1.
Languages of Switzerland
–
The four national languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian and Romansh. All but Romansh maintain equal status as official languages at the level within the Federal Administration of the Swiss Confederation. In 2013, native speakers of German number about 5 million, French number 1.8 million, Italian,645,000, the German region is roughly in the east, north and center, the French part in the west and the Italian area in the south. There remains a small Romansh-speaking native population in Graubünden in the east, the cantons of Fribourg, Bern and Valais are officially bilingual, Graubünden is officially trilingual. In 17 Swiss cantons, German is the official language. In the cantons of Bern, Fribourg and Valais, French is co-official, in the canton of Graubünden, more than half of the population speaks German. In each case, all languages are languages of the respective canton. In Germany Welsch and Welschland refer to Italy, there, the term is antiquated, rarely used, the marked subsidiarity of the Swiss federalism, where many political decisions are taken at municipal or cantonal level, supports this attitude. Nevertheless, in 2013,10. 1%, or about 830,000 of the Swiss residents speak High German aka Standard German at home, but probably mainly due to German immigrants. By the Middle Ages, a difference had developed between the rural cantons of the German-speaking part of Switzerland and the city cantons, divided by views about trade. After the Reformation, all cantons were either Catholic or Protestant, Romandy is the French-speaking part of Switzerland. It covers the area of the cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Neuchâtel, and Jura as well as the French-speaking parts of the cantons of Bern, Valais,1.9 million people live in Romandy. Standard Swiss French and the French of France are the same language, for example, like some other regions of the French-speaking world, Swiss people use septante instead of soixante-dix and nonante instead of quatre-vingt-dix. In the cantons of Vaud, Valais and Fribourg, speakers use instead of the Standard French quatre-vingts. Sou is used throughout Romandy for a 5-centime coin, as is tune when referring to a 5-Swiss-franc piece, historically, the vernacular language used by inhabitants of most parts of Romandy was Franco-Provençal. Franco-Provençal is a language considered to be halfway between the langue doïl and Occitan. Standard French and Franco-Provençal/Arpitan, linguistically, are distinct and mutual intelligibility is limited, increasingly, Franco-Provençal/Arpitan is used only by members of the older generations. The term Romandy does not formally exist in the political system, the television channel Télévision Suisse Romande serves the Romande community across Switzerland, is syndicated to TV5, and CanalSat Romande on 2 October
Languages of Switzerland
–
Arpitan language area map with place names in arpitan and historic political divisions.
Languages of Switzerland
–
Languages of Switzerland
2.
French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
French language
–
The
"arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in
Canada while the international stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.
French language
–
Regions where French is the main language
French language
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Town sign in
Standard Arabic and French at the entrance of
Rechmaya in
Lebanon.
French language
–
An obsolete 100
Lebanese pound note with the French language inscriptions "Banque du Liban" and "Cent livres".
3.
Swiss French
–
Swiss French is the variety of French spoken in the French-speaking area of Switzerland known as Romandy. French is one of the four languages of Switzerland, the others being German, Italian. As of 2012, around 1.8 million people in the country spoke French as their primary language, the French language spoken in Switzerland differs very little from that of France or Belgium, with minor and mostly lexical differences. While Standard French is taught in schools and used in government, media and this is exemplified by the usage of borrowed terms from German in regions bordering German-speaking communities to their complete absence by the French border area around Geneva. Many differences between Swiss French and French are due to the different administrative and political systems between Switzerland and France, in France, a post office box is called a boite postale, whereas in Switzerland, it is called a case postale. Swiss German Swiss Italian Linguistic geography of Switzerland
Swiss French
–
Map of the
Arpitan language area, historical language spoken in Romandie, with place names in arpitan and historic political divisions.
Swiss French
–
The French-speaking part of Switzerland is shown in green on this map.
4.
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’
Switzerland
–
Founded in 44 BC by
Lucius Munatius Plancus,
Augusta Raurica was the first Roman settlement on the Rhine and is now among the most important archaeological sites in Switzerland.
Switzerland
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Flag
Switzerland
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The 1291 Bundesbrief (Federal charter)
Switzerland
–
The Old Swiss Confederacy from 1291 (dark green) to the sixteenth century (light green) and its associates (blue). In the other colors are shown the subject territories.
5.
Lake Geneva region
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The Lake Geneva region or Lemanic Region is the common name of the region of Switzerland encompassing the cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Valais. It is one of the NUTS-2 regions of Switzerland, the Lemanic Arc is the region on the north side of Lake Léman, stretching out from Geneva to Lausanne and Montreux. Its parts are Geneva, La Côte, Lausanne, Lavaux, La Riviera, the cantons of Geneva and Vaud have a collaboration programme named Métropole lémanique
Lake Geneva region
–
Lake Geneva region Région lémanique Genferseeregion
6.
Lake Geneva
–
Lake Geneva is a lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône,59. 53% of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland, and 40. 47% under France. Lake Geneva has been explored by four submarines, the Auguste Piccard, forel, both built by Jacques Piccard, and the two Mir submersibles. Following the rise of Geneva it became Lac de Genève, in the 18th century, Lac Léman was revived in French and is the customary name in that language. In contemporary English, the name Lake Geneva is predominant, a note on pronunciation, English, Lake Geneva /ˌleɪk dʒᵻˈniːvə/ French, le lac Léman, le Léman or le lac de Genève German, Genfersee or Genfer See Italian, Lago Lemano, Lago di Ginevra. The Chablais Alps border is its southern shore, the western Bernese Alps lie over its eastern side, the high summits of Grand Combin and Mont Blanc are visible from some places. Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le lac Léman operates boats on the lake, the lake lies on the course of the Rhône. Other tributaries are La Dranse, LAubonne, La Morges, La Venoge, La Vuachère, Lake Geneva is the largest body of water in Switzerland, and greatly exceeds in size all others that are connected with the main valleys of the Alps. It is in the shape of a crescent, with the horns pointing south, the northern shore being 95 km, the crescent form was more regular in a recent geological period, when the lake extended to Bex, about 18 km south of Villeneuve. The lakes surface is the lowest point of the cantons of Valais, the culminating point of the lakes drainage basin is Monte Rosa at 4,634 metres above sea level. The beauty of the shores of the lake and of the sites of many of the places near its banks has long been celebrated, however, it is only from the eastern end of the lake, between Vevey and Villeneuve, that the scenery assumes an Alpine character. The shore between Nyon and Lausanne is called La Côte because it is flatter, between Lausanne and Vevey it is called Lavaux and is famous for its hilly vineyards. The average surface elevation of 372 m above sea level is controlled by the Seujet Dam in Geneva, simulations indicate that the Tauredunum event was most likely caused by a massive landslide near the Rhône delta, which caused a wave eight meters high to reach Geneva within 70 minutes. In 888 the town was part of the new Kingdom of Burgundy, in the late 1960s, pollution made it dangerous to swim at some beaches of the lake, indeed, visibility under water was near zero. By the 1980s, intense environmental pollution had almost wiped out all the fish, today, pollution levels have been dramatically cut back, and it is again considered safe to swim in the lake. Major leisure activities practiced include sailing, wind surfing, boating, rowing, on a scientific footnote, in 1827, Lake Geneva was the site for the first measurement of the speed of sound in water. The loud airborne sound coupled into the lake, establishing an underwater sound that could be measured at a distance. The flash of the exploding gunpowder provided the starting cue for the timepiece
Lake Geneva
–
Satellite image
Lake Geneva
–
View of Lake Geneva about between
Vevey in front,
Lausanne in the back behind
Mont Pèlerin (CH) on the right and
Évians-les-Bains (F) on the left, shot from a place between
Caux and
Glion above
Montreux
Lake Geneva
–
View of the lake and the Chablais Alps from
Caux
Lake Geneva
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CGN paddle steamer in 1926 near Vevey with the Dents du Midi in background
7.
