Last summer The Spouse and I took a bicycle ride that brought
us into the hills north of Baar. It
carried us into the neighboring Canton of Zürich and to an intriguing monument
that offered insight into the complexity of Swiss politics to this day.
Many newcomers to Switzerland assume that colorful customs
such as Fasnacht are universal throughout the country. But there are important differences from
canton to canton, in many cases based on religious differences rooted in the
Reformation that began in the 1500s.
Some cantons, principally urban areas like Zürich, Berne and Basel, were
centers of agitation for reform in Christian worship and polity, while other
cantons that included the Central Swiss cantons of Luzern, Zug and Schwyz,
remained loyal to the traditional Church.
By 1529 tensions among cantons had escalated to the point of
military conflict. Zürich‘s leaders
declared war on the Catholic cantons, and troops from both sides gathered near
the village and cloister of Kappel, just north of the border between Zürich and
Zug cantons. The rest of the Swiss
Confederacy opposed conflict, however, and negotiations continued. Meanwhile, according to legend, the troops
for both sides got together over a soup made from bread and milk, each
contributing one of the ingredients. In
a few days an agreement known as the First Kappeler Landfrieden was reached, in
which all cantons pledged to avoid coercion in matters of faith and to allow
communities to choose by majority vote whether to keep the traditional church
or adopt the new one. This agreement
lasted only a few years before conflicts broke out again, but eventually peace
was secured along similar lines. While
the rest of Europe suffered centuries of religious war Switzerland remained
relatively peaceful.
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| Kappeler Michsuppe Monument |
Which brings us to the question of Fasnacht. Today and for the next few days until the
beginning of Lent next Wednesday, the streets of towns in my Canton of Zug are
bustling with parades, boisterous bands, crowds of people dressed in colorful
costumes – girded against the chill with Glühwein and beer – and throwing
clouds of confetti. Not so far away in
Protestant Cantons of Zürich and Basel, however, there are no celebrations
during the period leading up to Lent, because one of the reforms involved doing
away many Lenten practices.
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| Crowd Scene at Baar's Fasnacht Parade |
Basel does have its own magnificent parade, the
Morgenstreich, which launches its own carnival period, but it is important to
note that this takes place during Lent – always beginning on the first Monday
in Lent. Originally it was intended as
a way to thumb the community’s collective nose at the Pope, because Lent was
supposed to be a period of fasting and penitence. Interestingly, too, the general population
doesn’t dress in costumes as they do in the Fasnacht parades in the Catholic
Cantons; only the bands and marchers are in costume.
Today these religious differences among cantons are
primarily symbolic, although political differences between the more urban and
rural cantons can be traced back to them.
Looking down at the beautiful valley from the hillside Milchsuppe monument
last summer, it was hard to believe that this was once a battlefield. But it was encouraging to think that the
Swiss had found ways to live together in peace, if not perfect harmony.
