The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

Stolen Swiss Unspunnen stone ‘buried in a field’

Throwers have used a replacement stone following the original's theft
Throwers have used a replacement stone following the original's theft Keystone

Switzerland’s Unspunnen stone, an historic symbol of national unity, has apparently resurfaced following its theft in 2005. The Quotidien Jurassien newspaper has received several photos showing the stone partially buried in a field.

+ Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

The 83.5-kilogram stone was first thrown in a trial of strength in 1808 at the second Unspunnen Festival of traditional Swiss sports.

The famous stone was stolen for the first time in 1984 by Jura separatists, then returned in 2001 to the Saignelégier Market-Competition, before being stolen again four years later.

+ What is the Unspunnen stone and why was it stolen?

Although it was rumoured to be lost, crushed or even drowned at the bottom of Lake Thun, the Unspunnen stone was simply buried in the Jura soil, Rémy Chételat, editor-in-chief of Quotidien Jurassien, told Swiss public broadcaster RTS.

The newspaper has received several photos of the partially buried stone, accompanied by an edition of the newspaper dated August 26, 2024. A journalistic investigation appears to show with certainty that this is indeed the real Unspunnen stone.

More

The stone has become the symbol of the tensions between the cantons of Jura and the Swiss capital Bern, that were buried through the ballot box on September 22 when voters accepted terms for the transfer of the town of Moutier from canton Bern to Jura.

Translated from French by DeepL/mga

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Special law for new genetic techniques in Switzerland

More

Switzerland to draft new law on GMOs

This content was published on The new regulation targets plants developed through new breeding technologies that don’t include transgenic genetic material.

Read more: Switzerland to draft new law on GMOs

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR