Schwyz (; ; ) is a town and the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.

The Federal Charter of 1291 or Bundesbrief, the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the Bundesbriefmuseum.

The official language of Schwyz is (the Swiss variety of) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.

Name

The earliest certain record of the name dates to 972, recorded in Medieval Latin as '. There are a number of uncertain records dated between 924 and 960, in the form Swites (Suuites) and Switz. The name is recorded as Schwitz in the 13th century, and in the 17th to 18th century often as Schweitz.

The name's etymology is uncertain. It was long presented as derived from the name of an eponymous founder in Swiss legend, one Suito or Switer, an explanation found in Swiss school textbooks until the first half of the 20th century. There is currently no consensus on the name's derivation. Isaac Wake, diplomat of King James VI and I in Bern, suggested in 1625 that the name originated in Sweden, among the Suecia, "who in the time of king [sic] Sigebert made a transmigration out of Suecia and planted themselves in this country". A Germanic etymology was suggested by Gatschet (1867), deriving the name from an Old High German verb ' "to burn" (referring to slash-and-burn clearing of woodland for habitation). Brandstetter (1871) is critical of Gatschet's suggestion and prefers derivation from an Alemannic personal name in Svid- as it were presenting a scholarly defense of the Suito of the founding legend.

The etymology proposed for the ' by Hubschmied (1929) derives the name from a Gallo-Roman *', from the Gaulish or Latin word for "pig", via a Romance *' "(mountain, pasture) of pigs" yielding an Alemannic '. Hubschmied distanced himself from this opinion in 1961, preferring an unspecified pre-Roman (or "Etruscan") source.

Sonderegger (1966) revisits Gatschet's ' "slash-and-burn" proposal, but now claims derivation from a cognate Celtic root, ', Proto-Celtic ' with a meaning of "clearing" or similar, giving Gaulish *' (the long vowel as in ' "Rhine"), Gallo-Romance *Svēdus, -is, and finally ' in Old High German by the 8th century.

The name ' was extended to the area dominated by Schwyz (the Canton of Schwyz), and later to the entire Old Swiss Confederacy. Other cantons tended to resent this in the 15th century, but after 1499 the term ' was widely self-adopted, out of spite so to speak, since it had been employed as a term of abuse by the Swabian side during the Swabian War. and (the origin of the English name Switzerland) could be used interchangeably as country names in the 16th century.

The Swiss German pronunciation is the same for the name of the town and that of the country (the two are distinguished only by use of the definite article for the latter, "Schwyz", "Switzerland"). The spelling of y for [iː] originates from the ligature ij in 15th-century handwriting.

History

thumb|left|Fountain in the central plaza in Schwyz

thumb|left|Aerial view (1963)

While a few Roman era coins have been found in Schwyz, the earliest evidence of a settlement comes from the 8th century. The Alamanni cemetery at the parish church and the church itself are both from the first half of the 8th century. This first church was followed by a second ottonian church around 1000, which may have been destroyed by the 1117 Verona earthquake. In 1121 the third church building, a romanesque building, was consecrated. This was followed in the 15th century by the much larger fourth church which was destroyed, along with much of the village, by fire in 1642. The fifth church, an early baroque church was replaced because of serious structural defects by the current late baroque church which was dedicated in 1774.

Schwyz has an area, , of . Of this area, 46.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 39.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 8.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (5.8%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

Demographics

Schwyz had a population () of . , 15.6% of the population were resident foreign nationals. Over the year 2010–2011 the population reduced by 0.6%. Migration accounted for −0.9%, while births and deaths accounted for 0.0%. Most of the population () speaks German (12,441 or 90.1%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian is the second most common (378 or 2.7%) and Italian is the third (273 or 2.0%). There are 23 people who speak French and 25 people who speak Romansh.

, there were 5,250 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. , the construction rate of new housing units was 4.8 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.25%.

