An Early Attempt at Co-Existence

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.

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. 

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.