The Hohle Gasse: on the trail of William Tell

The line «Through this sunken lane he has to come» from Schiller's «William Tell» is known to Swiss children. What is meant is the Hohle Gasse near Küssnacht, the sunken forest track in which, according to legend, William Tell lay in wait for the Habsburg bailiff Gessler. With a single shot from his crossbow he is said to have freed the Forest Cantons there from the bailiff's rule. The lane still exists. The shady, cobbled hollow way between Immensee and Küssnacht is preserved as a national monument and freely accessible. It forms the centrepiece of an easy history walk. Anyone coming to the region because of the Tell story will find here the place where the legend ends.

The legend, briefly told

After the famous shot at the apple in Altdorf, Tell was arrested and taken across the water towards Küssnacht, where Gessler intended to throw him into the dungeon. A storm, a foehn storm to be precise, forced the crew to untie Tell so that he could steer. At the Tellsplatte on the Urnersee he leapt ashore and escaped. Because he knew Gessler's way home, he waited at the point in the Hohle Gasse where the path narrows. There he freed the Forest Cantons from their tormentor.

Whether it happened like that cannot be proven. The story has come down through chronicles and the theatre, not through documents. Schiller, who never set foot in Switzerland himself, fixed its images in 1804 in the form still known today. Like the Rütli, however, the Hohle Gasse has long been more than a historical setting; it has become part of Swiss identity. More about the Rütli in the article The Rütli meadow. When road building threatened the lane in the 1930s, Swiss children collected coins to save it.

The walk: Immensee–Küssnacht

We recommend the comfortable historical walk from our tour portal. The map and details of the route are here: From Immensee to Küssnacht am Rigi.

• Route: Immensee → Hohle Gasse → Küssnacht am Rigi
• Distance: 4.2 km · Time: about 1 hour · Ascent: 129 m · Difficulty: easy (level 1/5)

You start in Immensee on Lake Zug (train or bus from Arth-Goldau/Küssnacht). First the path follows the shore, then climbs gently into the forest. There the old track lies deep between its banks. That is the Hohle Gasse itself, restored with historic cobbles and shaded by a canopy of leaves. At its end stands the Tell chapel. It was built in the tradition of the 16th century on the spot where Gessler is said to have fallen. Inside it is painted with the scene of the ambush. A small visitor pavilion tells the story and how it lived on later. Finally the path descends to Küssnacht am Rigi on Lake Lucerne. There you will find a lakeside square and cafés; boat and train take you onward.

The walk links two lakes with a piece of Swiss history and takes only about an hour. That makes it as suitable for children as for grandparents, and on the main path even with a pushchair.

Around the walk

• Küssnacht am Rigi invites you to linger. There is a fine lakeside square, boats to Lucerne and the Seebodenalp cable car, which takes you to a quiet terrace high above the lake.
• Combining it with the Rigi: Küssnacht lies at the north-western foot of the Rigi. Via Arth-Goldau or Weggis you ride up and turn the outing into a whole Rigi day. Everything about it in the article Rigi: The Guide to the Queen of the Mountains.
• Visiting the other Tell sites: the remaining stations of the legend, the Tell monument in Altdorf, the Tellsplatte on the Urnersee and the Rütli, all lie by the lake and are linked by the same boats. With boat and train you can put together a Tell day of your own. How such outings combine into a journey is shown in the article Central Switzerland itinerary.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Hohle Gasse? It lies between Immensee and Küssnacht am Rigi, at the north-western corner of the Lake Lucerne region. From Lucerne it is about 20 minutes by train, from Arth-Goldau about 10 minutes.

Is there an entrance fee for the Hohle Gasse? No, the lane, the chapel and the grounds are freely accessible all year.

Did William Tell really exist? Contemporary documents are lacking; the story has come down only through later chronicles and Schiller's drama. Regardless of that, hardly any figure has shaped Swiss identity as strongly as Tell.

How long is the walk? The whole route from Immensee to Küssnacht is 4.2 kilometres long, takes about an hour and is easy. The Hohle Gasse itself is crossed in a few minutes. That is why we recommend walking the entire stretch.

Is the path suitable for children? Yes, the path is short, safe and shady. Along the way the story of Tell can be told to children in the very places where it is set.