Geneva
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Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situated where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic, the municipality has a population of 198,072, and the canton has 484,736 residents. In 2014, the compact agglomération du Grand Genève had 946,000 inhabitants in 212 communities in both Switzerland and France, within Swiss territory, the commuter area named Métropole lémanique contains a population of 1.25 million. This area is essentially spread east from Geneva towards the Riviera area and north-east towards Yverdon-les-Bains, Geneva is the city that hosts the highest number of international organizations in the world. It is also the place where the Geneva Conventions were signed, Geneva was ranked as the worlds ninth most important financial centre for competitiveness by the Global Financial Centres Index, ahead of Frankfurt, and third in Europe behind London and Zürich. A2009 survey by Mercer found that Geneva has the third-highest quality of life of any city in the world, the city has been referred to as the worlds most compact metropolis and the Peace Capital. In 2009 and 2011, Geneva was ranked as, respectively, the city was mentioned in Latin texts, by Caesar, with the spelling Genava, probably from a Celtic toponym *genawa- from the stem *genu-, in the sense of a bending river or estuary. The medieval county of Geneva in Middle Latin was known as pagus major Genevensis or Comitatus Genevensis, the name takes various forms in modern languages, Geneva /dʒᵻˈniːvə/ in English, French, Genève, German, Genf, Italian, Ginevra, and Romansh, Genevra. The city in origin shares its name, *genawa estuary, with the Italian port city of Genoa, Geneva was an Allobrogian border town, fortified against the Helvetii tribe, when the Romans took it in 121 BC. It became Christian under the Late Roman Empire, and acquired its first bishop in the 5th century, having been connected to the bishopric of Vienne in the 4th. In the Middle Ages, Geneva was ruled by a count under the Holy Roman Empire until the late 14th century, around this time the House of Savoy came to dominate the city. In the 15th century, a republican government emerged with the creation of the Grand Council. In 1541, with Protestantism in the ascendancy, John Calvin, by the 18th century, however, Geneva had come under the influence of Catholic France, which cultivated the city as its own. France also tended to be at odds with the ordinary townsfolk, in 1798, revolutionary France under the Directory annexed Geneva. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, on 1 June 1814, in 1907, the separation of Church and State was adopted. Geneva flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, becoming the seat of international organizations. Geneva is located at 46°12 North, 6°09 East, at the end of Lake Geneva. It is surrounded by two chains, the Alps and the Jura
Geneva
–
Top left:
Palace of Nations, Middle left:
ATLAS experiment at
CERN, Right:
Jet d'Eau, Bottom: View over Geneva and the
lake.
Geneva
–
L'Escalade, the failed surprise-attack (12 December 1602) made by troops sent by
Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, to take Geneva
Geneva
–
Geneva seen from SPOT Satellite
Geneva
–
The Geneva area seen from the Salève in France. The Jura mountains can be seen on the horizon.
8.
Vaud
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The Canton of Vaud is the third largest of Swiss cantons by population and fourth by size. The capital and biggest city is Lausanne, officially designated Olympic Capital by the International Olympic Committee, the canton had 725,944 inhabitants as of 2011. Along the lakes, Vaud was inhabited in prehistoric times, later, the Celtic tribe of the Helvetii inhabited the area. The tribe was defeated by Caesars troops in 58 BC and as a consequence the Romans settled the area, the towns of Vevey and Lausanne are two of the many towns established by the Romans. In 27 BC the state of Civitas Helvetiorum was established around the capital of Avenches, there are still many Roman remains around the town today. Between the 2nd and the 4th century the area was invaded by Alemannic tribes. The Merovingian Franks later replaced the Burgundians and their occupancy did not last long either, and in 888 the area of the canton of Vaud was made part of the Carolingian Empire. In 1032 the Zähringens of Germany defeated the Burgundians, the Zähringens themselves were succeeded in 1218 by the counts of Savoy. It was only under the counts of Savoy that the area was given political unity, a part stretching from Attalens to the River Sarine, in the north, was absorbed by the canton of Fribourg. As the power of the Savoys declined at the beginning of the 15th century the land was occupied by troops from Bern, by 1536 the area was completely annexed. The Bernese occupiers were not popular amongst the population, later, inspired by the French Revolution, the Vaudois drove out the Bernese governor in 1798 and declared the Lemanic Republic. Under Napoleon I, it became the canton of Léman, in 1803, Vaud joined the re-installed Swiss confederation. In spite of Bernese attempts to reclaim Vaud, it has remained a sovereign canton ever since, separation was prevented at the cost of very few lives. The current constitution dates from 14 April 2003, replacing the one from 1885, in the Jura mountains in the west, the canton borders the French departments of Ain, Jura, and Doubs. In the east, it borders the cantons of Fribourg and Bern, the total area is 3,212 square kilometres. Along with the canton of Berne, Vaud is one of the two cantons whose territory extends from the Jura to the Alps, through the three geographic regions of Switzerland. The areas in the south east are mountainous, situated on the side of the Bernese Alps. This region is named the Vaud Alps
Vaud
–
Roman column in Nyon
Vaud
–
Map of Vaud
Vaud
–
Built by the Bishop of Lausanne during the 15th century,
Château Saint-Maire has been the seat of the cantonal government since 1803
Vaud
–
Vevey,
Lake Geneva and the
Swiss Alps
9.
Lower Valais
–
The canton of Valais is widely known for the Matterhorn and resort towns such as Crans-Montana, Saas Fee and Zermatt. It is composed of 13 districts and its capital is Sion, the Romans called the upper Rhône valley Vallis Poenina. According to a tradition which can be traced back to the middle of the 8th century, from 888 onwards the lands were part of the kingdom of Jurane Burgundy. Valais formed part of the kingdom of Transjurane Burgundy, which fell to the Holy Roman Empire in 1032 and it became part of the duchy of Burgundia Minor, which was held from the emperors by the house of Zähringen. About the middle of the 13th century, the large communities began to develop independence, the name Zenden or tithings probably came from a very ancient division of the bishops manors for administrative and judicial purposes. In the same century the part of the valley was colonized by Germans from Hasli in the Canton of Bern. The locals became German speaking, though many Romance local names still remain, in 1354 the liberties of several of the seven Zenden were confirmed by the Emperor Charles IV. By the late 14th century, the counts of Savoy acquired the bishopric of Sion, the Zenden resisted his attempts to gather both spiritual and secular power in the valley. In 1375-76, Zenden forces crushed the army of the house of La Tour-Chatillon, and in 1388 utterly defeated the forces of the bishop, the German-speaking Zenden spread further into the valley. Starting in 1384 the Morge stream was recognized as the boundary between Savoyard, French-speaking Lower Valais and German-speaking episcopal Upper Valais, during the Raron affair rebellion in 1414 to 1420, some cantons of the Swiss Confederation took sides in the Valais. Lucerne, Uri and Unterwalden supported the Upper Valais rebels, while Bern supported the noble Raron family, the uprising was successful in driving out the Rarons, and almost brought the Confederation to civil war. Following the violence of the Raron affair, the canton was the location of the Valais witch trials between 1428 and 1447 in which at least 367 men and women were put to death and this event marks one of the earliest witch scares in late medieval Europe. The phenomenon later spread to parts of the contintent. With the election of Walther von Supersax of Conches as bishop in 1457, at the outbreak of the Burgundian War in 1475 the bishop of Sion and the Zenden made a treaty with Bern. In November of the year they seized all Lower or Savoyard Valais up to Martigny. In March 1476, after the victory of Grandson, they advanced and captured St Maurice, Évian, Thonon and they had to give up the last three districts in 1477, but won them again in 1536. In the treaty of Thonon in 1569, Monthey, Val-dllliez and these conquered districts in the Lower Valais were always ruled as subject lands by the bishop and Zenden of the Upper Valais. On March 12,1529, Valais became a member of the Swiss Confederation
Lower Valais
–
The Old Swiss Confederacy from 1291 to the sixteenth century
Lower Valais
–
Location in Switzerland
Lower Valais
–
The
Dom (left),
Matterhorn (centre) and
Weisshorn (right)
Lower Valais
–
A view of the Lötschental valley
10.
