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143-452: Lake Lucerne ( German : Vierwaldstättersee , literally 'Lake of the four forested settlements ' (in English usually translated as forest cantons ), French : lac des Quatre-Cantons , Italian : lago dei Quattro Cantoni ) is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country. The lake has a complicated shape, with several sharp bends and four arms. It starts in

286-437: A Bronze Age village with artifacts dating to around 1000 BC. Later, the new findings indicated that the area was settled 2,000 years earlier than historians previously thought. Lake Lucerne borders on the three original Swiss cantons of Uri , Schwyz , and Unterwalden (which today is divided into the cantons of Obwalden and Nidwalden ), as well as the canton of Lucerne , thus the name Vierwaldstättersee (lit.: Lake of

429-465: A de facto official language of Namibia after the end of German colonial rule alongside English and Afrikaans , and had de jure co-official status from 1984 until its independence from South Africa in 1990. However, the Namibian government perceived Afrikaans and German as symbols of apartheid and colonialism, and decided English would be the sole official language upon independence, stating that it

572-402: A second language , and 75–100   million as a foreign language . This would imply the existence of approximately 175–220   million German speakers worldwide. German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon estimated a number of 289 million German foreign language speakers without clarifying the criteria by which he classified a speaker. As of 2012 , about 90   million people, or 16% of

715-612: A "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it. Cameroon was also a colony of the German Empire from the same period (1884 to 1916). However, German was replaced by French and English, the languages of the two successor colonial powers, after its loss in World War I . Nevertheless, since the 21st century, German has become

858-499: A boathouse and buoy field on Churchill-Quai in Lucerne. The Brunnen water sports club (Wassersportclub Brunnen), founded in 1958, held on Lake Lucerne in the first years of its existence international motorboat races and water ski championships. In 1965 the association chose a new name for the club: Lake Lucerne Water Sports Club (Wassersport-Club Vierwaldstättersee). The Central Switzerland Motorboat Club (Motorbootclub Zentralschweiz)

1001-593: A dumping ground for old munitions, with an estimated 3,300 tonnes of munitions currently submerged in the lake. The Swiss Defence Department has offered a prize of 50,000 francs (£45,000) for the best proposal to safely remove the munitions. German language German (German: Deutsch , pronounced [dɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family , mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe . It

1144-705: A fire destroyed the main building in 270. Around 700, the Alamanni began to migrate into Obwalden. They initially settled around the lakes while the Gallo-Romans lived up on the plateau. The Alamanni influence is noticeable around Lake Sarnen and the Kerns plateau where many place name end in -ingen, -wil and -hofen. The Gallo-Romans remained around Mt. Pilatus , the Giswilerstock and in the Melch valley. During

1287-559: A greater need for regularity in written conventions. While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. diphthongization of certain vowel sounds: hus (OHG & MHG "house") → haus (regionally in later MHG)→ Haus (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to schwa [ə]: taga (OHG "days")→ tage (MHG)). A great wealth of texts survives from

1430-680: A joint assembly with Nidwalden up to around 1330. During the 14th century, Obwalden participated in several other wars with the Swiss Confederation, including the Battle of Sempach in 1386 and the Gugler war in 1375. It peacefully acquired Alpnach in 1368 and Hergiswil in 1378. In 1403 Obwalden joined Uri to invade the Leventina area (today located in the canton of Ticino ) to establish new markets for cheese and cattle. They conquered

1573-562: A majority in 2011. In the Cantonal Council election , on 7 March 2010, the centre maintained its dominance of the Cantonal Council. The Christian Democrats lost three seats, but remained the largest party with 20. The Swiss People's Party gained five seats to become the second largest party, while the FDP.The Liberals retained 10 seats but dropped to the third largest. The Social Democratic Party remained steady with 6 seats and

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1716-694: A message be passed on to the members of the Tagsatzung on his behalf. The details of the message have remained unknown to this day, however, it did calm the tempers and led to the drawing up of the Stanser Verkommnis . As part of the Verkommnis Fribourg and Solothurn were admitted into the confederation. The Landsgemeinde of Obwalden stood firmly against the Protestant Reformation . When attempts to resolve

1859-458: A native tongue today, mostly descendants of German colonial settlers . The period of German colonialism in Namibia also led to the evolution of a Standard German-based pidgin language called " Namibian Black German ", which became a second language for parts of the indigenous population. Although it is nearly extinct today, some older Namibians still have some knowledge of it. German remained

2002-696: A popular foreign language among pupils and students, with 300,000 people learning or speaking German in Cameroon in 2010 and over 230,000 in 2020. Today Cameroon is one of the African countries outside Namibia with the highest number of people learning German. In the United States, German is the fifth most spoken language in terms of native and second language speakers after English, Spanish , French , and Chinese (with figures for Cantonese and Mandarin combined), with over 1 million total speakers. In

2145-483: A result, the surviving texts are written in highly disparate regional dialects and exhibit significant Latin influence, particularly in vocabulary. At this point monasteries, where most written works were produced, were dominated by Latin, and German saw only occasional use in official and ecclesiastical writing. While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the Middle High German (MHG) period, it

2288-541: A settlement along the shores of Lake Sarnen during the same period. Between 1500 and 1100 BC there were several other settlements, including houses in the Rengg Pass and high alpine herding camps above the pass. Many of the place names in the canton have Celtic or Gallo-Roman roots. In 1914-15 a Roman estate was unearthed in Alpnach. The estate was built in the late 1st century AD and remained in operation until

2431-522: Is agriculture . Agriculture in Obwalden is specialized in integrated dairy and meat farming. The farms are still family-run. In 2007 Obwalden replaced the former regressive income tax (lower tax rates for higher incomes) with a flat 1.8% income tax, which is the lowest in the country. This cantonal tax is in addition to federal and local taxes. As of  2010 , Obwalden had an unemployment rate of 1.5%. As of 2008 , there were 1,871 people employed in

2574-601: Is a recognized minority language in the following countries: In France, the High German varieties of Alsatian and Moselle Franconian are identified as " regional languages ", but the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1998 has not yet been ratified by the government. Namibia also was a colony of the German Empire, from 1884 to 1915. About 30,000 people still speak German as

