As this is written, the 2024 celebration of Cheese Days is ending. Music, yodeling, dancing, Alpine horns, cheese of many varieties, a celebration of Swiss folklore.
How did Monroe, originally settled by “Yankees,” become such a center of Swiss folklore? Let’s take a look at some history of Switzerland as recounted in the book, “Swiss Watching,” written by a Brit, Diccon Bewes, who became a Swiss resident, and with a keen sense of observation and humor, explains so much about this misunderstood, complex country of cultural contradictions.
The beginning was undramatic, low key and peaceful — without bloodshed, bullets, or music. In 1291, three men met in a high meadow above Lake Uri. The Rutli Meadow is still only accessible by boat or on foot; no monument marks the spot, only a large flagpole supporting a giant Swiss flag.
Three men whose names even few Swiss people can name, Walter Fuerst from Uri, Werner Stauffacher from Schwyz, and Arnold von Melchtal from Unterwalden, stood in the August sunshine, placed their left hands together, raised their right hands, and swore to help each other through thick and thin, in peace and war, for ever and ever.
A formal pact was signed in August 1291 by the three cantons. This historic document sits in a museum in Schwyz. August 1 is designated as the official date of origin of Switzerland.
The days of peaceful Swiss neutrality were still many years distant. There were bloody battles still to come, many with neighboring Austria. A Swiss victory over the Austrians in 1315 encouraged cantons Zurich and Lucerne to join what would be a growing federation. According to Bewes, another victory over Austria in 1386 secured independence within the Habsburg Empire and their reputation as soldiers to be reckoned with. Bewes writes, “In those days, Switzerland was not the goody-two-shoes of Europe but was as militaristic as anyone…”
Year 1476: Burgundy, under Charles the Bold, ruled over much of Western Europe, from Holland and Belgium through northern France and Alsace, down toward Geneva. Charles picked a fight with the Swiss, now numbering eight cantons, and was defeated. He tried again six months later and died on the battlefield, killed by Swiss soldiers. Burgundy disappeared, absorbed by France, which dominated Europe for the next few centuries.
With the now powerful Confederation at 13 cantons, plus subject territories, the map of Switzerland remained stable for three centuries, but its history did not. The Swiss exercised their military power, defeating the Austrians once again, and took Milan from the French.
A common characteristic of the powerful is to eventually overreach. In 1515 the French struck back at Marignano in northern Italy, crushing the seemingly invincible Swiss troops. This marked a turning point in Swiss history. Instead of striking back or beating up on weaker opponents, the Swiss made peace with the French, returned Milan, and decided not to fight any more — the beginning of Swiss neutrality as we know it.
Although the Confederation stayed peaceful, its soldiers were hired out, and proceeded to fight and die for almost every European power. The most famous incident was the 600 that died in defense of the Tuileries Palace during the French Revolution, commemorated by the forlorn Lion Monument in Lucerne, a dying lion suffering with a protruding arrow stuck in its body. On a personal note, having visited that monument, it is incredible that a carving in stone can move one to tears.
The remaining remnant of the mercenary era is the Swiss Guard at the Vatican.
The Reformation came to Europe in 1519, dividing Europe, including Switzerland. As author Bewes reminds us, Martin Luther and Jean Calvin get all the press, but the forgotten man is Ulrich Zwingli. The heart of Catholic Switzerland is the monastery and the impressive cathedral in Einsiedein, in Canton Schwyz. With typical Swiss character, Swiss Catholicism is unique. There is no archdiocese in Switzerland. All six dioceses fall directly beneath the Pope, and Swiss bishops are chosen in consultation with the people rather than by orders from Rome.
Ulrich Zwingli’s revolutionary ideas spread across Switzerland. At the Battle of Kappel in 1531, Zurich lost to the Catholics, with Zwingli among the dead. It was the French Jean Calvin that transformed Geneva into a Protestant stronghold. Just as Swiss Catholicism is unique, the Protestants have their own way of running things there. The Swiss Protestant church is not a single body but, in effect, an alliance of cantonal churches independent from each other.
It took some years and bloodshed, but religion is not the issue in Switzerland as it is elsewhere in the world. Bewes suggests that a reason for this is that both Catholics and Protestants have a more democratic way about them. Leave it to Swiss pragmatism to do it their way.
Another hallmark of Swiss history is the invasion by Napoleon in 1798. While he is not celebrated by the Swiss, he created an improved version of the old Confederation, is credited with creation of the Swiss national flag, and for six additional cantons.
Year 1863 was tragic for America, but very significant for the Swiss. Englishman Thomas Cook conducted the first package tour of Switzerland. Who could have predicted that this event would start Europe’s poorest nation on its way to become one of the world’s wealthiest? Also in 1863, Henry Dunant, founded the International Red Cross in Geneva, a significant event making Geneva the symbol of internationalism, peace and security; think Geneva Conventions. There are more than 21 international bodies headquartered in Geneva, including UNICEF and the World Health Organization of the UN, World Trade Organization, and others few people have even heard of.
Fast forward to 1845. Canton Glarus sent a few men to America to find a place to purchase land and establish a new home for its citizens who would be willing to migrate in search of a better life. They found it in Green County. What followed was a migration from many Swiss cantons to Green County and Monroe, and the formation of our famous cheese industry, and all that goes with it.
— John Waelti’s column appears monthly in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
