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101-520: Set in the early 14th century (traditional date 1307, during the rule of Albert of Habsburg ), the first written records of the legend date to the latter part of the 15th century, when the Swiss Confederacy was gaining military and political influence. Tell is a central figure in Swiss national historiography , along with Arnold von Winkelried , the hero of Sempach (1386). He was important as

202-527: 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 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

303-413: A liberal - radical to a deconstructivist leftist outlook, Swiss historians were looking to dismantle the foundational legends of Swiss statehood as unhistorical national myth . Max Frisch 's "William Tell for Schools" (1971) deconstructs the legend by reversing the characters of the protagonists: Gessler is a well-meaning and patient administrator who is faced with the barbarism of a back-corner of

404-593: A "holy cottage" ( heilig hüslin ) built on the site of Gessler's assassination. Peter Hagendorf , a soldier in the Thirty Years' War , mentions a visit to 'the chapel where William Tell escaped' in his diary. The first recorded Tell play ( Tellspiel ), known as the Urner Tellspiel ("Tell Play of Uri"), was probably performed in the winter of either 1512 or 1513 in Altdorf . The church of Bürglen had

505-697: A "scientific account" of the foundational period of the Confederacy in order to defend the choice of 1291 over 1307 (the traditional date of Tell's deed and the Rütlischwur ) as the foundational date of the Swiss state. The canton of Uri, in defiant reaction to this decision taken at the federal level, erected the Tell Monument in Altdorf in 1895, with the date 1307 inscribed prominently on the base of

606-533: A bell dedicated to Tell from 1581, and a nearby chapel has a fresco dated to 1582 showing Tell's death in the Schächenbach. The Three Tells ( die Drei Tellen , also die Drei Telle ) were symbolic figures of the Swiss Peasant War of 1653. They expressed the hope of the subject population to repeat the success story of the rebellion against Habsburg in the early 14th century. By the 18th century,

707-499: 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)

808-736: A crossbow in one shot, killing as many foes. Rochholz further compares Indo-European and oriental traditions and concludes (pp. 35–41) that the legend of the master marksman shooting an apple (or similar small target) was known outside the Germanic sphere (Germany, Scandinavia, England) and the adjacent regions (Finland and the Baltic) in India, Arabia, Persia and the Balkans (Serbia). Albert I of Germany Albert I of Habsburg ( German : Albrecht I. ) (July 1255 – 1 May 1308)

909-984: A four-arm cross, called the Chrütztrichter (Cross Funnel). Here converge the Vitznauer Bucht with the Küssnachtersee from the north, the Luzernersee from 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

1010-425: A greater tyrant than they ever knew am looked upon as a common cutthroat." (He himself was shot to death, without standing trial, days later.) Following a national competition, won by Richard Kissling , Altdorf in 1895 erected a monument to its hero. Kissling casts Tell as a peasant and man of the mountains, with strong features and muscular limbs. His powerful hand rests lovingly on the shoulder of little Walter, but

1111-670: A height of from 3,000 to 4,000 ft (910 to 1,220 m) above the water. The two highest summits are 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

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1212-473: A member of the Lucerne parliament, Caspar Studer. The assassination attempt — an exceptional act in the culture of the Old Swiss Confederacy — was widely recognized and welcomed among the peasant population, but its impact was not sufficient to rekindle the rebellion. Even though it did not have any direct political effect, its symbolic value was considerable, placing the Lucerne authorities in

1313-510: A pole under the village linden tree , hung his hat on top of it, and demanded that all the townsfolk bow before it. In Tschudi's account, on 18 November 1307, Tell visited Altdorf with his young son. He passed by the hat, but publicly refused to bow to it, and was consequently arrested. Gessler was intrigued by Tell's famed marksmanship, but resentful of his defiance, so he devised a cruel punishment. Tell and his son were both to be executed; however, he could redeem his life by shooting an apple off

1414-600: A quarrel with the Kingdom of France over the Burgundian frontier, but the refusal of Pope Boniface VIII to recognize his election led him to change his policy, and, in 1299, he made a treaty with King Philip IV , by which his son Rudolph was to marry Blanche, the King's half-sister. He afterwards became estranged from Philip, but in 1303, Boniface recognized him as German king and future emperor; in return, Albert recognized

