The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. A constitution of 1848, subsequently modified in 1874, replaced the confederation with a centralized federal government. Switzerland’s sovereignty and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and the country was not involved in either of the two world wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland’s role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland’s ties with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations but retains a strong commitment to neutrality.
Tourism Information...
www.myswitzerland.com/en-us
The Best of Switzerland...
Switzerland's Most Popular Sights...
Here is a list of some of the most interesting and visited places. Cities or areas listed will always have more than just one thing see and do. With the popular cities or areas we list some of the best known, which should go on everyone’s, must see list when they visit.
Basel
Bern
Genéva
Interlaken
Jungfraujoch
Lauterbrunnen Valley
Grindelwald
Eiger Trail
Lake Lugano& Ticino
Lausanne
Lucerne
Montreux
Rhine Falls-Schaffhausen
St. Moritz
The Matterhorn-Zermatt
Zürich
Cantons of Switzerland…
Aargau
Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Appenzell Innerrhoden
Basel-Landschaft
Basel-Stadt
Bern
Fribourg
Geneva
Glarus
Graubünden
Jura
Lucerne
Neuchâtel
Nidwalden
Obwalden
Schaffhausen
Schwyz
Solothurn
St. Gallen
Thurgau
Ticino
Uri
Valais
Vaud
Zug
Zürich
Country Information...
Capital
Bern
Largest City
Zurich
Government
Federal Republic
Currency
Swiss franc (CHF)
Area
41,285 km² – ranked 133rd water:4.2%
Population
8,179,294 (July 2016 est.) ranked 98th
Language
German (official) 63.5%, French (official) 22.5%, Italian (official) 8.1%, English 4.4%, Portuguese 3.4%, Albanian 3.1%, Serbo-Croatian 2.5%, Spanish 2.2%, Romansch (official) 0.5%, other 6.6% note: German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all national and official languages; totals more than 100% because some respondents indicated more than one main language (2013 est.)
Ethnic Groups
German 65%, French 18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other 6%
Religion
Roman Catholic 38.2%, Protestant 26.9%, other Christian 5.6%, Muslim 5%, other 1.6%, none 21.4%, unspecified 1.3% (2013 est.)
Electricity
230V, 50Hz
Country code
+41
Internet TLD
.ch
Time Zone
UTC+1
Drives on the
Right
Anthem
Swiss Psalm
Motto
Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno (Latin) “One for all, all for one”
Cantons of Switzerland…
