1.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
2.
Swiss Federal Council
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While the entire council is responsible for leading the federal administration of Switzerland, each Councillor heads one of the seven federal executive departments. The position of Federal President rotates among the seven Councillors on a yearly basis, when the Constitution was written, constitutional democracy was still in its infancy, and the founding fathers of Switzerland had little in the way of examples. While they drew heavily on the U. S, Constitution for the organisation of the federal state as a whole, they opted for the collegial rather than the presidential system for the executive branch of government. This accommodated the long tradition of the rule of collective bodies in Switzerland, today, only three other states, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Andorra and San Marino, have collective rather than unitary heads of state. However the collegial system of government has found widespread adoption in modern democracies in the form of government with collective responsibility. Nonetheless, some significant developments deserve to be mentioned here, the 1848 Constitution was one of the few successes of the Europe-wide democratic revolutions of 1848. In Switzerland, the movement was led – and the new federal state decisively shaped – by the Radicals. After winning the Sonderbund War against the Catholic cantons, the Radicals at first used their majority in the Federal Assembly to fill all the seats on the Federal Council and this made their former war opponents, the Catholic-Conservatives, the opposition party. Only after Emil Weltis resignation in 1891 after a referendum on railway nationalisation did the Radicals decide to co-opt the Conservatives by supporting the election of Josef Zemp. The process of involving all political movements of Switzerland into the responsibility of government continued during the first half of the 20th century. It was hastened by the FDPs and CVPs gradually diminishing voter shares and these were the Social Democratic Party on the Left and the Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents on the Right. In due course, the CVP received its seat in 1919 with Jean-Marie Musy. In 1943, during World War II, the Social Democrats were also included with Ernst Nobs. During that time, the FDP and CVP very slowly but steadily kept losing voter share to the SVP and SP, respectively, which overtook the older parties in popularity during the 1990s. The governmental balance was changed after the 2003 elections, when the SVP was granted a Council seat for their leader Christoph Blocher that had belonged to the CVPs Ruth Metzler. This led to a split of the SVP in 2008, the SVP regained its second seat on the Council in 2015, when Widmer-Schlumpf decided to resign after the SVPs large election gains in the 2015 election, being replaced by Guy Parmelin. Women gained suffrage on the level in 1971. They remained unrepresented in the Federal Council for three legislatures, until the 1984 election of Elisabeth Kopp
3.
Bern
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The city of Bern or Berne is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to by the Swiss as their Bundesstadt, or federal city. With a population of 141,762, Bern is the fourth-most populous city in Switzerland, the Bern agglomeration, which includes 36 municipalities, had a population of 406,900 in 2014. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000, Bern is also the capital of the canton of Bern, the second-most populous of Switzerlands cantons. The official language in Bern is German, but the language is an Alemannic Swiss German dialect. In 1983, the old town in the centre of Bern became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bern is ranked among the top ten cities for the best quality of life. The etymology of the name Bern is uncertain and it has long been considered likely that the city was named after the Italian city of Verona, which at the time was known as Bern in Middle High German. As a result of the find of the Bern zinc tablet in the 1980s, it is now common to assume that the city was named after a pre-existing toponym of Celtic origin. The bear was the animal of the seal and coat of arms of Bern from at least the 1220s. The earliest reference to the keeping of bears in the Bärengraben dates to the 1440s. No archaeological evidence that indicates a settlement on the site of city centre prior to the 12th century has been found so far. In antiquity, a Celtic oppidum stood on the Engehalbinsel north of Bern, fortified since the second century BC, during the Roman era, a Gallo-Roman vicus was on the same site. The Bern zinc tablet has the name Brenodor, in the Early Middle Ages, a settlement in Bümpliz, now a city district of Bern, was some 4 km from the medieval city. The medieval city is a foundation of the Zähringer ruling family, according to 14th-century historiography, Bern was founded in 1191 by Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen. In 1218, after Berthold died without an heir, Bern was made an imperial city by the Goldene Handfeste of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. In 1353, Bern joined the Swiss Confederacy, becoming one of the eight cantons of the period of 1353 to 1481. The city grew out towards the west of the boundaries of the peninsula formed by the river Aare, the Zytglogge tower marked the western boundary of the city from 1191 until 1256, when the Käfigturm took over this role until 1345. It was, in turn, succeeded by the Christoffelturm until 1622, during the time of the Thirty Years War, two new fortifications – the so-called big and small Schanze – were built to protect the whole area of the peninsula
4.
