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 Alps
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The Swiss Alps extend over both the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps, encompassing an area sometimes called Central Alps. The Swiss Alps comprise almost all the highest mountains of the Alps, such as Dufourspitze, the Dom, the Liskamm, the Weisshorn, the other following major summits can be found in this list of mountains of Switzerland. Since the Middle Ages, transit across the Alps played an important role in history, the region north of St Gotthard Pass became the nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the early 14th century. The Alps cover 65% of Switzerlands total 41,285 square kilometres surface area, making it one of the most alpine countries. The glaciers of the Swiss Alps cover an area of 1,220 square kilometres — 3% of the Swiss territory, the Swiss Alps are situated south of the Swiss Plateau and north of the national border. The limit between the Alps and the runs from Vevey on the shores of Lake Geneva to Rorschach on the shores of Lake Constance, passing close to the cities of Thun. The not well defined regions in Switzerland that lie on the margin of the Alps, the Swiss Prealps are mainly made of limestone and they generally do not exceed 2,500 metres. The Alpine cantons are Valais, Bern, Graubünden, Uri, Glarus, Ticino, St. Gallen, Vaud, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Schwyz, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Fribourg, Lucerne and Zug. The countries with which Switzerland shares mountain ranges of the Alps are, France, Italy, Austria, the Alps are usually divided into two main parts, the Western Alps and Eastern Alps, whose division is along the Rhine from Lake Constance to the Splügen Pass. The western ranges occupy the greatest part of Switzerland while the more numerous eastern ranges are smaller and are all situated in the canton of Graubünden. The latter are part of the Central Eastern Alps, except the Ortler Alps which belong to the Southern Limestone Alps, the Pennine, Bernese and Bernina Range are the highest ranges of the country, they contain respectively 38,9 and 1 summit over 4000 metres. The lowest range is the Appenzell Alps culminating at 2,500 metres, Western Alps Eastern Alps The north side of the Swiss Alps is drained by the Rhône, Rhine and Inn while the south side is mainly drained by the Ticino. The rivers on the empty into the Mediterranean, North and Black Sea. The major triple watersheds in the Alps are located within the country, they are, Piz Lunghin, Witenwasserenstock, between the Witenwasserenstock and Piz Lunghin runs the European Watershed separating the basin of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. The European watershed lies in fact only partially on the main chain, Switzerland possesses 6% of Europes fresh water, and is sometimes referred to as the water tower of Europe. Since the highest dams are located in Alpine regions, many mountain lakes are artificial and are used as hydroelectric reservoirs. Some large artificial lakes can be found above 2,300 m, the melting of low-altitude glaciers can generate new lakes, such as the 0.25 km² large Triftsee which formed between 2002–2003. The following table gives the area above 2000 m and 3000 m
3.
Backcountry skiing
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Backcountry skiing, also called off-piste or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resorts boundaries. This contrasts with alpine skiing which is typically done on groomed trails benefiting from a ski patrol, unlike ski touring, backcountry skiing can include the use of ski lifts including snowcats and helicopters. Recent improvements in equipment have increased the popularity of the sport, the terms backcountry and off-piste refer to where the skiing is being done, while terms like ski touring, ski mountaineering, telemark, and extreme skiing describe what type of skiing is being done. Terms for backcountry skiing exist according to how the terrain is accessed, backcountry can include the following, Frontcountry, off-trail within ski area boundaries where ski lifts and emergency services are close at hand. Slackcountry, terrain outside of the ski area boundary that is accessed from a lift without having to use skins or bootpack, usually this also includes area with access back to the lift as well. For purists, this could also include where people use a car as a shuttle, sidecountry, terrain outside marked ski area boundaries yet accessible via ski lift. Typically sidecountry requires the skier to hike, skin, or climb within ski area boundaries to reach or return from the sidecountry area, backcountry, skiing in remote areas not within ski area boundaries. Backcountry and off-piste skiing can be due to avalanche, exhaustion, weather, cliffs, rock fall. Avalanches result in one fatality per month in the United States. In Europe and Canada off-piste skiing is permitted at ski resorts. In the United States off-piste skiing may or may not be, many ski resorts prohibit it outright and some simply post warning signs that skiers are leaving the patrolled ski area boundaries
4.
Grand Combin
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The Grand Combin is a mountain in the western Pennine Alps in Switzerland. With its 4,314 metres high summit it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps, the Grand Combin is also a large glaciated massif consisting of several summits, among which three are above 4000 metres. The normal route starts from the Panossière Hut, which lies on the side in the Corbassière valley. Despite the fact that no major difficulties exist, a dangerous passage has to be traversed on the north flank. It is a couloir dominated by seracs continuously falling on it, the massif of the Grand Combin lies south of Verbier between the Val dEntremont and Val de Bagnes. The north-western facing side of Grand Combin is entirely covered by eternal snows, the southern and eastern walls are more steep and thus exempt of snow. The topography of the Grand Combin is intricate, between the Val dEntremont and the Val de Bagnes are two high ridges, nearly parallel to each other and to those valleys, which both diverge from a short transverse ridge of great height. The glacier is surrounded by the peaks of Petit Combin, Combin de Corbassière and Combin de Boveire on the west, Grand Tavé, smaller glaciers lie on the external flanks such as Boveire and Mont Durand Glacier. Two other minor summits over 4,000 metres are located on the ridge, the Grand Combin de Valsorey on the west, all the waters flowing on the region end up in the Dranse river and the Rhone. After Dom, Weisshorn, it is the highest massif of the Alps situated out of the main chain. South of the Grand Combin, the ridge separating the glaciers of Mont Durand and Sonadon reaches the Grande Tête de By a few kilometres away, which is located on the main watershed. The ridge diverges to the south-west and appears to be continuous with the range of the Aiguilles Vertes, or Aiguilles de Valsorey, and that of Mont Vélan. From this branches the lower range, which divides the channel of the Glacier du Mont Durand from the Val dOllomont in the Aosta Valley, the Grand Combin, which yields in height to only a few European mountains, was long one of the least known of Alpine summits. He was followed in that ascent five years later by W. and C. E. Mathews, the first four expeditions on Grand Combin reached only the minor summit east of Grand Combin. The first one was made by mountain guides from the valley on July 20,1857, the first complete ascent of Grand Combin was finally made on July 30,1859 by Charles Sainte-Claire Deville with Daniel, Emmanuel and Gaspard Balleys, and Basile Dorsaz. The Grand Combin de Valsoray on the west was reached for the first time on 16 September 1872 by J. H. Isler and they climbed the south south face above the Plateau du Couloir. The itinerary on the south-east ridge was opened on 10 September 1891 by O. Glynne Jones, A. Bovier, Panossière Hut, north side Valsorey Hut, south-west side Bivouac Biaggio Musso, south side Grand Combin. Grand Combin on Hikr Grand Combin on Peakware
5.
Bagnes
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Bagnes is a municipality in the district of Entremont in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. With an area of 282 km2, Bagnes used to be the largest municipality of Switzerland until the formation of Glarus Süd in 2011, Bagnes was first mentioned in 1150 as Banie. It was formerly known by its German name, Bangis, although this is no longer used, before 1150, when it came to the abbey of Saint-Maurice, Bagnes was owned by the Counts of Savoy. It remained under the authority until 1798, when it became part of the Entremont district. Verbier castle is first mentioned in 1287 in Le Châble and was destroyed in 1476. Throughout the 19th century, the radicals and conservatives feuded violently in the villages and this led, in 1844, to the bloody battle of Corberaye, in which three conservatives were killed. The battle of Corberaye brought the radicals to power, but the conservatives were able gain support from political allies and were able to return to power shortly thereafter, one consequence of this political discord was the founding of the liberal-radical free school in 1900. At the free school there was no instruction, in contrast to the other village schools which had been founded by religious groups. The free school remained open until 1943, the parish is first mentioned in 1178, with the parish church at St. Martins church in Le Châble. The parsonage was built in 1686 at Verbier and it became a rectory in 1915 and a parish in 1962. Other chapels are located in Montagnier, Sarreyer, Lourtier, Vernays, Media, Champsec, the municipality suffered from frequent natural disasters, especially from the floods of the Dranse in 1469,1595 and a particularly devastating flood in 1818. There were silver mines in the area between 1344-1723 and again in 1852-55, in 1958 the Lac de Mauvoisin Dam was built. The dam along with increasing tourism in the mid-20th Century changed the character of the villages dramatically, the village economies changed from alpine farming to domination by the services sector. Until 1957 Bagnes was a federation of villages, which was divided into districts or sections. The local councils continued to represent their sections until 1971, starting in the 12th Century, Le Châble was the administrative center of the entire Val de Bagnes. Verbier castle is first mentioned in 1287, the castle came to be known as the abbaye since it was the seat of the abbey of Saint-Maurices representative. In 1410 the castle was rebuilt into a residence of the abbots, in 1476 it was partially destroyed by the villagers. In 1745 it was besieged during the revolt against the abbot of Saint-Maurice, the castle was acquired in the 20th Century by the municipality
6.
