Accommodations in Switzerland

Accommodations in Switzerland tend to be expensive. There are usually fewer hotels located around train stations than in other countries. You may inspect a hotel before committing to it.

Hotel rooms in Switzerland tend to be smaller than other places, but there are usually more services available. Prices include service, taxes and sometimes breakfast (ask).

Most Swiss hotels are members of the Swiss Hotel Association, which rates them according to their facilities and not necessarily their charm.

The hotel booking agent I use when traveling is usually Venere. You can find hotels on a map or by a list, then rank the hotels by guest rating, price, stars, or location.

Swiss Currency

The Swiss currency is the Swiss Franc, abbreviated to CHF. Swiss Franc banknotes are issued in the following denominations: 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 Francs. At the time of writing, 1 US Dollar = 1.02 Swiss Franc (July, 2008).

Language in Switzerland

Four primary languages are spoken in Switzerland. See the map above for the approximate areas those languages are spoken in. The Federal Constitution stipulates that German, French, and Italian are Switzerland’s official languages, whereas Romansh is an official language for communicating with Romansh-speaking persons. English is increasingly taught at an early age, sometimes taking priority over a second national language.

Transportation in Switzerland

Switzerland is served by more than 13000 miles of train, bus and boat routes. Find out more about Swiss transportation options in the page Transportation.

Switzerland is served by eight major airports.

Geneva International Airport (GVA)

Geneva International Airport is located about 5km NW of Geneva. There is one terminal, divided into Swiss and French sectors. There is a train and bus station at the airport for transportation into Geneva. Long distance buses are available on the lower level; many destinations are seasonal. Hotel shuttles are also found on the lower level. All trains stop at Geneva-Cornavin station in the city center.

Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Airport / EuroAirport (MLH)

The airport with many names is actually located in France. Busses (Linie 50: EuroAirport – Bahnhof SBB) take you to the Basel train station, as well as to Mulhouse, France and Freiburg, Germany. There is no train service.

Bern Airport / Bern – Belp (BRN)

The Bern airport is located 6km southeast of Bern. The White Airport bus shuttles you between the airport and the central train station of Bern.

Sion Airport (SIR)

Sion Airport is located 2.5 km from Sion. Bus #1 takes you to the bus station in Sion, which is near the train station. The Matterhorn, Zermatt and ski areas to the south are served by Matterhorn Gottard Bahn.

Zurich Airport (ZRH)

Zurich Airport offers both a train and bus service into the city center. Rail lines S2 and S16 trains take you to Zurich’s main rail station in about 10 minutes.

St. Gallen – Altenrhein Airport (ACH)

St. Gallen Airport is located near Lake Constance, near the intersection of Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The bus station is in front of the airport. Buses timed to the arrival of Austrian Air flights are available to Vienna. There is no railway station at the airport, but the railway stations of Rorschach and Rheineck are only 5 minutes from the airport.

Samedan – Engadin Airport (SMV)

Engadin airport is 5km from St. Moritz. The Engadin Bus takes you all over the valley, including the towns of Samedan, St Moritz, Celerina, Bernina & Pontresina.

Lugano – Agno Airport (LUG)

Shuttle busses stop just outside the terminal and run to the train station in Lugano. The FLP train Lugano-Ponte Tresa stops at Agno station which is 15 minutes walk to the airport.

Weather in Switzerland – When to Go

Due to the mountainous terrain in Switzerland, weather can vary greatly with altitude. Prediction of the weather can be tricky. For some historical climate information, including historic temperature and precipitation graphs that might help you plan your vacation in Switzerland, as well as current conditions.

Eating in Swiss Restaurants

Although eating in a Swiss restaurant is generally more expensive than eating in a neighboring country, you can find interesting, inexpensive food in Switzerland. Lunches are often cheaper than the same meal at dinner. Look for the plate of the day.

General Eating Times: Lunch: 12-2 Dinner 6-8 pm

As you might expect, Swiss cuisine is based around dairy products — cheese, milk, cream, butter and/or yogurt.

Beer is often cheaper and more readily available than soft drinks.

Tipping

Meals include a service charge, but tipping is common. 5% of the total is the usual tip. According to locals in Zurich, it is customary, when paying with a credit card, to leave the tip in cash rather than adding it to the card total.

Public Holidays in Switzerland

Public holidays
New Years: January 1st and 2nd
Good Friday
Easter Monday
Labor Day – May 1st
Ascension Day
Whit Monday
National Day: August 1st
Christmas Eve (afternoon only)
Christmas: December 25 and 26th
New Year’s Eve (afternoon)

Travel on foot or by rail, postal bus, car, or lake steamer, and you’ll be surrounded by scenic delights.

If you’ve never been on a Swiss train, you’re in for a treat. Not only are they clean, modern, comfortable, and efficient, but they traverse the country’s most scenic regions . Passengers behold everything from meadows where cattles graze to towering glaciers from the comfort of a seat. The Swiss Pass, Swiss Flexipass, and Swiss Card from the Swiss Travel System enable vacationers to save time and money traveling this way.

