was the composer Schubert, whose songs he illustrated. In 1828 he removed to Munich, and had the advantage of the friendship of the painter Schnorr and the guidance of Cornelius, then director of the academy. In 1834 he received the commission to decorate King Ludwig's new palace with wall paintings illustrative of the poet Tieck. He also found in the same place congenial sport for his fancy in a “Kinderfries”; his ready hand was likewise busy on almanacs, &c., and by his illustrations to Goethe and other writers he gained applause and much employment. In the revival of art in Germany Schwind held as his own the sphere of poetic fancy. To him was entrusted in 1839, in the new Carlsruhe academy, the embodiment in fresco of ideas thrown out by Goethe; he decorated a villa at Leipzig with the story of Cupid and Psyche, and further justified his title of poet-painter by designs from the Niebelungenlied and Tasso's Gerusalemme for the walls of the castle of Hohenschwangau in Bavarian Tirol. From the year 1844 dates his residence in Frankfort; to this period belong some of the best easel pictures, pre-eminently the Singers' Contest in the Wartburg (1846), also designs for the Goethe celebration, likewise numerous book illustrations. The conceptions for the most part are better than the execution. In 1847 Schwind returned to Munich on being appointed professor in the academy. Eight years later his fame was at its height on the completion in the castle of the Wartburg of wall pictures illustrative of the Singers' Contest and of the history of Elizabeth of Hungary. The compositions received universal praise, and at a grand musical festival in their honour Schwind himself played among the violins. In 1857 appeared his exceptionally mature “cyclus” of the Seven Ravens from Grimm's fairy stories. In the same year he visited England to report officially to King Ludwig on the Manchester art treasures. And so diversified were his gifts that he turned his hand'to church windows and joined his old friend Schnorr in designs for the painted glass in Glasgow cathedral. Towards the close of his career, with broken health and powers on the wane, he revisited Vienna. To this time belong the “cyclus” from the legend of Melusine and the designs commemorative of chief musicians which decorate the foyer of the new opera house. Cornelius writes, “You have here translated the joyousness of music into pictorial art.” Schwind's genius was lyrical; he drew inspiration from chivalry, folk-lore, and the songs of the people; his art was decorative, but lacked scholastic training and technical skill. Schwind died at Munich in 1871, and was buried in the old Friedhof of the same town.
SCHWYZ (modern spelling Schwiz), one of the forest cantons
of central Switzerland. Its total area is 350.5 sq. m., of which
293.6 sq. m. are reckoned as “productive” (forests covering
64.9 sq. m. and vineyards .17 sq. m.), while of the rest 2114 sq. m.
are occupied by lakes (nearly 9 sq. m. of that of Zürich, 834 sq.
m. of that of Lucerne, 334 sq. m. of that of Zug, and the whole
of the lake of Lowerz), and .5 sq. m. is covered by glaciers.
Its loftiest point is the Böser Faulen (9200 ft.), while the two
highest summits of the Rigi (the Kulm, 5906 ft., and the
Scheidegg, 5463 ft.) rise within its borders. The canton extends
from the upper end of the lake of Zürich on the north to the
middle reach of the lake of Lucerne on the south; on the west
it touches at Küssnacht, the northern arm of the same lake, and
in the same direction the lake of Zug at Arth, mountain ridges
dividing it from Glarus on the east and from Uri on the south.
It is made up of two main valleys, those of the Muota, flowing
through the older portion of the canton to the lake of Lucerne,
and of the Sihl that passes near Einsiedeln on its way to Zürich.