Martigny
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Martigny is the capital of the French-speaking district of Martigny in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of 471 meters, and its population is approximately 15000 inhabitants and it is a junction of roads joining Italy, France and Switzerland. One road links it over the Great St. Bernard Pass to Aosta, in winter, Martigny is appreciated for its numerous nearby Alp ski resorts such as Verbier. Martigny lies at an elevation of 471 meters, about 33 kilometers south-southeast of Montreux, the river La Drance flows from the southern Valais Alps through Martigny and joins the Rhône from the left just after Rhônes distinctive, almost rectangular change in direction. Martigny has an area, as of 2013, of 24.97 square kilometers, of this area,31. 5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 39. 8% is forested. Of the rest of the land,23. 3% is settled and 5. 3% is unproductive land, in 1964 the current municipality was created with the merger of Martigny-Ville and Martigny-Bourg. The Gaulish name of the settlement in the 1st century BC was either Octodurus or Octodurum, galba, after capturing many local strongholds and receiving the submission of the people, sent troops into the country of the Nantuates, and with his remaining army determined to winter in Octodurus. Galba gave one part of the town to the Gauls to winter in and he fortified himself with a ditch and rampart, and thought he was safe. Octodurus was later on joined to the Roman Empire, as part of the Alpes Poeninae province, pliny says that the Octodurenses received the Latinitas. The town appears in the Antonine Itinerary and in the Tabula Peutingeriana, prov. the place is called Civitas Vallensium Octodurus. At a later period it was called Forum Claudii Vallensium Octodurensium, an episcopal see was established here in the 4th century, making the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sion the oldest bishopric in what is now Switzerland. The first historically attested bishop of Octodurus was Theodore/Theodolus, who was present at the Council of Aquileia in 381, a restored Roman amphitheatre, temples, citizen living quarters, and thermal baths can be seen in Martigny today. One authority speaks of the remains of a Roman aqueduct at Martigny, many coins, and other memorials of the Roman time, have been found about the place. There are no records of the town during the medieval period. In the Middle Ages, the town took Martin of Tours as its patron saint, the church of Martigny, presumably at the site of the ancient cathedral, was consecrated to St. Mary in 1177, and to Notre-Dame-des-Champs in 1420. The town was granted a degree of autonomy, its citizens being allowed to elect their own local officials, the economy of Martigny was traditionally based on agriculture and viticulture. The town was flooded by the Dranse, most severely in 1595. From 1798 to 1802, Martigny was part of the Napoleonic Republic of Valais, then in the Rhodanic Republic, the Valais passed to Switzerland in 1815
7.
