1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Schwyz (town)

SCHWYZ, the capital of the Swiss canton of that name, a picturesque little town, admirably situated, amid fruit trees, on a mountain terrace (at a height of 1706 ft.), commanding a glorious view, at the north-west foot of the conical peak of the Gross Mythen (6240 ft.), and at a considerable height above the valley of the Muota. Besides a stately 18th century parish church and several convents, it contains a 16th century town hall (housing various precious MSS. and banners captured in various wars), as well as several curious old patrician houses, such as that of the Reding family, a member of which, Aloys (1765–1818), headed the patriotic resistance to the French in 1798–1799. Including the neighbouring hamlets of Ibach, Rickenbach, &c., the parish had 7398 inhabitants in 1900, practically all German-speaking and Romanists. The town is connected by an electric tramway with the Schwyz-Seewen station on the St Gotthard railway, about 3 m. from Brunnen, the port of Schwyz on the lake of Lucerne.