2717-612: Is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects , with many varieties existing in Europe and other parts of the world. Some of these non-standard varieties have become recognized and protected by regional or national governments. Since 2004, heads of state of the German-speaking countries have met every year, and the Council for German Orthography has been the main international body regulating German orthography . German

2860-558: Is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages . The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches: North Germanic , East Germanic , and West Germanic . The first of these branches survives in modern Danish , Swedish , Norwegian , Faroese , and Icelandic , all of which are descended from Old Norse . The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and Gothic

3003-478: Is called the "German Sprachraum ". German is the official language of the following countries: German is a co-official language of the following countries: Although expulsions and (forced) assimilation after the two World wars greatly diminished them, minority communities of mostly bilingual German native speakers exist in areas both adjacent to and detached from the Sprachraum. Within Europe, German

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3146-430: Is complicated by the existence of several varieties whose status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including quantitatively strong varieties like certain forms of Alemannic and Low German . With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90–95 million people speak German as a first language , 10–25   million speak it as

3289-463: Is from west to east, the one lying north, the other south of the ridge of the Bürgenstock . These are connected through a narrow strait, scarcely one kilometre wide, between the two rocky promontories called respectively Unter Nas and Ober Nas (Lower and Upper Nose). It is not unlikely that the southern of these two divisions of the lake—called Buochser Bucht —formerly extended to the west over

3432-535: Is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 Black Death decimated Europe's population. Modern High German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which Wilhelm Scherer dates 1350–1650, terminating with the end of the Thirty Years' War . This period saw the further displacement of Latin by German as the primary language of courtly proceedings and, increasingly, of literature in

3575-611: Is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350. This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the Elbe and Saale rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into Slavic territory (known as

3718-565: Is less closely related to languages based on Low Franconian dialects (e.g., Dutch and Afrikaans), Low German or Low Saxon dialects (spoken in northern Germany and southern Denmark ), neither of which underwent the High German consonant shift. As has been noted, the former of these dialect types is Istvaeonic and the latter Ingvaeonic, whereas the High German dialects are all Irminonic; the differences between these languages and standard German are therefore considerable. Also related to German are

3861-435: Is one of the major languages of the world . German is the second-most widely spoken Germanic language , after English, both as a first and as a second language . German is also widely taught as a foreign language , especially in continental Europe (where it is the third most taught foreign language after English and French), and in the United States. Overall, German is the fourth most commonly learned second language, and

4004-597: Is one of the three biggest newspapers in Namibia and the only German-language daily in Africa. An estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa, mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the largest communities consists of the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German concentrated in and around Wartburg . The South African constitution identifies German as

4147-401: Is partly derived from Latin and Greek , along with fewer words borrowed from French and Modern English . English, however, is the main source of more recent loanwords . German is a pluricentric language ; the three standardized variants are German , Austrian , and Swiss Standard German . Standard German is sometimes called High German , which refers to its regional origin. German

4290-474: Is rather chilly all year round and therefore mostly very clear. In Lake Uri, at Sisikon, one can dive to a fragmented steep vertical wall, at the northern portal of the Schieferneggtunnel. The Lediwrack Bruno lies in front of Brunnen at a depth of 15 meters. Other well-known diving spots are in front of Vitznau, Weggis, Gersau and Hergiswil. The Swiss Armed Forces historically used Lake Lucerne as

4433-584: Is subdivided into Sarnen-Dorfschaft , Kägiswil , Schwendi/Wilen and Ramersberg . The autonomy of the municipalities in Obwalden is significant. Two thirds of the tax revenue flows to the municipalities, which for example pay for education without grants from the canton. Small and middle-sized businesses dominate the economy of Obwalden. Many of them are specialists in areas such as miniature engines, synthetics, medical equipment, or nanotechnology. Traditional industries are still of great importance. Particularly forestry and related businesses are significant, as

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4576-525: Is the Sachsenspiegel , the first book of laws written in Middle Low German ( c.  1220 ). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardized written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms. The Middle High German period

4719-776: Is the most spoken native language within the European Union . It is the most widely spoken and official (or co-official) language in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Liechtenstein , and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol . It is also an official language of Luxembourg , Belgium and the Italian autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia , as well as a recognized national language in Namibia . There are also notable German-speaking communities in France ( Alsace ),

4862-578: Is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as English, German, Dutch , Yiddish , Afrikaans , and others. Within the West Germanic language dialect continuum, the Benrath and Uerdingen lines (running through Düsseldorf - Benrath and Krefeld - Uerdingen , respectively) serve to distinguish

5005-485: Is understood in all areas where German is spoken. Approximate distribution of native German speakers (assuming a rounded total of 95 million) worldwide: As a result of the German diaspora , as well as the popularity of German taught as a foreign language , the geographical distribution of German speakers (or "Germanophones") spans all inhabited continents. However, an exact, global number of native German speakers

5148-689: The Ostsiedlung ). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature. A clear example of this is the mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache employed in the Hohenstaufen court in Swabia as a standardized supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to

5291-583: The Act of Mediation of 1803 dissolved Waldstätten and in the 15th section specifically divided Unterwalden into the half-cantons "ob dem Wald" and "nid dem Wald". The leading "Helvetiker" or supporters of the Republic lost the favor of their fellow citizens. However, a large portion of the councilors before 1798 were also civil servants under the Republic and were re-elected by the Landsgemeinde in 1803. While

5434-584: The Alamanni , Bavarian, and Thuringian groups, all belonging to the Elbe Germanic group ( Irminones ), which had settled in what is now southern-central Germany and Austria between the second and sixth centuries, during the great migration. In general, the surviving texts of Old High German (OHG) show a wide range of dialectal diversity with very little written uniformity. The early written tradition of OHG survived mostly through monasteries and scriptoria as local translations of Latin originals; as

5577-766: The Brünig Pass . After the decisive Confederation victory over the Habsburgs, Unterwalden renewed the Eternal Alliance in the Pact of Brunnen . During the 14th century, the communities in Obwalden grew increasingly powerful at the expense of the nobility. The formerly powerful Kellner of Sarnen family retired from politics after 1307. The White Book of Sarnen mentions the conquest of the Lower Castle in Sarnen,

