Switzerland!

Neighbors are Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east

Capital city- Berne- German speaking Allemande

Switzerland is a landlocked between the Alps, the Central Plateau and the Jura

Switzerland has 26 cantons, member states of the federal state of Switzerland.

Birth place of Red Cross and has the second largest office of the UN.

It’s not a part of the Europe economic area or the European Union but became a member of the Schengen region in 2009.

Currency : Swiss Franc

Switzerland is a Direct Democracy

President -Didier Burkhalter who assumes administrative functions.

The Federal Council with a body of 7 members serves as a collective head and the president gives a deciding vote.

The President is elected by the Federal Assembly from the Federal Council for a term of one year.

The Alps(The tranquil lake)

The Central Plateau

The Jura

Mountains

Switzerland is one of the richest countries with a nominal per capita GDP of $75,835

Zurich and Geneva have respectively been ranked as the cities with the second and third highest quality of life in the world

Switzerland comprises three main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, and Italian, to which the Romansh-speaking valleys are added.

The Swiss therefore do not form a nation in the sense of a common ethnic or linguistic identity

History

Switzerland was formed towards the end of 13th Century (1291) forming a lose federation of states when they refused to pay taxes to a ruthless ruler and refused to live as slaves.

Swiss national day 1Aug since 1291 Fete nationale Suisse, Schweize Bundesfeier

The Various Picturesque Swiss Mountains ranges

Climate

The Swiss climate is generally temperate,

Summers tend to be warm and humid at times with periodic rainfall.

winters are less humid

Environment

External relations

Geneva is the birth place of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the Geneva Conventions Apart from the United Nations headquarters, the Swiss Confederation is host to many UN agencies, like the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) many sport federations and organisations are located throughout the country, such as the International Basketball Federation, in Geneva, the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations), in Nyon, the FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) and the International Ice Hockey Federation, in Zurich, the International Cycling Union, in Aigle, and the International Olympic Committee, in Lausanne.

Culture

Swiss culture is characterised by diversity, which is reflected in a wide range of traditional customs

Switzerland is home to many notable contributors to literature, art, architecture, music and sciences

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Folk art is kept alive in organisations all over the country. In Switzerland it is mostly expressed in music, dance, poetry, wood carving and embroidery

some concentrated mountain areas have a strong highly energetic ski resort culture in winter, and a hiking (wandering) or Mountain biking culture in summer. Other areas throughout the year have a recreational culture that caters to tourism, yet the quieter seasons are spring and autumn when there are fewer visitors

A traditional farmer and herder culture also predominates in many areas and small farms are omnipresent outside the cities

.The alphorn, a trumpet-like musical instrument made of wood, has become alongside yodeling and the accordion an epitome of traditional Swiss music

Sports

Skiing, snowboarding and mountaineering are among the most popular sports in Switzerland.

Many Swiss are fans of football and the national team or 'Nati' is widely supported.Many Swiss also follow ice hockeySwiss players such as Martina Hingis.In a seven-year span, Roger Federer has won a record 16 Grand Slam singles titles

Traditional sports include Swiss wrestling or "Schwingen".

Steinstossen is the Swiss variant of stone put, a competition in throwing a heavy stone

Cuisine

The cuisine of Switzerland is multi-facetedFondue is a Swiss and French dish of melted cheese served in a communal pot, Raclette is both a type of cheese and a Swiss and French dish based on heating the cheese and scraping Rösti is a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes.Chocolate had been made in Switzerland since the 18th century. The Swiss are the world's largest consumers of chocolateThe most popular alcoholic drink in Switzerland is wine

Religion

Christianity is the predominant religion of Switzerland, divided between the Catholic Church and various Protestant denominations.

There are also people who follow Islam, Hinduism, Budhism, JudaismSurveys found 48% to be theist, 39% expressing belief in "a spirit or life force", 9% atheist and 4% agnostic. Greeley (2003) found that 27% of the population does not believe in a God

Bernese Oberland

The Bernese Oberland is the higher part of the canton of Bern in the southern end of the country and is situated in the hilly area known as Bernese Alps

The flag of the Bernese Oberland consists of a black eagle in a gold field over two fields in the cantonal colours of red and black.

