Tuesday, February 1, 2022 - Switzerland
- Mary Reed
- Feb 2, 2022
- 23 min read
I recently watched a Rick Steves video of his visit to Switzerland — the towns of Appenzell, Bern, Berner Oberland, Gimmelwald, Lake Geneva and French Switzerland, Luzern, Zermatt and Zürich. It seems to be such a pastoral, peaceful place full of tiny villages with quaint cottages sprinkled over verdant green hillsides. The views of these towns in the Swiss Alps are spectacular. I can just imagine breathing in the crisp, clean air outside a mountain chalet adorned with window boxes overflowing with flowers. I have never been to Switzerland, but know it has always been a neutral country, but can be conservative. A former co-worker told me that while visiting a friend there he found out that Swiss washing machines are very expensive compared to the United States. The reason? Because they are set to automatically turn off between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. when every good Swiss wife should be feeding her family lunch. I also know that legendary star Tina Turner moved to Switzerland in 1995 with her German music executive boyfriend. When they got married in 2013, she renounced her U.S. citizenship and became a Swiss citizen. Apparently, she is very happy there since they finally purchased a $76 million mansion on Lake Zürich. So, exactly what is the allure of Switzerland? Let’s find out.
According to Wikipedia, Switzerland — officially the Swiss Confederation — is a landlocked country at the confluence of Western, Central and Southern Europe. The country is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons, with federal authorities based in Bern. Switzerland is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. It is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau, the Alps and the Jura, spanning a total area of 15,940 square miles and land area of 15,443 square miles. Although the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8.5 million is concentrated mostly on the plateau, where the largest cities and economic centers are, among them Zürich, Geneva, Basel and Lausanne. These cities are home to several offices of international organizations such as the World Trade Organization or WTO, World Health Organization or WHO, International Labour Organization or ILO, seat of the International Olympic Committee, headquarters of International Federation of Association Football or FIFA, the UN's second-largest office, as well as the main building of the Bank for International Settlements. The main international airports of Switzerland are also located in these cities.
The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy in the Late Middle Ages resulted from a series of military successes against Austria and Burgundy. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The Federal Charter of 1291 is considered the founding document of Switzerland, which is celebrated on Swiss National Day. Since the Reformation of the 16th century, Switzerland has maintained a firm policy of armed neutrality; it has not fought an international war since 1815 and did not join the United Nations until 2002. Nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy. It is frequently involved in peace-building processes worldwide. Switzerland is the birthplace of the Red Cross, one of the world's oldest and best known humanitarian organizations. It is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association, but notably not part of the European Union, European Economic Area or Eurozone. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and European Single Market through bilateral treaties.
Switzerland occupies the crossroads of Germanic and Romance Europe, as reflected in its four main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh. Although the majority of the population are German-speaking, Swiss national identity is rooted in a common historical background, shared values such as federalism and direct democracy, as well as Alpine symbolism. Due to its linguistic diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names: Schweiz (German), Suisse (French), Svizzera (Italian) and Svizra (Romansh). On coins and stamps, the Latin name, Confoederatio Helvetica — frequently shortened to "Helvetia" — is used instead of the four national languages. A developed country, it has the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product; it has been considered a tax haven. It ranks highly on some international metrics, including economic competitiveness and human development. Its cities such as Zürich, Geneva and Basel rank among the highest in the world in terms of quality of life, albeit with some of the highest costs of living in the world. In 2020, International Institute for Management Development placed Switzerland first in attracting skilled workers. The World Economic Forum ranks it the fifth most competitive country globally.
Early history
The oldest traces of hominid existence in Switzerland date back about 150,000 years. The oldest known farming settlements in Switzerland, which were found at Gächlingen, have been dated to around 5300 BC.
