Once up on a time, there were the brave people of the Swiss forest cantons Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. And like every good story there of course was an evil empire, in this case the House of Habsburg. The bailiff sent to the forest cantons was a very nasty one. The bailiff ordered that all the citizens had to greet his hat, which was according to the legend on top of a pole. Well, along came Tell and refused to greet the hat. So for punishment he was ordered to shoot an apple from the head of his youngest son. What he did. The legend tells the he took out two arrows, and when the bailiff asked him why, Tell told him that if he would have shot his son instead of the apple the second arrow would have been for him the Gessler or bailiff.  There is more to this story, however it is not what Switzerland celebrates on its national holiday today.

The time of Wilhelm Tell seems to have been one of rebellion and resistance, a fight to become independent from the rule of the House of Habsburg. In 1291 the forest canton's received their  `Bundesbrief' (Letter of Confederation)and as such their independence.

Now how where these forest cantons able to achieve the independence from the huge empire of Habsburg? I am sure they were really brave men and women, but to me the relevant aspect is location. They were more or less the guardians of the St. Gotthard pass, an important path through the alps, the connection between the north and the south. This was already know to the Romans, but it was difficult to use until the Walser people developed a technique for crossing the `Schöllenen Gorge'. Later the `Devil's bridge was build.
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How the bridge received its name is a legend of its own. So this mountain region was easy to defend and control and was what gave the forest cantons their power.

The interesting thing is that contemporary Switzerland still gets some of its importance from its strategic positions on the north-south transits route over the Alps. The Alps are a barrier that divides north and south Europe, so the St. Gotthard mountain was the fastest connection and still is. I do believe that this transit is of relevance in the discussions with the EU and will be. When there was a fire in the Tunnel of the Gotthard a few years ago, and the transit was closed, transportation was detoured to Austria and France and caused great disruption and delay. When peak oil comes, it will become even more important, especially now with the Porta Alpina being build (Jérôme wrote on this too, but I can't find it). The following picture gives a good impression of the strategic position of Switzerland.

So, today we will proudly remember Wilhelm Tell and feel proud of our independence and neutrality. Which seems to become more and more a legend too. However, if a descended of the House of Habsburg, today's Austria (what's her name?) puts pressure on the Swiss to Vote yes in the coming poll about opening up the Swiss borders to all EU workers, you can be sure that our inner Willi is awakened and strengthened and ready to resist and fight again.