5720-602: The Christian Social Party of Obwalden lost two seats to have 8. The evolving party membership in the Kantonsrat is shown in the following chart (for selected dates): Obwalden has a population (as of December 2020 ) of 38,108. As of 2010 , 12.9% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 8.7%. Migration accounted for 5.7%, while births and deaths accounted for 2.5%. Most of

5863-568: The Czech Republic ( North Bohemia ), Poland ( Upper Silesia ), Slovakia ( Košice Region , Spiš , and Hauerland ), Denmark ( North Schleswig ), Romania and Hungary ( Sopron ). Overseas, sizeable communities of German-speakers are found in Brazil ( Blumenau and Pomerode ), South Africa ( Kroondal ), Namibia , among others, some communities have decidedly Austrian German or Swiss German characters (e.g. Pozuzo , Peru). German

Lake Lucerne - Misplaced Pages Continue

6006-462: The Dammastock at 3,630 metres above sea level. The name of Vierwaldstättersee is first used in the 16th century. Before the 16th century, the entire lake was known as Luzerner See "Lake Lucerne", as remains the English (and partly Italian, as Lago di Lucerna ) usage. The (three) " Waldstätte(n) " (lit.: "forested sites/settlements", in English usually translated as forest cantons ) since

6149-537: The Early Middle Ages . German is an inflected language , with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, plural). It has strong and weak verbs . The majority of its vocabulary derives from the ancient Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, while a smaller share

6292-417: The European Union 's population, spoke German as their mother tongue, making it the second most widely spoken language on the continent after Russian and the second biggest language in terms of overall speakers (after English), as well as the most spoken native language. The area in central Europe where the majority of the population speaks German as a first language and has German as a (co-)official language

6435-703: The Fronalpstock and the Rophaien (2078 m). Between them the steep glen or ravine of the Riemenstaldener Tal descends to Sisikon , the only village with Flüelen right on the shore on that side of the Urnersee. On the opposite or western shore, the mountains attain still greater dimensions. The Niederbauen Chulm is succeeded by the Oberbauenstock , and farther south, above the ridge of

6578-522: The German states . While these states were still part of the Holy Roman Empire , and far from any form of unification, the desire for a cohesive written language that would be understandable across the many German-speaking principalities and kingdoms was stronger than ever. As a spoken language German remained highly fractured throughout this period, with a vast number of often mutually incomprehensible regional dialects being spoken throughout

6721-746: The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I , and the other being Meißner Deutsch , used in the Electorate of Saxony in the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg . Alongside these courtly written standards, the invention of the printing press led to the development of a number of printers' languages ( Druckersprachen ) aimed at making printed material readable and understandable across as many diverse dialects of German as possible. The greater ease of production and increased availability of written texts brought about increased standardisation in

6864-666: The Old High German language in several Elder Futhark inscriptions from as early as the sixth century AD (such as the Pforzen buckle ), the Old High German period is generally seen as beginning with the Abrogans (written c.  765–775 ), a Latin-German glossary supplying over 3,000 Old High German words with their Latin equivalents. After the Abrogans , the first coherent works written in Old High German appear in

7007-431: The Pact of Brunnen of 1315 with Uri and Schwyz. The division of Unterwalden into two separate territories, Nidwalden and Obwalden, appears to develop over the course of the 14th and 15th centuries. Obwalden is one of the two valleys, along with Nidwalden, that make up Unterwalden. Throughout its history, the political situation and the extent of its independence have varied widely. Between 1291 and 1309, Unterwalden joined

7150-777: The Sonderbund War . Though Obwalden participated in the War, the Sonderbund council surrendered before the Federal army reached the Canton. After the Sonderbund War, the old government was replaced with a liberal government. In response to the wide-ranging powers that Landammann Spichtig had held, the new government eliminated some levels of government and replaced lifetime appointments to Landammann with term limits. Spichtig

7293-427: The Sprachraum in Europe. German is used in a wide variety of spheres throughout the country, especially in business, tourism, and public signage, as well as in education, churches (most notably the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK) ), other cultural spheres such as music, and media (such as German language radio programs by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation ). The Allgemeine Zeitung

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7436-422: The Standard German language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition. Punctuation and compound spelling (joined or isolated compounds) were not standardized in the process. The Deutsche Bühnensprache ( lit.   ' German stage language ' ) by Theodor Siebs had established conventions for German pronunciation in theatres , three years earlier; however, this

7579-408: The Unter Nas (lower nose) of the Bürgenstock to the west and the Ober Nas (upper nose) of the Rigi to the east to reach the Vitznauer Bucht . In front of Vitznau below the Rigi the lake turns sharply west again to reach the center of a four-arm cross, called the Chrütztrichter (Cross Funnel). Here converge the Vitznauer Bucht with the Küssnachtersee from the north, the Luzernersee from

7722-400: The Upper German dialects spoken in the southern German-speaking countries , such as Swiss German ( Alemannic dialects ) and the various Germanic dialects spoken in the French region of Grand Est , such as Alsatian (mainly Alemannic, but also Central–and   Upper Franconian dialects) and Lorraine Franconian (Central Franconian). After these High German dialects, standard German

7865-418: The Uri Alps and the Glarus Alps . The Urnersee occupies the northernmost and deep portion of the great cleft of the Reuss Valley, which has cut through the Alpine ranges from the St Gotthard Pass to the neighbourhood of Schwyz . From its eastern shore the mountains rise in almost bare walls of rock to a height of from 3,000 to 4,000 ft (910 to 1,220 m) above the water. The two highest summits are

8008-438: The Val d' Ossola in 1410. In 1419 the Confederation bought Bellinzona . Milan attacked the city three years later in 1422 after an offer to buy Bellinzona was rejected by the Swiss Confederation. The troops from Uri and Obwalden were quickly driven from the city and later defeated at the Battle of Arbedo on 30 June 1422. This defeat drove the Confederates out of Bellinzona and the Val d' Ossola and Leventina. An attempt to pull

8151-408: The pagan Germanic tradition. Of particular interest to scholars, however, has been the Hildebrandslied , a secular epic poem telling the tale of an estranged father and son unknowingly meeting each other in battle. Linguistically, this text is highly interesting due to the mixed use of Old Saxon and Old High German dialects in its composition. The written works of this period stem mainly from