The earliest known cultural tribes of the area were members of the Hallstatt and La Tène cultures, named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel. La Tène culture developed and flourished during the late Iron Age from around 450 BC, possibly under some influence from the Greek and Etruscan civilizations. One of the most important tribal groups in the Swiss region was the Helvetii. Steadily harassed by the Germanic tribes, in 58 BC, the Helvetii decided to abandon the Swiss plateau and migrate to western Gallia, but Julius Caesar's armies pursued and defeated them at the Battle of Bibracte, in today's eastern France, forcing the tribe to move back to its original homeland. In 15 BC, Tiberius — who would one day become the second Roman emperor — and his brother Drusus conquered the Alps, integrating them into the Roman Empire. The area occupied by the Helvetii — the namesakes of the later Confoederatio Helvetica — first became part of Rome's Gallia Belgica province and then of its Germania Superior province, while the eastern portion of modern Switzerland was integrated into the Roman province of Raetia. Sometime around the start of the Common Era, the Romans maintained a large legionary camp called Vindonissa, now a ruin at the confluence of the Aare and Reuss rivers, near the town of Windisch, an outskirt of Brugg.
The first and second century AD was an age of prosperity for the population living on the Swiss plateau. Several towns, like Aventicum, Iulia Equestris and Augusta Raurica, reached a remarkable size, while hundreds of agricultural estates or villae rusticae were founded in the countryside.
Around 260 AD, the fall of the Agri Decumates territory north of the Rhine transformed today's Switzerland into a frontier land of the Empire. Repeated raids by the Alamanni tribes provoked the ruin of the Roman towns and economy, forcing the population to find shelter near Roman fortresses, like the Castrum Rauracense near Augusta Raurica. The Empire built another line of defense at the north border, the so-called Donau-Iller-Rhine-Limes. Still, at the end of the fourth century, the increased Germanic pressure forced the Romans to abandon the linear defense concept. The Swiss plateau was finally open to the settlement of Germanic tribes.
In the Early Middle Ages, from the end of the 4th century, the western extent of modern-day Switzerland was part of the territory of the Kings of the Burgundians. The Alemanni settled the Swiss plateau in the 5th century and the valleys of the Alps in the 8th century, forming Alemannia. Modern-day Switzerland was therefore then divided between the kingdoms of Alemannia and Burgundy. The entire region became part of the expanding Frankish Empire in the 6th century, following Clovis I's victory over the Alemanni at Tolbiac in 504 AD and later Frankish domination of the Burgundians.
Throughout the rest of the 6th, 7th and 8th centuries, the Swiss regions continued under Frankish hegemony — Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties. But after its extension under Charlemagne, the Frankish Empire was divided by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. The territories of present-day Switzerland became divided into Middle Francia and East Francia until they were reunified under the Holy Roman Empire around 1000 AD.
By 1200, the Swiss plateau comprised the dominions of the houses of Savoy, Zähringer, Habsburg and Kyburg. Some regions — Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden, later known as Waldstätten — were accorded the Imperial immediacy to grant the empire direct control over the mountain passes. With the extinction of its male line in 1263, the Kyburg dynasty fell in AD 1264. The Habsburgs under King Rudolph I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1273, laid claim to the Kyburg lands and annexed them extending their territory to the eastern Swiss plateau.
Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy was an alliance among the valley communities of the central Alps. The Confederacy, governed by nobles and patricians of various cantons, facilitated management of common interests and ensured peace on the important mountain trade routes. The 1291 Bundesbrief or federal charter agreed between the rural communes of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden is considered the confederacy's founding document, even though similar alliances are likely to have existed decades earlier.
By 1353, the three original cantons had joined with the cantons of Glarus and Zug and the Lucerne, Zürich and Bern city-states to form the "Old Confederacy" of eight states that existed until the end of the 15th century. The expansion led to increased power and wealth for the confederation. By 1460, the confederates controlled most of the territory south and west of the Rhine to the Alps and the Jura mountains, particularly after victories against the Habsburgs — Battle of Sempach, Battle of Näfels — over Charles the Bold of Burgundy during the 1470s, and the success of the Swiss mercenaries. The Swiss victory in the Swabian War against the Swabian League of Emperor Maximilian I in 1499 amounted to de facto independence within the Holy Roman Empire. In 1501, Basel and Schaffhausen joined the Old Swiss Confederacy.
