CANTON OF URI
As Americans a trip to the birthplace of our country would take us to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pa. As a Swiss you would go to Rütli Meadow in the Canton of Uri. A great way to get there is to take one of the paddle wheel steam boats from Lucerne. A traditional path, if you’re in good shape, is to get off at the Rütli Boat Station and trek up to the Rütli. For a more laid-back trip, get off at the Treib Boat Station, then take the Treib-Seelisberg Funicular to the top catching the starting point of the “Swiss Path” hiking trail. If you want to discover Switzerland’s founding history, you can then follow it for its 35km length. The trail will take you along the beautiful Lake Uri, to Flüelen and ultimately to Brunnen on the Canton Schwyz side of Lake Lucerne.
The “Swiss Path” has also been called the ”William Tell Path” after the Swiss hero who defied Hermann Gessler, the bailiff of Altdorf. According to legend, Gessler ordered William Tell to shoot an apple off his son’s head. William Tell held two bolts for his crossbow. One was used to shoot the apple; the other if it struck the boy was to kill Gessler. You can view Tell’s famous bronze statue in Altdorf and for a bit of nostalgia listen to Rossini’s William Tell Overture.
Uri, located in the middle of the central Swiss Alps, is at the crossroads of a number of famous mountain passes –Susten, Gotthard, Furka, Klausen & Oberalp. A visit to Switzerland would not be complete without a 3-Pass drive over the Furka, Grimsel & Susten passes. For railroad enthusiasts you will want to include a ride on the Furka Mountain Steam Railway which will take you over the Steffenbach folding bridge.
History buffs will remind us that Hannibal crossed the Alps in 16 days. The Swiss in an incredible engineering feat cut a 36 mile long hole, 6000ft under the base of the Alps enabling north-south crossings in 17 minutes. The new Gotthard Base Railway Tunnel was completed on time and boring from opposite directions, over the 57km stretch, they were off only 8cm (3.15in) horizontally and 1cm (0.39in) vertically. Talk about Swiss precision! The Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world’s longest railway tunnel, will be fully operational in December of this year. For a very interesting video, it’s about 45 minutes long, on the details and challenges encountered in the construction of this new high speed route, click here.
Checkout the videos & web sites by clicking on the highlighted links above.
As Americans a trip to the birthplace of our country would take us to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pa. As a Swiss you would go to Rütli Meadow in the Canton of Uri. A great way to get there is to take one of the paddle wheel steam boats from Lucerne. A traditional path, if you’re in good shape, is to get off at the Rütli Boat Station and trek up to the Rütli. For a more laid-back trip, get off at the Treib Boat Station, then take the Treib-Seelisberg Funicular to the top catching the starting point of the “Swiss Path” hiking trail. If you want to discover Switzerland’s founding history, you can then follow it for its 35km length. The trail will take you along the beautiful Lake Uri, to Flüelen and ultimately to Brunnen on the Canton Schwyz side of Lake Lucerne.
The “Swiss Path” has also been called the ”William Tell Path” after the Swiss hero who defied Hermann Gessler, the bailiff of Altdorf. According to legend, Gessler ordered William Tell to shoot an apple off his son’s head. William Tell held two bolts for his crossbow. One was used to shoot the apple; the other if it struck the boy was to kill Gessler. You can view Tell’s famous bronze statue in Altdorf and for a bit of nostalgia listen to Rossini’s William Tell Overture.
Uri, located in the middle of the central Swiss Alps, is at the crossroads of a number of famous mountain passes –Susten, Gotthard, Furka, Klausen & Oberalp. A visit to Switzerland would not be complete without a 3-Pass drive over the Furka, Grimsel & Susten passes. For railroad enthusiasts you will want to include a ride on the Furka Mountain Steam Railway which will take you over the Steffenbach folding bridge.
History buffs will remind us that Hannibal crossed the Alps in 16 days. The Swiss in an incredible engineering feat cut a 36 mile long hole, 6000ft under the base of the Alps enabling north-south crossings in 17 minutes. The new Gotthard Base Railway Tunnel was completed on time and boring from opposite directions, over the 57km stretch, they were off only 8cm (3.15in) horizontally and 1cm (0.39in) vertically. Talk about Swiss precision! The Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world’s longest railway tunnel, will be fully operational in December of this year. For a very interesting video, it’s about 45 minutes long, on the details and challenges encountered in the construction of this new high speed route, click here.
Checkout the videos & web sites by clicking on the highlighted links above.