The most popular train routes are the Glacier Express, linking Zermatt and St. Moritz (it passes through 91 tunnels and crosses nearly 300 bridges), The William Tell Express, connecting central Switzerland to the sunny Ticino, the Bernina Express, which descends from Chur, down past Swiss glaciers to the Italian town of Tirano, and the Golden Pass, which transports travelers from Lake Lucerne to Lake Geneva.

Land of Lakes

Geneva, the city on the lake, shares its southern shore with France and attracts cosmopolitan visitors. Lausanne, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, is an ideal aerie on the lake’s northern shore to observe frequent regattas. To sail on Lake Geneva yourself, board Montreux, a Belle Époque-era steam-powered vessel built in 1904 and recently relaunched. Daily tours sail from Lausanne to Evian, which also takes in Montreux and Vevey, and an evening trip to Yvoire.

Further north, Lake Neuchâtel, the largest lake bordered by Switzerland on all sides, offers a number of attractions. Visitors will gain a new appreciation of the old at the Neuchâtel Museum of Archeology. A ride on the Chaumont funicular affords panoramic views. The underground mills of Col-des-Roches are unusual. During Expo 2002, see Neuchâtel’s Artplage Mobile du Jura, a fascinating over-the-water construction that marries science and high-tech poetry.

Both Lake Lucerne and Lake Zurich remain must-sees on any grand tour of the Swiss Alps. The former boasts the world’s largest paddlesteamer fleet within a continental lake, and the city of Lucerne holds many medieval sites. Zurich, at the northern tip of its namesake lake, is of course a metropolis and one of the country’s major cultural centers.

Switzerland also shares Lake Constance and Lake Maggiore with its neighbors. Brissago Island, on the Swiss side of Lake Maggiore, is home to a lovely botanical garden. Along the shores of Lake Constance, orchards rise to meet the foothillls of the Alps, and farmhouses dot verdant slopes in this German-influenced region.

Hiking and Biking

If you believe that hiking is the best way to experience the countryside, bring your most comfortable walking shoes or boots. Depending on your energy level and interests, you can choose anything from a lake shore amble to a challenging, multi-day mountain ridge hike or even a glacier tour. A weeklong trip sponsored by Ryder-Walker Adventures leads through mountain passes and valleys. Starting in Locarno, with its cobblestone streets, arcades, palm trees, and Mediterranean flair, you can traverse the Ticino region’s rivers and peaks. You’ll encounter small, enchanting villages with Italianate architecture, comfortable inns, and hearty country fare accompanied by local red wines.

Bicyclists can traverse a network of interconnected cycle routes that snake across two thousand miles. And there’s no need to bring your own two-wheeler: City and mountain models are available for rent at most train stations. Golfers and tennis players, swimmers and horseback riders can also find ample venues to play under the Swiss sun.

Memories may not be the only gift you bring home. This could be the year you purchase a genuine Swiss watch, the choices are plentiful in all price ranges. Other excellent buys include chocolates, embroidery, music boxes, wood carvings, and other treasures hand-made by devoted Swiss craftspeople.

In this compact yet geologically diverse nation, mere miles separate the glaciers and Alpine meadows of Switzerland from her sparkling lakes and swaying palm trees.

The Swiss Travel System — an impressive network of trains, boats, and buses — is what connects the dots. In fact, this first-rate transportation resource is an apt symbol of the country’s vaunted friendliness, efficiency, and intelligence.

Year-Round Attractions in Switzerland

Regardless of the season, there’s always something new to travel to see in Switzerland. Annual spring events include Snow & Symphony in St. Moritz, set against a backdrop of still-white Alps.

Every April, Zurich’s traditional Sechselaeuten is held: Guild members parade through the streets in historical costumes, eager to torch Boegg, an effigy who represents winter. In June, Art Basel – dubbed the “Olympics of art world” by The New York Times — brings together masterpieces and avant-garde works from the world’s most prestigious galleries.

July marks the yearly Montreux Jazz Festival, which today hosts blues, rock, world music, and soul performances as well as classical jazz sets. Hear more beautiful sounds in beautiful surroundings during the annual Music Summer in Gstaad and at Lucerne’s International Music Festival.

Basel’s Autumn Fair, a celebration dating back to 1471, declares the arrival of the colorful season. The Lugano Wine Festival features parades of flower-bedecked floats and tasty cuisine.

Come November, Bern’s annual Onion Market engulfs that city in foods fragrant from the bulb while jesters dressed as onions add a welcome note of silliness. Winter revelry surrounds Ash Wednesday, at carnivals in Lucerne and Basel alive with parades, masked balls, and other high-spirited celebrations.

Museums of Switzerland

Visitors who travel around a country come to understand what it venerates by what it conserves in its museums. Switzerland’s range from the artful to the historic to the downright quirky. Whatever your interest, you’re likely to find a fascinating place to explore it.

The fun and enlightening Swiss Transport Museum in Lucerne features interactive displays, the Zeiss Longines Planetarium, Cosmorama, IMAX Theater, and St. Gotthard Tunnel multimedia show. And its HiFlyer — a helium-filled balloon seating up to 25 people — floats 360 feet above the museum for a bird’s-eye view of the surrounding Alpine panorama.