The Swiss German dialects spoken in the Bernese

The Oberland is one of five regions or administrative subdivisions of the canton.

The Bernese Oberland is well known for touristic reasons, including the following destinations:

1. Simmental

2. Lake Thun

3. Lötschberg area

4. Interlaken

5. Wengen

Lake Thun

Bernese Alps

Valais

The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland

Situated in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône .

The canton is one of the driest regions of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley and among the wettest, having large amounts of snow and rain up on the highest peaks found in Switzerland.

The canton of Valais is widely known for the Matterhorn and resort towns such as Saas Fee, Verbier, and Zermatt.

It is composed of 13 districts (hence the 13 stars on the flag) and its capital is Sion.

The Matterhorn is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Swiss mountains. The resorts on the north side of the main Rhône river valley are popular, looking out southwards towards the Peninne Alps and still part of the southern slope of the Bernese Alps, such as the family-oriented resort of Crans-Montana. The resorts receive attention during the summer hiking season and the winter ski season.

A small airport is located at Sion, but the main routes of transport are rail and road. Both networks are extensive and benefit from tourism.

Many of the road passes are well known, such as the Grimsel Pass.

The longest land tunnel in the world, the Lötschberg Base Tunnel, is in operation since late 2007, connecting by rail.

Cars may be loaded onto the trains as freight. The old train line still carries traffic particularly road traffic as freight, and has highly scenic sections in both cantons on either side of the old tunnel through the dividing ridgeline

Because of the tourism there are many mountain railways and cable cars in the mountains.

The scenic rail route across the Furka Pass originates in the canton of Valais.

Lake Geneva region

The Lake Geneva region or Lemanic Region is the common name of the region of Switzerland encompassing the cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Valais.

Lake Geneva, known in French as Lac Léman, is one of the largest lakes in western Europe. It lies on the course of the Rhone river on the frontier between France and Switzerland.

Most towns on Lake Geneva are served by the boats of the Compagnie Génerale de navigation (CGN). As well as modern boats, CGN operates five heritage paddle steamers build at the beginning of the 20th century. On some routes, boats are the fastest mean of transport (between Lausanne and Evian, for example). On most other routes though, boats are much slower than trains, but they often offer more scenic views.

Private boat tours and transfers from Geneva to any port on the lake is by Léman Transfers. Groups of up to 6 passengers can be privately chauffeured around the lak

is the largest canton in the French speaking part of Switzerland, and the third largest in the country as a whole.

The geography is varied, with the Jura mountains in the north, a hilly plain in the center and in the southwest the Alps. The main attractions of the region are the cities and towns surrounding the lake, the opportunities for skiing and hiking in both mountain ranges, and of course the lake itself.

Cities

Aigle - a jumping off point for the Vaud Alps, with a very cool castle

Château d'Oex - the city of hot air balloons and Swiss scissor cuts

Coppet - medieval charm on the lake, very close to Geneva

Geneva - the largest City on the lake

Lausanne - like San Francisco, but more Swiss

Les Diablerets - ski/hiking resort town in the Vaud Alps

Leysin - hiking, skiing and international schools in the Vaud Alps

Montreux - the jewel of the Swiss Riviera

Nyon - a pleasant lake town with a high quote of expats

Pompaples

Vevey - Small city in the midst of the Swiss Riviera, headquarter of Nestlé

Villars-sur-Ollon - good ski resort for beginners and families

Lavaux - A terraced wine growing region

Ticino

Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton where Italian is the sole official language and represents the bulk of the Italian-speaking area.

The city of Locarno is host to the Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland's most prestigious film festival.

Their mirror-like lakes, dotted by colourful villages with mansions and palm trees, are framed by grand, verdant mountains. To the north, the region's capital, Bellinzona is a quieter but stunning medieval fortress town. Those in search of rural quiet have come to the right place. Various valleys spread across the length of the northern half of the canton, blessed by homely hamlets, Romanesque chapels and endless hiking options past lakes and roaring mountain streams.Cities

Walk

Locarno International film festival

Ascona- known sometimes as the Swiss Riviera.

Bellinzona - the capital of the canton.

Chiasso -the last town in Switzerland, is surrounded on three sides by Italy

Lugano- is the only real city in the canton, with a pleasant waterfront, stunning lake views and steep hillsides.

