A slight drizzle was falling as our bus left Herisau in northeastern Switzerland. Not even the gray skies would diminish the charm of cattle grazing contentedly on the lush green hills. The chalets dotting the hills and valleys were artistic and aesthetically pleasing. One didn't have to search for picture post card scenes - any place in the entire country seemed to qualify.
We were heading for Schwaegalp at the foot of Mount Saentis, the highest mountain in this corner of Switzerland. Schwaegalp pass is between the cantons of Appenzell and St. Gallen. Mount Saentis at 2,502 meters is perfectly suited as host for terrestrial communications devices. On top of the mountain are antennas attached to a pylon that rises another 123 meters above the ground.
One can hike or take a tramway to the top. However, our group settled for a visit to the cheese factory at the base of the mountain, of interest to all of us, but especially to JoAnn Zwygart Schwitz, who schedules the volunteers at Green County's National Historic Cheesemaking Center.
The Schwaegalp factory specializes in Appenzeller cheese, a tasty cheese made into small wheels. As everything in Switzerland, the factory was spotless and energy efficient. We were treated to samples of that tasty cheese.
Then it was south to Canton Glarus, which is, of course, of special significance to our area of Wisconsin. We are all familiar with the story of the first immigrants from Canton Glarus who settled in Green County in 1845, and were followed by countless immigrants from the German-speaking part of Switzerland during the latter part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th centuries.
Canton Glarus joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1352 as one of the fundamental eight cantons during 1353 to 1481. The first Landsgemeinde in Glarus had already occurred in 1387, prior to joining the Confederacy.
The Landsgemeinde is a cantonal assembly, one of the oldest forms of pure democracy. Eligible citizens of the canton meet periodically in open air to decide on laws and expenditures. Voting is accomplished by those in favor raising their hands.
This form of democracy once practiced in the rural cantons has now been abandoned in all cantons except Glarus and Appenzell Innerrhoden.
Canton Glarus, still predominantly agricultural, is a mountainous area including the valley of the Linth River. According to accepted history, the inhabitants of the Linth Valley were converted to Christianity in the 6th century by the Irish Monk St. Fridolin. The Alemani began to settle in the valley in the 8th century, and the Germanic language gradually took hold.
Hapsburg attempts to reconquer the valley were repelled in the Battle of Naefels in 1388. A banner depicting St. Fridolin was used to rally the people of Glarus. From that time, the image of St. Fridolin was used on flags and coats of arms of Glarus. We see this image on flags and plaques as we walk or drive down the streets of New Glarus.
Our bus pulled into Glarus and parked in the open lot still used for the periodic Landsgemeindesen. We dispersed and walked the streets, grabbing lunch and marveling at the familiar names on storefronts. With those familiar names, we might well have been back in Green County - almost any name we saw could have been relatives of some of our own Swiss-American citizens.
Several of us visited the Evangelical and Reformed Church and walked in the adjoining cemetery. Again, virtually all names on the tombstones were those common to Green County.
The Swiss reformer, Huldrych Zwingli, was priest in Glarus between 1506 and 1516. Although much of Glarus remains Catholic, the dominant Protestant church is the Evangelical and Reformed. In America in 1957 the Evangelical and Reformed merged with the Congregational Church to become the United Church of Christ (UCC). It is of Zwingli's legacy that Green County is one of the few places in the U.S. where the UCC church is the dominant Protestant denomination. St. John's UCC in Monroe, and the UCC "Swiss Church" in New Glarus are the largest Protestant churches in these communities. Zwingli UCC churches are found in the villages and countryside of Green and southern Dane counties.
Not on the itinerary, but with so many of our group having ancestors in the area, we made a visit to the mountain village of Elm. We rolled down the valley, through Schwanden where my paternal grandmother, Sabina Zopfi, was born. Then up a narrow, winding mountain road to the village of Elm.
Elm, as scenic as any place in Switzerland, is off the beaten tourist path. The names on the church cemetery tombstones are dominated by a half dozen or so names common to Green County, obviously, "Elmer" being the most common. My great-great-grandmother was Sabina Elmer Disch, born in Elm in 1796. Her father was Johannes Elmer, and so it goes generations back.
A tragic avalanche hit Elm on Sept. 11, 1881, burying 83 structures with 114 deaths, 44 of which were Elmers. Randy Schneeberger and wife Joey, his brother Delbert and wife Nancy, and sister, Virginia, were members of our tour. Randy informs us that his maternal grandfather, Albert Elmer, was being baptized in the Elm church as the avalanche occurred, and was spared. Randy found it to be a moving experience, standing in the very spot that his grandfather occupied on that fateful day.
Sherry Anderegg, and her sister, Linda Ott, also on our tour, recalls that her great-grandfather was not so fortunate, as his was one of the deaths of that tragic day.
