutual allegiance in 1291, the
The calm waters of
joint forces of Schwyz, Uri and
a Norwegian fjord. On an
Unterwalden united to defeat
Urnersee, backed by
elevated promontory below
the Habsburgs at the Battle
of Morgarten (1315). There after
Seelisberg, on the west side
of the lake, is Rütli Meadow
they were known as Schwyzers,
and by the late 1400s, the
al liance between the cantons
1711 houses the Forum der
Swiss had adopted the
name Schwyzerland.
of Schwyz, Unterwalden and
Schweizer Geschichte, a
The Bundesbriefmuseum
museum of daily life.
Uri was sworn in 1291 (p57).
(Museum of the Swiss A former granary dating from (Bergwiese Rütli), where the
The village of Seedorf, at
Charters) in Schwyz preserves Bundesbriefmuseum the southern extremity of the
a num-ber of important " ⌂ Bahnhofstrasse 20 Urnersee, has a picturesque
historical documents. The # 10am–5pm Tue–Sun Gothic-Renaissance castle. It
most highly prized exhibit is ∑ bundesbrief.ch was built in 1556–60 and now
the Charter of Confederation, houses a small geological
written on parchment and Ital-Reding-Haus museum. Flüelen, nearby, is
stamped with the seals of the " ⌂ Rickenbachstrasse 14 the furthest port of call for
three Forest Cantons in 1291. # May–Oct: 2–5pm Tue–Fri, any boats that sail across
Schwyz’s Old Town contains 10am–4pm Sat & Sun the lake from Lucerne.
many 17th- and 18th-century ∑ irh.ch
buildings. Hauptplatz, the
central square, is dominated Forum der Schweizer
by the Baroque Pfarrkirche St Geschichte
Martin and the Rathaus, the ⌂ Zeughausstrasse 5
17th-century town hall whose § 058 466 80 11 # 10am–
façade features a depiction of 5pm Tue–Sun
the Battle of Morgarten paint-
ed in 1891. The Ital-Reding-
Haus, a mansion built in 1609, 13
contains a suite of rooms with
17th- and 18th-century Urnersee
furnishings and decoration. ! E4 @ £ n Brunnen,
Nearby is Haus Bethlehem, a Bahnhofstrasse 15; www.
wooden house built in 1287.
brunnentourismus.ch
The stunningly beautiful
Urnersee forms the south-
eastern arm of Lake Lucerne.
Did You Know? Surrounded on all sides by
high, steep-sided mountains,
Oscar-winning
filmmaker Xavier
Koller was born
in Schwyz. Rathausplatz in the
centre of Altdorf, in which
stands the Telldenkmal
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