Cradle of wrestling The Unspunnen festival turns 220 years old

The Unspunnen-Schwinget is considered the cradle of wrestling. The first athletes fought a duel in the sawdust ring 220 years ago.

The Unspunnen Festival celebrates a milestone birthday in this federal year. The first festival took place on August 17, 1805 - as an Alpine herdsmen's festival with competitions in singing, shooting, stone throwing, alphorn blowing and wrestling.

A festival with a federal character since 1987

In the sawdust ring 220 years ago, Hans Stähli was the first winner to enter the history books of this prestigious event, which is regarded as the "cradle of wrestling".

After being held for the second time in 1808, the event was only resumed at the beginning of the 20th century. While the Unspunnen Festival as such only takes place every 12 years, the Wrestling Festival is held every six years. Since 1987, the Wrestling Festival has been a federal event.

Never before has a wrestler won twice

Up to and including 2006, the wrestlers competed against each other at the Unspunnen ruins. This was followed by a change of location as the sport of wrestling attracted more and more attention. Since 2011, the event has been held on the Höhematte in Interlaken - in an arena with 15,000 seats.

The winner of the last competition was Samuel Giger. Never before has an athlete managed to win the festival twice. The 120 best wrestlers in the country compete in each event. The next event in the Bernese Oberland will be held in August 2029.

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