Rütli [key], meadows, Uri canton, central Switzerland, on the shore of the Lake of Lucerne. Here, according to the legend of William Tell, representatives of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden met in 1307 to swear the Rütli Oath, on which Swiss freedom was founded. However, the discovery in the 19th cent. of a written alliance of the three cantons, dated Aug. 1, 1291, has detracted from the historic importance of the Rütli meeting. The meadows and a nearby chalet are national monuments.
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