The Old Swiss Confederacy had acquired a reputation of invincibility during these earlier wars, but expansion of the confederation suffered a setback in 1515 with the Swiss defeat in the Battle of Marignano. This ended the so-called "heroic" epoch of Swiss history. The success of Zwingli's Reformation in some cantons led to inter-cantonal religious conflicts in 1529 and 1531 — Wars of Kappel. It was not until more than 100 years after these internal wars that, in 1648, under the Peace of Westphalia, European countries recognized Switzerland's independence from the Holy Roman Empire and its neutrality.
During the early modern period of Swiss history, the growing authoritarianism of the patriciate families combined with a financial crisis in the wake of the Thirty Years' War led to the Swiss peasant war of 1653. In the background to this struggle, the conflict between Catholic and Protestant cantons persisted, erupting in further violence at the First War of Villmergen in 1656 and the Toggenburg War or Second War of Villmergen in 1712.
Napoleonic era
In 1798, the revolutionary French government invaded Switzerland and imposed a new unified constitution. This centralized the government of the country, effectively abolishing the cantons: moreover, Mülhausen joined France and the Valtellina valley became part of the Cisalpine Republic, separating from Switzerland. The new regime, known as the Helvetic Republic, was highly unpopular. An invading foreign army had imposed and destroyed centuries of tradition, making Switzerland nothing more than a French satellite state. The fierce French suppression of the Nidwalden Revolt in September 1798 was an example of the oppressive presence of the French Army and the local population's resistance to the occupation.
When war broke out between France and its rivals, Russian and Austrian forces invaded Switzerland. The Swiss refused to fight alongside the French in the name of the Helvetic Republic. In 1803 Napoleon organized a meeting of the leading Swiss politicians from both sides in Paris. The Act of Mediation was the result, which largely restored Swiss autonomy and introduced a Confederation of 19 cantons. Henceforth, much of Swiss politics would concern balancing the cantons' tradition of self-rule with the need for a central government.
In 1815 the Congress of Vienna fully re-established Swiss independence, and the European powers agreed to recognize Swiss neutrality permanently. Swiss troops still served foreign governments until 1860 when they fought in the Siege of Gaeta. The treaty also allowed Switzerland to increase its territory, with the admission of the cantons of Valais, Neuchâtel and Geneva. Switzerland's borders have not changed since, except for some minor adjustments.
Federal state
The restoration of power to the patriciate was only temporary. After a period of unrest with repeated violent clashes — such as the Züriputsch of 1839 — civil war or the Sonderbundskrieg broke out in 1847 when some Catholic cantons tried to set up a separate alliance, the Sonderbund. The war lasted for less than a month, causing fewer than 100 casualties, most of which were through friendly fire. Yet however minor the Sonderbundskrieg appears compared with other European riots and wars in the 19th century, it nevertheless had a significant impact on both the psychology and the society of the Swiss and Switzerland.
The war convinced most Swiss of the need for unity and strength towards their European neighbors. Swiss people from all strata of society — whether Catholic or Protestant, from the liberal or conservative current — realized that the cantons would profit more if their economic and religious interests were merged.
Thus, while the rest of Europe saw revolutionary uprisings, the Swiss drew up a constitution which provided for a federal layout, much of it inspired by the American example. This constitution provided central authority while leaving the cantons the right to self-government on local issues. Giving credit to those who favored the power of the cantons — the Sonderbund Kantone, the national assembly was divided between an upper house (the Council of States, two representatives per canton) and a lower house (the National Council, with representatives elected from across the country). Referendums were made mandatory for any amendment of this constitution. This new constitution also brought a legal end to nobility in Switzerland.