Old French
–
Old French was the Gallo-Romance dialect continuum spoken from the 9th century to the 14th century. In the 14th century, these came to be collectively known as the langues doïl. The mid-14th century is taken as the period to Middle French. The areal of Old French in contemporary terms corresponded to the parts of the Kingdom of France, Upper Burgundy. As part of the emerging Gallo-Romance dialect continuum, the langues doïl were contrasted with the langue doc, in these examples, we notice a clear consequence of bilingualism, that sometimes even changed the first syllable of the Latin words. Pope estimated that perhaps still 15% of the vocabulary of modern French derives from Germanic sources, at the third Council of Tours in 813, priests were ordered to preach in the vernacular language, since the common people could no longer understand formal Latin. The second-oldest document in Old French is the Eulalia sequence, which is important for reconstruction of Old French pronunciation due to its consistent spelling. The Capetians langue doïl, the forerunner of modern standard French, did not begin to become the common speech of all of France, however, until after the French Revolution. In the Late Middle Ages, the Old French dialects diverged into a number of distinct langues doïl, during the Early Modern period, French now becomes established as the official language of the Kingdom of France throughout the realm, also including the langue doc-speaking territories in the south. Old French gives way to Middle French in the mid-14th century, the earliest extant French literary texts date from the ninth century, but very few texts before the 11th century have survived. The first literary works written in Old French were saints lives, the Canticle of Saint Eulalie, written in the second half of the 9th century, is generally accepted as the first such text. The first of these is the area of the chansons de geste. More than one hundred chansons de geste have survived in three hundred manuscripts. The oldest and most celebrated of the chansons de geste is The Song of Roland, a fourth grouping, not listed by Bertrand, is the Crusade cycle, dealing with the First Crusade and its immediate aftermath. Jean Bodels other two categories—the Matter of Rome and the Matter of Britain—concern the French romance or roman, around a hundred verse romances survive from the period 1150–1220. From around 1200 on, the tendency was increasingly to write the romances in prose, the most important romance of the 13th century is the Romance of the Rose which breaks considerably from the conventions of the chivalric adventure story. The Occitan or Provençal poets were called troubadours, from the word trobar to find, lyric poets in Old French are called trouvères. By the late 13th century, the tradition in France had begun to develop in ways that differed significantly from the troubadour poets
Old French
–
Map of France in 1180, at the height of the
feudal system. The
possessions of the French king are in light blue, vassals to the French king in green,
Angevin possessions in red. Shown in white is the
Holy Roman Empire to the east, the western fringes of which, including
Upper Burgundy and
Lorraine were also part of the Old French areal.
11.
Helvetic Republic
–
The French invaded Switzerland and turned it into an ally known as the Helvetic Republic. The interference with localism and traditional liberties was deeply resented, although some modernizing reforms took place, resistance was strongest in the more traditional Catholic bastions, with armed uprisings breaking out in spring 1798 in the central part of Switzerland. During the French Revolutionary Wars of the 1790s, the French Republican armies expanded eastward, the French Republican armies enveloped Switzerland on the grounds of liberating the Swiss people, whose own system of government was deemed as feudal, especially for annexed territories such as Vaud. Some Swiss nationals, including Frédéric-César de La Harpe, had called for French intervention on these grounds, the invasion proceeded largely peacefully, since the Swiss people failed to respond to the calls of their politicians to take up arms. On 5 March 1798, French troops completely overran Switzerland and the Old Swiss Confederation collapsed, on 12 April 1798,121 cantonal deputies proclaimed the Helvetic Republic, One and Indivisible. On 14 April 1798, an assembly was called in the canton of Zürich. The new régime abolished cantonal sovereignty and feudal rights, the occupying forces established a centralised state based on the ideas of the French Revolution. Many Swiss citizens resisted these ideas, particularly in the central areas of the country. Some of the controversial aspects of the new regime limited freedom of worship. In response, the Cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden raised an army of about 10,000 men led by Alois von Reding to fight the French and this army was deployed along the defensive line from Napf to Rapperswil. Reding besieged French-controlled Lucerne and marched across the Brünig pass into the Berner Oberland to support the armies of Bern, at the same time, the French General Balthasar Alexis Henri Antoine of Schauenburg marched out of occupied Zürich to attack Zug, Lucerne and the Sattel pass. Even though Redings army won victories at Rothenthurm and Morgarten, Schauenburgs victory near Sattel allowed him to threaten the town of Schwyz, on 4 May 1798, the town council of Schwyz surrendered. On 13 May, Reding and Schauenburg agreed to a cease-fire, no general agreement existed about the future of Switzerland. Leading groups split into the Unitaires, who wanted a republic, and the Federalists. Coup-attempts became frequent, and the new régime had to rely on the French to survive, furthermore, the occupying forces insisted that the accommodation and feeding of the soldiers be paid for by the local populace, which drained the economy. The treaty of alliance with France also broke the tradition of neutrality established by the Confederation, all this made it difficult to establish a new working state. Instability in the Republic reached its peak in 1802–1803, which included the Bourla-papey uprising, by then, it was 12 million francs in debt having started with a treasury of 6 million francs. This together with local resistance caused the Helvetic Republic to collapse, at that time, Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul of France, summoned representatives of both sides to Paris in order to negotiate a solution
Helvetic Republic
–
Strategic situation of Europe in 1796
Helvetic Republic
–
Flag (reverse side)
Helvetic Republic
–
Alois von Reding led Central Swiss troops against the French
12.
Mont-Terrible
–
Mont-Terrible was one of the 130 departments of Napoleonic France, with its capital at Porrentruy. The Mont Terrible for which the department was named is now known as mont Terri, the toponym of mont Terrible was formed by popular etymology from an earlier Frainc-Comtou mont Tairi, from tari arid, dry. The department was created in 1793 with the annexation of the short-lived Rauracian Republic, in 1797, the old principality of Montbéliard, formerly given to Haute-Saône, was reattached to Mont-Terrible. The department was abolished in 1800 and its territory was annexed to the Haut-Rhin, within which it formed the two arrondissements of Delémont and Porrentruy. In 1815, the territory that had previously formed Mont-Terrible was partitioned between Doubs and the Swiss canton of Bern
Mont-Terrible
–
Mont-Terrible, shown with 3 French departments plus the
Principality of Neuchâtel and the
Helvetic Republic
13.
Alemannic German
–
Alemannic is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. The name derives from the ancient Germanic alliance of tribes known as the Alemanni. S, ISO 639-3 distinguishes four languages, gsw, swg, wae and gct. At this level, the distinction between a language and a dialect frequently is considered a cultural and political question, in part because linguists have failed to agree on a clear standard, the following variants comprise Alemannic, Swabian. Unlike most other Alemannic dialects, it does not retain the Middle High German monophthongs û, î, for this reason, Swabian is sometimes used in opposition to Alemannic. Retain German initial /k/ as rather than fricativising to as in High Alemannic, subvariants, Lake Constance Alemannic Upper-Rhine Alemannic in Southwestern Baden and its variant Alsatian Alemán Coloniero Basel German High Alemannic. Complete the High German consonant shift by fricativising initial /k/ to, subvariants, Bernese German Zürich German Vorarlbergisch Liechtensteinisch Highest Alemannic does not have the hiatus diphthongisation of other dialects of German. For example, instead of, instead of, subvariants, Walliser German Walser German Note that the Alemannic dialects of Switzerland are often called Swiss German or Schwiizertüütsch. The oldest known texts in Alemannic are brief Elder Futhark inscriptions dating to the sixth century, in the Old High German period, the first coherent texts are recorded in the St. Gall and Reichenau Island, a considerable part of the Old High German corpus has Alemannic traits. Alemannic Middle High German is less prominent, in spite of the Codex Manesse compiled by Johannes Hadlaub of Zürich, the rise of the Old Swiss Confederacy from the fourteenth century leads to the creation of Alemannic Swiss chronicles. Huldrych Zwinglis bible translation of the 1520s was in an Alemannic variant of Early Modern High German, the 1665 revision of the Froschauer Bible removed the Alemannic elements, approaching the language used by Luther. Johann Peter Hebel published his Allemannische Gedichte in 1803, Swiss authors often consciously employ Helvetisms within Standard German, notably Jeremias Gotthelf in his novels set in the Emmental, and more recently Tim Krohn in his Quatemberkinder. The diminutive is used frequently in all Alemannic dialects, northern and eastern dialects use the suffix -le, southern dialects use the suffix -li. Depending on dialect, thus, little house could be Heisle, Hüüsle, a significant difference between the high and low variants is the pronunciation of ch after the front vowels and consonants. In Standard German and the variants, this is a palatal, whereas in the higher variants
Alemannic German
–
The traditional distribution area of Western Upper German (=Alemannic) dialect features in the 19th and 20th century
14.
