Tell monument

The lime tree on today's Rathausplatz had become weak in the 16th century, whereupon the village bailiff Bessler had a stone fountain built in 1567. A similar fountain with a statue of Tell was placed at today's entrance to the church square. Both fountains marked the alleged positions of Tell and the boy at the apple shooting. 

In 1859, Landammann Alexandre Muheim brought a monumental Zurich plaster statue from the Freischiessen from Zurich to Altdorf. However, the statue could not withstand the adverse weather for long and so a long-term solution was sought over the next 20 years.

Through self-financing and a donation from the Federation, the bronze project cast in Paris by Thiebaud Frères was realised. It was stipulated in writing that William Tell was to be depicted as a man proud of his freedom, bold and determined, dressed in the customary peasant costume. The sculptor Richard Kissling completed the commission between 1882 and 1895 exactly according to these specifications. The new monument was inaugurated with a grand ceremony on 28 August 1895.