8294-498: The primary economic sector and about 750 businesses involved in this sector. 6,499 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 452 businesses in this sector. 10,037 people were employed in the tertiary sector , with 1,380 businesses in this sector. In 2008 the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 15,215. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 1,157, of which 1,052 were in agriculture and 105 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in

8437-486: The 14th century were the confederate allies of Uri , Schwyz and Unterwalden . The notion of "Four Waldstätten" ( Vier Waldstätten ), with the addition of the canton of Lucerne , is first recorded in the 1450s, in an addition to the "Silver Book" of Egloff Etterlin of Lucerne. The nine different parts of the lake have individual designations: The lake is navigable, and has formed an important part of Switzerland's transport system for many centuries, and at least since

8580-467: The 4th millennium BC have been found in the Canton. An ax and two bone blades were found in Giswil and a hammer-ax was found in Wilen. It appears that the valleys in Obwalden were at least temporarily inhabited during this time, but no evidence of agriculture or permanent settlements have been found. An Early Bronze Age grave in Foribach in Kerns implies that there was a settlement in the surrounding area between 2000 BC and 1700 BC. There may have also been

8723-413: The 8th or 9th century. The churches in Kerns, Sachseln, and Giswil all became parish churches by the 12th century and a church was mentioned in Lungern in 1275. During the 14th century, Engelberg Abbey began to acquire rights over the parishes in Obwalden. By 1415 the Abbey had de facto control over the appointment of parish priests in the entire valley. In 1460, this became de jure authority over all

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8866-409: The 8th to 11th centuries, the two populations intermarried and eventually all became Germanized. By the 9th century it was part of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy . It became part of the Holy Roman Empire following the winter military campaign of 1032-33 by Emperor Conrad II . Obwalden was given to the Counts of Lenzburg from Aargau. The counts built a castle on Landenberg hill to help them control

9009-400: The Alps. Lake Lucerne has twice been used as a venue for the European Rowing Championships : in 1908 and then in 1926 . The nearby Rotsee has since 1933 been used for rowing regattas instead. On the way south, the English discovered the mountains of central Switzerland. Several spa and bathing resorts such as Weggis or Gersau were created. In 1871, the very first rack railway in Europe,

9152-596: The Bürgenstock, the Stanserhorn , the Buochserhorn, and the two legends, the Urirotstock and the Fronalpstock are attractive panoramic mountains near Lake Lucerne. Most of them can be reached by mountain railways, some of which have their valley station near boat stations on the lake. There are numerous locations on the lake that are important in Swiss cultural and tourism history: Rütli, Tellsplatte, Tell Chapel, Carving Tower of Stansstad, Neu-Habsburg, Schillerstein, Treib, Astrid Chapel (Küssnacht) and Meggenhorn Castle. Different sports are possible in some separate areas due to

9295-614: The Empire. Its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Prague (German: Prag ) and Budapest ( Buda , German: Ofen ), to name two examples, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain; others, like Pressburg ( Pozsony , now Bratislava), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, and cities like Zagreb (German: Agram ) or Ljubljana (German: Laibach ), contained significant German minorities. In

9438-425: The Entlebuch region away from Lucerne ended with the Obwalden supported Entlebuch leader Peter Amstalden arrested, tried and executed in 1478. In 1500, Nidwalden, Schwyz, and Uri conquered Ticino again and ruled until 1798. While Obwalden participated in the conquests of Aargau (1415), Thurgau (1460), and Locarno, (1512), and in the temporary occupation of the Val d' Ossola (1410–14, 1416–22, 1425–26, 1512–15) it

9581-419: The Four Forested Settlements). Many of the oldest communities of Switzerland are along the shore, including Küssnacht , Weggis , Vitznau , Gersau , Brunnen , Altdorf , Buochs , and Treib . Lake Lucerne is singularly irregular and appears to lie in four different valleys, all related to the conformation of the adjoining mountains. The central portion of the lake lies in two parallel valleys whose direction

9724-414: The Frisian languages— North Frisian (spoken in Nordfriesland ), Saterland Frisian (spoken in Saterland ), and West Frisian (spoken in Friesland )—as well as the Anglic languages of English and Scots. These Anglo-Frisian dialects did not take part in the High German consonant shift, and the Anglic languages also adopted much vocabulary from both Old Norse and the Norman language . The history of

9867-417: The German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the Migration Period , which separated Old High German dialects from Old Saxon . This sound shift involved a drastic change in the pronunciation of both voiced and voiceless stop consonants ( b , d , g , and p , t , k , respectively). The primary effects of the shift were the following below. While there is written evidence of

10010-399: The German states; the invention of the printing press c.  1440 and the publication of Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible in 1534, however, had an immense effect on standardizing German as a supra-dialectal written language. The ENHG period saw the rise of several important cross-regional forms of chancery German, one being gemeine tiutsch , used in the court of

10153-623: The Germanic dialects that were affected by the High German consonant shift (south of Benrath) from those that were not (north of Uerdingen). The various regional dialects spoken south of these lines are grouped as High German dialects, while those spoken to the north comprise the Low German and Low Franconian dialects. As members of the West Germanic language family, High German, Low German, and Low Franconian have been proposed to be further distinguished historically as Irminonic , Ingvaeonic , and Istvaeonic , respectively. This classification indicates their historical descent from dialects spoken by

10296-409: The Habsburgs had to grant their landlord rights in Obwalden to several of their vassals , all minor nobles. During the 13th century, Obwalden was home to a unified local political organization with enough autonomy to act against the best interests of their nominal rulers. The nobility in the canton were all minor nobles with limited power. This changed on 16 April 1291 when Rudolph I of Habsburg bought

10439-539: The Habsburgs would annex their countries as Habsburg property. War broke out over a dispute between the Confederates of Schwyz and the Habsburg-protected monastery of Einsiedeln regarding some pastures, and eventually, the Confederates of Schwyz conducted a raid on the monastery. In support of their allies, Unterwalden joined the Confederates in the Battle of Morgarten and drove back an invasion of

