The village of Cully in canton Vaud has one of the few remaining "freedom trees," planted just over two centuries ago, when French troops invaded Switzerland, overthrew the reactionary rulers and completely reorganised the political system in the name of the revolutionary ideals of "liberty, fraternity and equality".

The idea of the trees as symbols of freedom was inherited from the American and French revolutions, and they were also clearly influenced by the traditional maypole. Most of these "freedom trees" were already cut; only a small number were living trees.

In some places the local people put the trees up spontaneously in defiance of the authorities, but many more appeared only after the French troops had arrived. They were set up in the town square, and decorated with flags and streamers, and a green hat was placed on top. In Switzerland this was known as "Tell's hat," a reminder of a historic freedom fighter.

The trees served a clearly political purpose: it was in their shade that decrees were promulgated and that citizens had to swear the oath of allegiance to the new authorities. As such they were seen by many people as a symbol not of freedom but of foreign domination: it is not surprising that many were cut down by opponents of the French-backed government - the Helvetic Republic -, and the custom disappeared when the French finally left in 1813.

The tradition continues

Some freedom trees were replanted in 1830-31, when a wave of reform swept through the cantons, and again to mark the centenary of the Helvetic Republic in 1898, and its bicentenary in 1998. In 1898 most of the trees were limes: one example can still be seen outside Lausanne's Historical Museum. In 1998 the oak was preferred, although sycamores were also planted.

The tradition of tree-planting is alive and well. A special tree was planted in Geneva to mark the 400th anniversary of the Escalade, a turning point in the city's history when the inhabitants foiled a night attack by the Duke of Savoy, and thereby finally secured Geneva's independence. The tree was donated by Martine Brunschwig-Graf, head of education for Geneva, and planted by a group of young people.