hornussen

Hornuss_1The longer I live in the USA, the more I am amused AND fascinated by some of the swiss traditions. Here’s a wonderful example: Hornussen:

“This sport – a mixture of golf and hockey – was probably invented in the 17th century. In the rural regions this team sport is still very important. Usually there are matches between villages. In the past these matches ended often up in a kind of “civil war” with some rough rules.

At the beginning the ball was just a stone with holes in it ; when it flew through the air, these holes made the ball sound like a hornet. From there is the name of the game “hornet” – Hornussen. Today they use synthetic material: A long plastic stick to slap the ball over 100 meters away in the adversary field. The other team tries to stop the ball (speed: 200 km/h) by throwing wooden panels in the air before it drops on the floor.

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