10582-655: The Irminones (also known as the Elbe group), Ingvaeones (or North Sea Germanic group), and Istvaeones (or Weser–Rhine group). Standard German is based on a combination of Thuringian - Upper Saxon and Upper Franconian dialects, which are Central German and Upper German dialects belonging to the High German dialect group. German is therefore closely related to the other languages based on High German dialects, such as Luxembourgish (based on Central Franconian dialects ) and Yiddish . Also closely related to Standard German are

10725-723: The Lords of Hunwil lived in Hunwil Castle while the Meier of Giswil, a Ministerialis (unfree knights in the service of a feudal overlord) family, lived in Rosenberg Castle. In Lungern, the Lords of Vittringen had a castle. The political community of Sarnen (de Sarnon locorum homines) were first mentioned in a Papal bull in 1247, when they and the citizens of Schwyz were excommunicated for supporting Frederick II against their ruler, Rudolf of Habsburg-Laufenburg. In 1257,

10868-518: The MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the Nibelungenlied , an epic poem telling the story of the dragon -slayer Siegfried ( c.  thirteenth century ), and the Iwein , an Arthurian verse poem by Hartmann von Aue ( c.  1203 ), lyric poems , and courtly romances such as Parzival and Tristan . Also noteworthy

11011-541: The Reuss in Lucerne from its arm called Luzernersee (which literally translates as Lake of Lucerne ). The entire lake has a total area of 114 km (44 sq mi) at an elevation of 434 m (1,424 ft) a.s.l., and a maximum depth of 214 m (702 ft). Its volume is 11.8 km. Much of the shoreline rises steeply into mountains up to 1,500 m above the lake, resulting in many picturesque views including those of

11154-790: The Rigi via Arth-Goldau . Since 1980, the A2 motorway leads through the Seelisberg Tunnel in order to reach the route to the Gotthard Pass in just half an hour in Altdorf, Uri right south of the beginning of the lake in Flüelen. Steamers and other passenger boats ply between the different villages and towns on the lake. It is a popular tourist destination, both for native Swiss and foreigners, and there are many hotels and resorts along

11297-687: The Scharti, appear the snowy peaks of the Gitschen and the Uri Rotstock (2,928 m). In the centre opens the Reuss Valley, backed by the rugged summits of the Urner and Glarner Alps . The breadth of these various sections of the lake is very variable, but is usually between one and two miles (3 km). The lake's surface, whose mean height above the sea is 434 metres, is the lowest point of

11440-527: The Unterwalden (containing both Obwalden and Nidwalden) from Murbach Abbey . This made him the chief landowner, the count, and the emperor over the valley. Fearing a loss of their freedoms, on the 1 August 1291 Nidwalden (Obwalden is not named in the text of the document, though it is named on the seal appended to it) formed the Eternal Alliance with Uri and Schwyz. This alliance is considered

11583-592: The Vitznau-Rigi Railway, was opened. In 1889 the steepest cog railway in the world was built from Alpnachstad to Mount Pilatus . Mark Twain described an ascent to the Rigi, which led to the blossoming of Swiss tourism in the United States in the 19th century. One of the largest steamship fleets in Europe operates with five steamships on Lake Lucerne. In the area surrounding the lake and on terraces at medium height (for example Morschach and Seelisberg) there are numerous places for tourists. The Rigi, Pilatus,

11726-484: The beginning of the Swiss Confederation and modern Switzerland. Initially, the Eternal Alliance was a mutual defense pact between the three cantons, each of which was independently ruled. In 1304 the two valleys of Obwalden and Nidwalden were joined together under the same local deputy of the count. In 1309 Emperor Henry VII confirmed to Unterwalden all the liberties granted by his predecessor, though

11869-483: The canton is wooded. 185.8 km (71.7 sq mi), or about 37.9% is used in agriculture. Of the rest of the area, 15.8 km (6.1 sq mi) or 3.2% is developed (structures and roads) and 91.6 km (35.4 sq mi) or 18.7% is classed as unproductive (rivers, mountains or glaciers). Within the Swiss Confederation Obwalden is a half canton. This gives Obwalden all

12012-505: The canton, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 3,835 households that consist of only one person and 1,349 households with five or more people. As of 2009 , the construction rate of new housing units was 8.8 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the canton, in 2010 , was 0.8%. The historic population is given in the following chart: There are seven municipalities: Sarnen , Kerns , Sachseln , Alpnach , Giswil , Lungern and Engelberg . The capital Sarnen

12155-463: The cantons of Uri, Obwalden and Nidwalden. Originally the lake was susceptible to variations in level and flooding along its shoreline. Between 1859 and 1860, the introduction of a needle dam in the Reuss in the city of Lucerne, just upstream from the Spreuerbrücke , allowed the lake level to be stabilised. The culminating point of the lake's drainage basin, as well as Central Switzerland, is

12298-586: The century, their political power grew as they acquired more land and grew wealthy. The organization eventually became an alternative political structure and following conflicts between the organization and the Hunwil nobles, in 1382 the Landsgemeinde excluded the Hunwils from holding political or court offices. During the 13th and 14th century Obwalden established its own local governance, despite having had

12441-701: The conflicts between the Protestant and Catholic cantons in the Tagsatzung and during the disputation of Baden (1526) were unsuccessful, Obwalden adopted an aggressively pro-Catholic stance. In 1528, they sent troops over the Brünig Pass to try to force the Bernese Oberhasli region to hold the old faith. The Obwalden invasion and the Bernese response, which drove them out of Bern, were part of

12584-535: The development of non-local forms of language and exposed all speakers to forms of German from outside their own area. With Luther's rendering of the Bible in the vernacular, German asserted itself against the dominance of Latin as a legitimate language for courtly, literary, and now ecclesiastical subject-matter. His Bible was ubiquitous in the German states: nearly every household possessed a copy. Nevertheless, even with

12727-456: The dialect so as to make the work as natural and accessible to German speakers as possible. Copies of Luther's Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region, translating words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Luther said the following concerning his translation method: One who would talk German does not ask the Latin how he shall do it; he must ask the mother in

12870-691: The direct line of a valley that stretches with scarcely a break in between the Uri Alps and the Emmental Alps . At the eastern end of the Gersauer Becken, where the containing walls of the lake-valley are directed from east to west, it is joined at an acute angle by the arm of Uri, or the Urnersee , lying in the northern prolongation of the deep cleft that gives a passage to the Reuss , between