The Olympic Museum in Lausanne captures the most moving moments of Games past in riveting presentations, while the Swiss Open-Air Museum Ballenberg reveals what the country was like before the industrial revolution. It features working artisans, original buildings (many are centuries old), horse-drawn carriages, and serves farm-made fare.

With a BaselCard (available at a 20 percent discount to Swiss Pass holders), you can explore not only the city’s world-class museums; you can also take a city tour, attend the theater, dance performances, and concerts, and get into many other performances free or at reduced rates.

Sporting Life in Switzerland

With more than 2,000 miles of biking paths, Switzerland is a haven for bicyclists of all levels. But you needn’t bring your bike to travel on two wheels: Many Swiss train stations are stocked with current models available for rent.

The price includes insurance, and a Swiss Travel System ticket entitles you to a special rate. Designed for convenience and to help you get rolling, many trains feature special compartments to transport bikes. Rented bikes can be stashed for free, and there’s a minimal charge to carry ones that are not property of the Swiss Travel System.

Since many visitors travel to Switzerland intending to ski the world-famous peaks (at altitudes above 3,000 feet, there’s perennial snow cover), Swiss Rent-a-Sport offers the latest gear, ranging from skis to snowboards.

Magic Mountains

The soaring Alps have challenged some of history’s greatest explorers and athletes. Although Europeans shunned the peaks for centuries (fearing them to be inhospitable realms of icy terror that harbored dragons, witches, and demons), locales such as Davos, St. Moritz, Gstaad, Interlaken, and Zermatt are today choice destinations for skiers, sight-seers, and sophisticates. Each has distinct charms.

The name Interlaken means “between the lakes,” and water flows from its clear mountain streams to waterfalls that spill into Thun and Brienz lakes. Since the early 19th century, this village has been the tourist hub of the Bernese Oberland, and through the ages visitors have admired the awesome views of the Jungfrau Massif.

Most rail lines in this part of Switzerland lead to Interlaken. That makes traveling here convenient and provides easy access to nearby resort area for day trips. Europe’s highest railway, the Jungfrau railway weaves through Interlaken’s Alpine meadows, then plunges into a stone tunnel on its ascent to permanent snowfields and spectacular sights. Other excursions include the Schilthorn aerial cable car, the Schynigge Platte cogwheel railway, and the Brienz-Rothorn-Bahn with its antique steam-driven locomotives.

Ski the Swiss Alps

Also located in the Bernese Oberland, Gstaad is a Swiss resort of fairy-tale and grown-up fantasies, renowned for luxury hotels, shopping, heel-clicking service, and the bevy of international stars it attracts as guests. At night the town’s Palace Hotel is beautifully illuminated, and every little village chalet twinkles with light.

The epitome of ski-scene elegance, St. Moritz is a true winter-sports wonderland. In addition to downhill and cross-country skiing, tobogganing, ice skating, snowboarding, and winter hiking, there’s an unrivalled menu of uncommon diversions. Looking for a new experience? Play winter polo, golf, or cricket in the snow.

Dress warmly (and stylishly) if you’re planning to overnight in an igloo, ride a horse-drawn sleigh, go dog sledding, curling, ice climbing, or ice sailing. You won’t be alone in your newfound passion.

Trains depart from Zurich for St. Moritz frequently, bringing adventurers and bold-face names to the mountain. Après-ski, take your cues from the glitterati: Sip cafe fertig (coffee with a shot of schnapps)… shop at Armani and Cartier…dine at the famous La Marmite…and meet up with fellow sophisticates at the majestic Badrutt’s Palace hotel.

Below the famous Matterhorn, Zermatt is a pristine Alpine village that offers glacier skiing year-round. Since no cars are allowed, you can only arrive in town by narrow-gauge railway or horse-drawn sleigh. The 12,500-foot cable car ride will lift you to the summit of the Klein Matterhorn.

The ultimate challenge for skillful skiers, Haute Route is a back-country circuit connecting Zermatt with Chamonix, France. It crosses some 20 glaciers with a total ascent and descent of more than 25,000 feet and can be hiked in late summer or skied in spring.

Those who prefer their scenic mountain views from the safety, warmth, and comfort of a train will appreciate a journey on The Glacier Express, the “slowest express train in the world,” which connects St. Moritz and Zermatt in just under eight hours. Between them lie 291 bridges, 91 tunnels, and the 6,700-foot-tall Oberalp Pass. Narration provided by STS points out some of the most spectacular scenery in Europe: dense forests, snow-peaked caps, rushing mountain streams, and centuries-old villages.

While scenic Alpine regions are a must for any visit, Switzerland’s cosmopolitan cities are also well worth a visit.

Most incorporate Old Town districts with well-preserved scenic squares, ancient churches, and handsome monuments that attract walkers, picture-takers, and history-lovers. Bustling markets (especially around holidays) keep these areas lively — and especially tempting to shoppers.

Among the most notable: Basel, Switzerland’s only port, has a 15th-century city center that serves as the backdrop for its daily market. Architectural gems from that era include the Town Hall and Basel Cathedral, a symphony in pale red sandstone topped with Gothic towers.

