Four Forest Cantons, the definition of Four Forest Cantons, the in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Four Forest Cantons, the, Ger. Die Vier Waldstätten, in central Switzerland, the cantons of Unterwalden Unterwalden (
..... Click the link for more information. , Schwyz Schwyz (1993 pop. 13,000), one of the oldest towns in Switzerland, is a summer resort. The Swiss federal archives there contain the original pact of 1291. The town has a 16th-century town hall with historic paintings, several baroque churches, and numerous patrician houses
..... Click the link for more information. , Uri Uri (

`rē), canton (1993 pop.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Lucerne Lucerne (1990 pop. 59,115), which is on both banks of the Reuss where it flows out of the Lake of Lucerne. It is one of the largest resorts (mainly summer) in Switzerland and relies on tourism as the staple of its economy.
..... Click the link for more information. , the first Swiss communities to win their freedom against the Hapsburgs. In 1291 the three mountain forest cantons (Unterwalden, Schwyz, and Uri) formed the League of Forest Cantons as the nucleus of an independent Switzerland. They were joined by Lucerne in 1332. The Lake of the Four Forest Cantons (Vierwaldstättersee) is called in English the Lake of Lucerne.