13013-519: The eastern provinces of Banat , Bukovina , and Transylvania (German: Banat, Buchenland, Siebenbürgen ), German was the predominant language not only in the larger towns—like Temeschburg ( Timișoara ), Hermannstadt ( Sibiu ), and Kronstadt ( Brașov )—but also in many smaller localities in the surrounding areas. In 1901, the Second Orthographic Conference ended with a (nearly) complete standardization of

13156-533: The exact terms are unknown. The Emperor also granted the valleys imperial immediacy which placed Unterwalden on an equal political footing with Uri and Schwyz. In 1314, Duke Louis IV of Bavaria (who would become Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor ) and Frederick the Handsome , a Habsburg prince, each claimed the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor . The Confederates supported Louis IV because they feared

13299-743: The general unrest leading to the First War of Kappel in 1529. While the First War of Kappel ended in a peace treaty without loss of life, two years later the Second War of Kappel ended in the death of reformer Huldrych Zwingli and a victory for the Catholic side. However, since about half of the Confederation remained Protestant, the Catholic cantons began to make alliances with neighboring Catholic leaders including France and Spain. Most of

13442-439: The gravel dredging industry that operates on the lake, using large dredgers to obtain sand and gravel for use in the construction industry . Beethoven 's Moonlight Sonata derives its name from an 1832 description of the first movement by poet and music critic Ludwig Rellstab , who compared it to moonlight shining upon Lake Lucerne. Gioacchino Rossini uses this in his William Tell Overture Section A: Sunrise over

13585-498: The half-canton designation and made Obwalden a full canton, though they still shared representation in the Council of States and only had half a vote. Due to the complex history of Obwalden there will be some overlap between the histories of Obwalden, Nidwalden, and Unterwalden. The earliest archaeological traces in Obwalden is a stone knife from the 8th millennium BC, which was found in Brand by Lungern. Two Horgen culture sites from

13728-474: The home of the family, which may explain why they left politics. The Strättligen and Ringgenberg families married into the Lords of Hunwil and used the power of the dynastic marriages to reduce Habsburg power to a vague suzerainty in the 1330s and 40s, though the Habsburg still owned some land in Obwalden. During the early 14th century, an organization of livestock farmers developed in the Hunwil lands. Throughout

13871-435: The home, the children on the streets, the common man in the market-place and note carefully how they talk, then translate accordingly. They will then understand what is said to them because it is German. When Christ says ' ex abundantia cordis os loquitur ,' I would translate, if I followed the papists, aus dem Überflusz des Herzens redet der Mund . But tell me is this talking German? What German understands such stuff? No,

14014-481: The influence of Luther's Bible as an unofficial written standard, a widely accepted standard for written German did not appear until the middle of the eighteenth century. German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire , which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe . Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of

14157-480: The information industry, 347 or 4.3% were the insurance or financial industry, 708 or 8.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 528 or 6.6% were in education and 1,213 or 15.1% were in health care. Of the working population, 10.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 54.6% used a private car. Tourism is a major sector of the economy. The central location in the Swiss Alps meant that Obwalden

14300-473: The isthmus whereon stands the town of Stans , thus forming an island of the Bürgenstock. The west end of the main branch of the lake, whence a comparatively shallow bay extends to the town of Lucerne, is intersected obliquely by a deep trench whose south-west end is occupied by the branch called Alpnachersee , while the north-east branch forms the long arm of Küssnacht , Küssnachtersee . These both lie in

14443-565: The lake of much of its through traffic, it continues to be used by a considerable number of vessels, both private and public. Much of this usage is tourist or leisure oriented, but the lake continues to provide practical public and cargo transport links between the smaller lakeside communities. Passenger boats of the Schifffahrtsgesellschaft des Vierwaldstättersees (SGV) provide services on the lake, including many run by historic paddle steamers . The SGV serves 32 places along

14586-405: The land. During the Early Middle Ages , much of the land in Obwalden was controlled by monasteries (especially Murbach-Lucerne and Beromünster Abbey). The monasteries began to spread their authority and parishes into Obwalden during this time. St. Peter's Church in Sarnen was first mentioned in 1036, but was built on top of an 8th-century church. St. Mary's Church of Alpnach was probably built in

14729-489: The largest concentrations of German speakers are in the states of Rio Grande do Sul (where Riograndenser Hunsrückisch developed), Santa Catarina , and Espírito Santo . Obwalden Obwalden lies in Central Switzerland and contains the geographical centre of Switzerland . It is bordered by the canton of Lucerne to the north, the canton of Nidwalden and Uri to the east and the canton of Bern to

14872-613: The leading political families in Obwalden became pro-French. During the 1798 French invasion , Obwalden still had a strongly pro-French government. The von Flüe had grown wealthy and politically powerful in mercenary service in France. The clergy saw France still as supporters of the Catholic Church . On 1 April 1798, Obwalden became the first of the original Swiss cantons to accept the Helvetic Republic . However, it

15015-402: The mother in the home and the plain man would say, Wesz das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über . Luther's translation of the Bible into High German was also decisive for the German language and its evolution from Early New High German to modern Standard German. The publication of Luther's Bible was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy in early modern Germany , and promoted

15158-585: The mountains Rigi and Pilatus. The Reuss enters the lake at Flüelen, in the part called Urnersee ( Lake of Uri , in the canton of Uri ) and exits at Lucerne. The lake also receives the Muota at Brunnen, the Engelberger Aa at Buochs , and the Sarner Aa at Alpnachstad. It is possible to circumnavigate the lake by train and road, though the railway route circumvents the lake even on the north side of

15301-529: The nascent Swiss Confederation. During that time Obwalden was known as Unterwalden ob dem Kernwald and Nidwalden was Unterwalden nit dem Kernwald . Unterwalden's votes in the Tagsatzung were split between the two valleys. Between 1798 and 1803 it became the District of Sarnen in the Canton of Waldstätten . From 1803 until 1999 it was the half-canton of Obwalden. In 1999, the new Federal Constitution eliminated

15444-653: The ninth century, chief among them being the Muspilli , Merseburg charms , and Hildebrandslied , and other religious texts (the Georgslied , Ludwigslied , Evangelienbuch , and translated hymns and prayers). The Muspilli is a Christian poem written in a Bavarian dialect offering an account of the soul after the Last Judgment , and the Merseburg charms are transcriptions of spells and charms from

