Glarus

Capital of the Swiss canton of Glarus, situated on the River Linth at the foot of the Glärnisch Massif (height 2,700 m/8,858 ft); population (1995) 5,600.

From 1506 to 1516 the religious reformer Ulrich Zwingli was the resident priest in Glarus. The town was completely destroyed by a fire fanned by a violent föhn wind in 1861.

As in some other Swiss towns, an annual occurrence in Glarus is the yearly Landsgemeinde, or regional assembly, at which the local government officials and the cantonal representatives to the Swiss Federal Assembly are elected.

Glarus

Canton in eastern Switzerland; area 684 sq km/264 sq mi; population (1999 est) 38,700. Glarus contains part of the valley of the River Linth and is extremely mountainous, its highest point being Mount Tödi (3,623 m/11,886 ft). Relatively isolated, the canton has remained mainly agricultural, with stock-rearing the principal occupation.

Several mountain passes lead from Glarus to the neighbouring cantons of Uri and Graubünden. Dairy and other foodstuffs are the canton's principal produce, especially a green cheese known as Schabziger. Textiles are also manufactured. The canton is chiefly German-speaking and Protestant.