The Landsgemeinde is one of the oldest and simplest forms of direct democracy practised in some cantons of Switzerland. Direct democracy comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein all citizens can directly participate in the political decision-making process. ...

Eligible citizens of the canton meet on a certain day in the open air to decide on laws and expenditures by the council. Everyone can debate a question. Voting is accomplished by those in favour of a motion raising their hands, or historically by raising their ceremonial sword. The twenty-six cantons of Switzerland are the states of the federal state of Switzerland. ...

The Landsgemeinde has always been a political instrument of rural areas; in city states like for example Lucerne, Schaffhausen, or Berne, a general assembly of all citizens had never been established and would also have been impractical. On district level, however, Landsgemeinden did also exist in centrally governed cantons; e.g. in the canton of Berne, there was a Landgemeinde of the Emmental. Lucerne (German: Luzern) is a city in Central Switzerland with a population of 60,274 (31 December 2003), capital of the canton of Lucerne. ... Schaffhausen is a city in northern Switzerland, located 47. ... For other uses, see Bern (disambiguation). ... The Swiss canton of Bern (German: Kanton Bern; French Canton de Berne) has a population of about 947,000. ... Emmental cheese Emmentaler, Emmenthal, or Emmental cheese is a Swiss cheese. ...

Critics of the Landsgemeinde argue that the democratic fundamental right on anonymous voting by this form of democracy were not ensured. For practical reasons, the Landsgemeinde has been abolished in all but two cantons, where it is still the highest political instance of the canton: in Glarus it takes place each first Sunday in May, in Appenzell Innerrhoden on last Sunday in April. All other cantons which once had implemented the Landsgemeinde on state level have abandoned it: as a general assembly of all citizens eligible to vote, it simply becomes impractical to hold when there are too many voters. Glarus is the capital of the Canton of Glarus, Switzerland. ... Appenzell Innerrhoden (German; French: Appenzell Rhodes-Intérieures; in English sometimes Appenzell Inner Rhodes) is a canton of Switzerland. ...

A general assembly system is still in use in many Swiss municipalities, especially smaller ones. The legislative competence of the municipal assemblies (assemblée communale, Gemeindeversammlung) is determined by the cantons. On district level, Landsgemeinden still exist in many cantons; many Vereine (voluntary associations) also call their general assembly a "Landsgemeinde". A municipality or general-purpose district (compare with: special-purpose district) is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. ... A voluntary association (also sometimes called just an association) is a group of individuals who voluntarily enter into an agreement to form a body (or organization) to accomplish a purpose. ...

Of all the Swiss cantons, only eight rural cantons once used the Landsgemeinde on state level^[1], six of which abolished it for practicality and anonymity reasons.

Uri is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. ... May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... 1928 was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The town Schwyz is the capital of the Canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Obwalden is a canton of Switzerland. ... November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Nidwalden is a canton of Switzerland. ... December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Glarus is the capital of the Canton of Glarus, Switzerland. ... Zug, capital of the Swiss canton of that name, a picturesque little town at the northeastern corner of the lake of Zug, and at the foot of the Zugerberg (3255 ft. ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Appenzell Innerrhoden (German; French: Appenzell Rhodes-Intérieures; in English sometimes Appenzell Inner Rhodes) is a canton of Switzerland. ... Appenzell Ausserrhoden (German; French: Appenzell Rhodes-Extérieures; in English sometimes Appenzell Outer Rhodes) is a canton of Switzerland. ... September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years). ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Footnotes

1. ^  Moser-Léchot, D. V.: Die Alte Eidgenossenschaft im 18. Jahrhundert, lecture notes, University of Berne, p. 12.
2. ^  History of Schattdorf. The Landsgemeinde of Uri took place in Bötzlingen in the commune of Schattdorf.
3. ^  Botschaft über die Gewährleistung der geänderten Verfassungen der Kantone Zürich, Obwalden, Solothurn, Waadt und Genf, Bundesblatt 1999, p. 5405.
4. ^  Parlamentarische Initiative..., p. 5. See also Ruch, A.: Grundzüge der Rechtslehre, lecture notes, ETH Zürich, 2005; p. 16.
5. ^  Constitution of the Canton Appenzell Outer Rhodes, footnotes on p. 13.
6. ^  See Law No. 241.1 of the canton of Appenzell Outer Rhodes, subtitle, for the date. Also compare Bendix, J.: Brauchtum und Politik: Die Landsgemeinde in Appenzell Ausserrhoden, ISBN 3-858-82150-0.

The University of Berne is a university in the Swiss capital of Berne. ... ETH Zurich (from its German name Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, ETHZ) is the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, Switzerland. ... Appenzell Ausserrhoden (German; French: Appenzell Rhodes-Extérieures; in English sometimes Appenzell Outer Rhodes) is a canton of Switzerland. ...

References

• Current Cantonal Constitutions from the Swiss Historical Encyclopedia.

External links

• Glarus Landsgemeinde 2005 of Glarus
• Landesgemeinde in Appenzell Innerrhoden