15587-442: The opening of the first track across the Gotthard Pass in 1230. This trade grew with the opening of a new mail coach road across the pass in 1830. This road had its northern terminus at Flüelen at the extreme eastern end of the lake, and the lake provided the only practical onward link to Lucerne , and hence the cities of northern Switzerland and beyond. Whilst the development of Switzerland's road and rail networks has relieved

15730-520: The parishes in the valley. In the early 12th century the Counts of Lenzburg granted a large part of their lands in Obwalden to their monastery at Beromünster. In 1210 the Lenzburg castle at Landenberg was abandoned. However, in the 13th century, several small castles were built for the minor nobles. The Kellner of Sarnen ( Obedientiaries of the main family) lived in the Lower Castle in Sarnen. In Giswil

15873-418: The politicians remained the same, there were several important changes in the half-canton. The major change was that every resident of the canton gained equal rights, where before there had been citizens and resident aliens each with different rights. Other changes included raising the voting age from 14 to 20 and requiring military service at age 20. In 1815 the monastery of Engelberg and the municipality of

16016-442: The population (as of 2000 ) speaks German (29,920 or 92.3%) as their first language, Albanian is the second most common (452 or 1.4%) and Serbo-Croatian is the third (399 or 1.2%). There are 144 people who speak French , 329 people who speak Italian and 32 people who speak Romansh . Of the population in the canton, 14,867 or about 45.8% were born in Obwalden and lived there in 2000. There were 4,374 or 13.5% who were born in

16159-617: The population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist , and 1,109 individuals (or about 3.42% of the population) did not answer the question. In Obwalden about 11,601 or (35.8%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education , and 3,241 or (10.0%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule ). Of the 3,241 who completed tertiary schooling, 66.0% were Swiss men, 22.0% were Swiss women, 7.3% were non-Swiss men and 4.8% were non-Swiss women. Traditional culture in Obwalden has been kept alive by many local organizations. There

16302-546: The population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church , and there were 497 individuals (or about 1.53% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 5 individuals (or about 0.02% of the population) who were Jewish , and 985 (or about 3.04% of the population) who were Islamic . There were 41 individuals who were Buddhist , 82 individuals who were Hindu and 8 individuals who belonged to another church. 1,212 (or about 3.74% of

16445-572: The power of his office. In 1840, a coalition of liberals and radicals gained the majority in the Federal Diet. They introduced a number of reforms and proposed a new constitution that included many radical reforms. In response to this radical government, the Catholic and conservative cantons, including Obwalden, formed the Sonderbund or separate alliance in 1843. When the radicals attempted to dissolve this separate alliance in 1847, they started

16588-513: The proceeds since they had supplied the most troops. The country cantons resented this and the Tagsatzung or leadership of each of the cantons met in Stans in Nidwalden in 1481 to resolve the issues. However, they were unable to resolve the issues and war seemed inevitable. A local hermit, Niklaus von der Flüe from Obwalden, was consulted on the situation. According to legend he requested that

16731-462: The pronunciation of the ending -ig as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, High German was a foreign language to most inhabitants, whose native dialects were subsets of Low German. It was usually encountered only in writing or formal speech; in fact, most of High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. However, wider standardization of pronunciation

16874-510: The rights and duties of full cantons, with the exception that the canton can only send one deputy to the Council of States . The small size of the canton allows a small government with only five members. In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the Christian Social Party of Obwalden which received 56.9% of the vote. The other party in the election was the SVP with 43.1%. The CSP OW jumped from having no candidate or votes in 2007 to

17017-621: The same canton, while 8,228 or 25.4% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 4,000 or 12.3% were born outside of Switzerland. As of 2000 , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 26.7% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 14.1%. As of 2000 , there were 15,026 people who were single or never married in the canton. There were 14,674 married individuals, 1,691 widows or widowers and 1,036 individuals who are divorced. As of 2000 , there were 12,445 private households in

17160-638: The same name joined Obwalden. The cantonal constitution documents of 19 and 24 November 1815 partially guaranteed the traditional rights of the Abbey and its surrounding community. Then, in 1816, the constitution was altered to include Engelberg as a municipality in the canton. During the Restoration period the government began to roll back many of the reforms of the Helvetic Republic. In the 1830s and 40s, Landammann Nikodem Spichtig began to expand

17303-406: The secondary sector was 6,008 of which 3,648 or (60.7%) were in manufacturing, 46 or (0.8%) were in mining and 2,139 (35.6%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 8,050. In the tertiary sector; 1,892 or 23.5% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 520 or 6.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 1,440 or 17.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 140 or 1.7% were in

17446-506: The shore of the lake, with interchange to both main line and mountain railways at various points. Under separate management, the Autofähre Beckenried-Gersau provides a car ferry service between Beckenried , on the south bank of the lake, and Gersau on the north. Cargo barges , to a local design known as Nauen , are still used on the lake. Some have been converted for use as party boats. Other barges are used by

17589-564: The shores. In addition, the meadow of the Rütli , traditional site of the founding of the Swiss Confederation , is on the Urnersee shore. A 35 km commemorative walkway, the Swiss Path , was built around the Lake of Uri to celebrate the country's 700th anniversary in 1991. Archaeologists surveying the lake-bed (during the construction of a pipeline) from 2019 to 2021 found the remains of

17732-478: The south. The canton is essentially in the valley of the Sarner Aa south of Lake Lucerne , with an exclave around Engelberg . It is one of the smallest cantons. The largest town is Sarnen , followed by Kerns and Alpnach . Together with Nidwalden, Obwalden was part of the forest canton of Unterwalden , one of the three participants in the foundation of the Old Swiss Confederacy , named in

17875-536: The south–north bound Reuss Valley between steep cliffs above the Urnersee from Flüelen towards Brunnen to the north before it makes a sharp bend to the west where it continues into the Gersauer Becken . Here is also the deepest point of the lake with 214 m (702 ft). Even further west of it is the Buochser Bucht , but the lake sharply turns north again through the narrow opening between

