Switzerland Info

Find out more about Switzerland via these links:

Switzerland info at a glance:
  • Full name: Swiss Confederation, in Latin:Confoederatio Helvetica hence its country code CH.. In German:Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, in French:Confédération suisse, in Italian:Confederazione Svizzera and in Romansh:Confederaziun svizra
  • Head of state: President, elected every year from among the Federal Council
  • Flag: more information
  • Motto: Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno (One for all, all for one)
  • National Day:1 AugustSwiss National Day
  • National Anthem:Swiss Psalm and to listen to it click here
  • National hero: William Tell. The legend says that William Tell who refused to honour bailiff Gessler’s hat presented on a rod, was forced to shoot an apple from his son’s head with his crossbow. Tell escaped from a boat carrying him to prison during stormy weather and finally shot the bailiff. Wilhelm Tell and for more information click here
  • History: Covered by glaciers during the Ice Age, Switzerland was colonized only some 15,000 years ago. Celtic tribes, among them the Helvetians, who are the first inhabitants of Switzerland, from whom we have written reports. read here It was only in 1848 that Switzerland became a more centralized federal state. more and more information read here
  • Capital:BernLargest city:Zurich and for more Swiss towns click here
  • Politics: The Swiss people can influence political affairs through the highly developed system of direct democracy. read here and also here
  • Political system: in General, the Voters, the Parliament, the Federal Council, the Higher Courts. More details here
  • Government links: The Swiss government is made up of seven members, the Federal Councillors.Each Councillor heads a federal department, the equivalent of a ministry in most other countries.The Federal President is chosen each year from among the seven Federal councillors. During his year in office he remains also the head of his department. more information, including the most important government links
  • Population: 7.4 million (UN, 2005) Foreigners account for around 20.7%
  • Foreigners The proportion of foreigners in the resident population is high, more information
  • People: French-speaking Swiss are believed to be different from German-speaking Swiss because the former have something of France and the latter have something of Germany. But what do they share, apart from their Swiss passports? the Swiss and more information also here
  • Languages: The main languages of Switzerland are German (or rather Swiss German), 65%, French (20%) and Italian (7.5%). A few thousand people in the canton of Grison speak Romansh, the closest living offspring of ancient Latin. It has been promoted to the status of an official language for the sake of regional cultural recognition, read here and here and also here its language status English is widely spoken, especially in Geneva and in German speaking Switzerland.
  • Linguistic division: The divide between the French and German speaking areas is known as the Röstigraben, or “rösti ditch”, after the potato dish which is regarded as the typical Swiss German meal. more
  • Dialects:Swiss German and more information also here
  • Major religion: Christianity: Roman Catholics 41.8%, Protestants 35.3%. Religious belief has declined in recent years, but the religious landscape has diversified. religions
  • Other religions: Muslim 4.3%, Orthodox 1.8%, other Christian 0.4%, other 1%, more info
  • Cantons: Switzerland’s 26 cantons are the federal states of the Swiss confederation. cantons
  • Boundaries:cantonal, linguistic, denominations and main city boundaries
  • Culture The culture of Switzerland is characterized by diversity. more information
  • Customs: Traditional customs are alive and well all over Switzerland. For more information click here 
  • Leisure: The Swiss have a well-deserved reputation for being hard workers, but they enjoy their leisure as much as anyone else. more information
  • Music:Folklore, Classical, Jazz
  • Universities: universities
  • Area: 41,284 sq km (15,940 sq miles) Swiss geography and more information also here
  • Environment: Switzerland’s topography means that the central plateau is densely populated. more information
  • Economy: It is presently considered as an Economy of High Stability.read here and also here
  • Main exports: Machinery and electronics, chemicals, precision instruments, textiles and watches more information and here
  • Science: Switzerland is recognized as an international research centre. more information
  • International Organisations: Although committed to political neutrality, Switzerland has strong ties with international organizations. The country has been home to international organizations for more than a century. Geneva is an international community, which hosts over 200 international organizations’ headquarters. On its neutral ground, every global problem ranging from nuclear warfare to ethnic cleansing is discussed in an effort to bring peace and unity among world powers. more information
  • Neutrality: Switzerland has a long tradition of a consensus-based political approach and a policy of minimizing tensions by remaining neutral in political affiliations. Neutrality is a state policy; the country interferes in no foreign conflicts and enters into no pacts.Switzerland is a neutral country,its neutral status recognized by constitution and international society http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutral_country
  • Tourism: Switzerland has a highly developed tourism industry.Further information on: www.myswitzerland.com and also: all about Switzerland For Swiss hotels click here
  • Swiss Airlines flying to the UK: see this page
  • Swiss Rail: the Swiss Railway. For the Swiss rail timetable click here and for the popular Swiss Rail Passes click here
  • Famous Swiss:Ursula Andress and more
  • Famous painters:click here
  • Writers:click here
  • Well known Architects:architects Mario Botta’s chapel in the Alps pictures
  • Swiss abroad:more information
©This information has been compiled by Ruth Thomas
 

Switzerland Information (in English)

Discover Switzerland Your gateway to Switzerland – The official Switzerland information portal. Switzerland infos about Swiss people, geography, history, economy, government.

ch.ch a service of the Confederation, cantons and communes. The Swiss authorities online (also available in German and French)

About.ch Here you can find a lot of information about Switzerland, a small but well known country in the heart of Europe.