<timeline>

Colors=

id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9)

id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8)

ImageSize = width:800 height:500

PlotArea = top:10 left: 100 bottom:90 right:100

Legend = columns:3 left:220 top:70 columnwidth:160

AlignBars = justify

DateFormat = x.y

Period = from:0 till:14000

TimeAxis = orientation:vertical

AlignBars = justify

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:3000 start:0

ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:600 start:0

Colors=

id:TO value:yellowgreen legend:Total

id:GE value:teal legend:German_Speaking

id:IT value:green legend:Italian_Speaking

id:CA value:lightpurple legend:Catholic

id:PR value:oceanblue legend:Protestant

id:SW value:red legend:Swiss

PlotData=

color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center

bar:1850 from:start till:5432 text:"5,432" color:TO

bar:1870 from:start till:6137 text:"6,137" color:TO

bar:1888 from:start till:6616 text:"6,616" color:TO

bar:1900 from:start till:7398 text:"7,398" color:TO

bar:1910 from:start till:8000 text:"8,000" color:TO

bar:1930 from:start till:8256 text:"8,256" color:TO

bar:1950 from:start till:10259 text:"10,259" color:TO

bar:1970 from:start till:12194 text:"12,194" color:TO

bar:1990 from:start till:12872 text:"12,872" color:TO

bar:2000 from:start till:13802 text:"13,802" color:TO

LineData =

points:(244,274)(307,292) color:GE

points:(307,292)(369,306) color:GE

points:(369,306)(431,315) color:GE

points:(431,315)(493,371) color:GE

points:(493,371)(556,410) color:GE

points:(556,410)(618,419) color:GE

points:(618,419)(680,445) color:GE

points:(244,93)(307,97) color:IT

points:(307,97)(369,100) color:IT

points:(369,100)(431,97) color:IT

points:(431,97)(493,97) color:IT

points:(493,97)(556,111) color:IT

points:(556,111)(618,103) color:IT

points:(618,103)(680,98) color:IT

points:(120,245)(182,265) color:CA

points:(182,265)(244,277) color:CA

points:(244,277)(307,298) color:CA

points:(307,298)(369,313) color:CA

points:(369,313)(431,319) color:CA

points:(431,319)(493,373) color:CA

points:(493,373)(556,422) color:CA

points:(556,422)(618,416) color:CA

points:(618,416)(680,412) color:CA

points:(120,90)(182,91) color:PR

points:(182,91)(244,92) color:PR

points:(244,92)(307,94) color:PR

points:(307,94)(369,95) color:PR

points:(369,95)(431,97) color:PR

points:(431,97)(493,100) color:PR

points:(493,100)(556,104) color:PR

points:(556,104)(618,109) color:PR

points:(618,109)(680,111) color:PR

points:(120,244)(182,261) color:SW

points:(182,261)(244,272) color:SW

points:(244,272)(307,287) color:SW

points:(307,287)(369,301) color:SW

points:(369,301)(431,314) color:SW

points:(431,314)(493,373) color:SW

points:(493,373)(556,407) color:SW

points:(556,407)(618,413) color:SW

points:(618,413)(680,426) color:SW

</timeline>

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"

! colspan="12" | Historic Population Data

<gallery>

File: Bundesbriefmuseum.jpg | Bundesbriefmuseum (Museum of the Swiss Charters of Confederation)

File: Frauenkloster www.f64.ch-2.jpg | Dominican Nuns Convent of St. Peter am Bach

File: Einsiedelei Schwyz www.f64.ch-1.jpg | Hermitage with Chapel of the 14 Emergency Helpers and a Brothers' House

File: Forum Schweizer Geschichte Schwyz 04.jpg | Forum der Schweizer Geschichte (Forum of Swiss History)

File: Haus Ab Yberg Schwyz 1-www.f64.ch.jpg | Ab Yberg im Grund House with St. Sebastian Chapel

File:Herrenhaus "Mittleres Feldli" in Schwyz (2022).jpg|Manor house "Mittleres Feldli" and Mythen

File: Schwyz Haus Bethlehem und Grosser Mythen.jpg | Bethlehem House at Reichsstrasse 9

File: Haus Ceberg Schwyz www.f64.ch-3.jpg | Ceberg im Feldli House at Theodosiusweg 20

File: Gotthardstrasse 99 www.f64.ch-1.jpg | House at Gotthardstrasse 99, Ibach

File: Grosshus Schwyz www.f64.ch-2.jpg | Grosshus House at Strehlgasse 12

File: Haus Immenfeld Schwyz www.f64.ch-9.jpg | Immenfeld House

File: Langfeldweg 14 www.f64.ch-3.jpg | House at Langfeldweg 14, Kaltbach

File: Schönenbuch Schwyz www.f64.ch-2.jpg | House at Oberschönenbuch 79, Ibach

File: Hettlingerhaeuser Schwyz www.f64.ch-4.jpg | Hettlingerhäuser

File: Ital-Reding-Hofstatt Schwyz.jpg | Hofstatt Ital Reding

File: Kopp1august 1.JPG | Catholic Parish Church of St. Martin ith Kerchel and Heiligkreuz Chapel

