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Post by kungfuzu on Jun 17, 2019 20:05:09 GMT -8
Swiss National Day, August 1st
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jun 17, 2019 20:46:59 GMT -8
I should ask...the nationality or the cheese?
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Post by kungfuzu on Jun 17, 2019 20:57:11 GMT -8
I'll celebrate both.
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Post by timothylane on Jun 17, 2019 21:09:13 GMT -8
So why did they pick that date? I can think of so many reasons, especially given that Switzerland started out as 3 mountainous cantons (Schwyz, Unterwalden, and Uri) and grew from there
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Post by kungfuzu on Jun 18, 2019 8:21:27 GMT -8
It seems it was a convenient date as the three original Cantons signed some agreement in early August 1297. As this wasn't an official holiday until sometime in the twentieth century, one wonders if the Bundesrat didn't figure that it would be a popular things to have a holiday in high summer.
I always felt November 15th would be a good date. On that day in 1315, the Swiss smashed an Austrian (Habsburg) army at the Battle of Morgarten. Morgarten is a lovely site on the medium-sized lake Aegeri. I have been there several times.
Swiss school children were taught to remember the date by saying the battle took place at "viertel nach eins" i.e. a quarter past one, 1pm being 13:00 hrs in Switzerland so they get 1315.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jun 18, 2019 9:13:00 GMT -8
Here is a photo of the monument dedicated to the Battle of Morgarten.
Translation:
"Battle Monument Morgarten 1315"
The small lettering in parenthesis is an abbreviation for "Community Oberaegeri, Zug" which is the Canton in which Oberaegeri is located.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 11,007
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jun 18, 2019 9:34:55 GMT -8
That looks like a lovely little place. Let's see if I can embed a Google map. Nope. That apparently can't be done yet. But a link works: Morgarten
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Post by timothylane on Jun 18, 2019 9:52:37 GMT -8
Nice photo. What exactly does the arrow point to? Is it the center of the battlefield, or the location of the monument, or what?
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Post by kungfuzu on Jun 18, 2019 10:10:39 GMT -8
The area around Lake Aegeri is a beautiful place. There are the towns of Oberaegeri and Unternaegeri on the lake. Expand the view a bit and you will see the lake. The monument to the battle is close to the southern tip of the lake in the picture. You can type in Morgarten Denkmal in the map Brad provided and it will take you to the monument. The arrow in the picture simply points at the top of Morgarten Mountain. The battle took place between the road and the mountain. The Swiss had the high ground and in addition to the normal weapons of war, they threw down rocks and rolled down logs on the Habsburg troops.
Here is a broader view of the location of the monument.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jun 18, 2019 10:17:23 GMT -8
What a delightful day it would be to get on a bicycle and explore the road around that lake. Here's a link to take you to the memorial. But I don't know if it's the same as in your photo because I don't see that little Christian shrine anywhere in it.
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Post by timothylane on Jun 18, 2019 11:03:56 GMT -8
The high ground was also useful for the momentum of Swiss pikemen. My recollection from reading about their later battles against Charles the Rash of Burgundy is that they would rush down on him. Charles had the idea of using missile weapons (including artillery), and their rush greatly reduced their exposure. There's a reason the Vatican still has the Swiss Guards.
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Post by timothylane on Jun 18, 2019 19:15:25 GMT -8
Well, the only Swiss mountains I can think of that are at all famous are the Matterhorn and the Eiger. This could be either one, or maybe something else.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jun 18, 2019 19:28:20 GMT -8
I'll give you a hint.
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Post by timothylane on Jun 18, 2019 19:57:43 GMT -8
Well, I looked that up on wikipedia. I guess it's the Matterhorn.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jun 18, 2019 20:19:23 GMT -8
That's gotta be Big Thunder Mountain in Disneyland.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jun 18, 2019 20:34:07 GMT -8
You both got it correct. Look at the original Disneyland in California and you will see a facsimile of the real Matterhorn.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jun 18, 2019 20:42:10 GMT -8
Disneyland
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Post by timothylane on Jun 18, 2019 21:02:16 GMT -8
I believe we went on that ride when we visited there in 1960.
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Post by kungfuzu on Aug 1, 2021 9:15:20 GMT -8
Today is Switzerland's National Day.
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Post by artraveler on Aug 1, 2021 10:31:06 GMT -8
Happy birthday to the Swiss Do we sing in English, French, Italian or German?
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