Sempach

On 9 July 1386, not far from the village, the Battle of Sempach saw Lucerne's troops and their Confederate allies defeat those of the Habsburgs. Seven years later, in 1393, the Sempach Pact was signed in the town during the battle's commemoration. The town, set on the shore of the lake bearing its name, today covers 8.91 km², of which 63.7% is farmland, 21.2% is housing and infrastructure, and 14.3% is forest according to the 2013-2018 survey.

The old town preserves several monuments: the Witches' Tower, the Lucerne Gate, the municipal church of St Stephen, the St James memorial chapel, and the town hall. At the Kirchbühl, a wall painting known as the Legend of the Three Living and the Three Dead shows three young noblemen confronted in a cemetery by three dead men, reminding them of life's brevity. In 2017 the heritage association Patrimoine suisse awarded Sempach the Wakker Prize for the care the local authorities took in preserving this heritage.

Sempach is also home to the Swiss Ornithological Institute, set on the lakeshore.

Why this place is remarkable

Sempach owes its renown to a single day, 9 July 1386, when the Confederates defeated the Habsburgs at its gates — the pact sealing that memory was signed there seven years later, in 1393. The 2017 Wakker Prize rewards an old town that has kept trace of this history, from the Witches' Tower to the fresco of the Three Living and the Three Dead.

History and origin

The Battle of Sempach, on 9 July 1386, pitted Habsburg troops against the Lucerners and their Confederate allies, who prevailed. The Sempach Pact was signed in the town in 1393, during the battle's commemoration. The old town, whose fresco of the Three Living and the Three Dead adorns the Kirchbühl, received the Patrimoine suisse Wakker Prize in 2017.