St George's School in Switzerland
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St. Georges International School, Switzerland is a private, co-educational international school for boarding and day students aged 3 to 18. Its main campus is located in Clarens, Vaud, at the foot of the Alps and on the shores of Lake Geneva, the student body consists of more than 480 pupils, representing over 50 nationalities. The boarding section is available to students over the age of 9, the Senior School is based exclusively in the main building, while the Junior School uses both the main complex and a restored, traditional Swiss Chalet located on campus. Sports facilities include a large sports hall, seven outdoor tennis courts, basketball courts. The Junior School is a unit with Foundation Stage to year 3 classes based in the Chalet. This helps the students to integrate smoothly into the Secondary School, the various sections of the Junior School can be referred to in the following ways, Foundation Stage – Year 2 is known as Infants or Year 1 and 2 are known as Key Stage 1. Year 3 – Year 6 are known as Juniors or Key Stage 2 Facilities include a library, computer facilities, assembly room. Infant children visit the library every Friday, Junior children visit the library as often as they need to change a book, Junior students share the extensive sports and dining facilities with the senior school. Students are taught in classes and the emphasis is on excellence in all aspects of school life. A broad and balanced curriculum is offered in accordance with the British National Curriculum guidelines, French, English as a Foreign Language, Physical Education, Music and Information Technology are taught by specialist teachers. From Foundation Stage onwards, a multilingual approach enables students to develop their skills in both English and French while maintaining their mother tongue. Students from Year 2 have also the opportunity to be exposed to French through Music and PE, the Senior School classes for students in years 7-13 are housed in the main building. Facilities include science laboratories, library/media centre, computer centres, art rooms, music rooms, students in years 7-9 follow a broad, compulsory programme where emphasis is placed on acquiring good study habits and skills in the full range of subjects. Our Learning Centre caters for Special Educational Needs or curricular support, students in years 10 and 11 prepare for the International General Certificate of Secondary Education. The syllabi and examinations are set and administered by the University of Cambridge International Examinations, students in years 12-13 prepare for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, IB Certificates or the High School Diploma Programme. The IBDP is a course of study for students aged 16 –19. Administered by the International Baccalaureate Organisation it is recognised internationally as a qualification for university entrance, the HSDP is also a two-year course. It is an accredited qualification giving students Credits which allow students to begin courses in the United Kingdom or attend colleges in North America
8.
International school
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Many local students attend these schools to learn the language of the international school and to obtain qualifications for employment or higher education in a foreign country. The first international schools were founded in the half of the 19th century in countries such as Japan, Switzerland. Over time globalization has created a market for international education, in a global economy, it is no longer improvement by national standards alone. In April 2007 there were 4,179 English-speaking international schools, International schooling allows children to become global citizens by providing a rigorous and comprehensive education with full immersion into multiple languages and cultures. Multinational and multilingual student body An international curriculum, a transient and multinational teacher population. Usually English or French language of instruction, plus the obligation to take on at least one additional language, International schools typically use curricula based on the schools country of origin. The most common international schools represent Education in the United Kingdom or Education in the United States, like other schools, international schools teach language arts, mathematics, the sciences, humanities, the arts, physical education, information technology, and design technology. More recent developments specifically for primary school include the IB Primary Years Programme, there are currently 3063 schools offering the international baccalaureate curriculum in the world. For expatriate families, international schools allow some continuity in education and most prefer to stay in the same curriculum, relocation services and institutions like School Choice International can help families choose the right school and curriculum for their child. The school was one of schools who originally trialled the pilot International Baccalaureate Program. An international school teacher or educator is someone engaged in the education of pupils in other than their country of citizenship. The term generally refers to teachers who are teaching in private or independent schools, while these schools are private there is an important distinction between private for-profit and private non-for profit schools. Faculty at international schools are usually from or certified by the standards of their country of origin, hiring is frequently done at large international job fairs, such as the ones held by the Council of International Schools, where schools can interview and hire several teachers at once. There are also a handful of agencies which specialize in recruiting international teachers, over the years it has become more difficult to recruit young international teachers, partly because of security concerns and the trend towards less attractive compensation packages. In some countries such as South Korea, recent visa changes have made it more difficult to obtain both qualified and unqualified teachers. Hannah Smith of The Guardian wrote in 2013 that many students of international schools move between countries and places constantly, several reported that they feel they have no one place where they have roots or a background
9.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
10.
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
11.