1515-473: A similarity of the bust with Kissling's statue, in spite of the missing beard, it was immediately widely identified as Tell. Adolf Hitler was enthusiastic about Schiller's play, quoting it in his Mein Kampf , and approving of a German/Swiss co-production of the play in which Hermann Göring 's mistress Emmy Sonnemann appeared as Tell's wife. However, on 3 June 1941, Hitler had the play banned. The reason for

1616-632: A specified given name, appears in the White Book of Sarnen (German: Weisses Buch von Sarnen ). This volume was written in c. 1474 by Hans Schriber, state secretary ( Landschreiber ) Obwalden . It mentions the Rütli oath (German: Rütlischwur ) and names Tell as one of the conspirators of the Rütli, whose heroic tyrannicide triggered the Burgenbruch rebellion. An equally early account of Tell

1717-488: A statesman of Fribourg and later historian and advisor of the Habsburg Emperor Rudolf II , wrote to Melchior Goldast in 1607: "I followed popular belief by reporting certain details in my Swiss antiquities [published in 1598], but when I examine them closely the whole story seems to me to be pure fable." In 1760, Simeon Uriel Freudenberger from Luzern anonymously published a tract arguing that

1818-521: A symbol during the formative stage of modern Switzerland in the 19th century, known as the period of Restoration and Regeneration , as well as in the wider history of 18th- to 19th-century Europe as a symbol of resistance against aristocratic rule, especially in the Revolutions of 1848 against the House of Habsburg which had ruled Austria for centuries. The first reference to Tell, as yet without

1919-516: 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 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

2020-435: Is Tschudi's account of the legend, however, which became the major model for later writers, even prior to its edition in print in the 1730s, A widespread veneration of Tell, including sight-seeing excursions to the scenes of his deeds, can be ascertained for the early 16th century. Heinrich Brennwald in the early 16th century mentions the chapel ( Tellskapelle ) on the site of Tell's leap from his captors' boat. Tschudi mentions

2121-530: Is a retelling of the rebellion started by William Tell. The story revolves around the oppression that took place during the Middle Ages in the middle cantons of Switzerland . In the 2019 Spanish comedy film The Little Switzerland , a Spanish town ( Tellería ) discovers the tomb of Tell's son and tries to become a Swiss canton ( Tellstadt ), affecting a Swiss identity. The historicity of William Tell has been subject to debate. François Guillimann,

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2222-536: Is also reported in historiographical works of the time, including Johannes von Müller 's History of the Swiss Confederation (German: Geschichte Schweizerischer Eidgenossenschaft , 1780). Johann Wolfgang von Goethe learned of the Tell saga during his travels through Switzerland between 1775 and 1795. He obtained a copy of Tschudi's chronicles and considered writing a play about Tell, but ultimately gave

2323-522: Is divided into the cantons of Obwalden and Nidwalden ), as well as the canton of Lucerne , thus the name Vierwaldstättersee (lit.: Lake of 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

2424-494: Is found in the Tellenlied , a song composed in the 1470s, with its oldest extant manuscript copy dating to 1501. The song begins with the Tell legend, which it presents as the origin of the Confederacy, calling Tell the "first confederate ". The narrative includes Tell's apple shot , his preparation of a second arrow to shoot Gessler, and his escape, but it does not mention any assassination of Gessler. The text then enumerates

2525-471: Is known in the "White Book" as the "Tellsplatte" ("Tell's slab"); it has been marked by a memorial chapel since the 16th century. Tell ran cross-country to Küssnacht with Gessler in pursuit. Tell assassinated him using the second crossbow bolt, along a stretch of the road cut through the rock between Immensee and Küssnacht, which is known as the Hohle Gasse. Tell's act sparked a rebellion , which led to

2626-474: 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

2727-779: Is succeeded by the Oberbauenstock , and farther south, above the ridge of 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

2828-523: Is 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

2929-735: The Elector of the Palatinate to form a league against him. Aided by the Imperial cities , however, he soon crushed the rising. Albert was on the way to suppress a revolt in Swabia when he was murdered on 1 May 1308, at Windisch on the Reuss , by his nephew Duke John , afterwards called "the Parricide" or "John Parricida". His full name and titles were: Albert, by the grace of God, King of