The village of Elm may be off the beaten tourist path. But because of the significance of Canton Glarus and Village Elm to so many of us, it will surely be on a future itinerary, with an overnight stay in its charming hotel amidst scenery as gorgeous as any in Switzerland.
And that says a lot.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
We were heading for Schwaegalp at the foot of Mount Saentis, the highest mountain in this corner of Switzerland. Schwaegalp pass is between the cantons of Appenzell and St. Gallen. Mount Saentis at 2,502 meters is perfectly suited as host for terrestrial communications devices. On top of the mountain are antennas attached to a pylon that rises another 123 meters above the ground.
One can hike or take a tramway to the top. However, our group settled for a visit to the cheese factory at the base of the mountain, of interest to all of us, but especially to JoAnn Zwygart Schwitz, who schedules the volunteers at Green County's National Historic Cheesemaking Center.
The Schwaegalp factory specializes in Appenzeller cheese, a tasty cheese made into small wheels. As everything in Switzerland, the factory was spotless and energy efficient. We were treated to samples of that tasty cheese.
Then it was south to Canton Glarus, which is, of course, of special significance to our area of Wisconsin. We are all familiar with the story of the first immigrants from Canton Glarus who settled in Green County in 1845, and were followed by countless immigrants from the German-speaking part of Switzerland during the latter part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th centuries.
Canton Glarus joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1352 as one of the fundamental eight cantons during 1353 to 1481. The first Landsgemeinde in Glarus had already occurred in 1387, prior to joining the Confederacy.
The Landsgemeinde is a cantonal assembly, one of the oldest forms of pure democracy. Eligible citizens of the canton meet periodically in open air to decide on laws and expenditures. Voting is accomplished by those in favor raising their hands.
This form of democracy once practiced in the rural cantons has now been abandoned in all cantons except Glarus and Appenzell Innerrhoden.
Canton Glarus, still predominantly agricultural, is a mountainous area including the valley of the Linth River. According to accepted history, the inhabitants of the Linth Valley were converted to Christianity in the 6th century by the Irish Monk St. Fridolin. The Alemani began to settle in the valley in the 8th century, and the Germanic language gradually took hold.
Hapsburg attempts to reconquer the valley were repelled in the Battle of Naefels in 1388. A banner depicting St. Fridolin was used to rally the people of Glarus. From that time, the image of St. Fridolin was used on flags and coats of arms of Glarus. We see this image on flags and plaques as we walk or drive down the streets of New Glarus.
Our bus pulled into Glarus and parked in the open lot still used for the periodic Landsgemeindesen. We dispersed and walked the streets, grabbing lunch and marveling at the familiar names on storefronts. With those familiar names, we might well have been back in Green County - almost any name we saw could have been relatives of some of our own Swiss-American citizens.
Several of us visited the Evangelical and Reformed Church and walked in the adjoining cemetery. Again, virtually all names on the tombstones were those common to Green County.
The Swiss reformer, Huldrych Zwingli, was priest in Glarus between 1506 and 1516. Although much of Glarus remains Catholic, the dominant Protestant church is the Evangelical and Reformed. In America in 1957 the Evangelical and Reformed merged with the Congregational Church to become the United Church of Christ (UCC). It is of Zwingli's legacy that Green County is one of the few places in the U.S. where the UCC church is the dominant Protestant denomination. St. John's UCC in Monroe, and the UCC "Swiss Church" in New Glarus are the largest Protestant churches in these communities. Zwingli UCC churches are found in the villages and countryside of Green and southern Dane counties.
Not on the itinerary, but with so many of our group having ancestors in the area, we made a visit to the mountain village of Elm. We rolled down the valley, through Schwanden where my paternal grandmother, Sabina Zopfi, was born. Then up a narrow, winding mountain road to the village of Elm.
Elm, as scenic as any place in Switzerland, is off the beaten tourist path. The names on the church cemetery tombstones are dominated by a half dozen or so names common to Green County, obviously, "Elmer" being the most common. My great-great-grandmother was Sabina Elmer Disch, born in Elm in 1796. Her father was Johannes Elmer, and so it goes generations back.
A tragic avalanche hit Elm on Sept. 11, 1881, burying 83 structures with 114 deaths, 44 of which were Elmers. Randy Schneeberger and wife Joey, his brother Delbert and wife Nancy, and sister, Virginia, were members of our tour. Randy informs us that his maternal grandfather, Albert Elmer, was being baptized in the Elm church as the avalanche occurred, and was spared. Randy found it to be a moving experience, standing in the very spot that his grandfather occupied on that fateful day.
Sherry Anderegg, and her sister, Linda Ott, also on our tour, recalls that her great-grandfather was not so fortunate, as his was one of the deaths of that tragic day.
The village of Elm may be off the beaten tourist path. But because of the significance of Canton Glarus and Village Elm to so many of us, it will surely be on a future itinerary, with an overnight stay in its charming hotel amidst scenery as gorgeous as any in Switzerland.
And that says a lot.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
