Author: Maarten Koning

The village of Glarus has always been the administrative centre of the Canton of Glarus. The Landsgemeinde has been held here on the first Sunday in May for 600 years.

The industrialisation of the canton began as early as 1740. In that year, a company in Oberdorf experimented with textile and cotton manufacturing for the first time. By 1860, six large factories were employing around 1800 people.

Numerous specialised suppliers emerged. Banks, insurance companies and the stock exchange were established. In 1859, the railway reached Glarus. It enabled the widespread use of coal and other forms of transportation.

The transition from the 19th to the 20th century brought about the decline of this industry. However, many trades and services have survived, and the canton boasts numerous modern industries.

(Source: www.gl.ch).

The Schächental (canton of Uri) was already inhabited before the arrival of the Romans. The Alemanni came after the Romans, including the Spiro clan, who settled in Spiringen. The numerous place names with ‘ingen’ are reminders of the Alemannic period. The Schächen valley was Christianised around 650.

As early as 1275, Spiringen participated in the peace treaty between Uri and the Engelberg Monastery. In 1290, the inhabitants of the Schächen Valley founded the St. Michael’s Chapel in Spiringen. Its construction is documented by the founding charter of 29 March 1290. This deed of the foundation is a crucial document for tracking the development process of the Confederation.

The chapel fell belonged to the parish church of Bürglen. In 1495, a new late-Gothic church was built. Spiringen split from the parish in Bürglen on 22 June 1591. In the 15th/16th century, houses were built, which still adorn the village and give it an attractive appearance.

The Russian general Suworow and his 20,000 troops passed through Spiringen as he marched over the Kinzigkulm to Muotathal on 27 and 28 September 1799. The present-day St. Michael’s Church was built in 1950. Its spire can be seen far into the valley.

(Source: www.spiringen.ch).

The parish of Mollis (canton of Glarus) was first mentioned in 1283 with a chapel, which was later elevated to the status of the parish church.

Until the reformation, Näfels and Oberurnen also belonged to Mollis. In 1706, the old church was rebuilt.  Johann Ulrich Grubenmann (1709-1783) built a new church in the same place in 1760.

In 1839, plaques were placed in the church for all Glarner and other Eidgenossen who died at the Battle of Näfels (9 April 1388) and are buried in Mollis.

“Here rest the bones of the Glarner and Eidgenossen who gave their lives for the fatherland at the Battle of Näfels on 9 April 1388″.

(Hier ruhen die Gebeine der Glarner und Eidgenossen die am 9. April 1388 in der Schlacht bei Näfels dem Vaterlande ihr Leben offerten).

Their names and places (e.g. Niederurnen, Filzbach, Mollis, Glarus, Schwanden, Lintthal, Sernfthal, Uri) are inscribed on the gallery parapet.

(Source: www.ref-kirchenkreisglarusnord.ch).

The village of Näfels (canton of Glarus) owes its name to a Romansh settlement. The Latin word ‘Novale’ means new land. In Romansh, it became ‘Novalis’ in the plural. In a further linguistic development, “Novalias” emerged, and later, the current name Näfels.

The Alemanni settled in the area after the Romans departed. The Alemannic term “ruodan” (also spelt “roden” or “riuten”) gave rise to the word “Rauti” for new land. The place is also known for the battle of Näfels in 1388, when Habsburg was (again) defeated by the Eidgenossen.

The first church is not documented until 1523. In the 17th century, Näfels was granted the status of capital of the Catholic state of Glarus. However, there was also a Protestant Reformed part in Glarus.

The monastery on the Bürghügel was built between 1675 and 1679. There are three beautiful altars with paintings by Johann Michael Hunger (1634-1714). The present late Baroque Hilarius Church was built between 1777 and 1781.

The Glarus City Church (Stadtkirche Glarus) was built between 1863 and 1866 by architect Ferdinand Stadler (1813-1870) as a neo-Romanesque basilica.

The village of Bürglen (canton of Uri) was first mentioned in a charter of 857 under the name “Burgilla”. The village of William Tell (Wilhelm Tell) is considered to be one of the oldest settlements in Uri.

In this year, King Ludwig the German (806-876) donated the chapel together with serfs, fields, meadows and woods to the priest Berold, who for many years had faithfully served the king’s daughter Hildegard, abbess of the monastery of St. Felix and Regula (today’s Fraumünster in Zurich).

The Baroque parish church of St. Peter and Paul, built in 1684, has a domed hall that cannot be seen from the outside. The interior has beautiful altars and early Baroque stucco.

The tower is from the Romanesque predecessor. On the outside there are decorative paintings: St. Christoffel, Willem Tell and the inscription “Gott und Fryheit”.

On the village square there are two round chapels: the Ossuary and the Chapel of the Mount of Olives from 1693. The monument of Tell (Tellbrunnen) and the chapel of Tell are on or near the church square.

The sculpture Tell with son by the sculptor Josef Jakob Scolar was the first Tell monument in Altdorf. It was donated to Bürglen by Altdorf. It used to stand on a fountain pillar in this place.

The Wattigwylerturm from the 13th century houses the Tell museum. The museum shows how the Tell idea spread around the world (www.tellmuseum.ch).

The 10 km long Chapel Route leads past eleven chapels in and around Bürglen.