Roland Gröbli

Roland Gröbli

Roland Gröbli is a scholar of German language and literature and a historian.

The final oath of allegiance to the Old Swiss Confederacy

Roland Gröbli 28.07.2026 Religious differences between the traditionally Catholic cantons and those that embraced the Reformation prevented them from agreeing on a common wording for the oath of allegiance to the Old Swiss Confederacy. It was effectively 500 years ago, on 28 July 1526, when its members convened to swear their common allegiance for the last time.
The oath taken by the three confederates on the Rütli shapes our image of the Old Swiss Confederacy. Although a popular subject in art and literature, it has little to do with the real history of the oath. Copperplate engraving by Carl Heinrich Rahl.