Wilhelm (William) Tell, Swiss national hero, symbol of freedom and expert marksman, holds his crossbow as his young son, Walter, clutches an apple pierced by his father’s arrow in this late-18th century statuary group by Swiss sculptor Joseph Benedikt Curiger or Kuriger at Bürglen, Uri canton, Switzerland. Tell is said to have shot the apple from Walter’s head, saving them both from execution, in 1307 at nearby Altdorf. However, he is said to have lived at Bürglen and a 16th century chapel on the reputed site of his birthplace is frescoed with his life story.
Bürglen, Uri canton, Switzerland: legendary Swiss hero and national symbol of freedom, Wilhelm (William) Tell, holds his crossbow as his young son, Walter, clutches an apple pierced by his father’s arrow in this late-18th century statuary group by Swiss sculptor Joseph Benedikt Curiger or Kuriger (1754-1819). According to legend, the incident in which Tell shot the apple from Walter’s head, saving them both from execution, happened in November 1307 in neighbouring Altdorf. However, Tell, a farmer, is said to have been born at Bürglen. The reputed site of his birthplace, near this monument, is now marked by a chapel, dating from 1582, bearing frescoes illustrating his life story. These statues of Tell and his son were originally placed in 1786 on the Tellbrunnen (Tell Fountain) in the Rathausplatz (Town Hall Square) at Altdorf, close to the spot where the apple-shooting is said to have happened. They were replaced in 1860 by another statue, which in turn gave way in 1895 to the iconic bronze William Tell monument by Richard Kissling of Zürich that now stands in the square. Curiger’s statues were donated to Bürglen in 1891. William Tell, an expert marksman, is Switzerland’s premier folk hero, revered for helping to free the Swiss from Hapsburg oppression. When he refused to bow to imperial power, Tell was seized by Hapsburg bailiff Hermann Gessler. As punishment, he was told that both he and Walter would be executed if he failed to shoot an arrow through an apple placed on the boy’s head. Although Tell achieved the feat with his first shot, Gessler imprisoned him when he realised he would have been the target of Tell’s second arrow. Tell is said to have escaped during the voyage to Gessler’s castle on Lake Lucerne and then to have killed the hated bailiff.
Size: 2832px × 4256px
Location: Bürglen, Uri canton, Switzerland.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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