Ticino
–
Ticino /tᵻˈtʃiːnoʊ/, formally the Republic and Canton of Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. The land now occupied by the canton was annexed from Italian cities in the 15th century by various Swiss forces in the last transalpine campaigns of the Old Swiss Confederacy, in the Helvetic Republic, established 1798, it was divided between the two new cantons of Bellinzona and Lugano. The creation of the Swiss Confederation in 1803 saw these two cantons combine to form the canton of Ticino. The name Ticino was chosen for the newly established canton in 1803, known as Ticinus in Roman times, the river appears on the Tabula Peutingeriana as Ticenum. Johann Kaspar Zeuss attributed Celtic origins to the name, tracing it to the Celtic tek, itself from an Indo-European root tak, in ancient times, the area of what is today Ticino was settled by the Lepontii, a Celtic tribe. Later, probably around the rule of Augustus, it part of the Roman Empire. After the fall of the Western Empire, was ruled by the Ostrogoths, the Lombards, around 1100 it was the centre of struggle between the free communes of Milan and Como, in the 14th century it was acquired by the Visconti, Dukes of Milan. In the fifteenth century the Swiss Confederates conquered the south of the Alps in three separate conquests. Between 1403 and 1422 some of these lands were annexed by forces from the Canton of Uri. Uri conquered the Leventina Valley in 1440, in a second conquest Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden gained the town of Bellinzona and the Riviera in 1500. Some of the land and Bellinzona itself were previously annexed by Uri in 1419, the third conquest was fought by troops from the entire Confederation. In 1512 Locarno, the Maggia Valley, Lugano and Mendrisio were annexed, subsequently, the upper valley of the Ticino River, from the St. Gotthard to the town of Biasca was part of Uri. The remaining territory was administered by the Twelve Cantons and these districts were governed by bailiffs holding office for two years and purchasing it from the members of the League. The lands of the canton of Ticino are the last lands to be conquered by the Swiss Confederation, the Confederation gave up any further conquests after their defeat at the battle of Marignano in 1515 by Francis I of France. The Val Leventina revolted unsuccessfully against Uri in 1755, in February 1798 an attempt of annexation by the Cisalpine Republic was repelled by a volunteer militia in Lugano. During the Napoleonic Wars, many Ticinesi served in Swiss military units allied with the French, the canton minted its own currency, the Ticinese franco, between 1813 and 1850, when it began use of the Swiss franc. In the early 19th century, the contemporary Franco-Danish scholar Conrad Malte-Brun stated that, “The canton of Tesino is the poorest, until 1878 the three largest cities, Bellinzona, Lugano and Locarno, alternated as capital of the canton. In 1878, however, Bellinzona became the only and permanent capital, the current cantonal constitution dates from 1997
Ticino
–
Ticinese franco, currency of Ticino until the introduction of the
Swiss franc in 1850.
Ticino
–
Map of Ticino
Ticino
–
Stone house in
Valle Verzasca
Ticino
–
Hamlet of Brunescio on the left flank of
Vallemaggia
15.
Grisons
–
Grisons is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. The canton shares borders with the cantons of Ticino, Uri, Glarus and St. Gallen and international borders with Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. The name Graubünden translates as the Grey Leagues, referring to the origin in three local alliances, the League of Gods House, the Grey League, and the League of the Ten Jurisdictions. Grisons is also home to three of Switzerlands ethnic groups and the subsequent languages of Swiss German, Italian and Romansh are all native to the canton and it is the only officially trilingual canton and the only canton where the Romansh language has official status. Area-wise Grisons is Switzerlands largest canton at 7,105.2 square kilometres,19. 2% larger than the Canton of Bern, only about a third of this is commonly regarded as productive land of which forests cover about a fifth of the total area. The canton is entirely mountainous, comprising the highlands of the Rhine, in its southeastern part lies the only official Swiss National Park. In its northern part the mountains were formed as part of the thrust fault that was declared a geologic UNESCO World Heritage Site, under the name Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona, in 2008. Another Biosphere Reserve is the Biosfera Val Müstair adjacent to the Swiss National Park whereas Ela Nature Park is one of the regionally supported parks. Elevations in the Grison Alps include Tödi, at 3,614 metres, many of the mountain ranges feature extensive glaciers, such as at the Adula, the Albula, the Silvretta, the Bernina, the Bregaglia and the Rätikon ranges. The mountain ranges in the area are very deep, some being considered the deepest valleys in Europe. These valleys were settled by the Raetians. Grisons borders on the cantons of St. Gallen to the northwest, Glarus, Uri to the west and it also shares international borders with Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. The inhabitants of Grisons are called Bündner or Grisonians, most of the lands of the canton were once part of a Roman province called Raetia which was established in 15 BC. The current capital of Grisons, Chur, was known as Curia in Roman times, the area later was part of the lands of the diocese at Chur. In 1367 the League of Gods House was founded to resist the power of the Bishop of Chur. This was followed by the establishment of the Grey League, sometimes called Oberbund, the name Grey League is derived from the homespun grey clothes worn by the people and was used exclusively after 16 March 1424. The name of this later gave its name to the canton of Grisons. A third league was established in 1436 by the people of ten bailiwicks in the former Toggenburg countship, the league was called League of the Ten Jurisdictions
Grisons
–
The Upper
Engadin valley near St Moritz
Grisons
–
Location in Switzerland
Grisons
–
Chur, capital of Graubünden seen to the west and the
Rhine valley towards its source.
Grisons
–
Jörg Jenatsch was a major and divisive figure during the
Bündner Wirren (1618–1639).
16.
Swiss German
–
Swiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in the German-speaking part of Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy bordering Switzerland. Linguistically, Swiss German forms no unity, the linguistic division of Alemannic is rather into Low, High and Highest Alemannic, varieties of all of which are spoken both inside and outside of Switzerland. The only exception within German-speaking Switzerland is the municipality of Samnaun where a Bavarian dialect is spoken, the dialects of Swiss German must not be confused with Swiss Standard German, the variety of Standard German used in Switzerland. Most people in Germany do not understand Swiss German, therefore, when an interview with a Swiss German speaker is shown on German television, subtitles are required. Unlike most regional languages in modern Europe, Swiss German is the everyday language of all social levels in industrial cities. Using the dialect conveys neither social nor educational inferiority and is done with pride. There are a few settings where speaking Standard German is demanded or polite, e. g. in education, in multilingual parliaments and this situation has been called a medial diglossia, since the spoken language is mainly the dialect, whereas the written language is mainly Standard German. Swiss German speakers on TV or in films are usually dubbed or subtitled if shown in Germany. Dialect rock is a music genre using the language, many Swiss rock bands, however, the Swiss Amish of Adams County, Indiana and their daughter settlements also use Swiss German. Swiss German is a regional or political umbrella term, not a linguistic unity, for all dialects, there are idioms spoken outside Switzerland that are more closely related to them than some Swiss German dialects. Low Alemannic is only spoken in the northernmost parts of Switzerland, in Basel, High Alemannic is spoken in most of the Swiss Plateau, and is divided in an eastern and a western group. Highest Alemannic is spoken in the Alps, each dialect is separable into numerous local subdialects, sometimes down to a resolution of individual villages. Speaking the dialect is an important part of regional, cantonal and national identities, in the more urban areas of the Swiss plateau, regional differences are fading due to increasing mobility, and a growing population of non-Alemannic descent. Despite the varied dialects, the Swiss can still understand one another, but may particularly have trouble understanding Walliser dialects. Most Swiss German dialects, being High German dialects, have completed the High German consonant shift, that is, they have not only changed t to or and p to or, There are, however, exceptions, namely the idioms of Chur and Basel. Basel German is a Low Alemannic dialect, and Chur German is basically High Alemannic without initial or, North of the Benrath line up to the North Sea, this consonant shift did not happen. The Walser migration, going on between the 12th and 13th centuries, spread upper Wallis varieties towards the east and south, into Grisons and even further to western Austria and northern Italy. Informally, a distinction is made between the German-speaking people living in the canton of Valais, the Walliser, and the migrated ones, so, the Walser were pioneers of the liberalisation from serfdom and feudalism
Swiss German
–
French (
Romandy)
17.