Mittelland (Switzerland)

The Swiss Plateau is about 30 percent area fraction next to the Jura and the Alps one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland.

It includes the flat part, but largely hilly area between Jurazug and the Alps, and is on average at an altitude of 400 to600  m above sea level. 

It is most densely populated region of the country and thus their economy and transportation

The majority of the population in the Central Plateau is German, in the western part French is spoken.

Compared to the Alps, the Swiss plateau, especially rural areas, less focused on tourism.

 Only the larger cities and their attractions, especially the towns of Berne and Lucerne, as well as Zurich, St. Gallen, Fribourg, Solothurn, Geneva and Lausanne, pull on the city tourism. 

As a natural attraction, the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen, a special magnet for tourism from tourism benefit also, the regions on Lake Geneva and the Three Lakes Region Lake Neuchâtel , Biel and Murten, in which in 2002 the national exhibition Expo 02 had occurred.

For Baden , Bad Zurzach, Schinznach bath and Yverdon-les-Bains with its thermal baths of the spa tourism also plays a significant role. Both an der Aare, Emme, Reuss and the Rhine play the cycling and walking tourism increasingly important.

FribourgFribourg (Freiburg) or ‘Free Town’, a medieval city where inhabitants on the west bank of the Sarine river speak French, and those on the east bank of the Sanne speak German. Throw Catholicism and a notable student population into the cultural cocktail and you get a fascinating town with a feisty nightlife and a healthy waft of originality.

Its greatest moment in history saw a messenger sprint from Murten to Fribourg in 1476 to relay the glad tidings that the Swiss had defeated Charles the Bold…only to drop dead with exhaustion on arrival. Onlookers, saddened by this tragic twist, took the linden twig from the messenger’s hat and planted it.

Between the rich pasturelands of the Swiss plateau and the Alpine foothills, the Sarine River (called the Saane by German speakers) twists in an S-curve, its sandstone cliffs joined by webs of arching bridges. In one of the curves of the river is the medieval city of Fribourg. The city grew in overlapping layers; it's an astonishing place of hills and cobblestones, ramparts and Gothic fountains, ancient passageways, and worn wooden stairs. Only on foot can you discover its secret charm as one of the finer ensembles of medieval architecture in Europe.

Historic Fribourg is a stronghold of Catholicism; it remained staunchly Catholic even during the Reformation. The evidence is everywhere, from the numerous chapels and religious orders to the brown-robed novitiates walking the sidewalks. Fribourg University, founded in 1889, remains the only Catholic university in Switzerland. It is also the only bilingual institution of its kind and reflects the region's peculiar linguistic agility. Two-thirds of the people of Canton Fribourg are native French speakers, one-third are native German speakers, and many switch easily between the two. In the Basse-Ville neighborhood, old-timers still speak a unique mixture of the two languages, called Boltz. Officially, the city is bilingual, although French predominates.

Neuchatel

Neuchâtel  Old French: neu(f) "new" + chatel "castle" (French: château) is the on Lake Neuchâtel.

The city has large French-speaking population, although the city is sometimes referred to historically by the German name  Neuenburg, which has the same meaning, since it originally belonged to the Holy Roman Empire and later Prussia ruled the area until 1848.

Neuchâtel is a pilot of the Council of Europe and the European Commission  Intercultural cities programme.

There are 32 sites in Neuchâtel that are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire old city of Neuchâtel is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Churches: Abbey of Fontaine-André, Collegiate Church of Neuchâtel et cénotaphe, Notre-Dame Church

Libraries and Museums: Bibliothèque des Pasteurs de Neuchâtel, Galeries de l‘Histoire, Musée d‘art et d‘histoire de Neuchâtel, Musée d‘ethnographie, Musée d‘histoire naturelle

Public Buildings and Structures: Neuchâtel Castle and archives, Fountain of Justice, Fountain at place de l‘Hôtel de Ville, Fountain at rue des Moulins, Fountain at rue du Château, Banneret Fountain, Griffon Fountain, Lion Fountain, Neubourg Fountain, City Fortification, Grande Rochette, City Hall, Hôtel Du Peyrou, Cantonal Observatory at Rue de l‘Observatoire 52, Parc de la Petite Rochette, Poste at Place Numa-Droz 2, Prison tower and former prison at Rue Jehanne-de-Hochberg 3

Jura Mountains 

The Jura Mountains are a sub-alpine mountain range located north of the western Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhône rivers and forming part of the watershed of each. The range is predominantly located in France and Switzerland, extending into Germany.

