Glarus (canton) facts for kids
Glarus is a canton, which is like a state, located in eastern Switzerland. Its main city and capital is also called Glarus. In 2010, the 25 smaller towns and villages in Glarus joined together to form just three larger ones: Glarus, Glarus Nord, and Glarus Süd. Most people in Glarus speak German, about 83.6% of the nearly 40,000 residents. About 6.8% of the people speak Italian.
Geography of Glarus
The canton of Glarus is mostly covered by mountains. A deep valley, carved by the Linth River, runs through the area. This river is very important to the region. The total size of Glarus is about 685 square kilometers (264 square miles).
History of Glarus
The history of Glarus has been greatly shaped by religion. In the 6th century, a monk from Ireland named Saint Fridolin brought Christianity to the people living in the Linth Valley. You can still see Saint Fridolin on the coat of arms (the official symbol) of Glarus today.
For a long time, the area around Glarus was owned by an abbey (a type of monastery) that Saint Fridolin started. But by 1288, a powerful family called the Habsburgs slowly took control. However, the people of Glarus decided to join the Swiss Confederation in 1352. This was a group of independent states that worked together.
Between 1506 and 1516, a famous religious leader named Huldrych Zwingli worked as a priest in Glarus. He was part of a big movement called the Reformation. By 1564, Zwingli's followers were no longer in Glarus. But Protestants and Catholics in the canton continued to have disagreements. To keep the peace, they decided in 1623 that each group would have its own special meeting, called a Landsgemeinde. This was a public assembly where citizens voted on laws by raising their hands. Later, in 1683, each group even got its own courts.
From 1798 to 1803, Glarus was part of a larger area called the Canton of Linth. This was set up by Napoleon. In 1836, the rules were changed to bring the different Landsgemeinde meetings back together into just one.
A very sad event happened in 1861 when a huge fire destroyed about two-thirds of Glarus city. This meant 593 buildings were lost! After the fire, the city was rebuilt in a new, organized way, with buildings arranged in blocks.
On May 6, 2007, Glarus made history. It became the very first Swiss canton to allow young people to vote at the age of 16.
Industry
In the 1600s, the land in Glarus helped create slate works. Slate is a type of rock used for roofing and other things.
Municipalities
Before 2010, Glarus had 25 different towns and villages, called municipalities. But as mentioned, these were merged into just three larger municipalities: Glarus, Glarus Nord, and Glarus Süd.
Aargau · Appenzell Innerrhoden · Appenzell Ausserrhoden · Basel-Stadt · Basel-Landschaft · Bern · Fribourg · Geneva · Glarus · Graubünden · Jura · Lucerne · Neuchâtel · Nidwalden · Obwalden · Schaffhausen · Schwyz · Solothurn · St. Gallen · Thurgau · Ticino · Uri · Valais · Vaud · Zug · Zürich
Images for kids
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The cantonal museum is in the Freulerpalast in Näfels.
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The village of Linthal with the Glarus Alps in the background.
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Citizens voting at the Landsgemeinde on May 7, 2006.
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A map showing the municipalities before the big change in 2007.
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A map showing the municipalities after the change in 2011.
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Electricity from Klöntalersee is an important export for Glarus.
See also
In Spanish: Cantón de Glaris para niños