3030-714: The Entlebuch alps before the arrival of the troops of general Sebastian Peregrin Zwyers; Zemp escaped to the Alsace . After the suppression of the rebellion, the peasants voted for a tyrannicide , directly inspired by the Tell legend, attempting to kill the Lucerne Schultheiss Ulrich Dulliker. Dahinden and Unternährer returned in their roles of Tells, joined by Hans Stadelmann replacing Zemp. In an ambush, they managed to injure Dulliker and killed

3131-648: The Freie Ämter and in the Emmental . The first impersonators of the Three Tells were Hans Zemp, Kaspar Unternährer of Schüpfheim and Ueli Dahinden of Hasle . They appeared at a number of important peasant conferences during the war, symbolizing the continuity of the present rebellion with the resistance movement against the Habsburg overlords at the origin of the Swiss Confederacy . Unternährer and Dahinden fled to

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3232-621: The Helvetic Republic . Tell became, as it were, the mascot of the short-lived republic, his figure being featured on its official seal. The French Navy also had a Tonnant -class ship of the line named Guillaume Tell , which was captured by the British Royal Navy in 1800. Benito Juarez , President of Mexico and national hero, chose the alias "Guillermo Tell" (the Spanish version of William Tell) when he joined

3333-564: The Prince-electors , fearing Albert's power and the implementation of a hereditary monarchy , chose Count Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg as King of the Romans . An uprising among his Styrian dependents compelled Albert to recognize the sovereignty of his rival and to confine himself for a time to the government of the Habsburg lands at Vienna . He did not abandon his hopes of the throne, however, which were eventually realised: In 1298, he

3434-792: 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 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

3535-599: The World Wars , Tell was again revived, somewhat artificially, as a national symbol. For example, in 1923 the Swiss Post introduced horns for their coach service based on the overture of Rossini's Tell opera, and in 1931, the image of a crossbow was introduced as a logo indicating Swiss products . The Tell-Museum in Bürglen, Uri , opened in 1966. After 1968 , with ideological shift of academic mainstream from

3636-646: The formation of the Old Swiss Confederacy . According to Tschudi, Tell fought again against Austria in the 1315 Battle of Morgarten . Tschudi also has an account of Tell's death in 1354, according to which he was killed trying to save a child from drowning in the Schächental River in Uri. There are a number of sources for the Tell legend later than the earliest account in the White Book of Sarnen but earlier than Tschudi's version of ca. 1570. These include

3737-423: The "William Tell" legend. According to Tschudi's account, William Tell was known as a strong man and an expert shot with the crossbow . In his time, the House of Habsburg emperors of Austria were seeking to dominate Uri, and Tell became one of the conspirators of Werner Stauffacher who vowed to resist Habsburg rule. Albrecht Gessler was the newly appointed Austrian Vogt of Altdorf, Switzerland . He raised

3838-488: 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

3939-458: The 16th century had become closely associated and eventually merged with the Rütlischwur legend, and the "Three Tells" represented the three conspirators or Eidgenossen Walter Fürst, Arnold von Melchtal and Werner Stauffacher . In 1653, three men dressed in historical costume representing the Three Tells appeared in Schüpfheim . Other impersonations of the Three Tells also appeared in

4040-589: 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,

4141-532: The Austrian and Styrian duchies with conspicuous success, overcoming the resistance by local nobles. King Rudolf I was unable to secure the succession to the German throne for his son, especially due to the objections raised by Ottokar's son King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia , and the plans to install Albert as successor of the assassinated King Ladislaus IV of Hungary in 1290 also failed. Upon Rudolf's death in 1291,

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4242-837: 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

4343-420: The Drei Tellen had become associated with a sleeping hero legend. They were said to be asleep in a cave at the Rigi . The return of Tell in times of need was already foretold in the Tellenlied of 1653 and symbolically fulfilled in the impersonation of the Three Tells by costumed individuals, in one instance culminating in an actual assassination executed by these impersonators in historical costume. Tell during

4444-410: The Freemasons; he picked this name because he liked and admired the story and character of Tell whom he considered a symbol of freedom and resistance. Tschudi's Chronicon Helveticum continued to be taken at face value as a historiographical source well into the 19th century, so that Tschudi's version of the legend is not only used as a model in Friedrich Schiller 's play William Tell (1804) but

