The three forest cantons (drei Waldstätten) is the collective term for the original founding cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1291, Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, all of them situated at Lake Lucerne, in German called Vierwaldstättersee "lake of the four forest cantons", referring to the three cantons just named, and to the Canton of Lucerne, the first canton to join the confederation (1332).

See also

• History of Switzerland
• Federal Charter of 1291

History of Switzerland