Welsh language
–
Welsh is a member of the Brittonic branch of the Celtic languages. It is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, historically it has also been known in English as the British tongue, Cambrian, Cambric and Cymric. The United Kingdom Census 2011 counted 3.1 million residents of Wales, 27% of whom had been born outside Wales, and 73% of whom reported having no Welsh language skills. Of residents of Wales aged three and over, 19% reported being able to speak Welsh, and 77% of these were able to speak, read and this can be compared with the 2001 Census, in which 20. 8% of the population reported being able to speak Welsh. 787,854 of residents in Wales aged three and over had one or more skills in Welsh, in surveys carried out between 2004 and 2006, 57% of Welsh speakers described themselves as fluent in the written language. An estimated 110,000 to 150,000 people speak Welsh in England, Welsh emerged in the 6th century from Common Brittonic, the common ancestor of Welsh, Breton, Cornish and the extinct language known as Cumbric. The Middle Welsh period is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, the name Welsh originated as an exonym given to its speakers by the Anglo-Saxons, meaning foreign speech. The native term for the language is Cymraeg, and for the name of the country of Wales it is Cymru, Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic, the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons. Classified as Insular Celtic, the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and was spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth. During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, evolving into Welsh and it is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Kenneth H. Jackson suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern was complete by around 550, Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to the Cynfeirdd or Early Poets – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was composed in the Hen Ogledd, raising further questions about the dating of the material. An 8th century inscription in Tywyn shows the language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns, the next main period, somewhat better attested, is Old Welsh, poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of the language. Both the works of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin were in this era, Middle Welsh is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts, Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible, albeit with some work, to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The famous cleric Gerald of Wales tells, in his Descriptio Cambriae, during one of the Kings many raids in the 12th century, Henry asked an old man of Pencader, Carmarthenshire whether the Welsh people could resist his army
Welsh language
–
This tattered
Welsh Bible of 1620, in
Llanwnda church, is said to have been rescued from the hands of French invaders in 1797.
Welsh language
–
The 1588 Welsh Bible
Welsh language
–
Trilingual (Spanish, Welsh and English) sign in Argentina
18.
Walhaz
–
*Walhaz is a reconstructed Proto-Germanic word, meaning foreigner, stranger, Roman, Romance-speaker, or Celtic-speaker. The term was used by the ancient Germanic peoples to describe inhabitants of the former Western Roman Empire, the form of these words imply that they are descended from a Proto-Germanic form *walhiska-. It is attested in the Roman Iron Age from an inscription on one of the Tjurkö bracteates, *Walhaz is almost certainly derived from the name of the tribe which was known to the Romans as Volcae and to the Greeks as Οὐόλκαι / Ouólkai. This tribe occupied territory neighbouring that of the Germanic people and seem to have referred to by the proto-Germanic name *Walhaz. It is assumed that this term referred to the Celtic Volcae. Subsequently, this term *Walhōz was applied rather indiscriminately to the neighbours of the Germanic people, as evidenced in geographic names such as Walchgau. These southern neighbours, however, were already completely Romanised. Thus, Germanic speakers generalised this name first to all Celts, for instance, the historical German name for Trentino, the part of Tyrol with a Romance speaking majority, is Welschtirol, and the historical German name for Verona is Welschbern. Today, welsch is not in usage in German except in Switzerland and this term is used there not only in a historical context, but also as a somewhat pejorative word to describe Swiss speakers of Italian and French. In Central and Eastern Europe, the word for Latin peoples was borrowed from the Goths into Proto-Slavic some time before the 7th century, the first source using the word was the writings of Byzantine historian George Kedrenos in the mid-11th century. From the Slavs the term passed to other peoples, such as the Hungarians, Turks, over time, the term Vlach also acquired different meanings. The Polish words Włoch, Italian, and Włochy, Italy, and the Slovenian lah, in Hungarian, Oláh, referring to Romanians, Vlachok referring to Romanians/Vlachs, generally, Olasz, referring to Italians. In Serbo-Croatian and Bulgarian, Vlah – to Romanians or other Romanian/Vlach subgroup, also in Vlašić, the mountain in Bosnia and Herzegovina named after the Vlach shepherds that inhabited it. In Slovene, Laški, archaic name referring to Italians, it is also the name of several settlements in Slovenia, like Laško near Celje, Laško is also the old Slovene name for the area around Monfalcone and Ronchi in Italy, on the border with Slovenia. These names are linked to the presence of larger nuclei of Romance-speaking populations at the time where the Slavs settled the area in the 6th century, in English usage the words Gaul and Gaulish are used synonymously with Latin Gallia, Gallus and Gallicus. However the similarity of the names is coincidental, the English words are borrowed from French Gaule and Gaulois. Germanic w is regularly rendered with French gu / g, Gaule or Gaulle can hardly be derived from Latin Gallia, since g would become j before a, so the regular outcome of Latin Gallia would have been *Jaille in French. This also applies to the French name for Wales, which is le pays de Galles, in Welschnofen lived until the eighteenth century a Ladin community, while in Deutschnofen lived a German community
Walhaz
–
Brass replica of the
Tjurkö Bracteate showing the word walhakurne ('Roman coin')
19.
Geography of Switzerland
–
The geography of Switzerland encompasses the geographical features of Switzerland, a mountainous and landlocked country located in Western and Central Europe. It is surrounded by 5 countries, Austria and Liechtenstein to the east, France to the west, Italy to the south, Switzerland has a maximum north–south length of 220 kilometres and an east–west length of about 350 kilometres. Switzerland is well known for the Alps in the south and south east, North of the Alps, the Swiss Plateau runs along the east–west axis of the country. Most of the population of Switzerland lives on the rolling hills, the smaller Jura Mountains are located on the north west side of the plateau. Much of the border with Germany follows the Rhine, though the Rhine enters Switzerland near Schaffhausen. The eastern border with Germany and a portion of Austria is drawn through Lake Constance, a portion of the southwest border with France is drawn through Lake Geneva. Switzerland is divided into 26 sovereign cantons, the cantons along the Swiss Plateau tend to be the most populous, industrial and religiously Protestant. The cantons in the Alps tend to be less populous, Catholic, Switzerland is also divided by language. There are four languages, German 63. 7% of population, French 20. 4% of population, Italian 6. 5% of population. From Bern east the population generally speaks German, west of Bern, the population generally speaks French. In the southern Canton of Ticino, most people speak Italian, Romansh, a group of dialects descended from Vulgar Latin, is spoken in several regions in the canton of Graubünden. Switzerland extends between the parallels 45°4905 and 47°4830 lat. and the meridians 5°5723 and 10°2931 long and it forms an irregular quadrilateral, of which the greatest length from east to west is 350 kilometres, and the greatest breadth from north to south is nearly 220 kilometres. Switzerland is a country, the closest coastline being at the Gulf of Genoa,160 km south of Chiasso. Its political boundaries often do not coincide with those of nature, to that river valley, the valley of the Thur, that lies between the Aare basin and the Rhine basin must be added. Two wide and undulating valleys and two deeply cut trenches thus lie on the slope of the Alps, to the north and south respectively of the great northern outlier of the Alps. The great northern outlier attains a height of 4,274 metres in the Finsteraarhorn, the highest permanently inhabited village in Switzerland is Juf at the head of the Avers valley, while the lowest is Ascona, on Lake Maggiore. Different geological phenomena shaped the landscapes of Switzerland. The Alpine orogeny had the most visible effects on the landscape, a crystalline basement formed at the beginning of the Paleozoic era, between 540 and 360 millions years ago
Geography of Switzerland
–
Geography of Switzerland
Geography of Switzerland
–
The
Matterhorn, a symbol of Switzerland
Geography of Switzerland
–
Rolling hills of the
Emmental
20.
