Who was William Tell and what did he have to do with Switzerland?

Answer 1

For starters, it is not clear if William Tell ever existed.

The legend has it that William Tell from Bürglen was an expert marksman with the crossbow. At the time, the Austrian emperors were seeking to dominate the canton of Uri where Tell lived. Hermann Gessler, the newly appointed Austrian governor, raised a pole in Altdorf's central square with his hat on top and demanded that all the local townsfolk bow before it. As Tell passed by without bowing, he was arrested. He received the punishment of being forced to shoot an apple off the head of his son, Walter, or else both would be executed.

Tell had been promised freedom if he shot the apple. On November 18, 1307, Tell split the fruit with a single bolt from his crossbow, without mishap. When Gessler queried him about the purpose of the second bolt in his quiver, Tell answered that if he had ended up killing his son in that trial, he would have turned the crossbow on Gessler himself . Gessler became enraged at that comment, and had Tell bound and brought to his ship to be taken to his castle at Küssnacht. In a storm on Lake Lucerne, Tell managed to escape. On land, he went to Küssnacht, and when Gessler arrived, Tell shot him with a crossbow bolt.

This defiance of Gessler, the legend says, sparked a rebellion, leading to the formation of the Old Swiss Confederacy.

Answer 2

No other Swiss person is so widely known as Wilhelm (William) Tell, the Swiss National Hero of Liberty - thanks to the German poet Friedrich von Schiller and his drama Wilhelm Tell. William Tell's picture can be seen on the back of coins worth 5 Swiss Francs (largest coin in Switzerland, approximately 4 US $) - but there is reasonable doubt whether Wilhelm Tell ever has lived at all. However, the very legend of William Tell itself did have an enormous influence on the history of Switzerland and of other countries.

Answer 3

Wilhelm tell is a Swiss national hero. known in the rest of the world mostly for shooting an arrow through an apple placed on his son's head