Train travelers to Bern, Switzerland’s capital, arrive in one of the country’s most vibrant and modern train stations. It belies the historic city that stands above it. Thanks to its perfectly intact Old Town, Bern was designated a UNESCO landmark in 1983.

Zurich, at the edge of Lake Zurich and surrounded by forests, is Switzerland’s largest metropolis and a haven for shoppers. Large department stores, small boutiques, flea markets, and world-class auction galleries all contain treasures. Like most big cities, it has museums and galleries, dance clubs, bars, and cultural events to keep visitors entertained. Zurich West is the trendy neighborhood to see.

If you want to explore Zurich on foot, start from the train station, a focal point thanks to its central location and proximity to the wealth of shopping on Bahnhofstrasse. Then head for the Old Town. Climb the hill to arrive at historic Lindenhof plaza, originally settled by the Romans. Its three distinguished churches include the Fraumünster, whose fanciful stained glass windows by Marc Chagall delight and inspire.

Serious without being stuffy, Geneva is home to the European headquarters of the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and many other global organizations. While it’s common to see their representatives hobnobbing in hotel lobbies, the view few can ignore is Mont Blanc, the continent’s highest mountain.

Closer in, Jet d’Eau, a 420-foot-tall water geyser, streams into Lake Geneva. Inline skaters, lovers strolling arm-in-arm, and entire families licking ice cream cones are all drawn to the waterfront parks. The young – and young-at-heart – visit the bistro by the beach for a snack and to watch mouettes (small boats) sail between the banks.

Geneva’s shopping district, with its luxury boutiques and markets, occupies the Left Bank. A waterfront park sprinkled with sculptures and the world’s largest flower clock completes the picture. Its Old Town is dotted with antique stores, art galleries, and small boutiques. And do take time to visit the Watch & Clock Museum.

Sunny communities nestled between Lake Geneva, Montreux and Vevey sport lush vegetation not usually seen in these latitudes, such as palm trees and magnolias, and fig and almond trees. A 9.4-mile lakeside promenade connects the two locales, which are favorite vacation destinations that boast hotels dating back to the Belle Époque and world-class cultural events.

Since these areas’ mild climate yields wonderful wines, pause for a tasting. Vineyards can be explored on foot or by bicycle. Their well-marked trails afford spectacular views, and pleasant beaches invite you to test the waters. A number of train excursions bring visitors to the nearby mountains. The MOB train Golden Pass connects Montreux to Gstaad and continues further to Lucerne.

Beside a lake surrounded by mountains, picture-book-pretty Lucerne is yet another easy-to-reach Swiss city. Its lakeside promenade; historic, car-free Old Town; museums; and cultural events all inspire guests to linger. If you set out on a walking tour, stop and marvel at the covered Chapel Bridge that spans Reuss River.

In the afternoon, take refuge in one of the town’s ten museums – including the Swiss Transport Museum and the Picasso collection. Scenery lovers can hop a steamboat and tour Lake Lucerne, or take a nostalgic mountain railway to one of the surrounding summits. Life looks better, and the air is sweetest, at such aeries.

Avalanches

With the increase in winter tourism, the study of avalanches has developed as a branch of Alpine climatology, and in wintertime the research station near Davos releases daily avalanche bulletins as a warning for villagers and tourists. The Alpine cantons have about 10,000 avalanches annually, with about four-fifths of them occurring in February, March, and April. For centuries, village communes have relied on forests on the mountain slopes for protection from these slides, because a 20- to 30-year-old forest can inhibit or stop small avalanches. Villages, highways, and Alpine paths are also protected by costly artificial structures such as metal barriers, earthen walls, and concrete wedges and enclosures. Acid rain, however, has caused the illness and death of many trees in the mountain areas of Switzerland and poses a serious threat to their ability to act as barriers to avalanches. In the mountain forests, some two-fifths of the trees have been classified as damaged, sick, or dying.

Switzerland is a confederation of 23 states, called cantons, three of which are subdivided into half-cantons for administrative purposes. The cantons and half-cantons are as follows: Aargau; Appenzell Ausser-Rhoden (half-canton); Appenzell Inner-Rhoden (half-canton); Basel-Land (half-canton); Basel-Stadt (half-canton); Bern; Fribourg; Geneva (Genève); Glarus; Graubünden (Grisons); Jura; Lucerne (Luzern); Neuchâtel; Nidwalden (half-canton); Obwalden (half-canton); Sankt Gallen; Schaffhausen; Schwyz; Solothurn (Soleure); Thurgau; Ticino; Uri; Valais; Vaud; Zug; and Zürich.

Cantons of Switzerland

Government

Switzerland is a republic governed under a constitution adopted on May 29, 1874, and amended many times since. The Swiss political system combines direct and indirect democracy with the principles of sovereignty of the people, separation of powers, and proportional representation. In federal elections, all citizens age 18 or older are eligible to vote; women gained suffrage in national elections in 1971 through a referendum. The electorate not only chooses its representatives but also decides important issues by means of referenda, an integral part of Swiss government. Constitutional amendments may be initiated by a petition of 50,000 voters and must be ratified by referenda. Federal legislation may also be made subject to referenda.

