Switzerland

Switzerland is a small country in the west of Europe. North of Switzerland is Germany. East of Switzerland are Austria and Liechtenstein. South of Switzerland is Italy. West of Switzerland is France.

Switzerland is known for its neutrality. A country is neutral when it does not fight wars. Switzerland has been neutral for more than 150 years. Many international organizations are located in Switzerland. The United Nations have a main office in Switzerland.

The official name of Switzerland is Confoederatio Helvetica. This is Latin. There are four official languages in Switzerland: German, French, Italian, and Romansh.

The capital of Switzerland is Bern. The largest city of Switzerland is Zürich.

Land

The area of Switzerland is 42,285 km². The land is divided into 26 areas. Every area is called a canton. The 26 cantons are: Aargau, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Bern, Fribourg, Genève (Geneva), Glarus, Graubünden, Jura, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Thurgau, Ticino, Uri, Valais, Vaud, Zug, and Zürich.

See also: Canton

Switzerland has 2,889 villages, towns and cities.

The mountains are very tall in Switzerland. About 60% of Switzerland is mountains. The mountains are in the centre of Switzerland. The mountains are also in the south of Switzerland. The highest mountain is the Dufour Peak. The Dufour Peak is 4,634 m.

Many of the mountains have ice every day. This ice is called glaciers. Many rivers start in the mountains of Switzerland. The river Rhine starts in the mountains of Switzerland. The river Rhône also starts in the mountains of Switzerland.

There are many lakes in Switzerland. The biggest lakes are: Lake Geneva, Lake Zürich, Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Constance.

There are no mountains in the north of Switzerland. There are many cities and towns in the north. The biggest cities are Zürich, Basel and Bern. There are big cities in the south-west of Switzerland. Geneva and Lausanne are in the south-west of Switzerland. There are mountains in the west of Switzerland. The name of these mountains is Jura.

People

There are about 7.2 million people in Switzerland. In northern Switzerland, people speak German as their first language and about 64% of the people speak German. They also live in the centre of Switzerland. 19% of the people speak French as their first language. These people live in the west of Switzerland. 8% of the people speak Italian. These people live in the south of Switzerland. Only 1% of the people speak Romansh. These people live in the south-eastern part of Switzerland. Romansh is an old language. It is similar to Latin.

The people of Switzerland do not speak the same German as people in Germany. The German of Switzerland is difficult to understand for people from Germany. But the people of Switzerland write like the people from Germany.

20% of the people in Switzerland do not have a passport of Switzerland. They come to work in Switzerland. It is not easy for them to have a passport of Switzerland. The people that do not have a Swiss passport are called foreigners.

The religion of most people in Switzerland is Christianity. 43% of the population follow Catholicism. 35% of the population follow Protestantism. 2% follow Eastern Orthodoxy. The religion of 4% of the population is Islam. The rest follow a very small religion, or they have no religion.

Switzerland is famous for its chocolate. It is also famous for its cheese. Switzerland is also famous for its watches and mountains.

History

In 1291 people from Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden wanted to be free. They signed a contract to work together. The name of this contract is Eternal Alliance. Together the people could be free from the people of Habsburg. The people of Habsburg were very strong. In 1315 the people from the Eternal Alliance fought the Habsburg. This battle was at a place with the name Morgarten. The people of the Eternal Alliance won.

People from other areas signed the contract. More and more people worked together to be free. In 1648 other countries from Europe made a contract that said Switzerland was free. The name of this contract was Treaty of Westphalia. More areas came to be part of Switzerland.

In 1798 the military from France invaded Switzerland. The ruler of France was Napoleon. Napoleon changed many laws. In 1815 Switzerland was free from France. Other countries made a contract that said Switzerland was free. The name of this contract was Congress of Vienna. The contract also said that Switzerland was neutral.

The constitution of Switzerland was made in 1848. Switzerland did not fight in World War I. Switzerland did not fight in World War II either. Since 2002 Switzerland is part of the United Nations.

Government

Switzerland is a republic. Switzerland does not have a normal president. Seven people (called ministers) do the job of president. They are called Bundesrat. Every year one of these people is made president. The president is not more important than the other six people.

The seven people are:

There are two parts of parliament in Switzerland. The Council of States and the National Council. Both parts can make laws. There are 46 people in the Council of States. Every canton of Switzerland can send 2 people. Some cantons can only send 1 person. There are 200 people in the National Council. The biggest canton sends most people to the National Council. The smallest cantons only send one person to the National Council.

The people of Switzerland can collect signatures if they want to change a law. This is called referendum. If enough people sign a referendum, the people vote. The people can also collect signatures to change the constitution. The constitution is the basic law of a country.

Economy

Switzerland is a rich country. Switzerland is not member of the European Union. But Switzerland is member of the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA). The EFTA makes trade with other countries in Europe easy. In 1999 Switzerland and the European Union made a contract. This contract makes trade even easier.

The banks of Switzerland are important. There are also insurance companies in Switzerland. Tourism is important in Switzerland. There are many places for tourists. Davos, St. Moritz, Pontresina and Laax are in Switzerland. These towns are important for skiing. Tourists also like Lucerne, Geneva, and Zürich.

External links

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