Schwyz

Schwyz lies in the valleys of central Switzerland and gave its name to the Swiss Confederation. Its community of farmers held common lands beneath the Mythen and contested grazing rights with Einsiedeln Abbey. In 1291 Schwyz joined Uri and Unterwalden in a pact of mutual assistance that became a foundation of the Confederation. The defeat of a Habsburg force at Morgarten in 1315 strengthened their alliance.

Schwyz expanded its authority over neighbouring districts in the later Middle Ages and remained Catholic during the Reformation. In 1531 its forces and those of other Catholic cantons defeated Zürich at Kappel, where Huldrych Zwingli was killed. A fire in 1642 destroyed much of the village of Schwyz, including its church; a larger square and new houses arose during rebuilding. French invasion in 1798 brought an end to the old order, but the canton regained its independence under the Act of Mediation in 1803.