The municipality covers an area of 10.21 square kilometres (3.94 sq mi) and is located just about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of the mouth of the
Reuss, which flows into the
Lake Lucerne, here called the
Urnersee. The town Altdorf lies at an altitude of 458 metres (1,503 ft)
above sea level on the right, eastern bank of the Reuss, a flat, alluvial land of up to 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) diameter between otherwise steep and high
Alpine mountains of around 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) elevation, but the municipality also covers the Alpine pasture landscape of
Eggbergen about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above Altdorf.
The bronze statue by sculptor Richard Kissling was inaugurated on August 28, 1895 at the foot of an old tower. It shows the Swiss national hero with his crossbow and accompanied by his son. At the base is the traditional date of Rütlischwur of 1307.
Behind the statue is a big bronze plate with the following inscription:
Erzæhlen Wird Man Von Dem Schützen Tell
So Lang Die Berge Steh'n Auf Ihrem Grunde.
This translates to: It will be talked about (in the sense of "stories will be told about") the marksman Tell as long as the mountains stand on their base.