A system of single weights and measures was introduced, and in 1850 the Swiss franc became the Swiss single currency, complemented by the WIR franc in 1934. Article 11 of the constitution forbade sending troops to serve abroad, marking the end of foreign service. It came with the expectation of serving the Holy See, and the Swiss were still obliged to serve Francis II of the Two Sicilies with Swiss Guards present at the Siege of Gaeta in 1860.
An important clause of the constitution was that it could be entirely rewritten if necessary, thus enabling it to evolve as a whole rather than being modified one amendment at a time.
This need soon proved itself when the rise in population and the Industrial Revolution that followed led to calls to modify the constitution accordingly. The population rejected an early draft in 1872, but modifications led to its acceptance in 1874. It introduced the facultative referendum for laws at the federal level. It also established federal responsibility for defense, trade and legal matters.
In 1891, the constitution was revised with unusually strong elements of direct democracy, which remain unique today.
Modern history
Switzerland was not invaded during either of the world wars. During World War I, Switzerland was home to the revolutionary and founder of the Soviet Union Vladimir Illych Ulyanov or Vladimir Lenin. He remained there until 1917. The Grimm–Hoffmann affair was a short-lived scandal that threatened Switzerland's neutrality during World War I. Robert Grimm, a socialist politician, traveled to the Russian Republic as an activist to negotiate a separate peace between Russia and the German Empire, in order to end the war on the Eastern Front in the interests of socialism. When the Allies discovered the proposed peace deal, he had to return home. Arthur Hoffmann, the Swiss Federal Councilor who had supported Grimm, had to resign. In 1920, Switzerland joined the League of Nations, which was based in Geneva, on condition that it was exempt from any military requirements.
During World War II, detailed invasion plans were drawn up by the Germans, but Switzerland was never attacked. Switzerland was able to remain independent through a combination of military deterrence, concessions to Germany and good fortune, as larger events during the war delayed an invasion. Under General Henri Guisan — appointed the commander-in-chief for the duration of the war — a general mobilization of the armed forces was ordered. The Swiss military strategy was changed from one of static defense at the borders to protect the economic heartland to one of organized long-term attrition and withdrawal to strong, well-stockpiled positions high in the Alps known as the Reduit. Switzerland was an important base for espionage by both sides in the conflict and often mediated communications between the Axis and Allied powers.
Switzerland's trade was blockaded by both the Allies and by the Axis. Economic cooperation and extension of credit to Nazi Germany varied according to the perceived likelihood of invasion and the availability of other trading partners. Concessions reached a peak after a crucial rail link through Vichy, France was severed in 1942, leaving Switzerland — together with Liechtenstein — entirely isolated from the wider world by Axis-controlled territory. Over the course of the war, Switzerland interned over 300,000 refugees and the International Red Cross, based in Geneva, played an important part during the conflict. Strict immigration and asylum policies and the financial relationships with Nazi Germany raised controversy, but not until the end of the 20th century.
During the war, the Swiss Air Force engaged aircraft of both sides, shooting down 11 intruding Luftwaffe planes in May and June 1940, then forcing down other intruders after a change of policy following threats from Germany. Over 100 Allied bombers and their crews were interned during the war; between 1940 and 1945, Switzerland was bombed by the Allies causing fatalities and property damage. Among the cities and towns bombed were Basel, Brusio, Chiasso, Cornol, Geneva, Koblenz, Niederweningen, Rafz, Renens, Samedan, Schaffhausen, Stein am Rhein, Tägerwilen, Thayngen, Vals and Zürich. Allied forces explained the bombings — which violated the 96th Article of War — resulted from navigation errors, equipment failure, weather conditions and errors made by bomber pilots. The Swiss expressed fear and concern that the bombings were intended to put pressure on Switzerland to end economic cooperation and neutrality with Nazi Germany. Court-martial proceedings took place in England and the U.S. government paid 62,176,433.06 in Swiss francs for reparations of the bombings.