4545-408: The Romans, Duke of Austria and Styria, Lord of Carniola , over the Wendish Mark and of Port Naon , Count of Habsburg and Kyburg , Landgrave of Alsace . In 1274, Albert had married Elizabeth , daughter of Count Meinhard II of Tyrol , who was a descendant of the Babenberg margraves of Austria who predated the Habsburgs' rule. The baptismal name Leopold, patron saint margrave of Austria ,

4646-520: 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,

4747-472: The account in the chronicle of Melchior Russ from Lucerne . Dated to 1482, this is an incoherent compilation of older writings, including the Song of the Founding of the Confederation , Conrad Justinger 's Bernese Chronicle , and the Chronicle of the State of Bern (in German, Chronik der Stadt Bern ). Another early account is in Petermann Etterlin 's Chronicle of the Swiss Confederation (German: Kronika von der loblichen Eydtgenossenschaft ) of 1507,

4848-429: The activities occur on the grounds of City Hall and Main Street, at the feet of the Tell statue. John Wilkes Booth , the assassin of Abraham Lincoln , was inspired by Tell. Lamenting the negative reaction to his action, Booth wrote in his journal on 21 April 1865 "with every man's hand against me, I am here in despair. And why; For doing what Brutus was honored for and what made Tell a Hero. And yet I for striking down

4949-464: The aid of a suppressed people under the sway of a tyrant. The story of a great outlaw successfully shooting an apple from his child's head is an archetype present in the story of Egil in the Thidreks saga (associated with the god Ullr in Eddaic tradition) as well as in the stories of Adam Bell from England , Palnatoki from Denmark , and a story from Holstein . Such parallels were pointed out as early as 1760 by Gottlieb Emanuel von Haller and

5050-409: The apple is not shown. The depiction is in marked contrast with that used by the Helvetic Republic, where Tell is shown as a landsknecht rather than a peasant, with a sword at his belt and a feathered hat, bending down to pick up his son who is still holding the apple. The painting of Tell by Ferdinand Hodler (1897) became iconic. Tell is represented as facing the viewer, with his right hand raised,

5151-448: The authority of the pope alone to bestow the Imperial crown, and promised that none of his sons should be elected German king without papal consent. Albert had failed in his attempt to seize the counties of Holland and Zeeland , as vacant fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire , on the death of Count John I in 1299, but in 1306 he secured the crown of Bohemia for his son Rudolph III on the death of King Wenceslaus III . He also renewed

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5252-651: The ban is not known, but may have been related to the failed assassination attempt on Hitler in 1938 by young Swiss Maurice Bavaud (executed on 14 May 1941, and later dubbed "a new William Tell" by Rolf Hochhuth ), or the subversive nature of the play. Hitler is reported to have exclaimed at a banquet in 1942: "Why did Schiller have to immortalize that Swiss sniper!" Charlie Chaplin parodies William Tell in his famous 1928 silent movie The Circus . Salvador Dalí painted The Old Age of William Tell and William Tell and Gradiva in 1931, and The Enigma of William Tell in 1933. Spanish playwright Alfonso Sastre re-worked

5353-450: The cantons of the Confederacy, and says was expanded with "current events" during the course of the Burgundy Wars , ending with the death of Charles the Bold in 1477. Aegidius Tschudi , writing c. 1570, presents an extended version of the legend. Still essentially based on the account in the White Book , Tschudi adds further detail. Tschudi is known to habitually have "fleshed out" his sources, so that all detail from Tschudi not found in

5454-413: The chronistic traditions surrounding the early Confederacy. The desire to defend the historicity of the Befreiungstradition ("liberation tradition") of Swiss history had a political component, as since the 17th century its celebration had become mostly confined to the Catholic cantons, so that the declaration of parts of the tradition as ahistorical was seen as an attack by the urban Protestant cantons on

5555-417: The claim made by his predecessor, Adolf, on Thuringia, and interfered in a quarrel over the succession to the Hungarian throne. The Thuringian attack ended in Albert's defeat at the Battle of Lucka in 1307 and, in the same year, the death of his son Rudolph weakened his position in eastern Europe. His action in abolishing all tolls established on the Rhine since 1250 led the Rhenish prince-archbishops and