Jura Mountains
–
The Jura Mountains French, Massif du Jura, are a sub-alpine mountain range located north of the Western Alps, mainly following the course of the France–Switzerland border. The Jura separates the Rhine and Rhône basins, forming part of the watershed of each, the name Jura is derived from juria, a Latinized form of a Celtic stem jor- forest. The mountain range gives its name to the French department of Jura, the Swiss Canton of Jura, the Jurassic period of the timescale. The Jura Mountains are a province of the larger Central European uplands. In France, the Jura covers most of the Franche-Comté region, the range reaches its highest point at Le Crêt de la Neige in the department of Ain and finds its southern terminus in the northwestern part of the department of Savoie. The north end of the Jura extends into the tip of the Alsace region. Roughly 1,600 square kilometres of the range in France is protected by the Jura Mountains Regional Natural Park. The Swiss Jura is one of the three geographical regions of Switzerland, the other being the Swiss plateau and the Swiss Alps. In Switzerland, the covers the western border with France in the cantons of Basel-Landschaft, Solothurn, Jura, Bern, Neuchâtel. Much of the Swiss Jura region has no association with Early Modern Switzerland and was incorporated as part of the Swiss Confederacy only in the 19th century. In the 20th century, a movement of Jurassic separatism developed which resulted in the creation of the canton of Jura in 1979, the Swiss Jura has been industrialized since the 18th century and became a major centre of the watchmaking industry. The area has several cities at very high altitudes, such as La Chaux-de-Fonds, Le Locle, the Jura range proper is continued as the Table Jura in the cantons of Basel-Landschaft and Aargau, and further to Schaffhausen and into southern Germany towards the Swabian and Franconian plateaus. The range is built up vertically while decreasing in size laterally and this deformation accommodates the compression from alpine folding as the main Alpine orogenic front moves roughly northwards. The deformation becomes less pervasive away from the younger, more active Alpine mountain building, the geologic folds comprise three major bands of building that date from three epochs, the Lias, the Dogger and the Malm geologic periods. Each era of folding reveals effects of shallow marine environments as evidenced by beds with carbonate sequences, containing abundant bioclasts. Structurally, the Jura consists of a sequence of geologic folds, the highest peak in the Jura range is Le Crêt de la Neige at 1,720 metres. Vosges and Jura coal mining basins The Jura range offer a variety of tourist activities including hiking, cycling, downhill skiing, there are many signposted trails including the Jura ridgeway, a 310 km hiking route. Tourist attractions include natural features such as the Creux du Van, lookout peaks such as the Chasseral, caves such as the Grottes de lOrbe, and gorges such as Taubenloch
Jura Mountains
–
Looking towards
Lélex from near the
Crêt de la Neige
Jura Mountains
Jura Mountains
–
Creux du Van, Switzerland
Jura Mountains
–
Lac de Joux, the largest lake in the range, in Swiss Jura
21.
Seeland (Switzerland)
–
Seeland or Pays des trois lacs is a region in Switzerland, at the foot of the first mountain range of the Jura Mountains containing the 3 lakes of Morat, Neuchâtel and Bienne. In previous eras, it was the floodplain of the Aare and is thus swampy, after the huge hydrological works Jura water correction, the area drained out and could support more cultivation. Seeland is one of the most important regions in Switzerland for growing vegetables, the region is at the boundary of the cantons of Bern, Fribourg, Neuchâtel and Vaud, forming part of the linguistic boundary region between French- and German-speaking Switzerland. The Bernese Seeland is one of five divisions in the Canton of Bern. Between 1595 and 1628 they were combined together militarily into the so-called Seefähnchen and it was not until 1783-84 that Johann Friedrich von Ryhiners administrative compendium of the Bernese State presented the four counties as a united region. The Bernese Seeland expanded in 1815 when the city of Biel/Bienne, during the Helvetic Republic, the borders of the Seeland shrunk to the Amt of Erlach and portions of the Amts of Nidau and Aarberg. Between 1803 and 1815 it was a Grand Council of Bern election district with the Amts of Fraubrunnen and Wangen and portions of the Amts of Bern, between 1850 and 1918 it formed a National Council of Switzerland constituency, made up of Laupen and Biel. From 1869 to 1921 it was again a Grand Council of Bern election district made up of the Amts of Biel, Aarberg, Laupen, in 2010, the Seeland region was created with the Districts of Biel and Seeland. The new Seeland district was made up of all or part of the districts of Aarberg, Büren, Erlach. The lake shore areas were occupied as far back as the Neolithic, the lake shore areas were easily settled and fishing dominated the local economies. During the Middle Ages vineyards were added on the slopes of the Jura Mountains above the lakes, in contrast, the plains and the Grosses Moos swamp were crossed by meandering rivers like the Aare and Zihl/Thielle which frequently flooded making the land hostile to settlements. The villages on the edges of the swamp, used the swamp mainly for grazing, however, following the Jura water correction projects the bogs were drained and the formerly useless swamps became excellent farming land. With the improved transport infrastructure of the 19th and 20th centuries, the town of Biel/Bienne rose to be the economic center of the Seeland, along with the business and industrial centers of Brügg, Lyss and Ins. The region became known for specializing in clocks, precision machinery, the region is home to the Berne University of Applied Sciences, Department of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering in Biel/Bienne. This is the school of architecture in Switzerland. General Area Map Chamber of economy Biel-Seeland
Seeland (Switzerland)
–
Seeland seen from
Mont Vully
Seeland (Switzerland)
–
Erlach Castle
Seeland (Switzerland)
–
Chasseral
Seeland (Switzerland)
–
Lake Biel
22.
Saane/Sarine
–
La Sarine or Saane is a major river of Switzerland. It is 128 km long and has an area of 1,892 km2. It is a tributary of the Aare, the Sarine rises in the Bernese Alps, near Sanetschhorn, in the Canton of Valais. It forms the Lac de Sénin reservoir at 2034 m, and then enters the Canton of Bern and it then forms the westernmost valley of the Bernese Oberland, flowing past Gsteig, Gstaad and Saanen in the Obersimmental-Saanen district. Downstream of Saanen, at 982 m, it enters the Canton of Vaud, passing Rougemont, Château-dŒx and Rossinière, at 833, it traverses the Creux de lEnfer and enters the Canton of Fribourg, forming Lac de Montbovon at 777 m. From this point, it more or less follows the boundary between French- and German-speaking Switzerland across the bilingual canton of Fribourg. Passing Villars-sous-Mont, Enney, Gruyères and Broc, it reaches Lac de la Gruyère at 677 m and it then continues in serpentines towards Fribourg itself, the historical city was built in 1157 on a peninsula of the River Sarine, protected on three sides by steep cliffs. Downstream of Fribourg, it widens into the Schiffenensee reservoir at 532 m, and is taken to Laupen in a channel. Flowing north for another 6 km, it joins the Aar just downstream of Wohlensee, at 461 m
Saane/Sarine
–
Pont de Berne (Berner Brücke) over La Sarine/Saane, near Fribourg.
23.
Canton of Fribourg
–
The Canton of Fribourg is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the west of the country, the capital of the canton is Fribourg. The name Fribourg is French, whereas Freiburg is the German name for both the canton and the town, on the shores of Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Morat significant traces of prehistoric settlements have been unearthed. The canton of Fribourg joined the Swiss Confederation in 1481, the area is made up of lands acquired by the capital Fribourg. The present extent was reached in 1803 when Murten was acquired, the canton of Fribourg joined the separatist league of Catholic cantons in 1846. The following year, its troops surrendered to the federal army, the canton of Fribourg lies in the west of Switzerland. It is bounded to the west by the Lake of Neuchâtel, to the west and the south of the canton lies the canton of Vaud. To the east the canton of Fribourg is bounded by the canton of Bern, there are two enclaves within Vaud and one within the canton of Bern, as well as a large exclave on the lake. The area of the canton of Fribourg is 1,669 square kilometers, the canton lies on the elevated Swiss Plateau. In the west the lands are flat, but towards the south east of the canton and this region is commonly called pre-Alps but is part of the Bernese Alps. The highest elevation in the canton is the Vanil Noir with 2,389 m, the river Saane flows from the south to the north of the canton. Together with its tributaries it drains most of the lands in the canton, the river Saane later joins the river Aare. The river Broye drains the west of the canton and flows northeast into Lake Morat, the southwest part of the canton is drained by the river Veveyse which flows south into Lake Geneva. The number is decreasing as the canton subsidizes mergers between municipalities, in contrast to the mainly Protestant cantons of Vaud to its west and Bern to its east, the canton of Fribourg is a predominantly Roman Catholic enclave with a Protestant minority. The main centres of population are the capital Fribourg and Bulle, two-thirds of the population speak French, and one-third speaks Alemannic dialects of German. The French-speaking areas are in the west of the canton, whereas the Alemannic-speaking areas are in the east, there are a number of bilingual towns, a fact that has attracted some businesses, such as telesales. The population of the canton is 307,461, as of 2007, the population included 43,838 foreigners, or about 16. 65% of the total population. Agriculture is important in the canton of Fribourg, the main agricultural activities are cattle breeding and dairy farming
Canton of Fribourg
–
Fribourg
Prealps:
Dent de Brenleire (2358 m, to the right) and
Vanil Noir (2389 m, in the background)
Canton of Fribourg
–
Map of Fribourg
Canton of Fribourg
–
Transports publics Fribourgeois bus station in Fribourg
24.
