4th of July 1776, foundation of the USA.

25th December 1776, General George Washington crosses the Delaware River with

a small army in boats and attacks the Hessian soldiers fighting for the British. Washington’s victory was the „Turning point of the American Revolution” and led to the independence of

the new democratic nation, the USA.

www.washingtoncrossingpark.org

1st August, 1291, foundation of Switzerland, the world’s first democracy. In 1307, William Tell, the Liberator of Switzerland, a legen-dary figure, revolts against Gessler, a tyrannical reeve of the occupying Austrian forces. While being trans-ported to prison in the village of Küssnacht am Rigi, on the other side of Lake Lucerne, the boat drifts close to the shore, and Tell is able to jump out and escape. He runs across country to find Gessler and kills him with a crossbow.

This was the „Turning point of the Swiss Revolution”. Boats and the resolve of men and women to fight for liberty were central to the birth of democracy and independence in the USA and Switzerland.

This is why the USA and Switzerland are also called Sister Republics.