The Federal Palace in the canton of Berne is the name of the building in which the Federal Assembly of Switzerland (federal parliament) and the Swiss Federal Council (executive) are housed.

Executive

In Switzerland, executive power is vested in the Bundesrat, or Federal Council, composed of seven members who are elected to four-year terms by a joint session of the bicameral parliament. The council is responsible to the parliament. The legislature elects a president from among the members of the council for a one-year term. The constitution expressly prohibits the reelection of a president to consecutive terms of office.

The Swiss Federal Council in 2008. The current members of the council are (from left to right): Widmer-Schlumpf, Leuenberger, Calmy-Rey, Couchepin, Schmid, Leuthard, Merz. The Federal Chancellor of Switzerland, Casanova, is also pictured.

Legislature

The Swiss parliament, called the Federal Assembly, consists of two houses: the Ständerat, or Council of States, with 46 members (two for each full canton and one for each half canton) elected for varying periods at the discretion of the canton; and the Nationalrat, or National Council, with 200 members elected for four-year terms under a system of proportional representation.

Judiciary

The Federal Tribunal at Lausanne is composed of 30 judges who are appointed for six-year terms by the Federal Assembly. The court has final jurisdiction in suits between the cantonal and federal governments, corporations and individuals, and between cantons. It has original jurisdiction only in cases involving offenses against the confederation. In addition, each canton has its own autonomous system of justice, including civil and criminal courts and a court of appeals. Capital punishment was abolished in Switzerland in 1942.

Local Government

All powers not delegated to the confederation by the Swiss constitution are reserved to the cantons. The forms of cantonal government vary, but each of the 20 full cantons and 6 half-cantons has an elected legislative council and an executive council. In the smaller cantons, the council is a Landsgemeinde, a general assembly of voting citizens who decide matters by voice vote. In most cantons, however, the legislative council is a representative body elected by popular vote. Women gained the right to vote in local and cantonal elections in most areas during the 1970s; the last male bastion, Appenzell Inner-Rhoden, changed in 1990. The commune is the basic local unit of government; Switzerland has more than 3000 communes in all, and they are largely autonomous in many governmental matters. Several communes are grouped into a district, which is headed by a prefect representing the cantonal government.

Political Parties

The strongest Swiss political parties are the Radical Democratic party, standing for strong federal power; the Social Democratic party, advocating democratic socialism; and the Christian Democratic People’s party, opposing centralization of power. Other political parties of note are the Swiss People’s party, the Independent Alliance, the Liberal party, and the Greens, an environmentalist group.

Health and Welfare

The Federal Insurance Law of 1911 regulates accident and sickness insurance. Accident insurance is compulsory for most officials and employees. Old-age and survivor’s insurance, which also includes disability benefits, is compulsory and is financed by a payroll tax on both employers and employees. Unemployment insurance became compulsory under a 1976 law.

Defense

Service in the Swiss military is compulsory for all males from the age of 20 through 42. Switzerland does not maintain a standing army, however, so service is for relatively short periods of training. Because rifles, uniforms, and other equipment are kept at home, Switzerland can totally mobilize within about 48 hours. If mobilized, the Swiss armed forces would include some 625,000 people, although the size of the force was being reduced in the mid-1990s.

The Middle Ages

The Franks in turn conquered the Alamanni in the 5th century AD, and the Burgundians in the early 6th century. The Franks introduced a new civilization based largely on Christianity. On the dissolution of the Frankish Carolingian Empire in the 9th century, most of Switzerland became part of the duchy of Alemannia, or Swabia, one of the great feudal states of the German Kingdom; the southwestern part was incorporated into the kingdom of Transjurane Burgundy. In 1033 the Burgundian portion was acquired by Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II, and Switzerland became a part of his empire. It consisted of a collection of petty states, ruled by dukes, counts, bishops, and abbots, and of a number of small city-states, independent by imperial charter, which later became cantonal commonwealths.

Struggle for Independence

In 1276 Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf I of the Habsburg dynasty attempted to assert feudal rights in Switzerland, making his power a threat to the traditional liberties of the Swiss. To resist Rudolf’s aggression, the three so-called forest cantons—Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden—around the Lake of Lucerne, entered a league for mutual defense in 1291. During the 14th century Zürich, Glarus, Bern, Lucerne, and Zug joined the league, and in the 15th century Fribourg and Solothurn joined. In 1474 the Habsburgs, unable to cope with the militant Swiss mountaineers, abandoned their attempts to acquire the region as a family appanage, and the Swiss confederation became directly dependent on the empire.

Federal charter of 1291

In 1499 Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I attempted to abrogate various Swiss governmental rights; in the ensuing war he was defeated, and by the Treaty of Basel on September 22, 1499, he was compelled to recognize the virtual independence of the Swiss. By 1513 Appenzell, Schaffhausen, and Basel had entered the confederation, each independent as a canton and sending two delegates to a federal assembly. Because of their skill and bravery in war, Swiss mercenaries became famous throughout Europe. In the course of the wars between Italy and France in the early 16th century, Swiss troops, fighting with the French as mercenaries, were able to annex the Italian districts and towns that later formed the canton of Ticino. The Swiss troops then fought against the French, and were defeated in 1515. This led to the introduction of Switzerland’s neutrality policy. In 1536 the Bernese Swiss took Lausanne and various territories from the duchy of Savoy.

