Altdorf, Switzerland

Altdorf by night.

Altdorf (German for "old village") is the capital of the Swiss canton of Uri. The municipality covers an area of 10.23 square kilometers (3.9 sq mi). It is built at a height of 462 meters (1,516 ft) above sea-level, a little above the right bank of the Reuss, not far above the point where this river is joined on the right by the Schächen torrent.

The name is sometimes written as Altdorf UR, to distinguish it from Altdorf SH, a small village in the canton of Schaffhausen.

Demographics

As of December 2007^[update], the population of Altdorf was 8577^[1]. The population density of the community is 856 inhabitants per km². In 1900 the population was 3117, all Roman Catholic and German-speaking. In 1950 the population was 6576, of which 5833 were Roman Catholic and 6214 spoke German^[2]. In 1990 the population was 8282, of which 6982 were Roman Catholic and 7290 spoke German^[2].

Location

Altdorf is 55 kilometers (34 mi) from Lucerne by the St Gotthard railway and 28 kilometers (17 mi) from Göschenen. Its port on the Lake of Lucerne, Flüelen, is 2 miles (3 km) miles distant. There is a stately parish church, while above the little town is the oldest Capuchin convent in Switzerland (1581).

History

Wilhelm Tell memorial in Altdorf, circa 1900.

The earliest evidence of a settlement in Altdorf are several La Tène era bronze ax-heads and iron tools from the 3^rd Century BC. The people that settled in this region initially settled in the forest, and expanded toward the banks of the Reuss river. When the Reuss periodically flooded, the low lying settlements were destroyed and the inhabitants were driven back to the "old town", a possible source of the name Altdorf^[3].

Following the collapse of the Roman Empire the local Gallo-Roman population of Altdorf began to mix with the germanic Alamanni during the 7^th Century. The earliest evidence of this is the grave (dated to 670-680) of an armed horseman located in the local St Martin's Church^[4].

Altdorf is best known as the place where, according to the legend, William Tell shot the apple from his son's head. This act by tradition happened on the market-place, where in 1895, at the foot of an old tower (with rude frescoes commemorating the feat), there was set up a fine bronze statue (by Richard Kissling of Zurich) of Tell and his son. In 1899 a theatre was opened close to the town's center for the purpose of performing Schiller's play of Wilhelm Tell.

The same year a new carriage-road was opened from Altdorf through the Schächental and over the Klausen Pass (1,948 meters (6,391 ft)) to the village of Linthal (46 kilometers (29 mi)) and so to Glarus. 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from Altdorf by the Klausen road is the village of Bürglen, where by tradition Tell was born; while he is also said to have lost his life, while saving that of a child, in the Schächen torrent that flows past the village. On the left bank of the Reuss, immediately opposite Altdorf, is Attinghausen, where the ruined castle (which belonged to one of the real founders of the Swiss Confederation) now houses the cantonal museum of antiquities.

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

External links

• Altdorf (German) Official site
• Media related to Altdorf at Wikimedia Commons
• Altdorf (UR) in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

v • d • e Municipalities in the Canton of Uri, Switzerland Altdorf | Andermatt | Attinghausen | Bauen | Bürglen | Erstfeld | Flüelen | Göschenen | Gurtnellen | Hospental | Isenthal | Realp | Schattdorf | Seedorf | Seelisberg | Silenen | Sisikon | Spiringen | Unterschächen | Wassen Canton of Uri | Municipalities of the canton of Uri

No comments have been added.

Your name:
City:
Country:	USA UK India Pakistan UAE Saudi Arabia Germany Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burund Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Rep Chad Chile China Columbia Comoros Congo Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic DR Congo Denmark Djiboutil Dominica Dominican Rep Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Eq Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Grenadines Guatemala Guinea Bissau Guinea Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nauru Nepal Neth Antilles Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea Norway Oman Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Rawanda Romania Russia Sao Tome Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Korea South Africa Spain Sri Lanka St Kitts_Nevis St Lucia Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvala UAE Uganda Ukraine Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Western Samoa Yemen Yugoslavia Zaire Zambia Zimbabwe
Your comments:
Security check * (Please enter the number into adjoining box)