Swiss Passport

What does the Rütli commemorate?

An was erinnert das Rütli?

Correct answer: B

  1. A a prehistoric place of worshipan eine prähistorische Kultstätte
  2. B the alliance of the founding cantonsan das Bündnis der Urkantone
  3. C a battlefieldan ein Schlachtfeld
  4. D a peace treatyan einen Friedensvertrag

Why

According to tradition, men from Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden swore their alliance there. That is why the Rütli is a symbol of the alliance of the founding cantons.

Exam answer: «an das Bündnis der Urkantone» (the alliance of the founding cantons). Today: the Rütli oath is not documented in any charter; old chronicles dated it to 1307. The Rütli is mainly a place of remembrance (HLS, «Rütli»).

Common mistakes

C: a battlefield
There was no battle on the Rütli; famous battlefields are, for example, Morgarten or Sempach.
D: a peace treaty
The Rütli stands for an alliance of mutual help, not for a peace treaty after a war.

Topic

1291, the Rütli and William Tell

At the beginning of August 1291, three valley communities on Lake Lucerne formed an alliance: Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. They are called the founding cantons (Urkantone). Today Unterwalden is divided into two cantons: Obwalden and Nidwalden. The alliance is recorded in a document in Latin, the Federal Charter. In it, the valley communities promised each other mutual help and wanted to settle disputes peacefully.

Timeline of Swiss history
  1. 58 BCHelvetii and Romans
  2. 1291The Rütli and William Tell
  3. 1515Marignano
  4. 1523The Reformation
  5. 1798The French and Napoleon
  6. 1815Neutrality
  7. 1848Sonderbund War and the federal state
  8. 19th c.From agrarian state to industrial state
  9. 1918National general strike
  10. 1939–1945Second World War
  11. 1948Prosperity and AHV
  12. 1970Immigration and the Schwarzenbach initiative
  13. 1971Women's suffrage and equal rights
  14. 1979The youngest canton: Jura

History of Switzerland
Beginnings and the Old Swiss Confederacy

Sources

Last checked: September 2026

Question 321 of the official question list of the Canton of Zurich (Gemeindeamt, May 2025). Translation and explanation: Swiss Passport.

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