Thecanton of Glarus (German:Kanton Glarus[ˈɡlaːrʊs]^ⓘ;Romansh:Chantun Glaruna;French:Canton de Glaris;Italian:Canton Glarona) is acanton in east-centralSwitzerland. The capital isGlarus.The population speaks a variety ofAlemannic German.The majority of the population (81%) identifies asChristian, about evenly split betweenProtestants andCatholics.

Canton of Glarus Kanton Glarus (German)
Canton
Flag Coat of arms Brandmark
Location in Switzerland Map of Glarus
Coordinates:46°59′N9°4′E / 46.983°N 9.067°E /46.983; 9.067
Capital	Glarus
Largest municipality	Glarus Nord
Subdivisions	3 municipalities
Government
• Executive	Regierungsrat (5)
• Legislative	Landsgemeinde Landrat (60)
Area [1]
• Total	685.32 km2 (264.60 sq mi)
Population  (December 2020)[2]
• Total	40,851
• Density	60/km2 (150/sq mi)
GDP [3]
• Total	CHF 2.763 billion (2020)
• Per capita	CHF 67,849 (2020)
ISO 3166 code	CH-GL
Highest point	3,613 m (11,854 ft):Tödi
Lowest point	412 m (1,352 ft):Linth channel at border to St.Gallen
Joined	1352
Languages	German
Website	www.gl.ch

According to legend, the inhabitants of theLinth Valley were converted toChristianity in the 6th century by theIrish monkSaint Fridolin, the founder ofSäckingen Abbey in what is now theGerman state ofBaden-Württemberg. From the 9th century, the area aroundGlarus was owned by Säckingen Abbey, the town of Glarus being recorded asClarona. TheAlemanni began to settle in the valley in the early 8th century. The Alemannic German language took hold only gradually and was dominant by the 11th century. By 1288, theHabsburgs had claimed all the abbey's rights.

Glarus joined theOld Swiss Confederacy in 1352 as one of the foundational eight cantons (Acht Orte) of the period of 1353–1481. The first recordedLandsgemeinde of Glarus took place in 1387. Habsburg's attempts to reconquer the valley were repelled in theBattle of Näfels of 1388. A banner depicting Saint Fridolin was used to rally the people of Glarus at that battle, and from that time, Glarus has used the image of Saint Fridolin onits flags and in its coat of arms.

TheCounty of Werdenberg was annexed to Glarus in 1517.Between 1506 and 1516, the later reformerHuldrych Zwingli was a priest in Glarus, but Glarus remained Catholic, and by 1564, all of Zwingli's followers were eliminated. This, however, did not end the struggles between the Protestants and the Catholics in the area. To secure peace it was decided that each party should have its own assembly (Landsgemeinde) in 1623, and at a later stage in 1683, each side was granted the right to have its own tribunals.

Between 1798 and 1803, Glarus was part of thecanton of Linth as established byNapoleon. In 1836 the constitution was adapted to unite the assemblies and establish a singleLandsgemeinde.

In the early 1840s, after several years of failed crops and as food became scarce, much of the canton found itself deep in poverty. With more workers than available jobs,emigration to theUnited States of America was seen as a solution. The Glarus Emigration Society was established in 1844, which offered loans to help residents purchase land in the New World. Many of the resulting emigrants went to the state ofWisconsin, where they founded the town ofNew Glarus.^[4]

On May 6, 2007, Glarus became the first Swiss canton to lower the voting age to 16.^[5]

The canton of Glarus is dominated by the deep valley of theLinth River and the smallerSernftal on the east. Most of the area ismountainous. The highest peak in theGlarus Alps is theTödi at 3,614 meters (11,857 ft) Other mountains include theHausstock (3,158 meters (10,361 ft)) and theGlärnisch (2,910 meters (9,550 ft)). The canton contains part of a thrust fault that was declared a geologicUNESCOWorld Heritage Site, under the nameSwiss Tectonic Arena Sardona, in 2008. Famous outcrops in the Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona include those atLochsite nearGlarus and in a mountain cliff calledTschingelhörner betweenElm andFlims (in the same cliff is a natural hole called theMartinsloch). There is also a large lake called Walensee (Lake Walen) on the north. The total area of the canton of Glarus is 685 square kilometers (264 sq mi), of which about half is considered productive. Forestry is an important branch of industry in the canton.

TheLandsgemeinde (cantonal assembly) of 2006 decided that the 25 municipalities of Glarus be consolidated to three, effective 1 January 2011.

• The new municipality ofGlarus subsumed the former municipalities of Glarus,Ennenda,Netstal andRiedern.
• Glarus Nord subsumedBilten,Filzbach,Mollis,Mühlehorn,Näfels,Niederurnen,Oberurnen andObstalden.
• Glarus Süd subsumedBetschwanden,Braunwald,Elm,Engi,Haslen (includingLeuggelbach andNidfurn),Linthal,Luchsingen (includingDiesbach andHätzingen),Matt,Mitlödi,Rüti,Schwanden,Schwändi andSool.

The population of the canton (as of 31 December 2020) is 40,851.^[2] As of 2007^[update], the population included 7,314 foreigners (or 19.13% of the total population).^[6]

The population (as of 2000^[update]) is nearly evenly split betweenProtestants (44%) andRoman Catholics (37%).^[7]

83.6% isGerman-speaking and 6.8% isItalian-speaking.

The historical population is given in the following table:

The canton's geography helped establish slate works in the 17th century. The mountainous surroundings of Glarus also served as an advantage in industrialisation. Cotton spinning was important in the 18th century, complementing traditional woollen spinning. Industrialisation also brought cotton printing, hydroelectric plants, metal and machinery factories, and paper mills.

In 2014, about 5% of the workers in Glarus worked in the primary sector (the total for all of Switzerland is 3.3%). Of these 5%, in 2008, nearly three-quarters were involved indairy farming andcattle breeding. In 2014 the secondary sector employed 8,322 or about 38.2% of the total, which is much higher than 21.8% for the entire country. Over one-quarter of those in the secondary sector worked in the construction industry. The tertiary sector employed 12,366, or about 56.8% of the total, almost 18% lower than 74.9% nationwide. Of those in the tertiary sector, 11.72% work in retail shops and 10.37% are in health care.^[9]

^a FDP before 2009, FDP.The Liberals after 2009

^b "*" indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton.

• Landsgemeinde

• Official site(in German)
• Official statistics
• Coolidge, William Augustus Brevoort (1911)."Glarus (canton)" .Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). p. 78.