Switzerland's attitude towards refugees was complicated and controversial; over the course of the war, it admitted as many as 300,000 refugees while refusing tens of thousands more, including Jews who were severely persecuted by the Nazis.
After the war, the Swiss government exported credits through the charitable fund known as the Schweizerspende and donated to the Marshall Plan to help Europe's recovery, efforts that ultimately benefited the Swiss economy.
During the Cold War, Swiss authorities considered the construction of a Swiss nuclear bomb. Leading nuclear physicists at the Federal Institute of Technology Zürich such as Paul Scherrer made this a realistic possibility. In 1988, the Paul Scherrer Institute was founded in his name to explore the therapeutic uses of neutron scattering technologies. Financial problems with the defense budget and ethical considerations prevented the substantial funds from being allocated, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 was seen as a valid alternative. All remaining plans for building nuclear weapons were dropped by 1988.
Switzerland was the last Western republic to grant women the right to vote. Some Swiss cantons approved this in 1959, while at the federal level, it was achieved in 1971 and, after resistance, in the last canton Appenzell Innerrhoden — one of only two remaining Landsgemeinde or cantonal assemblies, along with Glarus — in 1990. After obtaining suffrage at the federal level, women quickly rose in political significance, with the first woman on the seven-member Federal Council executive being Elisabeth Kopp, who served from 1984 to 1989, and the first female president being Ruth Dreifuss in 1999.
Switzerland joined the Council of Europe in 1963. In 1979 areas from the canton of Bern attained independence from the Bernese, forming the new canton of Jura. On April 18, 1999, the Swiss population and the cantons voted in favor of a completely revised federal constitution.
In 2002 Switzerland became a full member of the United Nations, leaving the Vatican City as the last widely recognized state without full UN membership. Switzerland is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association but is not a member of the European Economic Area. An application for membership in the European Union was sent in May 1992, but not advanced since the EEA was rejected in December 1992 when Switzerland was the only country to launch a referendum on the EEA. There have since been several referendums on the EU issue; due to opposition from the citizens, the membership application has been withdrawn. Nonetheless, Swiss law is gradually being adjusted to conform with that of the EU, and the government has signed a number of bilateral agreements with the European Union. Switzerland — together with Liechtenstein — has been surrounded by the EU since Austria's entry in 1995. On June 5, 2005, Swiss voters agreed by a 55% majority to join the Schengen treaty, a result that EU commentators regarded as a sign of support by Switzerland. This country is traditionally perceived as independent and reluctant to enter supranational bodies. In September 2020, a referendum calling for a vote to end the pact that allowed a free movement of people from the European Union was introduced by the Swiss People's Party or SPP. However, the voters rejected the attempts of taking back control of immigration, defeating the motion by a roughly 63%–37% margin.
Labor market
Slightly more than 5 million people work in Switzerland; about 25% of employees belonged to a trade union in 2004. Switzerland has a more flexible job market than neighboring countries and the unemployment rate is very low. The unemployment rate increased from a low of 1.7% in June 2000 to a peak of 4.4% in December 2009. The unemployment rate decreased to 3.2% in 2014 and held steady at that level for several years, before further dropping to 2.5% in 2018 and 2.3% in 2019. Population growth from net immigration is quite high, at 0.52% of population in 2004, increased in the following years before falling to 0.54% again in 2017. The foreign citizen population was 28.9% in 2015, about the same as in Australia. GDP per hour worked is the world's 16th highest, at $49.46 in 2012.
In 2016, the median monthly gross salary in Switzerland was 6,502 francs per month — equivalent to $6,597 per month — is just enough to cover the high cost of living. After rent, taxes and social security contributions, plus spending on goods and services, the average household has about 15% of its gross income left for savings. Though 61% of the population made less than the average income, income inequality is relatively low with a Gini coefficient of 29.7, placing Switzerland among the top 20 countries for income equality. In 2015, the top 1% richest persons owned 35% of all the wealth in Switzerland. This inequality has increased in recent years.