Reformation

The Protestant Reformation in Switzerland started in 1518, when a country pastor named Huldreich Zwingli began to denounce the sale of indulgences by the Roman Catholic church. Subsequently, under Zwingli’s leadership, the city of Zürich revolted against church dogma by burning relics, banning the adoration of saints, and releasing clerics from their vows of celibacy. Vigorously backed by the merchant class, such innovations further asserted the city’s independence from both the Roman Catholic church and the Holy Roman Empire. Other Swiss towns, such as Basel and Bern, quickly adopted similar reforms. In 1536 Geneva, where the French theologian John Calvin had just settled, revolted against the duchy of Savoy and refused to acknowledge the authority of its Roman Catholic bishop. Calvin organized his church democratically, incorporating ideas of representative government. From 1541 to 1564 Geneva became the stronghold of the Calvinist brand of Protestantism. Although the cantons preserved their neutrality in the Thirty Years’ War of 1618 to 1648, Swiss diplomacy was able to maneuver formal recognition of Switzerland as a completely independent state by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.

Unification

During the 1790s the French Revolution spread to Switzerland; the French continually intervened in support of Swiss revolutionaries, a group that sought to promote political reforms and the establishment of a strong national government, and in 1798 the revolutionaries occupied all Swiss territory. The Swiss confederation had until that time been a loose defensive alliance, but Napoleon Bonaparte, the future emperor of France, unified the country under the name Helvetic Republic and imposed a written constitution, which, like the French military occupation, was bitterly resented by most of the Swiss. In 1803, when it was in his interest to have Switzerland friendly, Napoleon withdrew the occupation troops and by the Act of Mediation granted a new constitution with Swiss approval. The Congress of Vienna, in 1815, recognized the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland, and Swiss territory was expanded to include 22 cantons; since that time the country’s boundaries have remained virtually unchanged.

The period following the integration of Switzerland was one of attempted adjustment to the newly won unity. Conflict existed between autocratic and democratic elements and between Roman Catholic and Protestant areas. In 1847 the Roman Catholic cantons formed a league, the Sonderbund. The federal government declared the formation of such a league a violation of the constitution. Civil war resulted when the league refused to disband. The Sonderbund was defeated by the federal government, and the ensuing constitution of 1848 greatly increased the federal power. It was followed by the constitution of 1874, which, with modifications, is still in force; the 1874 constitution completed the development of Switzerland from a group of cantons to a unified federal state. However, Switzerland is unusual regarding the power vested within the cantons and individual communes. For example, it is the communes that grant individuals Swiss citizenship.

A Neutral Nation

Because of the traditional neutrality of the country, Switzerland became the favored site of international conferences and the headquarters of many organizations. The main office of the International Red Cross was established there in 1863, as was that of the League of Nations following World War I (1914-1918). Switzerland was a league member but, after maintaining neutrality and harboring political refugees during World War II (1939-1945), the country refused to join the United Nations (UN) on the grounds that certain obligations of membership were incompatible with Swiss neutrality. It did, however, become a member of many agencies affiliated with the United Nations, and it maintains a permanent observer at UN headquarters. It also served on the neutral nations’ commission supervising the 1953 truce agreement in Korea; contributed money to UN peacekeeping efforts in Cyprus; and became a member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, an international trade organization that will eventually be replaced by the World Trade Organization.

In 1948 Switzerland joined the Organization for European Economic Cooperation. It became a founding member of the European Free Trade Association in 1959 and in 1963 joined the Council of Europe.

Domestic Issues

In February 1971, Switzerland for the first time granted women the right to vote in federal elections and to hold federal office; by 1979 more than 10 percent of the seats in the Nationalrat were held by women. Although most cantons also extended suffrage to women, the process was not completed until 1990. An equal rights amendment to the constitution was approved in a 1981 referendum; another referendum in 1985 guaranteed women legal equality with men in marriage. Other referenda in the 1980s upheld Switzerland’s system of military conscription (1984), rejected restrictions on abortion and some forms of contraception (1985), barred Switzerland from joining the UN (1986), tightened constraints on immigration and the granting of political asylum (1987), and defeated a proposal to abolish the military (1989).

Responding to international pressures, in recent years Switzerland has relaxed its traditional insistence on banking secrecy and allowed foreign investigators access to bank records in cases where illegal acquisition or use of funds was suspected. In November 1986, 30 tons of chemicals were released into the Rhine River after a fire at a factory near Basel; the Swiss government agreed to compensate the affected countries along the Rhine.

