Lake Zug with Mount Rigi in the background. The canton of Zug is located in central Switzerland. The canton of Lucerne and Canton of Aargau lie to its west. To the north, the canton is bound by the Canton of Zurich, whereas to the west and south lies the Canton of Schwyz. Most of the land is considered productive. The lakes Zug and Aegeri make up a considerable area of the canton's lands. The Lake Aegeri is wholly within the canton, whereas the Lake Zug is shared with the cantons of Lucerne and Schwyz. The canton is located on a hilly plateau. The Höhrohnen (nr Gottschalkenberg) is the highest elevation (1,205 m) in the east of the canton. The Zugerberg (1,040 m) in the south is another notable elevation. It is part of the Rossberg massif which rises to the Wildspitz (1,583 m) east of the lake of Zug. This massif separates Lake Zug from the basin and Lake of Aegeri. It also separates the hilly district of Menzingen from Lake Zug. The Lorze River is the principal drainage in the canton. It originates in Lake Aegeri from where it flows northward through moraine deposits in a deep gorge with fine stalactite caverns. The river eventually enters the lake of Zug very near from where the river Reuss originates. The river Reuss forms the boundary of the canton in the North West. History The earlier history of the canton is practically identical with that of its capital Zug. From 1728 to 1738 it was distracted by violent disputes about the distribution of the French pensions. In 1798 its inhabitants opposed the French. The canton formed part of the Tellgau and later was one of the districts of the huge canton of the Waldstaetten in the Helvetica Republic. The canton of Waldstaetten also consisted of what are today the Canton of Schwyz, the Canton of Lucerne, Unterwalden and the Canton of Uri. In 1803 the canton of Zug regained its independence as a separate canton. The constitution of 1814 abolished open assemblies (Landsgemeinde), which had existed for in the canton since 1376. In 1845 the canton of Zug became a member of the Sonderbund and shared in the war of 1847 which was lost to the Swiss confederation. In 1848 the remaining functions of the open assemblies (Landsgemeinde) were abolished. Both in 1848 and in 1874 the canton voted against the federal constitutions. The constitution of 1876 was amended in 1881, and replaced by a new one in 1894. On the eastern shore of the lake of Aegeri is the site of the famous Battle of Morgarten, won by the Swiss in 1315. In this battle the powerful Habsburgs were defeated. See: http://www.zug-tourismus.ch/en/welcome.c fm? Photo by Ole Byskov