Less important are the Aa, that waters the Wäggi glen before
joining the lake of Zürich, and the Biber, which receives the
Alpbach that flows past Einsiedehi. It is thus a hilly rather than
a mountainous region, and is all but wholly devoted to pastoral
pursuits. It has not many railways, the principal being that
portion of the main St Gotthard line between Kussnacht and
Sisikon (about 20 m.), while from Arth-Goldau a line runs past
Biberbrucke (where falls in the branch from Einsiedeln, 3 m.)
towards Wädenswil. From Arth-Goldau a mountain line runs
up to the Rigi Kulm, with a branch to the Rigi Scheidegg,
while from Arth-Goldau the line towards Zug runs for 512 m.
within the canton. There is also a mountain line from Brunnen
to Axenstein. In 1900 the population was 55,385, of whom
53,834 were German-speaking, 1108 Italian-speaking, and 296
French-speaking, while 53,537 were Romanists, 1836 Protestants
and 9 Jews. The most populous town is Einsiedeln, with
its famous Benedictine monastery, but Schwyz (the port of
which is Brunnen) is the political capital.
There is a certain amount of industrial activity in the canton, particularly in the portion bordering on the lake of Zurich, while silk-weaving at home is widespread. There are many fruit trees, particularly cherry trees. But on the whole the region is essentially a pastoral one, and the local brown race of cattle is much esteemed and largely exported, mainly to north Italy. There are 417 mountain pastures or “alps” in the canton, capable of supporting 17,492 cows, and of an estimated capital value of 1,128,000 frs. Till 1814 the canton was included in the diocese of Constance, but it is now nominally part of that of Coire. There are six administrative districts in the canton, which comprise thirty communes. The cantonal constitution dates mainly from 1876, but was revised in 1898. The legislature (Kantonsrat) is composed of members elected in the proportion of one for every six hundred (or fraction over two hundred) inhabitants and holds office for four years—the elections in twelve (the larger) of the thirty electoral circles take place according to the principles of proportional representation. The executive (Regierungsrat) of seven members is elected by a popular vote, and holds office for four years. The two members of the federal Ständerat and the three of the federal Nationalrat are also chosen by a popular vote. The “obligatory referendum” prevails in the case of all laws approved by the legislature and important financial measures, while two thousand citizens may claim a popular vote as to any decrees or resolutions of the legislature, and have also the right of “initiative” as to the revision of the cantonal constitution or as to legislative projects.
The valley of Schwyz is first mentioned in 972 under the form of “Suittes.” Later, a community of freemen is found settled at the foot of the Mythen, possessing common lands, and subject only to the count of the Zürichgau, as representing the German king. Its early history consists mainly of disputes with the great monastery of Einsiedeln about rights of pasture. In 1240 the community obtained from the Emperor Frederick II. the privilege of being subject immediately to the empire. Its territory then included only the district round the village of Schwyz and the valley of the Muota, But in 1269 it bought from Count Eberhard of Habsburg-Laufenburg (who in 1273 sold all his other rights to the head of the elder line of the Habsburgs), Steinen and Rothenthurm. Schwyz took the lead in making the famous everlasting league of the first of August 1291, with the neighbouring districts of Uri and of Unterwalden, its position and political independence specially fitting it for this prominence. An attack by Schwyz on Einsiedeln was the excuse for the Austrian invasion that was gloriously beaten back in the battle of Morgarten (November 15th, 1315). In the history of the league Schwyz was always to the front, so that its name in a dialectal form (Schweiz) was from the early 14th century onwards applied by foreigners to the league as a whole, though it formed part of its formal style only from 1803 onwards. Between 1319 and 1354 Schwyz secured possession of Arth. But it was only after the victory of Sempach (1386) that it greatly extended its borders. An “alliance” with Einsiedeln in 1397 ended in 1434 with the assumption of the position of “protector” of that great house, between 1386 and 1436 the whole of the “March” (the region near the upper lake of Zürich) was acquired, in 1402 Küssnacht was bought, and in 1440 the “Höfe,” the parishes of Wollerau, Feusisberg and Freienbach, situated on the main lake of Zürich. All these districts were governed by Schwyz as “subject lands,” the supreme power resting with the Landsgemeinde (or assembly of all male citizens of full age), which is first distinctly mentioned in 1294, though it seems to have already existed in 1281, when mention is also made of a common seal. Schwyz joined the