The Jura range offer a variety of tourist activities including hiking, cycling, skiing and cross-country 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 l'Orbe, and gorges such as Taubenloch.

Both Le Locle and its geographical twin town La Chaux-de-Fonds are recognized as an UNESCO World Heritage Site for their horologicaland related cultural past.

The 11th-century Fort de Joux, famously remodeled and strengthened by Vauban in 1690 and subsequently by other military engineers, is situated on a natural rock outcropping in the middle of the range not far from Pontarlier.

Part of the A40 autoroute crosses through a spectacular portion of the southern Jura between Bourg-en-Bresse and Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, which is known as the "Highway of the Titans."

Bernese JuraBernese Jura is the name for the French-speaking area of the Swiss canton of Bern, and from 2010 one of five administrative divisions of the canton.

More than 90% of the population of the three districts speak French.

The Bernese Jura of today comprises only three out of a total of seven districts which were known as the Bernese Jura during the period of 1815–1979. Of the remaining four, three seceded as the canton of Jura in 1979, while the fourth, the Laufen district, joined the canton of Basel-Landschaft in 1994.

The seven wonders

The Castle of Chillon: near Montreux

The Lavaux vineyards: on the shore of Lake Geneva

The Castles of Bellinzona: in the southern canton of Ticino

The Abbey of St. Gallen

The Top of Europe and the Sphinx observatory: a "village" with a post office on the 3,500 metres high Jungfraujoch above Wengen

The Grande Dixence: a 285 metres high dam, south of Sion

The Landwasser viaduct: on the railway between Chur and St. Moritz

The seven natural wonders

The Matterhorn: from Schwarzsee, Gornergrat or simply from the village of Zermatt

The northern walls of the Jungfrau and Eiger: two of the most celebrated mountains in the Alps, they can be seen from the valley of Lauterbrunnen or from one of the many summits that can be reached by train or cable car

The Aletsch Glacier: the longest in Europe, the Aletsch wild Forest is located above the glacier, best seen from above Bettmeralp

The lakes of the Upper Engadine: one of the highest inhabited valley in the Alps at the foot of Piz Bernina, they can be all seen from Muottas Muragl

The Lake Lucerne: from the Pilatus above Lucerne

The Oeschinensee: a mountain lake with no rivals above Kandersteg

The Rhine Falls: the largest in Europe, take a boat to the rock in the middle of the falls

Events

The European Football Championships in 2008 was held in Austria and Switzerland. Basel, Berne, Geneva and Zurich were all hosting sites.

"Swiss-made": Souvenirs and Luxury GoodsSwitzerland is famous for a few key goods: watches, chocolate, cheese, and Swiss Army knives

Watches - Switzerland is the watch-making capital of the world, and "Swiss Made" on a watch face has long been a mark of quality. While the French-speaking regions of Switzerland are usually associated with Swiss watchmakers (like Rolex, Omega, and Patek Philippe)

Chocolate - Switzerland may always have a rivalry with Belgium for the world's best chocolate, but there's no doubting that the Swiss variety is amazingly good. Switzerland is also home to the huge Nestlé food company. If you have a fine palate (and a fat wallet) - you can find two of the finest Swiss chocolatiers in Zurich:Teuscher (try the champagne truffles) and Sprüngli. It is possible to get them as low as half the supermarket price by going to the Lindt factory store in Kilchberg (near Zurich).

Cheese - many different regions of Switzerland have their own regional cheese speciality. Of these, the most well-known are Gruyère and Emmentaler (what Americans know as "Swiss cheese“

Swiss Army knives - Switzerland is the official home of the Swiss Army Knife. There are two brands Victorinox and Wenger

Festivals

Montreux Jazz Festival

At the foot of the Alps on the banks of Lake Geneva, the Montreux Jazz Festival delights and entertains thousands of jazz fans with sixteen days of outdoor and indoor concerts by over 250 jazz bands.