{"id":10917,"date":"2019-08-01T11:00:59","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T11:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=10917"},"modified":"2019-07-21T20:39:14","modified_gmt":"2019-07-21T20:39:14","slug":"how-switzerland-started-the-bundesfeiertag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/how-switzerland-started-the-bundesfeiertag\/","title":{"rendered":"How Switzerland Started – The Bundesfeiertag"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s August 1! Not only the start of another summery month, but also\u00a0an important day: The\u00a0Bundesfeiertag<\/em>. The Swiss celebrate the birth of their beautiful country. So let’s have a look at what the Swiss do today and how this day started.<\/p>\n

A Controversial Date<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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The R\u00fctlischwur<\/em> (Image by Andreas Faessler at Commons.wikimedia.org under license CC BY SA 4.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

The Bundesfeiertag <\/em>was celebrated for the first time in 1891 on August 1. It marked the 700-year anniversary of the city of Bern, and coincidentally also the 600-year anniversary of the Bundesbrief von 1291<\/em>. This Bundesbrief <\/em>(Federal Charter) united the Talschaften\u00a0<\/em>(a sort of dale-ship)\u00a0Uri<\/em>, Schwyz<\/em> and Unterwalden<\/em>. The Bundesbrief <\/em>formed a collaboration between the Talschaften<\/em>, both in civil and military rights. It was quickly arranged to ensure stability after King Rudolph I died on July 15.<\/p>\n

While it was definitely not the only Bundesbrief <\/i>around that time, this Bundesbrief <\/em>became the most famous. It was claimed to be the beginning of the Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft <\/em>(Swiss Confederation). That this\u00a0Bundesbrief\u00a0<\/em>was signed on the exact day 100 years after the founding of Bern was a handy coincidence for the people of the city, and so they began the national holiday based on this particular Bundesbrief<\/em>.<\/p>\n

However, not everybody agreed with this\u00a0Bundesbrief\u00a0<\/em>marking the beginning of the country. Another theory is that the beginning of Switzerland came from the\u00a0R\u00fctlischwur\u00a0<\/em>(R\u00fctli Oath), an oath between representatives of the above-mentioned\u00a0Talschaften\u00a0<\/em>on the meadow\u00a0R\u00fctli<\/em>. This was in 1307.<\/p>\n

Those that disagreed with the people of Bern celebrated the 600-year anniversary 16 years later in Altdorf. However, this celebration in 1907 would only be a feeble attempt to change the date of 1291. August 1 became established almost undisputed, and later became the official national holiday.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0R\u00fctli\u00a0<\/em>is still an important place for Swiss history, and has been recognized as a national monument.<\/p>\n

How is the\u00a0Bundesfeiertag\u00a0<\/em>celebrated?<\/strong><\/h2>\n