William Tell: an eternal myth

The legend of William Tell has survived for seven centuries. It has now entered the internet age. To mark the bicentenary of Friedrich Schiller’s famous play “William Tell”, the multimedia platform of swissinfo/Swiss Radio International explores the mythical past and present of the celebrated Swiss hero.

Tell’s mythical deeds come to life in stories illustrated with video, pictures and sound in four languages: English, German, French and Italian. Analysis and commentary shed light on the meaning of the legend for Switzerland and the world at large.

swissinfo travels to Tell country in the heart of Switzerland, to visit the setting of the famous apple-shooting scene and to meet the archer’s proud ancestors. Also presented is a selection of video highlights of Tell as he has been presented on the stage and screen.

2004, the year of Tell

“William Tell” will go online on July 26 at www.swissinfo.org. The date has not been chosen at random. It comes just before Swiss National Day on August 1, and just after the opening of Friedrich Schiller’s play on the Rütli Meadow. (The play is the first ever to be staged on the spot where the Swiss Confederation was born in 1291.) Produced by the Weimar Theatre, the performance is the first in a long series of events organised in Switzerland to mark the play’s 200th anniversary.

In the meantime, you can get to know our legendary hero in the very latest technological format and in four languages, on www.swissinfo.org or by going directly to http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=2300 for the English version.

For further information, please contact:

Dale Bechtel
swissinfo/Swiss Radio International (SRI)
Giacomettistrasse 1
CH-3000 Bern
Switzerland
Email: [e-mail]
Telephone: [phone]

www.swissinfo.org reports on current affairs in Switzerland using text, video, radio and TV features in nine languages (English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Japanese and Chinese). www.swissinfo.org also offers a broad range of other services: a very comprehensive list of links on Switzerland, a free e-mail address (http://freemail.swissinfo.org) and an information service which provides answers to questions about Switzerland by e-mail (www.swisshelpdesk.org).