Canton of Bern
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The canton of Bern is the second largest of the 26 Swiss cantons by both surface area and population. Located in west-central Switzerland, it borders the canton of Jura, to the west lie the canton of Neuchâtel, the canton of Fribourg and Vaud. To the south lies the canton of Valais, east of the canton of Bern lie the cantons of Uri, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Lucerne and Aargau. The canton of Bern is bilingual and has a population of 1,017,483, as of 2007, the population included 119,930 foreigners. The cantonal capital, also the capital of Switzerland, is Bern. Bern joined the Swiss Confederation in 1353 and was between 1803 and 1814 one of the six directorial cantons of the Napoleonic Swiss Confederation and these caves were used at various times during the last ice age. The first open-air settlement in the area is an upper paleolithic settlement at Moosbühl in Moosseedorf, during the warmer climate of the mesolithic period, increasing forest cover restricted the movement of hunters, fishers and gatherers. Their temporary settlements were built along lake and marsh edges, which remained free of trees due to fluctuations in water level, important mesolithic sites in the Canton are at Pieterlenmoos and Burgäschisee lake along with alpine valleys at Diemtig and Simmental. During the neolithic period, there were a number of settlements on the shores of Lake Biel, several of these sites are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the best explored neolithic sites is at Twann, in the Twannbach delta there were about 25 Cortaillod culture and Horgen culture villages that existed between 3800 and 2950 BC. One of the oldest examples of bread from Switzerland, a sourdough from 3560–3530 BC, simple copper objects were already in use in the 4th millennium BC, including a copper pin from Lattrigen from 3170 BC and a knife blade from Twann. Shortly before 2000 BC bronze production entered the area and brought about a surge in development, settlements began to spread into the pre-Alpine and Alpine areas. The area between Lake Thun and the Niedersimmental were densely settled, Late Bronze Age settlements along Lake Biel have yielded up a wealth of items. During the early Iron Age changes in climate forced them to settlements along many waterways and in the valley floors and move to the plateaus. With increased trade contacts across the Alps, the influence of the Mediterranean grew in the area. Evidence of this include a hydria which was discovered in Grächwil. Burial rituals and social classes became more developed during this time, the so-called princely graves became more common, many of the burial mounds were over 30 m in diameter and 4 m high and richly outfitted with grave goods. In a grave mound in Bützberg the first burial in the mound was followed by later burials
Canton of Bern
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Helveto-Roman settlement Bern-Engehalbinsel
Canton of Bern
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Map of Bern
Canton of Bern
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Baths at Engehalbinsel near Bern
Canton of Bern
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Siege and execution of the garrison at Grandson
25.
Lake Morat
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Lake Morat or Lake Murten is a lake located in the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud in the west of Switzerland. It is named after the small town of Murten/Morat on its southern shore. It is the smallest of the three lakes in the Seeland or Pays des trois lacs area of the Swiss plateau located at the foot of the first chain of the Jura mountains, the main tributary is the river Broye. Since the Jura water correction its water leaves the lake through the Broye Canal into nearby Lake Neuchâtel that is connected to Lake Bienne through the Thielle canal. Media related to Lake Morat at Wikimedia Commons Lake Morat in German, French, waterlevels of Lake Morat at Morat
Lake Morat
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Lake Morat Lac de Morat
26.
Lake Biel
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Lake Bienne or Lake Biel or is a lake in the west of Switzerland. Together with Lake Morat and Lake Neuchâtel, it is one of the three lakes in the Jura region of Switzerland. It lies approximately at 47°5′N 7°10′E, at the boundary between German and French speaking areas. The lake is 15 km long and up to 4.1 km wide and its surface area is 39.3 km², the maximum depth 74 m. The lake is located at 429 metres above sea level, Lake Biel has a catchment area of about 8,305 km². Water remains in the lake for an average of 58 days, the level of all three lakes is being controlled by a dam built across the channel, in Port. The largest settlement along the shores of Lake Biel are the city of Biel/Bienne and its sister city Nidau. The St. Peters Island attracts tourists, the island is located near Erlach/Cerlier. Jean-Jacques Rousseau once spent a few months on the island, one of the main business in the area is the watch and affiliated microtechnic industries. World famous watch brands have their sites and headquarters in the area, including the Swatch Group, the lakes surface is the lowest point of the canton of Neuchâtel. As the lake is located on the border of the French and German language regions, waterlevels of Lake Bienne at Ligerz Tourism Biel/Bienne Seeland
Lake Biel
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Lake Biel Lake Bienne
Lake Biel
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The lake at
Bienne
Lake Biel
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Lake Bienne, view from Nidau
27.
Cantons of Switzerland
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The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the Waldstätte, with the Napoleonic period of the Helvetic Republic the term canton/cantone/Kanton was fully established. From 1833, there were 25 cantons, which became 26 after the secession of the canton of Jura from Bern in 1979. The term canton, now used as English term for administrative subdivisions of other countries, originates in French usage in the late 15th century, from a word for edge. After 1490, canton was increasingly used in French and Italian documents to refer to the members of the Swiss Confederacy, English use of canton in reference to the Swiss Confederacy dates to the early 17th century. It was increasingly replaced by Stand after 1550, the French term canton was not adopted into German usage prior to 1648, and after that only in occasional use. The prominent usage of Ort and Stand only gradually disappeared in German-speaking Switzerland with the Helvetic Republic, only with the Act of Mediation of 1803 did German Kanton become an official designation, retained in the Swiss Constitution of 1848. The term Stand remains in usage and is reflected in the name of the upper chamber of the Swiss Parliament. Republic Some cantonal constitutions provide for a formal name of the state. Most of Romandys cantons and Ticino call themselves république/Repubblica officially, at least within their constitutions, for example, the canton of Geneva refers to itself formally as the République et canton de Genève. Though they were part of the Holy Roman Empire, they had become de facto independent when the Swiss defeated Emperor Maximillian in 1499 in Dornach. The old system was abandoned with the formation of the Helvetic Republic following the French invasion of Switzerland in 1798, the cantons of the Helvetic Republic had merely the status of an administrative subdivision with no sovereignty. The Helvetic Republic collapsed within five years, and cantonal sovereignty was restored with the Act of Mediation of 1803, the status of Switzerland as a federation of states was restored, at the time including 19 cantons. Three additional western cantons, Valais, Neuchâtel and Geneva, acceded in 1815, the process of Restoration, completed by 1830, returned most of the former feudal rights to the cantonal patriciates, leading to rebellions among the rural population. The Liberal Radical Party embodied these democratic forces calling for a new federal constitution and this tension, paired with religious issues escalated into armed conflict in the 1840s, with the brief Sonderbund War. The victory of the party resulted in the formation of Switzerland as a federal state in 1848. The cantons retained far-reaching sovereignty, but were no longer allowed to maintain standing armies or international relations. Each canton has its own constitution, legislature, government and courts, most of the cantons legislatures are unicameral parliaments, their size varying between 58 and 200 seats
Cantons of Switzerland
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The 22 cantonal coats of arms (all but Jura, with the half-cantons represented jointly) in
stained glass set in the dome of the
Federal Palace of Switzerland (ca. 1900)
Cantons of Switzerland
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Valais
Cantons of Switzerland
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Caricature of the division of Basel, 1833
28.