Sion, Switzerland
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Sion is the capital of the Swiss canton of Valais and of the district of Sion. As of December 2015 it had a population of 33,879, on 17 January 1968 the former municipality of Bramois merged into the municipality of Sion. On 1 January 2013 the former municipality of Salins merged into the municipality of Sion and on 1 January 2017 Les Agettes did the same, Sion is well known for its old town. Landmarks include the Basilique de Valère and Château de Tourbillon, Sion has an airfield for civilian and military use which serves as a base for countless air rescue missions. Sion is one of the most important pre-historic sites in Europe, the alluvial fan of Sionne, the rocky slopes above the river and, to a lesser extent, Valeria and Tourbillon hills have been settled nearly continuously since antiquity. The oldest trace of settlement comes from 6200 BC during the late Mesolithic. Around 5800 BC early Neolithic farmers from the Mediterranean settled in Sion, the settlements remained small until about 4500 BC, during the middle Neolithic, when the number of settlements increased sharply. To support the increase, farming and grazing spread throughout the valley. They also began burying their dead in Chablandes-type stone burial cists with engraved anthropomorphic stelae, the individual graves changed at the beginning of the third Millennium BC in large, dry stone wall communal tombs. During the Beaker culture period in the half of the third Millennium, dolmens were built once again. Stelae continued to be carved, though these were rich with geometric patterns, at the beginning of the Early Bronze Age the last stelae were erected. The early settlements have been well documented, there are huts from the middle Neolithic period found near Le Petit Chasseur and under Ritz Avenue. Late Neolithic sites have found at Bramois and the early Early Bronze Age site is at Le Petit Chasseur. The Middle Bronze Age, however, is poorly documented, from the subsequent epochs, the great necropolis of Don Bosco and the necropolis of Sous-le-Scex from the La Tène culture. At the end of the first century BC, Sion was the capital of the Seduni and they were conquered by the Romans in the second decade BC. By 8-7 BC, Emperor Augustus praised the tribe of Seduner with an inscription, the town-hall is said to contain several Roman inscriptions, one of which found at Sion commemorates the Roman presence, Civitas Sedunorum Patrono. Under the Romans it was known as Sedunum, the Roman settlement stretched mainly from what is now St. Theodul, between the Sionne and to the west side of the hill, Valeria. Under the church, a bath complex was discovered and partially excavated
12.
Swiss Federal Railways
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Swiss Federal Railways is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usually referred to by the initials of its German, French and Italian names, either concatenated as SBB CFF FFS, the Romansh version of its name, Viafiers federalas svizras, is not officially used. The company is headquartered in Bern and it used to be a government institution, but since 1999 it has been a special stock corporation whose shares are held by the Swiss Confederation or the Swiss cantons. Swiss Federal Railways is divided into three divisions and two groups, Passenger traffic Freight traffic Infrastructure Real estate Core services The corporation is led in an entrepreneurial manner, a performance agreement between Swiss Federal Railways and the Swiss Confederation defines the requirements and is updated every four years. At the same time the rates per train and track-kilometre are defined. Subsidiary SBB GmbH is responsible for traffic in Germany. It operates the Wiesentalbahn and the Seehas services, further subsidiaries are Thurbo, RegionAlps, AlpTransit Gotthard AG, Cisalpino AG and TiLo. The Swiss Federal Railways hold significant shares of the Zentralbahn and Lyria SAS, to maintain heritage, the Stiftung Historisches Erbe der SBB was founded in 2002. This foundation takes care of the rolling stock and runs a technical library in Bern, document and photographic archives. The metre gauge Brünigbahn was SBBs only non-standard gauge line, until it was out-sourced and merged with the Luzern-Stans-Engelberg-Bahn to form the Zentralbahn, SBB is often known as the worlds most on time type of transportation In the 19th century, all Swiss railways were owned by private ventures. The economic and political interests of companies led to lines being built in parallel. On 20 February 1898 the Swiss people agreed in a referendum to the creation of a railway company. In the meantime, the trains were run by the Swiss Confederation on behalf of the private companies, on 1 January 1999 the Swiss Federal Railway has been excluded from the Federal Administration and became a fully state-owned limited company regulated by public law. First class compartments were discontinued on 3 June 1956, and second and third class accommodation was reclassified as first and second class, in 1982 SBB introduced the Taktfahrplan, with trains for certain destinations leaving every 60 minutes, greatly simplifying the timetable. On December 12,2004 the first phase of Bahn2000, a programme to improve the companys services, was put into effect. The core element was the Zurich-Bern-Basel triangle, where travel times between the cities was reduced to one hour, resulting in good connections from these stations for most trains. Some connections between cities got two trains in each direction per hour or more, and the S-Bahn services were intensified to four or more trains per hour, because of these changes 90% of the timetable was changed, 12% more trains were scheduled and travel times generally improved. It was the greatest timetable change since the introduction of the Taktfahrplan, on 22 June 2005 a short circuit on a long distance power transmission line in central Switzerland led to a chain reaction
Media related to Verbier at Wikimedia Commons