File: Maihof Palais Niederoest 2-www.f64.ch.jpg | Maihof

File: Palais Bueeler Schwyz www.f64.ch-1.jpg | Palais Büeler (formerly Palais von Weber)

File: Rathaus Schwyz 12.jpg | Rathaus (Town council house)

File: Schwyz_Hofstatt_Ital_Reding.jpg | Reding House

File: Staatsarchiv www.f64.ch-2.jpg | State Archives of Schwyz

</gallery>

Politics

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 39.91% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (26.12%), the SPS (17.05%) and the FDP (12.72%). In the federal election, a total of 5,554 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 57.8%.

Economy

, Schwyz had an unemployment rate of 1.8%. , there were 484 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 174 businesses involved in this sector. 2,756 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 179 businesses in this sector. 7,099 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 696 businesses in this sector.

, there were 4,484 workers who commuted into the municipality and 2,168 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 2.1 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 13.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 45.3% used a private car.

A major school in Schwyz is the Kantonsschule Kollegium Schwyz (KKS), an upper Secondary school that is a Gymnasium and a vocational or technical college. The KKS has operated for over 150 years, though it builds on several older schools. The first Latin school in Schwyz opened in 1627 in the former Capuchin monastery of St. Josef im Loo. This school remained open until the 1798 French invasion. On 25 July 1841, the Jesuits laid the cornerstone of what would become the Jesuit College on the site of the modern Kollegium. The school opened in 1844 but only remained under Jesuit control for three years. In 1847, Federal troops marched into Schwyz to suppress the Catholic Sonderbund and forced the Jesuits to flee. It was reopened in 1855 under the Capuchin Father Theodosius Florentini and in the following year began teaching students. The school continued to teach students using both religious and secular teachers until the 1970s. In 1972, the lower Secondary students moved to Pfäffikon and the school became an upper Secondary Kantonsschule.

Weather

Schwyz has an average of 149.2 days of rain per year and on average receives of precipitation. The wettest month is August during which time Schwyz receives an average of of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.9 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is June, with an average of 14.8, but with only of precipitation. The driest month of the year is February with an average of of precipitation over 13.9 days.

Transport

thumb|Schwyz railway station

The A4 motorway, between Zürich and the Brunnen passes through the west of the municipality, and the town is linked to it by main roads and motorway junctions. Other main roads connect the town to Lucerne (along both banks of Lake Lucerne), to the Gotthard Pass and southern Switzerland, and to Pfaffikon and Einsiedeln in the north of the canton of Schwyz. A minor road crosses the Ibergeregg Pass to Oberiberg, providing an alternative route to Einsiedeln. Other minor roads reach to near the summits of both the Haggenegg Pass and Holzegg Pass, but only hiking trails actually cross these passes and continue to Alpthal. – and on the same day, the Schwyz SBB–Schwyz line was shut down. The trams were eventually replaced by the Auto AG Schwyz, which today operates 12 bus lines in the cantons of Lucerne and Schwyz.

The Rotenfluebahn links Rickenbach with the summit of the Rotenfluh mountain, which is, in summer, a popular vantage point over the Lake Lucerne region, and, in winter, a ski area.

Notable people

140px|thumb|General Teodoro Reding

  • Theodor von Reding (1755 in Schwyz – 1809) a Spanish general, led Swiss and Spanish troops against Napoleon
  • Alois von Reding (1765 in Schwyz – 1818) a Swiss patriot, military officer and politician, brother of Theodor
  • Carl Elsener Sr. (1922 – 2013 in Schwyz) a Swiss entrepreneur with the Swiss Army knife
  • Xavier Koller (born 1944 in Schwyz) a Swiss film director and screenwriter
  • Gertrud Leutenegger (born 1948 in Schwyz – 2025 there) a Swiss poet, novelist, playwright and theatre director
  • Monika Kaelin (born 1954 in Schwyz) a model and actress

; Sport

  • Oscar Camenzind (born 1971 in Schwyz) a former professional road racing cyclist
  • Luca Schuler (born 1998 in Schwyz) a Swiss freestyle skier, competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics
  • Corinne Suter (born 1994 in Schwyz) a Swiss alpine skier, Olympic gold medallist at the 2022 Winter Olympics

References

  • Municipality of Schwyz
  • Canton of Schwyz