5656-419: The conformation of the adjoining mountains. The central portion of the lake lies in two parallel valleys whose direction 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

5757-455: 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 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

5858-410: 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 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

5959-419: The earlier accounts may be suspected of being Tschudi's invention. Such additional detail includes Tell's given name Wilhelm, and his being a native of Bürglen, Uri in the Schächental , the precise date of the apple-shot , given as 18 November 1307 as well as the account of Tell's death in 1354. It is Tschudi's version that became influential in early modern Switzerland and entered public consciousness as

6060-447: The earliest printed version of the Tell story. The Chronicon Helveticum was compiled by Aegidius Tschudi of Glarus in the years leading up to his death in early 1572. For more than 150 years, it existed only in manuscript form, before finally being edited in 1734–1736. Therefore, there is no clear "date of publication" of the chronicle, and its date of composition can only be given approximately, as "ca. 1570", or "before 1572". It

6161-506: The empire, while Tell is an irascible simpleton. Tell still remains a popular figure in Swiss culture. According to a 2004 survey, a majority of Swiss believed that he actually existed. Schweizer Helden ("Swiss Heroes", English title Unlikely Heroes ) is a 2014 film about the performance of a simplified version of Schiller's play by asylum seekers in Switzerland. The Japanese historical fantasy manga series Wolfsmund , written and illustrated by Mitsuhisa Kuji and published by Enterbrain ,

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6262-442: The face of Christ. The first film about Tell was made by French director Charles Pathé in 1900; only a short fragment survives. A version of the legend was retold in P.G. Wodehouse 's William Tell Told Again (1904), written in prose and verse with characteristic Wodehousian flair. The design of the Federal 5 francs coin issued from 1922 features the bust of a generic "mountain shepherd" designed by Paul Burkard , but due to

6363-467: The first William Tell patterned playing cards were produced in Pest, Hungary. They were inspired by Schiller's play and made during tense relations with the ruling Habsburgs. The cards became popular throughout the Austrian Empire during the Revolution of 1848 . Characters and scenes from the opera William Tell are recognisable on the court cards and Aces of William Tell cards , playing cards that were designed in Hungary around 1835. These cards are still

6464-561: The first German monarch from the House of Habsburg , invested him and his younger brother Rudolf II with the duchies of Austria and Styria , which he had seized from late King Ottokar II of Bohemia and defended in the 1278 Battle on the Marchfeld . By the 1283 Treaty of Rheinfelden his father entrusted Albert with their sole government, while Rudolf II ought to be compensated by the Further Austrian Habsburg home territories – which, however, never happened until his death in 1290. Albert and his Swabian ministeriales appear to have ruled

6565-442: 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

6666-491: The head of his son Walter in a single attempt. Tell split the apple with a bolt from his crossbow. Gessler then noticed that Tell had removed two crossbow bolts from his quiver, so he asked why. Tell was reluctant to answer, but Gessler promised that he would not kill him; he replied that, had he killed his son, he would have killed Gessler with the second bolt. Gessler was furious and ordered Tell to be bound, saying that he had promised to spare his life, but would imprison him for

6767-436: The idea to his friend Friedrich von Schiller , who in 1803–04 wrote the play Wilhelm Tell , first performed on 17 March 1804, in Weimar . Schiller's Tell is heavily inspired by the political events of the late 18th century, the French and American revolutions , in particular. Schiller's play was performed at Interlaken (the Tellspiele ) in the summers of 1912 to 1914, 1931 to 1939 and every year since 1947. In 2004 it

6868-489: 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

6969-437: The lake reaches its southwestern arm at Alpnachstad on the steep southern foothills of the Pilatus, the Alpnachersee . The lake drains its water into 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

7070-408: 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 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

7171-427: The left holding the crossbow. The representation was designed as part of a larger scene showing "Gessler's death", one of seven scenes created for the Swiss National Museum competition. Hodler's depiction of Tell was often described as sacral, and compared to classical depictionons of God Father, Moses, John the Baptist, Jesus, or the Archangel Michael. In Tell's bearded face, Hodler combines self-portrait with allusion