In 1992 Switzerland moved to end decades of fierce independence by joining the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Monetary Fund. However, in December of that year Swiss voters soundly rejected joining the European Economic Area, a free-trade zone linking many Western European countries. The vote was a significant blow to Switzerland’s application, filed earlier that year, to join the European Community (now the European Union). Hopes for the success of this application increased in November 1993, when the voters approved a national value-added tax more in line with the tax structure of other European Union members. The tax had been rejected three times in previous votes. In early 1994, however, the Swiss voted to curtail heavy truck traffic through their country by the year 2004, as an environmental preservation measure. The vote may have the side effect of hampering future relations with the other European nations.

Libraries and Museums

The library of Basel University, with about 2.8 million volumes, is among the largest in Switzerland. The Swiss National Library, in Bern, and the libraries of the United Nations (UN) and of the International Labor Organization, both in Geneva, are among the most important specialized libraries. Switzerland has many federal, cantonal, and municipal public libraries. The National Museum, in Zürich, houses the most important of several large historical collections in Switzerland. Fine arts museums in Basel, Bern, and Zürich contain collections of 15th- and 16th-century German, 17th- and 18th-century Dutch and Flemish, 19th-century French impressionist, and contemporary European works.

Swiss National Museum – Zurich

Literature

Swiss literature comprises Latin-Swiss literature and the more important German-Swiss and French-Swiss literatures, which are closely linked to the literatures of the neighboring countries. Less significant are the Italian-Swiss, Romansh, and Swiss-dialect literatures. Latin-Swiss literature was important chiefly during the Middle Ages in religious and humanistic works. The most important Swiss literature is in German, beginning with the poetry of the minnesingers of the Middle Ages and including the popular ballads and chronicles dating from the 14th to the 18th century. The most outstanding German-Swiss authors include Gottfried Keller, Conrad Ferdinand Meyer, Hermann Hesse, Carl Spitteler, Jeremias Gotthelf (pseudonym of Albert Bitzius), Max Frisch, and Friedrich Dürrenmatt. One of the best-known French-Swiss authors is Charles Ferdinand Ramuz. A famous Swiss children’s book is Heidi (1880; translated 1884) by Johanna Spyri.

Art

A number of Swiss artists have achieved international recognition over the centuries. Chief among them are the painters Conrad Witz, Henry Fuseli, Arnold Böcklin, Ferdinand Hodler, and Paul Klee. The sculptor Alberto Giacometti and the architect Le Corbusier are world renowned.

Paul Klee Museum – Bern

Music

The Swiss composers Ludwig Senfl and Heinrich Loris, called Henricus Glareanus, made important contributions to European music during the Renaissance. Important Swiss composers in recent years have included Ernest Bloch, Othmar Schoeck, Frank Martin, Ernst Levy, and Conrad Beck. The Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet gained worldwide fame as conductor of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, based in Geneva. The Swiss are also noted for developing the yodel, a kind of wordless singing with abrupt shifts in pitch.

Zurich Opera House

Map of the world

Map of Europe

Map of Switzerland

Land and Resources

Switzerland is one of the most mountainous countries of Europe, with more than 70 percent of its area covered by the Alps, in the central and southern sections, and the Jura, in the northwest. The Swiss Alps are part of the largest mountain system in Europe, and are famous for their jagged peaks and steep gorges. There are several ranges within the Alps, including the Pennine range, which has Switzerland’s highest peak, the 4634-m (15,203-ft) Dufourspitze of Monte Rosa. The Jura (Celtic for “forest”) are much lower and smaller than the Alps, and are popular for cross-country skiing. The renowned Swiss watchmaking industry began in the Jura Mountains. Between these two mountain systems lies the Swiss plateau, about 400 m (about 1300 ft) above sea level in average elevation and some 50 km (some 30 mi) wide; it extends from Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) in the extreme southwest to the Lake of Constance (Bodensee) in the extreme northeast. The plateau is thickly studded with hills. Between the ranges of the Alps and Jura also stretch long valleys connected by transverse gorges; one such valley is the Engadine along the Inn River in the southeast. Nearly every Swiss valley is traversed by streams, often interrupted by picturesque waterfalls, including the Staubbach Falls (about 290 m/950 ft) in the canton of Bern. The principal river system is formed by the Rhine and its tributaries. Other important rivers are the Rhône, Ticino, and Inn. However, the Swiss rivers are not navigable for any appreciable extent. Switzerland is famous for its many lakes, particularly those of the Alpine region, known for their scenic beauty. The most important include Lake Geneva, Lake of Constance, Lake of Lugano, and Lake Maggiore (at which lies Switzerland’s lowest point, 194 m (636 ft) above sea level), which are not wholly within Swiss borders; and Lake of Neuchâtel, Lake of Lucerne and Zürichsee, Brienzersee, and Thunersee, which are entirely within Switzerland.

Population
The Swiss people as a whole are mainly of Alpine, Nordic, and Slavic or Dinaric descent. The ethnic composition of Switzerland is generally defined by the major language communities: German, French, Italian, and Romansh (Rhaeto-Romanic). Less than 10 percent of the population is made up of other ethnicities, such as Spanish, Portuguese, and Turkish.

