Switzerland, during the earlier period of the Middle Ages,
formed a part of the German duchy of Swabia and belonged to the Holy Roman
Empire. About two-thirds of the population of Switzerland remain German in
speech and feeling, though now the country includes districts in which French
or Italian are spoken. All Swiss laws are still proclaimed in the three
languages.
SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA
Swiss history is closely bound up with that of Austria.
The little mountain communities of Schwyz, [32] Uri, and Unterwalden, on the
shores of beautiful Lake Lucerne, were possessions of the counts of Hapsburg.
In 1291 A.D., the year when Rudolf of Hapsburg died, these three "Forest
Cantons" formed a confederation for resistance to their Hapsburg
overlords. Additional cantons joined the league, which now entered upon a long
struggle, dear to all lovers of liberty, against Austrian rule. Nowhere did the
old methods of feudal warfare break down more conspicuously than in the battles
gained by Swiss pikemen over the haughty knights of Austria. The struggle
closed in 1499 A.D., when Switzerland became practically a free state. [33]
[32] From Schwyz comes the name Switzerland.
[33] The independence of the country was not formally
recognized till 1648 A.D.
