Näfelser Fahrt

Näfelser Fahrt is a holiday in the Swiss Canton of Glarus on the first Thursday of every April. It commemorates a great victory won by the canton and by the Swiss Confederation in general against the Hapsburg Austrian invaders in the year 1388. In 2027, Näfelser Fahrt falls on Thursday 1 April. The holiday will be on Thursday 6 April in 2028. The war began when Glarus managed to fight its way free of Austrian control in 1387. Early next year, in February of 1388, the Austrian army reinvaded Glarus. Some 5,000 troops attacked the villages of Weesan and Nafels. Nafels fell when the small 400-man-strong Swiss unit fled upon being attacked. They hid out in the adjacent hills. Then, the Austrians started pillaging the countryside. The Glarus stoops assaulted the Austrians through the fog and falling snow, drove them to a bridge, and then the bridge collapsed because too many soldiers were crowding onto it. This led to a big victory and the freedom of Glarus. Later that April, the people of Glarus went on a pilgrimage to the battle site, calling it Näfelser Fahrt, which means “journey to Näfels”. They have gone on this pilgrimage every year since.