About 8.2% of the population live below the national poverty line, defined in Switzerland as earning less than 3,990 Swiss francs per month for a household of two adults and two children, and a further 15% are at risk of poverty. Single-parent families, those with no post-compulsory education and those out of work are among the most likely to live below the poverty line. Although getting a job is considered a way out of poverty, some 4.3% are considered working poor among the gainfully employed. One in ten jobs in Switzerland is considered low-paid, and roughly 12% of Swiss workers hold such jobs, many of them women and foreigners.
Education and science
Education in Switzerland is very diverse because the constitution of Switzerland delegates the authority for the school system to the cantons. There are both public and private schools, including many private international schools. The minimum age for primary school is about six years in all cantons, but most cantons provide a free "children's school" starting at four or five years old. Primary school continues until grade four, five or six, depending on the school. Traditionally, the first foreign language in school was always one of the other national languages, although, in 2000, English was introduced first in a few cantons. At the end of primary school or at the beginning of secondary school, pupils are separated according to their capacities in several — often three — sections. The fastest learners are taught advanced classes to be prepared for further studies and the secondary school exit exam, while students who assimilate a little more slowly receive an education more adapted to their needs.
There are 12 universities in Switzerland, ten of which are maintained at cantonal level and usually offer a range of non-technical subjects. The first university in Switzerland was founded in 1460 in Basel with a faculty of medicine and has a tradition of chemical and medical research in Switzerland. It is listed 87th on the 2019 Academic Ranking of World Universities. The largest university in Switzerland is the University of Zurich with nearly 25,000 students. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and the University of Zurich are listed 20th and 54th respectively, on the 2015 Academic Ranking of World Universities.
The two institutes sponsored by the federal government are the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich in Zürich, founded in 1855 and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Lausanne, founded in 1969.
Eight of ten best hotel schools in the world are located in Switzerland. In addition, there are various universities of applied sciences. In business and management studies, the University of St. Gallen is ranked 329th in the world according to QS World University Rankings and the International Institute for Management Development was ranked first in open programs worldwide by the Financial Times. Switzerland has the second highest rate (almost 18% in 2003) of foreign students in tertiary education, after Australia (slightly over 18%).
As might befit a country that plays home to innumerable international organizations, the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, located in Geneva, is not only continental Europe's oldest graduate school of international and development studies, but also widely believed to be one of its most prestigious.
Many Nobel Prize laureates have been Swiss scientists. They include the world-famous physicist Albert Einstein in the field of physics, who developed his special relativity while working in Bern. More recently Vladimir Prelog, Heinrich Rohrer, Richard Ernst, Edmond Fischer, Rolf Zinkernagel, Kurt Wüthrich and Jacques Dubochet received Nobel Prizes in the sciences. In total, 114 Nobel Prize winners in all fields stand in relation to Switzerland, and the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded nine times to organizations residing in Switzerland.
Geneva and the nearby French department of Ain co-host the world's largest laboratory, CERN, dedicated to particle physics research. Another important research center is the Paul Scherrer Institute. Notable inventions include lysergic acid diethylamide or LSD, diazepam or Valium, the scanning tunnelling microscope (Nobel prize) and Velcro. Some technologies enabled the exploration of new worlds such as the pressurized balloon of Auguste Piccard and the Bathyscaphe which permitted Jacques Piccard to reach the deepest point of the world's oceans.
Switzerland Space Agency, the Swiss Space Office, has been involved in various space technologies and programs. In addition it was one of the 10 founders of the European Space Agency in 1975 and is the seventh largest contributor to the ESA budget. In the private sector, several companies are implicated in the space industry such as Oerlikon Space or Maxon Motors which provide spacecraft structures.