Langnau im Emmental
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Langnau im Emmental is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is situated in the upper Emmental between Bern and Lucerne and it has about 9,000 inhabitants and is the most important market place in the region. It is set among rolling hills, the average temperature is 7.1 °C, and the average precipitation is 1,371 mm. The village is one of the sunniest in Switzerland, with no fog. There are no signs of inhabitants before the German migration in about the 11th century. The first mention of the name Langnau dates to 1139, in 1246 it was mentioned as Langenowe. Like other towns in the Emmental, Langnau was not built along the river because of the danger of flooding, instead, it was built on higher ground along one of the streams flowing into the Emme. The earliest noble landowners seem to have been the Kyburg family, a fort was erected on the Spitzenegg hill in Gohl by the barons of Spitzenberg. This fortification was sold to the sons of Rudolf von Habsburg in 1300, a Benedictine monastery was established in Trub in 1130, and it held ownership of large tracts of land. After the Battle of Sempach in 1386, where the Swiss Confederation defeated the troops led by Duke Leopold III of Habsburg, however, there were continued clashes with the authorities in Lucerne. In 1528, Bern imposed the Protestant religion on the entire region, in 1653, there was a farmers insurrection due to the economic crisis after the end of the Thirty Years War and the persecution of the Anabaptists. The insurrection was put down, and persecution continued until about 1730, many Anabaptists left the area to settle in the Jura mountains. In the 18th century, Langnau was an important center of the canvas and it was larger than any other town in the area, including Burgdorf. The railroad reached Langnau in 1864 from Bern, and continued to Lucerne in 1875, with the opening of the Gotthard line in 1882, the line through Langnau became the fastest access route to the south until the opening of the Lötschberg Tunnel in 1913. Langnau im Emmental has an area of 48.4 km2, as of 2012, a total of 24.14 km2 or 49. 9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 20.34 km2 or 42. 0% is forested. The rest of the municipality is 3.67 km2 or 7. 6% is settled,0.21 km2 or 0. 4% is either rivers or lakes and 0.11 km2 or 0. 2% is unproductive land. During the same year, housing and buildings made up 4. 0%, a total of 39. 3% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2. 7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land,9. 2% is used for growing crops and 33. 6% is pasturage, all the water in the municipality is flowing water
5.
Swiss Red Cross
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The Swiss Red Cross, or SRC, is the national Red Cross society for Switzerland. It was founded in 1866 in Bern, Switzerland, the SRC is Switzerlands oldest and largest relief agency, made up of 24 cantonal leagues, five rescue organizations, three foundations and two societies. The Swiss Red Cross was established on 17 July 1866 at the instigation of Federal Councillor Jakob Dubs, after its foundation, the SRC named itself as an aid organisation for Swiss soldiers and their families. Building the national organisation was, however, full of difficulties, also, Switzerlands neutrality and the existence of the International Committee of the Red Cross as an institution in Swiss civil-society posed further difficulties. In 1882 the Zurich Pfarrer Walter Kempin founded the Centralverein des Schweizerischen Roten Kreuzes, as a result, cantonal and local sections were established, Red Cross nursing organisations formed and transport sections set up. In 1903 the official role of the SRC was codified in a decree of the Federal Assembly, as a promoter of the nursing, with the invasion of the Bourbaki army in March 1871, the SRC saw its first action as an auxiliary arm. It counted, interned 85,000 for six weeks in Switzerland to furnish member of the French army medically, a further focal point in the SRCs activities was helping in the efforts against the Spanish flu epidemic, raging in Switzerland and throughout Europe in 1918. In the inter-war years, the SRC delivered - among other things - food aid to countries, such as to Vienna in 1919. During the Second World War, the SRC provided for the support of the civil population and it provided for 180,000 children to come to Switzerland in the form of the Kinderhilfe and provided for civilians and soldiers interned in Switzerland. In almost all the countries of Europe, it had own aid programmes or was involved in set up by others. It made a contribution to forming the Swiss public health system, establishing and running a blood donation service and helping in outpatient care. The SRC also actively supports refugees, asylum seekers and migrants and works in reconstruction, in accordance with Switzerland itself, the Swiss Red Cross is a federally structured association based in Bern. In 2007 it had 4.814 employees, with 2.518 in full-time positions and its central organ is the Red Cross Assembly, made up of 64 delegates from the Cantonal Associations and 33 members of the rescue organizations. The 9-member Red Cross Council deals with strategic decisions and is supported through the offices of the SRC, the President represents the SRC and the Red Cross Council, as well as being ex officio vice-president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Since 2008 the SRCs director is the economist, legal and social scientist Markus Mader, 20% of the SRCs funding comes from private donations, over 50% from the health services it provides, 13% from the public purse, and the remaining 17% from other sources. In 2007 the SRCs income was 750 million Swiss francs, with a balance of 1.7 million Swiss francs, the SRC offices in Bern and Wabern handle the day-to-day business of the SRC at national level. They carry out the instructions of the Red Cross Assembly and the Red Cross Council and are the centre of expertise, the SRC Headquarters are divided into four departments, International Cooperation, Health & Integration, marketing & Communication, finance, human resources & logistics. Similar to the structure of Switzerland, the SRC is a decentralized organization
6.
Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
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The encyclopedia is published by a foundation under the patronage of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Swiss Historical Society and is financed by national research grants. Besides a staff of 35 at the offices, the contributors include 100 academic advisors,2500 historians and 100 translators. The encyclopedia is being edited simultaneously in three languages of Switzerland, German, French and Italian. The first of 13 volumes was published in 2002, the last volume was published in 2014. The 36,000 headings are grouped in, Biographies Articles on families and it makes accessible, for free, all articles ready for publication in print, but no illustrations. It also lists all 36,000 topics that are to be covered, lexicon Istoric Retic is a two volume version with a selection of articles published in Romansh. It includes articles not available in the other languages, the first volume was published in 2010, the second in 2012. An on-line version is also available
7.
Numa Droz
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Numa Droz was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council. Born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, he was elected to government of Neuchâtel in 1871. On 18 December 1875, he was elected to the Swiss Federal Council and he was affiliated to the Free Democratic Party of Switzerland. He was elected President of Switzerland in 1881 and 1887, Droz has been described as a man of progress and one of Switzerlands major political figures. He was a democrat who clashed with Bismarck over a police spying case. In La Chaux-de-Fonds a street and in Neuchâtel a square are named after him, a statue by Charles lEplattenier which was erected by the station is at present being renovated and will be placed on Rue Numa-Droz in the autumn of 2012. Numa Droz, Souvenirs dun vieux montagnard, lebet,1884 Numa Droz, Études et portraits politiques, C. Eggimann, F. Alcan,1895 Numa Droz, Le rachat des chemins de fer suisses, Bâle et Genève, Georg,1898 Numa Droz, Essais économiques, Genève, eggimann,1906 Profile of Numa Droz with election results on the website of the Swiss Federal Council. Numa Droz in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, biography of Numa Droz on the website of the Swiss Parliament
8.
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
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The Department is always headed by one of the members of the Swiss Federal Council. As of 2012, the department is headed by Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter and it does so by means of Swiss Foreign Policy, whose objectives have been laid down in Art. Originally it was the rotating Swiss President who headed the Political Department for a one-year term, in 1888, the Department was restructured by Numa Droz, who straight away headed the Department for five years. In 1896, the Federal council returned to the system with a Federal Councillor heading the Department only for a given one-year term. The one-year limitation was abandoned in 1914
9.
Virgile Rossel
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Virgile Rossel was a Swiss jurist, politician and writer. He was President of the Swiss National Council in 1909/1910 and President of the Federal Supreme Court 1929-1930 and he graduated in legal and literary studies at the Universities of Leipzig, Berne, Strasbourg and Paris. He received a doctorate in law from the University of Berne in 1879 and he also had an honorary doctorate from the University of Geneva in 1909. He began teaching from 1883, when he was appointed a professor of law at the University of Berne. He was also rector of the university in 1894 and 1907, from 1912 to 1932, Rossel was a judge of the Federal Supreme Court. He was succeeded by his son Jean Rossel, avenue Virgile-Rossel in Lausanne and rue Virgile Rossel in Tramelan are named after him. A monument with his portrait in relief by Joseph Constantin Kaiser, histoire littéraire de la Suisse romande des origines à nos jours, Genève 1889-1891,2 vol. Histoire du Jura bernois, Genève 1914 Le Roi des paysans, Lausanne,1915 Sorbeval, roman jurassien, Lausanne 1925 Ce que femme veut. roman féministe, La Chaux-de-Fonds,1903 Cœurs simples, Roman de mœurs suisses. Berne,1905 Les deux Forces, Roman, Lausanne 1905 Eugène Rambert, Sa vie, Lausanne,1917 Le flambeau, Roman, Lausanne,1920 Le grand jour, Roman. Poèmes alpestres, Lausanne,1921 Le Maître, Roman, Lausanne,1906 Une mère, drame en un acte en vers. Lausanne,1888 La vaudoise, Pièce en trois actes, Lausanne,1907 Poèmes suisses, Lausanne,1893 Rossel, Virgile. Louis Ruchonnet, Sa vie, son esprit, son œuvre, un magistrat républicain, le conseiller fédéral Schenk. Virgile Rossel in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, biography of Virgile Rossel on the website of the Swiss Parliament
10.
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie
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Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie is one of the most important and most comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Leipzig by Duncker & Humblot. The ADB contains biographies of about 26,500 people who died before 1900 and lived in the German language Sprachraum of their time and its successor, the Neue Deutsche Biographie, was started in 1953 and is planned to be ready in 2017. Reinert, Matthias, Schrott, Maximilian, Ebneth, Bernhard, Rehbein, Malte, from Biographies to Data Curation - The Making of www. deutsche-biographie. de, in, BD2015. Biographical Data in a Digital World, Proceedings of the First Conference on Biographical Data in a Digital World 2015. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, April 9,2015, ed. by, serge ter Braake, Antske Fokkens, Ronald Sluijter, Thierry Declerck, Eveline Wandl-Vogt, CEUR Workshop Proceedings Vol-1399. Ebneth, Bernhard, Neue Deutsche Biographie, Historische Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie - full-text articles at German Wikisource, German Biography - complete full-text articles, index and further information
