Gersau

Gersau is a municipality and district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland, sitting on the shores of Lake Lucerne. Gersau was for many centuries an independent micro-state in permanent alliance with the Swiss Confederation.

History

Gersau is first mentioned in 1064 as Gersouwe. The estates of Gersau gradually came into the hands of the Habsburgs, but in 1333, under dukes Albert II and Otto IV the Merry of Austria, the jurisdiction and rights over Gersau fell into the hands of Lucerne nobility. On 1359, Gersau allied with the Old Swiss Confederacy as a protectorate of the Confederacy, for its protection and to gain arms from the confederates. On July 9, 1386, the citizens of Gersau fought with the Swiss for the first time, on the battlefield of Sempach, where the banner of Count Rudolf of Hohenzollern was captured.

Gersau purchased its liberty from the counts of Habsburg in 1390 for the sum of 690 Pfunds in pfennigs. The fate of the Vogtei and whether or not the municipality pledged to the Confederacy was then in the hands of Lucerners John, Peter and Agnes von Moos; as a result, the jurisdiction, Vogtei and tax rights went to the courtiers of Gersau, allowing a free municipality without being mortgaged to some other power. In Basel, in 1433, Gersau received original confirmation of the ancient freedoms, rights and privileges from Emperor Sigismund, thus becoming a Reichsunmittelbar municipality under the direct protection of the Holy Roman Emperor, with its own courts, covering an area of 24 km2 (9.3 sq mi).

During the French Revolutionary Wars Gersau was annexed into the Helvetic Republic, becoming a district of the canton of Waldstätten. After the Act of Mediation and the collapse of the Helvetic Republic, Gersau became a district of the canton of Schwyz until 1814, when it regained its independence, with Schwyzer approval, centred on the 1745 Rathaus, containing council chambers and a courtroom (now a museum).

In 1817, the Tagsatzung decided, on the basis of the Congress of Vienna and the first article of the Federal Treaty that Gersau should be united with the canton of Schwyz, which took effect the following year, against its wishes, becoming the sixth and last district of the canton of Schwyz.

Geography

Gersau is in a self-contained location, nestled in a sunny recess in the lee of the south face of Rigi. Gersau is protected from cool winds by the Rigi-Hochfluh and Gersauerstock peaks to the north, and the winds are further moderated by Lake Lucerne to the south. This produces a mild climate in which Sweet Chestnut trees thrive, and as a result of which Gersau is known in the region as the Riviera of Lake Lucerne.

Gersau has an area, as of 2006, of 14.4 km2 (5.6 sq mi). Of this area, 40.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 52.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 5.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.7%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

Until the mid 19th Century Gersau could only be reached by water or over the Gätterli pass from Lauerz. Since 1817 it has been the only municipality in the District of Gersau.

The Beckenried–Gersau car ferry links Gersau with Beckenried, on the opposite bank of Lake Lucerne.

Heritage sites of national significance

The Parish Church of St. Marzellus is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire village of Gersau is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Cuisine

Culinary specialties of Gersau include salty cheesecake and a dessert called Rahmschinken.