Culture
Three of Europe's major languages are official in Switzerland. Swiss culture is characterized by diversity, which is reflected in a wide range of traditional customs. A region may be in some ways strongly culturally connected to the neighboring country that shares its language, the country itself being rooted in western European culture. The linguistically isolated Romansh culture in Graubünden in eastern Switzerland constitutes an exception. It survives only in the upper valleys of the Rhine and the Inn and strives to maintain its rare linguistic tradition.
Switzerland is home to many notable contributors to literature, art, architecture, music and sciences. In addition, the country attracted a number of creative persons during times of unrest or war in Europe. Some 1,000 museums are distributed through the country; the number has more than tripled since 1950. Among the most important cultural performances held annually are the Paléo Festival, Lucerne Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Locarno International Film Festival and the Art Basel.
Alpine symbolism has played an essential role in shaping the history of the country and the Swiss national identity. Many alpine areas and ski resorts offer winter sports during the colder months as well as hiking or mountain biking in summer. Other areas throughout the year have a recreational culture that caters to tourism, such as sightseeing, yet the quieter seasons are spring and autumn when there are fewer visitors. A traditional farmer and herder culture also predominate in many areas, and small farms are omnipresent outside the towns. Folk art is kept alive in organizations all over the country. Switzerland is mostly expressed in music, dance, poetry, wood carving and embroidery. The alphorn, a trumpet-like musical instrument made of wood has become —alongside yodeling and the accordion — an epitome of traditional Swiss music.
Literature
From its foundation in 1291, the Confederation was almost exclusively composed of German-speaking regions, the earliest forms of literature were in German. In the 18th century, French became the fashionable language in Bern and elsewhere, while the influence of the French-speaking allies and subject lands was more marked than before.
Among the classic authors of Swiss German literature are Jeremias Gotthelf (1797–1854) and Gottfried Keller (1819–1890). The undisputed giants of 20th-century Swiss literature are Max Frisch (1911–91) and Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–90), whose repertoire includes “Die Physiker” or “The Physicists” and “Das Versprechen” or “The Pledge,” released in 2001 as a Hollywood film.
Famous French-speaking writers were Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) and Germaine de Staël (1766–1817). More recent authors include Charles Ferdinand Ramuz (1878–1947), whose novels describe the lives of peasants and mountain dwellers, set in a harsh environment and Blaise Cendrars (born Frédéric Sauser, 1887–1961). Italian and Romansh-speaking authors also contributed to the Swiss literary landscape, but generally in more modest ways given their small number.
Probably the most famous Swiss literary creation, “Heidi,” the story of an orphan girl who lives with her grandfather in the Alps, is one of the most popular children's books ever and has come to be a symbol of Switzerland. Her creator, Johanna Spyri (1827–1901), wrote a number of other books on similar themes.
Sports
Skiing, snowboarding and mountaineering are among the most popular sports in Switzerland, the nature of the country being particularly suited for such activities. Winter sports are practiced by the natives and tourists since the second half of the 19th century with the invention of bobsled in St. Moritz. The first world ski championships were held in Mürren (1931) and St. Moritz (1934). The latter town hosted the second Winter Olympic Games in 1928 and the fifth edition in 1948. Among the most successful skiers and world champions are Pirmin Zurbriggen and Didier Cuche.
The most prominently watched sports in Switzerland are football, ice hockey, Alpine skiing, "Schwingen" or Swiss wrestling and tennis.
The headquarters of the international football's and ice hockey's governing bodies, the International Federation of Association Football or FIFA and International Ice Hockey Federation or IIHF are located in Zürich. Many other headquarters of international sports federations are located in Switzerland. For example, the International Olympic Committee or IOC, IOC's Olympic Museum and the Court of Arbitration for Sport or CAS are located in Lausanne.