All about Switzerland from A – Z

Swiss National Library (NL) is specialising in Swiss publications, the Swiss National Library contains a vast and unique store of information all about Switzerland. (also available in German and French)

SwissInfoDesk offers a selection of relevant resources on Switzerland in the following fields: Information science and Press; Politics and Law; Culture and Arts; Literature and Languages; History. (also available in German and French)

Swiss Statistsics

SwissInfo.ch Read what makes headlines in Switzerland (also available in German and French)

Search.ch offers you targeted, simple and fast information as well as tools for the daily planning an organization of your business and private life. (also available in German and French)

Die Fünfte Schweiz / The Swiss Community around the globe

 Switzerland info at a glance:
  • Full name: Swiss Confederation, in Latin:  Confoederatio Helvetica hence its country code click:  CH. In German: Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, in French: Confédération suisse, in Italian: Confederazione Svizzera and in Romansh: Confederaziun svizra
  • Head of state: President, elected every year from among the Federal Council 
  • Flag: more information
  • Motto: Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno (One for all, all for one)
  • National Day:1 August Swiss National Day
  • National Anthem: Swiss Psalm and to listen to it click here
  • National hero: William Tell. The legend says that William Tell who refused to honour bailiff Gessler’s hat presented on a rod, was forced to shoot an apple from his son’s head with his crossbow. Tell escaped from a boat carrying him to prison during stormy weather and finally shot the bailiff. Wilhelm Tell and for more information click here
  • History: Covered by glaciers during the Ice Age, Switzerland was colonized only some 15,000 years ago. Celtic tribes, among them the Helvetians, who are the first inhabitants of Switzerland, from whom we have written reports. read here It was only in 1848 that Switzerland became a more centralized federal state. More info  and more information read here
  • Capital:  Bern Largest city:  Zurich and  for more Swiss towns click here
  • Politics: The Swiss people can influence political affairs through the highly developed system of direct democracy. read here and also here
  • Political system: in general, the voters, the Parliament, the Federal Council, the Higher Courts. More details here
  • Government links: The Swiss government is made up of seven members, the Federal Councillors. (the present Federal council see here ) Each Councillor heads a federal department, the equivalent of a ministry in most other countries.The Federal President is chosen each year from among the seven Federal councillors. During his year in office he remains also the head of his department. more information, including the most important government links
  • Population: 7.4 million (UN, 2005) Foreigners account for around 20.7%
  • Foreigners The proportion of foreigners in the resident population is high, more information
  • People: French-speaking Swiss are believed to be different from German-speaking Swiss because the former have something of France and the latter have something of Germany. But what do they share, apart from their Swiss passports? the Swiss and more information also here
  • Languages: The main languages of Switzerland are German (or rather Swiss German), 65%, French (20%) and Italian (7.5%). A few thousand people in the canton of Grison speak Romansh, the closest living offspring of ancient Latin. It has been promoted to the status of an official language for the sake of regional cultural recognition, read here and here and also here its language status English is widely spoken, especially in Geneva and in German speaking Switzerland.
  • Linguistic division: The divide between the French and German speaking areas is known as the Röstigraben, or “rösti ditch”, after the potato dish which is regarded as the typical Swiss German meal. more
  • Dialects:Swiss German and more information also here
  • Major religion: Christianity: Roman Catholics 41.8%, Protestants 35.3%. Religious belief has declined in recent years, but the religious landscape has diversified. religions
  • Other religions: Muslim 4.3%, Orthodox 1.8%, other Christian 0.4%, other 1%, more info
  • Cantons: Switzerland’s 26 cantons are the federal states of the Swiss confederation. cantons
  • Boundaries:cantonal, linguistic, denominations and main city boundaries
  • Culture The culture of Switzerland is characterized by diversity. more information
  • Customs: Traditional customs are alive and well all over Switzerland. For more information click here 
  • Leisure: The Swiss have a well-deserved reputation for being hard workers, but they enjoy their leisure as much as anyone else. more information
  • Music:Folklore, Classical, Jazz
  • Universities: universities
  • Area: 41,284 sq km (15,940 sq miles) Swiss geography and more information also here
  • Environment: Switzerland’s topography means that the central plateau is densely populated. more information
  • Economy: It is presently considered as an Economy of High Stability.read here and also here
  • Main exports: Machinery and electronics, chemicals, precision instruments, textiles and watches more information and here
  • Science: Switzerland is recognized as an international research centre. more information
  • International Organisations: Although committed to political neutrality, Switzerland has strong ties with international organizations. The country has been home to international organizations for more than a century. Geneva is an international community, which hosts over 200 international organizations’ headquarters. On its neutral ground, every global problem ranging from nuclear warfare to ethnic cleansing is discussed in an effort to bring peace and unity among world powers. more information
  • Neutrality: Switzerland has a long tradition of a consensus-based political approach and a policy of minimizing tensions by remaining neutral in political affiliations. Neutrality is a state policy; the country interferes in no foreign conflicts and enters into no pacts.Switzerland is a neutral country,its neutral status recognized by constitution and international society http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutral_country
  • Tourism: Switzerland has a highly developed tourism industry.Further information on: www.myswitzerland.com and also: all about Switzerland For Swiss hotels click here
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