Canton of Geneva
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The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the French-speaking westernmost canton or state of Switzerland, surrounded on almost all sides by France. As is the case in several other Swiss cantons, this canton is referred to as a republic within the Swiss Confederation, the canton of Geneva is located in the southwestern corner of Switzerland, and is considered one of the most cosmopolitan areas of the country. As a center of the Calvinist Reformation, the city of Geneva has had a influence on the canton. The Republic of Geneva was proclaimed in 1541, under John Calvin, the Republic of Geneva reinforced its alliance to the Protestant cantons of the Swiss Confederacy, becoming an everlasting ally in 1584. The French Revolution reached Geneva in 1792, and in February 1794, after the death of Robespierre in July of the same year, there was a counter-revolution, which gained the upper hand by 1796. This prompted the French invasion of 1798, and the annexation of Geneva as part of the French département du Léman, Geneva finally joined the Swiss Confederation in 1815 as the 22nd canton, having been enlarged by French and Savoyard territories at the Vienna Congress. The area of the canton of Geneva is 282 square kilometers, the canton is surrounded on almost all sides by France and bordered by the Swiss canton of Vaud on northeast. The adjoining French départements are Ain and Haute-Savoie, the current boundaries of the canton were established in 1815. There are 45 municipalities in the canton, Geneva does not have any administrative districts. There are 10 cities with a population of over 10,000 as of 2007, Genève, Vernier, Lancy, Meyrin, Carouge, Onex, Thônex, Versoix, Grand-Saconnex, Chêne-Bougeries. The constitution of the canton was established in 1847, and has, the cantonal government has seven members who are elected for four years. The legislature, the Grand Council, has 100 seats, with deputies elected for four years at a time, the last elecation was held on 7 October 2013. In a similar way to what happens at the Federal level, in addition, any law can be subject to a referendum if it is demanded by 7,000 persons entitled to vote, and 10,000 persons may also propose a new law. The republique and canton of Geneva has 11 seats in the National Council, on 18 October 2015, in the federal election the most popular party was the The Liberals which received three seats with 20. 5% of the votes. In the federal election, a total of 106,852 votes were cast, and she is part of the Council of States since 2007. Councilor Robert Cramer, member of the Green Party, was re-elected in the round with a majority of 42,075 votes. He is part of the Council of States since 2007, ^a FDP before 2009, FDP. The Liberals after 2009 ^b * indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton. ^c Part of the FDP for this election ^d Part of the SD for this election The population of the canton is 484,736, as of 2013, the population included 194,623 foreigners from 187 different nations, or about 40. 1% of the total population
Canton of Geneva
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View from beneath
Le Reculet towards Canton of Geneva, Annemasse, the Salève and the Mont-Blanc
Canton of Geneva
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Map of Geneva
Canton of Geneva
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Village square in
Meyrin
Canton of Geneva
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Transports Publics Genevois tram
29.
Canton of Jura
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The Republic and Canton of the Jura, also known as the canton of Jura or canton Jura, is the newest of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. It shares borders with the canton of Basel-Landschaft, the canton of Bern, the canton of Neuchatel, the canton of Solothurn, the King of Burgundy donated much of the land that today makes up canton Jura to the Bishop of Basel in 999. The area was a state within the Holy Roman Empire for more than 800 years. After the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 the Jura had close ties with the Swiss Confederation, at the Congress of Vienna, the Jura region became part of the canton of Bern. The Jura was French-speaking and Roman Catholic, whereas the canton of Bern was mostly German-speaking, after World War II, a separatist movement campaigned for a secession of Jura from the canton of Bern. After a long and partly militant struggle, which included some arson attacks by a youth organisation Les Béliers, in 1978 the split was made official when the Swiss people voted in favour, and in 1979 the Jura joined the Swiss Confederation as a full member. The canton celebrated its independence from the canton of Bern on 23 June, the area is now known as Bernese Jura. The word Jura, therefore, may refer either to canton Jura, or to the territory of canton Jura. Switzerland as a whole presents the latter from a touristic standpoint with documentation easily available in French or German. On creation, the canton adopted the title Republic and canton of the Jura, other cantons in Switzerland using the title Republic and Canton are Ticino, canton of Geneva, and canton of Neuchâtel. In each case, the title refers to the autonomy of the canton, since 1994, the question of the Jura region has again been controversial. In 2004, a federal commission proposed that the French-speaking southern Jura be reunited with the canton of Jura, Canton Jura lies in the northwest of Switzerland. It consists of parts of the Jura mountains in the south, the Jura plateau is hilly and almost entirely limestone. The districts of Ajoie and Franches-Montagnes lie in this region, the term Jurassic is derived from the Jura Alps, strata of which date to that era. To the north and the west of the canton lies France, the canton of Solothurn and Basel-Landschaft are to east of the canton, while the canton of Bern bounds the Jura to the south. The rivers Doubs and the Birs drain the lands, the Doubs joins the Saône and then the Rhône, whereas the Birs is a tributary to the Rhine. Jura is divided into 3 districts, Delémont - capital, Delémont Porrentruy - capital, Porrentruy Franches-Montagnes - capital, ^a FDP before 2009, FDP. The Liberals after 2009 ^b * indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton. ^c Part of the canton of Bern The population is almost entirely French-speaking, just one municipality is German-speaking, Ederswiler
Canton of Jura
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Old city of
Porrentruy
Canton of Jura
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Map of Jura
Canton of Jura
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The coat of arms of the canton has been set apart in the dome of the
Federal Palace in Bern after its foundation in 1978
30.
Valais
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The canton of Valais is widely known for the Matterhorn and resort towns such as Crans-Montana, Saas Fee and Zermatt. It is composed of 13 districts and its capital is Sion, the Romans called the upper Rhône valley Vallis Poenina. According to a tradition which can be traced back to the middle of the 8th century, from 888 onwards the lands were part of the kingdom of Jurane Burgundy. Valais formed part of the kingdom of Transjurane Burgundy, which fell to the Holy Roman Empire in 1032 and it became part of the duchy of Burgundia Minor, which was held from the emperors by the house of Zähringen. About the middle of the 13th century, the large communities began to develop independence, the name Zenden or tithings probably came from a very ancient division of the bishops manors for administrative and judicial purposes. In the same century the part of the valley was colonized by Germans from Hasli in the Canton of Bern. The locals became German speaking, though many Romance local names still remain, in 1354 the liberties of several of the seven Zenden were confirmed by the Emperor Charles IV. By the late 14th century, the counts of Savoy acquired the bishopric of Sion, the Zenden resisted his attempts to gather both spiritual and secular power in the valley. In 1375-76, Zenden forces crushed the army of the house of La Tour-Chatillon, and in 1388 utterly defeated the forces of the bishop, the German-speaking Zenden spread further into the valley. Starting in 1384 the Morge stream was recognized as the boundary between Savoyard, French-speaking Lower Valais and German-speaking episcopal Upper Valais, during the Raron affair rebellion in 1414 to 1420, some cantons of the Swiss Confederation took sides in the Valais. Lucerne, Uri and Unterwalden supported the Upper Valais rebels, while Bern supported the noble Raron family, the uprising was successful in driving out the Rarons, and almost brought the Confederation to civil war. Following the violence of the Raron affair, the canton was the location of the Valais witch trials between 1428 and 1447 in which at least 367 men and women were put to death and this event marks one of the earliest witch scares in late medieval Europe. The phenomenon later spread to parts of the contintent. With the election of Walther von Supersax of Conches as bishop in 1457, at the outbreak of the Burgundian War in 1475 the bishop of Sion and the Zenden made a treaty with Bern. In November of the year they seized all Lower or Savoyard Valais up to Martigny. In March 1476, after the victory of Grandson, they advanced and captured St Maurice, Évian, Thonon and they had to give up the last three districts in 1477, but won them again in 1536. In the treaty of Thonon in 1569, Monthey, Val-dllliez and these conquered districts in the Lower Valais were always ruled as subject lands by the bishop and Zenden of the Upper Valais. On March 12,1529, Valais became a member of the Swiss Confederation
Valais
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The Old Swiss Confederacy from 1291 to the sixteenth century
Valais
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Map of Valais
Valais
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The
Dom (left),
Matterhorn (centre) and
Weisshorn (right)
Valais
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A view of the Lötschental valley
.jpg)
