|
|
|
|
|
|
 | General information |
|
| A pinch of Swiss history |
| The Rütli Meadow, a mountainous territory above Lake Lucerne in canton Uri, is known as being the birth place for Switzerland's independance. On the 1st of August 1291, the local leaders of the forest communities of Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden met on the Rütli and signed a pact for the independance of Switzerland. This pact is the founding act of the Swiss Confederation, also known as Confoederatio Helvetica in Latin and abbreviated with the worldwide known "CH" letters. Since then, the 1st of August is commemorated as the Swiss National Day and the local population celebrate it with amazingly colourful fireworks. |
| Switzerland facts and figures |
Switzerland's population nowadays exceeds 7.5 million of inhabitants dispersed over 41,285 square meters of land. Its federal capital is the city of Bern and its democracy is a direct democracy. The currency is the Swiss Franc, abbreviated with CHF. The time zone is Central European Time (CET) or UTC+1.
Switzerland is divided into 26 cantons whereas 3 of them are divided into two half cantons. The biggest one is Zurich. The country is multilingual and has four official languages which are French, German, Italian and the nearly disapeared Romansh. The typical souvenir goods from Switzerland which you definitely shouldn't miss are the tasty chocolates, various cheeses, quality watches and of course the multifunctional Swiss Army knives.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