Switzerland hosted the 1954 FIFA World Cup and was the joint host, with Austria, of the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. The Swiss Super League is the nation's professional football club league. Europe's highest football pitch — at 6,600 feet above sea level — is located in Switzerland and is named the Ottmar Hitzfeld Stadium.
Many Swiss also follow ice hockey and support one of the 12 teams of the National League, which is the most attended league in Europe. In 2009, Switzerland hosted the IIHF World Championship for the 10th time. It also became World Vice-Champion in 2013 and 2018. The numerous lakes make Switzerland an attractive place for sailing. The largest, Lake Geneva, is the home of the sailing team Alinghi which was the first European team to win the America's Cup in 2003 and which successfully defended the title in 2007.
Swiss tennis player Roger Federer is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. He has won 20 Grand Slam tournaments overall including a record eight Wimbledon titles. He has also won a record six Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP Finals. He was ranked no. 1 in the ATP Rankings for a record 237 consecutive weeks. He ended 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009 ranked No. 1. Fellow Swiss tennis stars Martina Hingis and Stan Wawrinka also hold multiple Grand Slam titles. Switzerland won the Davis Cup title in 2014.
Motorsport racecourses and events were banned in Switzerland following the 1955 Le Mans disaster which killed 83 spectators with exception to events such as hillclimbing. During this period, the country still produced successful racing drivers such as Clay Regazzoni, Sébastien Buemi, Jo Siffert, Dominique Aegerter, successful World Touring Car Championship driver Alain Menu, 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Marcel Fässler and 2015 24 Hours Nürburgring winner Nico Müller. Switzerland also won the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in 2007–08 with driver Neel Jani. Swiss motorcycle racer Thomas Lüthi won the 2005 MotoGP World Championship in the 125cc category. In June 2007 the Swiss National Council, one house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, voted to overturn the ban. However, the other house — the Swiss Council of States — rejected the change and the ban remains in place.
Traditional sports include Swiss wrestling or "Schwingen." It is an old tradition from the rural central cantons and considered the national sport by some. Hornussen is another indigenous Swiss sport, which is like a cross between baseball and golf. Steinstossen is the Swiss variant of stone put, a competition in throwing a heavy stone. Practiced only among the alpine population since prehistoric times, it is recorded to have taken place in Basel in the 13th century. It is also central to the Unspunnenfest — a festival held in the town of Interlaken, near the old ruin of Unspunnen Castle — first held in 1805, with its symbol the 83.5 stone named Unspunnenstein.
Cuisine
The cuisine of Switzerland is multifaceted. While some dishes such as fondue, raclette or rösti are omnipresent through the country, each region developed its own gastronomy according to the differences of climate and languages. Traditional Swiss cuisine uses ingredients similar to those in other European countries, as well as unique dairy products and cheeses — such as Gruyère or Emmental — produced in the valleys of Gruyères and Emmental. The number of fine-dining establishments is high, particularly in western Switzerland.
Chocolate has been made in Switzerland since the 18th century. Still, it gained its reputation at the end of the 19th century with the invention of modern techniques such as conching and tempering, which enabled its production on a high-quality level. Also, a breakthrough was the invention of solid milk chocolate in 1875 by Daniel Peter. The Swiss are the world's largest consumers of chocolate.
Due to the popularization of processed foods at the end of the 19th century, Swiss health food pioneer Maximilian Bircher-Benner created the first nutrition-based therapy in the form of the well-known rolled oats cereal dish, called Birchermüesli or müesli.
The most popular alcoholic drink in Switzerland is wine. Switzerland is notable for the variety of grapes grown because of the large variations in terroirs, with their specific mixes of soil, air, altitude and light. Swiss wine is produced mainly in Valais, Vaud (Lavaux), Geneva and Ticino, with a small majority of white wines. Vineyards have been cultivated in Switzerland since the Roman era, even though certain traces of a more ancient origin can be found. The most widespread varieties are the Chasselas (called Fendant in Valais) and Pinot noir. The Merlot is the main variety produced in Ticino.
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