Population Characteristics

The population of Switzerland (2001 estimate) is 7,250,000, yielding an overall population density of about 174 persons per sq km (about 450 per sq mi). The population of Switzerland is unevenly distributed, with the principal concentrations occurring in the Swiss plateau. Approximately 64 percent of the population is classified as urban, but most live in small towns. Population growth is slow, and a surplus of jobs means that foreign laborers and their families make up nearly one-fifth of the population.

Principal Cities

The capital of Switzerland is Bern, with a population (1991 estimate) of 134,510. Other major cities are Zürich (342,391), the largest city and financial center; Basel (171,903), a commercial center noted for textile and clothing manufacturing; Geneva (167,431), a cultural, financial, and manufacturing center noted for its watchmaking and jewelry; and Lausanne (123,153), a railroad junction and center for the manufacture of iron goods.

Bern – Kramgasse and clock tower

Zurich – Limmat River and Grossmuenster

Religion

Roman Catholicism is the faith of about 46 percent of the population of Switzerland, and about 40 percent of the people are Protestant. Muslims, Orthodox Christians, and Jews make up a small percentage of the population, while those with no religion are about 10 percent. Freedom of worship is guaranteed. In 1973 a referendum repealed articles of the constitution that were responsible for the banning of the Jesuit order and the founding of new religious houses. Several important developments of the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century occurred in Switzerland; the French theologian John Calvin instituted some of his theories at Geneva.

Lausanne Cathedral

Language

The official languages of Switzerland are German (spoken by about 64 percent of the population), French (19 percent), and Italian (7 percent). The fourth national language, Romansh, is spoken by less than 1 percent of the people. Other languages spoken include Spanish, Portuguese, and Turkish. In a majority of the cantons the most commonly spoken language is Schwyzertütsch (Swiss German), an Allemanic dialect of German differing vastly from both written German and other German dialects. Newspapers and magazines are written in standard German, however, and German is the language of many theater, motion picture, and television productions. French is the most commonly spoken language in the cantons of Fribourg, Jura, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel, and Geneva, and Italian is the predominant language in Ticino. Romansh, a Romance language, is spoken chiefly in the canton of Graubünden.

Agriculture
Neither the soil nor the climate favors agriculture, and Switzerland must import much of the food it consumes and subsidize the farms that do exist. Nearly all the farms are family enterprises, and most are small in size. The leading agricultural products in the early 1990s (ranked by estimated value and with production in metric tons) were potatoes (737,000), apples (396,000), wheat (533,000), sugar beets (907,000), grapes (164,000), and barley (365,000). About 124 million liters (33 million gallons) of wine are produced annually. Dairy products make up a significant portion of Switzerland’s agricultural sector. Each year in the early 1990s some 3.8 million metric tons of cow’s milk and 134,600 metric tons of cheese were produced. Livestock included about 1.8 million cattle, 1.7 million pigs, 415,000 sheep, 52,000 horses, and 6 million poultry.

Grape garden in Rapperswil

Forestry and Fishing

Production of timber in Switzerland was about 4.1 million cu m (about 144 million cu ft) per year in the early 1990s. The industry has been hurt by air pollution, which has damaged more than 35 percent of the country’s forests. Most of the harvest was used to make either lumber or paper. Fishing is of minor importance, with catches of fish such as salmon and trout—primarily from Lakes Geneva and Neuchâtel and Lake of Constance and their tributary rivers—totaling about 4800 metric tons annually.

Mining

The Swiss mining industry is not of major importance. Annual mineral production in the early 1990s included rock salt, about 250,000 metric tons, and cement, about 5.2 million tons.

Manufacturing

Although raw materials are extremely limited in Switzerland, the country has a well-developed manufacturing economy. Raw material imports are converted into high-value exports by the country’s skilled workers. Leading areas of manufacturing include precision engineering, in particular clocks and watches (which accounted for 8 percent of export revenue in the early 1990s); heavy engineering and machine building, notably specialized, custom-produced equipment such as generators and turbines; food products, particularly specialized goods such as chocolate and cheese; textiles; chemicals; and pharmaceuticals. Swiss handicrafts, such as music boxes, embroideries, laces, and carved wooden objects, are widely prized.

Swiss watches

Energy

Switzerland has extensive waterpower resources, and in the early 1990s some 59 percent of its electricity was produced in hydroelectric facilities. Nearly all of the rest was generated in nuclear power plants. Output from all sources in the early 1990s was about 56 billion kilowatt-hours annually, with an installed capacity of 17.7 kilowatts.

Leibstadt Nuclear Power Plant – Aargau

Communications

The Swiss Postal and Telecommunications agency oversees a comprehensive and modern communications system. The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation provides radio and television programs in German, French, and Italian, and Swiss Radio International transmits radio programs to foreign countries. In the early 1990s about 2.7 million radios and 2.5 million television receivers were licensed. Switzerland has 83 daily newspapers; dailies with international reputations include Neue Zürcher Zeitung, published in Zürich, and Journal de Genève, published in Geneva.

Labor

In the early 1990s the Swiss labor force was made up of about 3.6 million people, including nearly 912,000 foreigners (mostly from Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France), called guest workers. The leading labor group is the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions, with some 444,000 members.