7272-519: The legend in 1955 in his "Guillermo Tell tiene los ojos tristes" (William Tell has sad eyes); it was not performed until the Franco regime in Spain ended. In Switzerland, the importance of Tell had declined somewhat by the end of the 19th century, outside of Altdorf and Interlaken which established their tradition of performing Schiller's play in regular intervals in 1899 and 1912, respectively. During

7373-535: The legend of Tell in all likelihood was based on the Danish saga of Palnatoki . A French translation of his book by Gottlieb Emanuel von Haller ( Guillaume Tell, Fable danoise ), published under Haller's name to protect Freudenberger, was burnt in Altdorf . The skeptical view of Tell's existence remained very unpopular, especially after the adoption of Tell as depicted in Schiller's 1804 play as national hero in

7474-575: The legends of a migration from Sweden to Switzerland during the Middle Ages. He also adduces parallels in folktales among the Finns and the Lapps (Sami). From pre-Christian Norse mythology, Rochholz compares Ullr , who bears the epithet of Boga-As ("bow-god"), Heimdall and also Odin himself, who according to the Gesta Danorum (Book 1, chapter 8.16) assisted Haddingus by shooting ten bolts from

7575-740: The most common German-suited playing cards in that part of the world today. Characters from the play portrayed on the Obers and Unters include: Hermann Geszler, Walter Fürst, Rudolf Harras and William Tell. In 1858, the Swiss Colonization Society, a group of Swiss and German immigrants to the United States, founded its first (and only) planned city on the banks of the Ohio River in Perry County, Indiana . The town

7676-597: The nascent Swiss patriotism of the Restoration and Regeneration period of the Swiss Confederation . In the 1840s, Joseph Eutych Kopp (1793–1866) published skeptical reviews of the folkloristic aspects of the foundational legends of the Old Confederacy , causing "polemical debates" both within and outside of academia. De Capitani (2013) cites the controversy surrounding Kopp in the 1840s as

7777-589: The north-east branch forms the long arm of Küssnacht , Küssnachtersee . These both lie in 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

7878-631: The northern prolongation of the deep cleft that gives a passage to the Reuss , between 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

7979-444: 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

8080-433: The pastor Simeon Uriel Freudenberger in a book titled " William Tell, a Danish Fable" (German: Der Wilhelm Tell, ein dänisches Mährgen ). This book offended Swiss citizens, and a copy of it was burnt publicly at the Altdorf square. Von Haller underwent a trial, but the authorities spared his life, as he made abject apologies. Rochholz (1877) connects the similarity of the Tell legend to the stories of Egil and Palnatoki with

8181-557: The princes in order to enforce his decrees. The serfs, whose wrongs seldom attracted notice in an age indifferent to the claims of common humanity, found a friend in this severe monarch, and he protected even the despised and persecuted Jews. Stories of his cruelty and oppression in the Swiss cantons (cf. William Tell ) did not appear until the 16th century, and are now regarded as legendary. Albert sought to play an important part in European affairs. He seemed at first inclined to press

8282-463: The remainder of his life. Tschudi's continues that Tell was being carried in Gessler's boat to the dungeon in the castle at Küssnacht when a storm broke on Lake Lucerne , and the guards were afraid that their boat would sink. They begged Gessler to remove Tell's shackles so that he could take the helm and save them. Gessler gave in, but Tell steered the boat to a rocky place and leaped out. The site

8383-477: The role of the tyrant (Habsburg and Gessler) and the peasant population in that of the freedom fighters (Tell). The Three Tells after the deed went to mass, still wearing their costumes, without being molested. Dahinden and Unternährer were eventually killed in October 1653 by Lucerne troops under Colonel Alphons von Sonnenberg. In July 1654, Zemp betrayed his successor Stadelmann in exchange for pardon and Stadelmann

8484-536: The rural Catholic cantons. The decision, taken in 1891, to make 1 August the Swiss National Day is to be seen in this context, an ostentative move away from the traditional Befreiungstradition and the celebration of the deed of Tell to the purely documentary evidence of the Federal Charter of 1291 . In this context, Wilhelm Oechsli was commissioned by the federal government with publishing

8585-400: The scene of Albert's death, where he was supposedly comforted by a passing peasant woman. From Friendship's Offering annual, 1826. Lake Lucerne 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

8686-509: The sea is 434 metres, is the lowest point of 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,

