Peace, freedom and independence

The 108th Morgartenschiessen took place on Tuesday, 15 November. 1,240 shooters met for the competition and the subsequent festival.

The first rays of sunshine bathed the Morgarten monument in warm light shortly after ten o'clock on Tuesday, 15 November. Meanwhile, the shooters of this year's historic shooting festival could take a break. The view of the discs 300 metres away to the southeast would otherwise be a bit difficult.

At half past eleven, it was then announced that: "Series 7 can get ready" and, once everyone was lying in the straw and looking through the riflescope in a concentrated manner, there came the order "Fire!" The athletes fired one shot in one minute, then three in one minute and finally six in two minutes. From behind a barrier, spectators can experience the action up close. It was rather noisy – hearing protection is really necessary here.

Up to 2 p.m, shooters from the 124 participating groups lay down in the straw and aimed at the targets. The sporting part of the event was then over, and the participants move on to the cosier part. Those who had already taken their shots at nine o'clock in the morning were already in the ‘Morgartenhütte’ before noon, where the guests are provided with hot food and drinks.

Contemplative start to a successful day
The first participants and organisers of this year's shooting festival had already met for a religious service in the Hauptsee church at seven o'clock in the morning. Deceased shooting colleagues were thereby commemorated at the wreath-laying ceremony.

"It's very special to be in church so early in the morning. So beautifully quiet and contemplative»,

says Harald Hediger, the Vice-President of the Morgarten Commission. Not only were deceased colleagues remembered at the morning divine service this year, but also the victims of the war in Ukraine. Because the significance of the myth of Morgarten is even greater in a time of war. "The world was shaken on 24 February this year," says Morgarten Commission President Urs Hürlimann. "For a long time, it was thought that war could no longer take place on European soil."

1,240 shooters from all over Switzerland compete on the shooting range in Morgarten.               Photos: Stefan Kaiser

Urs Hürlimann continues: "In a way, the Morgarten shooting festival is also a political statement. We stand up for values and history." And further:

"The values of freedom, peace, independence and resilience are more important than ever in these times."

Numerous guests of honour invited
Probably the most famous guest of the day was the head of the army, Thomas Süssli, who replaced Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter, who gave the ceremonial speech last year. TheSchützenkönig (shooting king) of the Zurich Boys' Shooting, Nils Stolz, was also present at the shooting, but as a participant. "It’s a tradition that the Schützenkönig is invited to the Morgarten shooting festival," explains Harald Hediger.

In addition to the keynote speaker and the ‘Schützenkönig’, other guests of honour from politics and the military were present. Sponsors were also invited to have lunch together at 12.30 pm.

The approximately 150 guests took their seats in the Morgartenhütte, where they enjoyed the traditional "Ordinäri", followed by a generous piece of Zug cherry cake (Kirschtorte). The "Ordinäri" is a clear meat and vegetable broth served with bread. This traditional dish is offered at all historical shooting festivals. Caroline Weber-Widmer from the Schützengesellschaft der Stadt Luzern appreciates the lunch:

"The Ordinäri at the Morgartenschiessen is simply the best," she says.

National anthem and proclamation of the results
After lunch, the participants and the audience enjoyed a display by the Air Force at 3 pm. After the guests sang the national anthem together at 4 p.m. and listened to the speech from Thomas Süssli, it was finally time for the announcement of the results at 5 p.m.

Master shooter (Meisterschütze) of the 108th Morgartenschiessen is Gottfried Würsten from the Feldschützen Reutigen. He scored 50 out of 50 possible points, the same as local shooter Benno Röllin. Because of his older age, the victory went to Gottfried Würsten. The Feldschützenverein Sattel won the group award, with 443 points.

The ranking can be viewed on www.morgartenschiessen.ch/schiessen-300m/ranglisten.