and financially, however, the first two festivals were a great success. The Swiss Heritage Society and the Swiss Traditional Costume Association owe their origins to the Unspunnen Festival.

A second competition was held in 1808, but the original 184 lb stone was lost in the intervening years, and the 1808 festival used a 167 lb stone. The third festival was not organized until the centenary in 1905, using the 1808 stone, now with the dates 1805 and 1905 carved into it. However, it was not until 1946 that the festival, then known as the