Hornussen

Hornussen is an indigenous Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...

 sport which can be described as a cross between baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...

 and golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club-and-ball sport, in which competing players , using many types of clubs, attempt to hit balls into each hole on a golf course while employing the fewest number of strokes. Golf is one of the few ball games that does not require a standardized playing area...

. The sport gets its name from the puck which is known as a "Hornuss" (hornet) or "Nouss". When hit, it can whizz through the air at up to 300 km/h and create a buzzing sound.

History

The sport probably developed in the seventeenth century. The earliest reference to Hornuss is found in the records of 1625 of the consistory of Lauperswil

Lauperswil

Lauperswil is a municipality in the district of Signau in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Lauperswil has an area of . Of this area, 57.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 34.5% is forested...

, canton Berne

Canton of Berne

The canton of Bern is the second largest of the 26 Swiss cantons. Located in west-central Switzerland, it borders the Canton of Jura and the Canton of Solothurn to the north. To the west lie the Canton of Neuchâtel, the Canton of Fribourg and Vaud. To the south lies the Valais...

, in a complaint about the breaking of the Sabbath. In the 19th century this amateur sport was very popular in the Emmental

Emmental

For the cheese made in the region, see Emmental .The Emmental is the valley of the Emme river in west central Switzerland in the canton of Bern, a region mostly devoted to farming, particularly dairy farming...

 and in Entlebuch

Entlebuch

Entlebuch is a municipality in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district of Entlebuch.-Geography:Entlebuch has an area of . Of this area, 50.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 42.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.7% is settled and the remainder is...

.

In 1902, the federal Hornussen association was founded, which organises a competition every three years. In 1988 there were 232 clubs in the association, with around 6,900 members. During the season inter-association and inter-cantonal events are held, as well as group and elite events.