The small town of
Glarus, population 5700, altitude 470m, nestles in the Linth
Valley at the foot of the pyramid-shaped Vorderglärnish (2300
m). The name Glarus is thought to derive from the Romanic word
“Claron”, meaning a light clearing in the land and points to a
Romanic settlement. Glarus' claim to fame is that it is
Switzerland’s smallest capital – the capital of Canton Glarus.
The municipality covers an area of a little less than 7000
hectares, of which only about 3% is developed. Around one-third
is agricultural land, one-quarter forest and the rest rocks and
water. Glarus is about 10 km south of the A3 motorway that runs
from Zurich to Chur and thus has good access to Switzerland’s
major cities.
Glarus is one of the few cantons to still maintain its old
traditional form of democracy.
See Landsgemeinde Glarus