Many international institutions have their seats in Switzerland, in part because of its policy of neutrality. There is … [79] However, Switzerland does participate in the Schengen Area. On 18 April 1999 the Swiss population and the cantons voted in favour of a completely revised federal constitution. The Swiss victory in the Swabian War against the Swabian League of Emperor Maximilian I in 1499 amounted to de facto independence within the Holy Roman Empire. In addition the country attracted a number of creative persons during time of unrest or war in Europe. 750-1050)-language text, Articles with disputed statements from November 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2016, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2019, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2020, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with Trove identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Officially the Republic of China, participates as ", This page was last edited on 24 November 2020, at 21:37. Swiss International Air Lines is the flag carrier of Switzerland. Switzerland is unusual in having a collective head of state, the seven-member Federal Council, which doubles up as the country's cabinet. Switzerland also won the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in 2007–08 with driver Neel Jani. [159][160], The government has established an Integration Office under the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Economic Affairs. [121] In 2018, the canton of Basel-City had the highest GDP per capita in the country, ahead of the cantons of Zug and Geneva. ", Financial Time Executive Education Rankings – Open Programs – 2015, "Chart C3.1. [48], Switzerland's trade was blockaded by both the Allies and by the Axis. 108). Until 1500 the legates met most of the time in Lucerne, but also in Zürich, Baden, Bern, Schwyz etc., but sometimes also at places outside of the confederation, such as Constance. Following the 2015 Federal Council elections, the seven seats in the Federal Council were distributed as follows: The function of the Federal Supreme Court is to hear appeals against rulings of cantonal or federal courts. Each canton has its own constitution, and its own parliament, government, police and courts. The first and second century AD was an age of prosperity for the population living on the Swiss plateau. [32] The oldest known farming settlements in Switzerland, which were found at Gächlingen, have been dated to around 5300 BC.[32]. The latter town hosted the second Winter Olympic Games in 1928 and the fifth edition in 1948. Among the high valleys of the Swiss Alps many glaciers are found, totalling an area of 1,063 square kilometres (410 sq mi). Due to the popularisation of processed foods at the end of the 19th century, Swiss health food pioneer Maximilian Bircher-Benner created the first nutrition-based therapy in form of the well-known rolled oats cereal dish, called Birchermüesli. Their populations vary between 16,003 (Appenzell Innerrhoden) and 1,487,969 (Zürich), and their area between 37 km2 (14 sq mi) (Basel-Stadt) and 7,105 km2 (2,743 sq mi) (Grisons). The result was the Act of Mediation which largely restored Swiss autonomy and introduced a Confederation of 19 cantons. Anabaptists Felix Manz and Conrad Grebel also operated there. However, the president is a primus inter pares with no additional powers, and remains the head of a department within the administration.[71]. [32] In 15 BC, Tiberius, who would one day become the second Roman emperor, and his brother Drusus, conquered the Alps, integrating them into the Roman Empire. The section of the Bernese Alps above the deep glacial Lauterbrunnen valley, containing 72 waterfalls, is well known for the Jungfrau (4,158 m or 13,642 ft) Eiger and Mönch, and the many picturesque valleys in the region. And, as a prototypical federal compromise, to assign other federal institutions, such as the Federal Polytechnical School (1854, the later ETH) to Zurich, and other institutions to Lucerne, such as the later SUVA (1912) and the Federal Insurance Court (1917). (I’m used to the nightmare that is the New York subway system.) Switzerland has a publicly managed road network without road tolls that is financed by highway permits as well as vehicle and gasoline taxes. [191], In the 2000s, domestic and international institutions expressed concern about what was perceived as an increase in xenophobia, particularly in some political campaigns. The Federal Charter of 1291 agreed between the rural communes of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden is considered the confederacy's founding document, even though similar alliances are likely to have existed decades earlier.[41][42]. In 1848, the federal constitution provided that details concerning the federal institutions, such as their locations, should be taken care of by the Federal Assembly (BV 1848 Art. Apart from the United Nations headquarters, the Swiss Confederation is host to many UN agencies, like the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and about 200 other international organisations, including the World Trade Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Other areas throughout the year have a recreational culture that caters to tourism such as sight-seeing, yet the quieter seasons are spring and autumn when there are fewer visitors. While some dishes such as fondue, raclette or rösti are omnipresent through the country, each region developed its own gastronomy according to the differences of climate and languages. But to my surprise, every train arrived exactly on time. [157] In recent years, the Swiss have brought their economic practices largely into conformity with those of the EU in many ways, in an effort to enhance their international competitiveness. Some Swiss cantons approved this in 1959, while at the federal level it was achieved in 1971[42][56] and, after resistance, in the last canton Appenzell Innerrhoden (one of only two remaining Landsgemeinde, along with Glarus) in 1990. [242], Switzerland has historically boasted the greatest number of newspaper titles published in proportion to its population and size. Basel is the capital of the pharmaceutical industry in Switzerland. The Swiss Constitution of 1848, under the recent impression of the clashes of Catholic vs. Protestant cantons that culminated in the Sonderbundskrieg, consciously defines a consociational state, allowing the peaceful co-existence of Catholics and Protestants. Summers tend to be warm and humid at times with periodic rainfall so they are ideal for pastures and grazing. [134] Population growth from net immigration is quite high, at 0.52% of population in 2004, increased in the following years before falling to 0.54% again in 2017. One of the most important tribal groups in the Swiss region was the Helvetii. It also established federal responsibility for defence, trade, and legal matters. [123] The service sector – especially banking and insurance, tourism, and international organisations – is another important industry for Switzerland. 501: Übersicht:Volksinitiative 'Strom ohne Atom – Für eine Energiewende und schrittweise Stilllegung der Atomkraftwerke (Strom ohne Atom), "Switzerland to Phase Out Nuclear Energy; E.U. Switzerland has an overwhelmingly private sector economy and low tax rates by Western World standards; overall taxation is one of the smallest of developed countries. [71], Similarly, the federal constitutional initiative allows citizens to put a constitutional amendment to a national vote, if 100,000 voters sign the proposed amendment within 18 months. Switzerland is located in Central Europe, south of Germany and next to France and Austria. (2012/1). [241] Italian and Romansh-speaking authors also contributed to the Swiss literary landscape, but generally in more modest ways given their small number. ", nach Kantonen. Until 1848 the rather loosely coupled Confederation did not know a central political organisation, but representatives, mayors, and Landammänner met several times a year at the capital of the Lieu presiding the Confederal Diet for one year. The Swiss climate is generally temperate, but can vary greatly between the localities,[64] from glacial conditions on the mountaintops to the often pleasant near Mediterranean climate at Switzerland's southern tip. 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