8787-506: 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

8888-427: The southern of these two divisions of the lake—called Buochser Bucht —formerly extended to the west over 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

8989-414: The sports teams are called "The Marksmen." The William Tell Overture is often played by the school's pep band at high school games. Each August since 1958, Tell City's centennial year, the town has held "Schweizer Fest," a community festival of entertainment, stage productions, historical presentations, carnival rides, beer garden, sporting events and class reunions, to honor its Swiss-German heritage. Many of

9090-518: The statue. Later proposals for the identification of Tell as a historical individual, such as a 1986 publication deriving the name Tell from the placename Tellikon (modern Dällikon in the Canton of Zürich ), are outside of the historiographical mainstream. The Tell legend has been compared to a number of other myths or legends, specifically in Norse mythology , involving a magical marksman coming to

9191-409: The turning point after which doubts in Tell's historicity "could no longer be ignored". From the second half of the 19th century, it has been largely undisputed among historians that there is no contemporary (14th-century) evidence for Tell as a historical individual, let alone for the apple-shot story. Debate in the late 19th to 20th centuries mostly surrounded the extent of the "historical nucleus" in

9292-608: 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

9393-529: Was a Duke of Austria and Styria from 1282 and King of Germany from 1298 until his assassination. He was the eldest son of King Rudolf I of Germany and his first wife Gertrude of Hohenberg . Sometimes referred to as 'Albert the One-eyed' because of a battle injury that left him with a hollow eye socket and a permanent snarl. From 1273 Albert ruled as a landgrave over his father's Swabian ( Further Austrian ) possessions in Alsace . In 1282 his father,

9494-545: Was chosen German king by some of the princes, who were bothered about Adolf's attempts to gain his own power bases in the lands of Thuringia and Meissen , again led by the Bohemian king Wenceslaus II. The armies of the rival kings met at the Battle of Göllheim near Worms , where Adolf was defeated and slain. Submitting to a new election but securing the support of several influential princes by making extensive promises, he

9595-463: Was chosen at the Imperial City of Frankfurt on 27 July 1298, and crowned at Aachen Cathedral on 24 August. Although a hard, stern man, Albert had a keen sense of justice when his own interests were not involved, and few of the German kings possessed so practical an intelligence. He encouraged the cities, and not content with issuing proclamations against private war, formed alliances with

9696-574: 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

9797-595: Was executed on 15 July 1654. The Three Tells appear in a 1672 comedy by Johann Caspar Weissenbach. The "sleeping hero" version of the Three Tells legend was published in Deutsche Sagen by the Brothers Grimm in 1816 (no. 298). It is also the subject of Felicia Hemans 's poem The Cavern of the Three Tells of 1824. Throughout the long nineteenth century , and into the World War II period, Tell

9898-440: Was first performed in Altdorf itself. Gioachino Rossini used Schiller's play as the basis for his 1829 opera William Tell . The William Tell Overture is one of his best-known and most frequently imitated pieces of music; in the 20th century, the finale of the overture became the theme for the radio, television, and motion picture incarnations of The Lone Ranger , a fictional American frontier hero. Around 1836

9999-471: Was given to one of their sons. Queen Elizabeth was in fact better connected to mighty German rulers than her husband: she was a descendant of earlier German kings, including Emperor Henry IV ; she was also a niece of the Wittelsbach dukes of Bavaria , Austria's important neighbor. Albert and Elizabeth had twelve children: The poem [REDACTED] A Monarch's Death-bed ., by Felicia Hemans recalls

10100-505: Was originally dubbed Helvetia, but was quickly changed to Tell City to honor the legendary Swiss hero. The city became known for its manufacturing, especially of fine wood furniture. William Tell and symbols of an apple with an arrow through it are prominent in the town, which includes a bronze statue of Tell and his son, based on the one in Altdorf, Switzerland. The statue was erected on a fountain in front of city hall in 1974. Tell City High School uses these symbols in its crest or logo, and

10201-598: Was perceived as a symbol of rebellion against tyranny both in Switzerland and in Europe. Antoine-Marin Lemierre wrote a play inspired by Tell in 1766 and revived it in 1786. The success of this work established the association of Tell as a fighter against tyranny with the history of the French Revolution . The French revolutionary fascination with Tell was reflected in Switzerland with the establishment of

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