Eidgenössisches Schützenfest
Eidgenössische Schützenfeste (singular Eidgenössisches Schützenfest, , ) are the Swiss federal shooting competitions organized by the Schweizerischer Schützenverein since 1824. History Organised shooting societies are recorded in Swiss cities from the 14th century, at the time mostly using crossbows. The first blackpowder shooting societies are formed in the later 15th century; Geneva in 1474 had three separate societies for crossbow, longbow and arquebus shooters. Schützenfeste contributed significantly to the coherence between the individual cantons. After the end of the Old Zürich War (1450), the federal shooting festival in Sursee (1452) contributed to the renewal of cohesion between the members of the confederacy. Federal events became popular in the wake of the Sursee festival, with events in Feldkirch (1455), Strasbourg (1456) and Constance (1458). The shooting societies petitioned the Tagsatzung of 1500 for a federal festival to be held yearly. There were, however, concerns for public order in relation to the large gathering of armed men; the Plappartkrieg of 1458 was a minor war triggered by a riot at the Constance festival. In 1504, Zürich organised a general "German" (deutsch) shooting festival, intended as including participants beyond the confederacy. This was intended as re-establishing peaceful relations in the wake of the