GLARUS (Fr. Glaris), the capital of the Swiss canton of the same name 42 m. S.E. by rail from Zurich, is connected by rail with Elm and Linthal. It is built on the left bank of the Linth (opposite it is the industrial suburb of Ennenda on the right bank), at the north-eastern foot the Vorder Glarnisch (7,648 ft.), while on the east rises the Schild (7,5o 1 ft.). In May 1861 practically the whole town was destroyed by a fire fanned by a vio lent Fohn wind, rushing down the Linth valley. The town is 1,578 ft. above the sea-level, and in 193o had a population of almost all German-speaking, while 1,431 were Roman Catholics.
The DISTRICT OF GLARUS is said to have been converted to Christianity in the 6th century by the Irish monk, Fridolin, who was the founder of the Benedictine nunnery of Sackingen, on the Rhine between Constance and Basel, that about the 9th century became the owner of the district. The Habsburgs gradually drew to themselves the exercise of all the rights of the nuns, so that in 1352 Glarus joined the Swiss Confederation, and gained complete freedom after the battle of Nafels (1388). Zwingli the Reformer was priest here 1506-16 and Glarus early adopted Protestantism, but there were many struggles between the two parties, and to se cure peace it was arranged that, besides the common Lands gemeinde, each party should have its separate Landsgemeinde (1623) and tribunals (1683). The parish church is used by both Roman Catholics and Protestants. The slate-quarrying industry appeared early in the 1 7 th century, while cotton-spinning was in troduced about 1714, and calico-printing by 1750. In 1798, in con sequence of the resistance of Glarus to the French invaders, the canton was united to other districts under the name of canton of the Linth. The old system of government was restored in 1814, but in 1836 by the new Liberal constitution one Landsgemeinde only was retained.