18018-468: The special privileges that the Landmann held. In 1902 the constitution was rewritten again and it allowed citizens to demand a referendum on any law. In the following years a number of initiatives and referendums were submitted, some of which succeeded. In 1909, an initiative was approved which allowed 1,200 citizens to demand a secret vote on constitutional revisions. In 1922, the power of the Landsgemeinde

18161-546: The states of North Dakota and South Dakota , German is the most common language spoken at home after English. As a legacy of significant German immigration to the country , German geographical names can be found throughout the Midwest region , such as New Ulm and Bismarck (North Dakota's state capital), plus many other regions. A number of German varieties have developed in the country and are still spoken today, such as Pennsylvania Dutch and Texas German . In Brazil,

18304-507: The summer, hiking and mountaineering are the main attractions. One-quarter of the population is directly or indirectly employed in the tourism sector. From the 2000 census , 25,992 or 80.2% were Roman Catholic , while 2,255 or 7.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church . Of the rest of the population, there were 464 members of an Orthodox church (or about 1.43% of the population), there were 14 individuals (or about 0.04% of

18447-500: The third most commonly learned second language in the United States in K-12 education. The language has been influential in the fields of philosophy, theology, science, and technology. It is the second most commonly used language in science and the third most widely used language on websites . The German-speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of annual publication of new books, with one-tenth of all books (including e-books) in

18590-608: The water and wind conditions. The lake is accessible from boat and yacht harbors, to lake resorts and pools (e.g. the Lido pool in Lucerne, built in 1929 by Arnold Berger). Therefore, the lake can be easily accessible from both shores. The See-Club Luzern was founded in 1881, which is now Switzerland's largest rowing club, as well as the Reuss Luzern rowing club (Ruderclub Reuss Luzern) in 1904. The Lucerne Yacht Club (Yachtclub Luzern) has existed since 1941 and has been running since 1966

18733-727: The west, and the Horwer Bucht and the Stanser Trichter to the south, which is to be found right below the northeast side of the Pilatus and the west side of the Bürgenstock. At the very narrow pass between the east dropper of the Pilatus (called Lopper ) and Stansstad the lake reaches its southwestern arm at Alpnachstad on the steep southern foothills of the Pilatus, the Alpnachersee . The lake drains its water into

18876-438: The world being published in German. German is most closely related to other West Germanic languages, namely Afrikaans , Dutch , English , the Frisian languages , and Scots . It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic group , such as Danish , Norwegian , and Swedish . Modern German gradually developed from Old High German , which in turn developed from Proto-Germanic during

19019-415: The written form of German. One of the central events in the development of ENHG was the publication of Luther's translation of the Bible into High German (the New Testament was published in 1522; the Old Testament was published in parts and completed in 1534). Luther based his translation primarily on the Meißner Deutsch of Saxony , spending much time among the population of Saxony researching

19162-429: Was a "neutral" language as there were virtually no English native speakers in Namibia at that time. German, Afrikaans, and several indigenous languages thus became "national languages" by law, identifying them as elements of the cultural heritage of the nation and ensuring that the state acknowledged and supported their presence in the country. Today, Namibia is considered to be the only German-speaking country outside of

19305-428: Was able to establish itself as a significant tourist location in the 19th century. Many facilities built for tourism now benefit the local industry and the population. Two of the mountains , namely Pilatus and Titlis , are the main attractions. Winter sports, in particular skiing and snowboarding, attract many tourist. The main resorts are Engelberg, Melchsee-Frutt , Lungern-Schönbüel , Mörlialp and Langis . During

19448-407: Was an artificial standard that did not correspond to any traditional spoken dialect. Rather, it was based on the pronunciation of German in Northern Germany, although it was subsequently regarded often as a general prescriptive norm, despite differing pronunciation traditions especially in the Upper-German-speaking regions that still characterise the dialect of the area today – especially

19591-432: Was established in 1980 and the Hergiswil Water Sports Club (Wassersportclub Hergiswil) in 1986. SchweizMobil has created a canoe tour across Lake Lucerne between Brunnen and Gersau. Due to the wind in the Reuss Valley, the southern part of Lake Uri between the campground at Gruonbachstrand in Flüelen and Isleten is a center of windsurfing. There are about ten places where you can dive without a boat in Lake Lucerne. The water

19734-427: Was established on the basis of public speaking in theatres and the media during the 20th century and documented in pronouncing dictionaries. Official revisions of some of the rules from 1901 were not issued until the controversial German orthography reform of 1996 was made the official standard by governments of all German-speaking countries. Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard German which

19877-411: Was finally abolished in 1998. Highest elevation: Titlis ( Urner Alps ), 3238 m Lakes in the canton include: parts of Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee), Lake Sarnen (Sarnersee), Lake Lungern (Lungerersee), Wichelsee , Tannensee and Melchsee . The total area of the canton is 490.5 square kilometers (189.4 sq mi). As of 2006 , 197.3 km (76.2 sq mi) or about 40.2% of

20020-408: Was never able to incorporate any captured territory or grow. During the Burgundian Wars (1474–77) Unterwalden, like the other Forest cantons, hung back through jealousy of Bern, but came to the rescue in time of need. Following the Swiss victories in the Burgundian Wars the Old Swiss Confederation was nearly torn apart by internal conflict when the city cantons insisted on having the lion's share of

20163-433: Was seen as having pulled Obwalden into the Sonderbund, and he was driven out of office and politics. In 1850, the Catholic Church was recognized as the only cantonal religion. However, in 1867 the cantonal constitution was completely rewritten. It changed the organization of the government and allowed the Reformed churches some rights, including the right to run their own schools. The 1867 constitution also weakened many of

20306-403: Was then forced by its neighbors to reject the new Republic and resist the French. When the French armies crushed the rebellion, the old Forest Cantons were merged into the single Canton of Waldstätten . Obwalden became the district of Sarnen in this new Canton. The leadership of the new district were supporters of Helvetic Republic and the French army. After the collapse of the Helvetic Republic,

20449-416: Was weakened further with the introduction of secret ballots on constitutional, legal and tax laws. The last complete revision of the cantonal constitution was in 1968. This revision addressed a number of small issues and clarified a number of laws, but there were no major changes. In 1972, women were first allowed to vote in cantonal elections and in 1983 the voting age dropped to eighteen. The Landsgemeinde

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