Key facts
Population
- 6.6 million including 1 million foreigners
- 23 cantons including 3 cantons divided in half (Basel, Appenzell and Unterwalden)
Major Cities
- Zurich – 350,000
- Basel – 170,000
- Geneva – 165,000
- Bern – 135,000
National Languages
- Swiss German – 68%
- French – 20%
- Italian – 11%
- Romansch – 1%
Religious Groups
- Catholic – 48%
- Protestant – 44%
- Others – 8%
Topographical Division
- Mountains – 70%
- Plain – 30%
Overview
Switzerland has lots of scope for courier commentary, being as it is a nation which always wanted to be distinct from the others. It considers itself a special case in the world’s political landscape and it is not surprising that the Swiss did not want to join the circus of United Europe.
There is no other nation where grand international institutions, such as the Red Cross and major banking corporations co-exist with extreme provincialism and a deep conservatism which, in the German-speaking parts of the country, is called «Kantönligeist» (the spirit of the canton).
Switzerland is a confederation, not a nation. Does anyone know the name of the Swiss president? Even some of the Swiss don’t, as he changes every year, chosen from among the seven ministers, the so-called Federal Councillors (Bundesräte). The political power is decentralized and in the hands of the councils of the cantons and communes. It is this structure that forms the basis of the Swiss identity.
There are 23 cantons, which joined the confederation at different times during the last 700 years. Founded in 1291 the original cantons were grouped around the Lake of Lucerne. From the heart of this alpine German-speaking area the country grew in concentric circles towards Italian and French-speaking territories (the Ticino joined in 1803, the Suisse Romande attached itself between 1803 and 1815). Common interests have always been strong enough to keep the country together, frequently forming the «Swiss Hedgehog» against potential invaders. The harmonious mixture of a people with an equal Catholic and Protestant proportion and four different languages (the fourth is Romantsch which is spoken in some mountain valleys around St. Moritz, which had been forgotten by history since Roman times and were only rediscovered by the mountain climbers of the 19th century) is often praised as the «Swiss Model». It has been suggested to use this idea of peaceful cohabitation in the aftermath of the Bosnian conflict, but this proposition takes no account of the fact that the Swiss model is based on two very typical Swiss characteristics: tolerance and compromise. The Swiss see themselves as «good» people. They don’t want to get involved in confrontation, they want to stay neutral. Of course fishy manoeuvres might be going on behind their backs – especially as regards armament policies – but that is nobody’s business.
You cannot avoid talking about contradictions when visiting Switzerland and the most obvious ones are visual. The beautiful, green and relaxing countryside is dotted with horrendous concrete buildings with big orange signs; remote mountain valleys are littered with outsized motorways, electricity pylons etc. Then most American travellers have seen a film about the Zürich drug scene. How is this possible in the country of Heidi, where milking cows, yodelling and breathing the fresh mountain air was supposed to guarantee a happy, healthy existence!
Highest mountain
- Dufour Peak (Valais) at 4,634 m (approx 14,000 ft)
Your group will most probably be staying in Switzerland for a short period, and it is often their relaxing time between visiting the capitals of Europe. Therefore you might want to keep off the serious subjects and talk about themes which are more easily digestible. For example:
Swiss Chocolate
Until a recent change in regulations, chocolate produced within the country had to contain 100% cocoa butter. Now 5% vegetable fat can be added – is this the end of Swiss chocolate as we know it??
The Swiss Army
Every Swiss male citizen has to do a minimum of 18 weeks military service at the age of 20. He then has to do three weeks of reserve training every second year until his professional retirement. When he starts his military service, he is issued with a uniform, a bayonet, a gas mask, a machine gun and a knife, which he keeps during his active period, that is until he is well over fifty. Thus every Swiss man possesses a machine gun with 24 rounds. In any other country this would have had an influence on crime rates; in Switzerland years go by without crimes involving an army gun.
The army knife
Manufactured by Victorinox and sold in any self-respecting Swiss souvenir stall, the Swiss Army Knife comes in different versions. The model with scissors, magnifying glass, compass, Hi-Fi and cellular phone is not what the soldier gets. He is even deprived of a corkscrew, a luxury added only on the version for officers.
Cleanliness
A Swiss obsession. Boys learn about it in the army, girls are sent to a two-week crash course of housekeeping when they are 16.
Skiing
The Swiss are born on skis.
Lakes
You are never more than ten miles away from a lake. The largest are the Lake of Geneva and Lake Constance.
Rivers
Switzerland is the water tower of Europe and feeds the Rhine, Rhone, Po and Danube. The country exports hydro-electric power (but also has nuclear power stations).
Cheese
Main cheese producing areas are the cantons of Bern and Fribourg (Emmental and Gruyère) and Appenzell. The exported Swiss cheeses are much milder than those you find sold in Switzerland. Cheese is used in most Swiss recipes, the most famous are fondue and raclette, both dishes from the Valais area, and served on special occasions with family and friends.
Watches
Watch-making was introduced to Switzerland by the French Huguenots at the end of the 16th century and spread along the Jura chain towards the East. Machines enabling mass production were introduced in 1845 and since then Switzerland has led the world’s watch industry. The threat of a Japanese takeover was countered by the invention of the Swatch and its clever marketing.
Bells (cow)
If you go to a ski race or to any other international sports events with Swiss participants, you will see the Swiss supporters waving cow bells around, making the most awful noise. Together with the crossbow (last seen used by William Tell), the cow bell is the object that most accurately symbolises Swiss pride. The cows wear bells because there are no fences enclosing the alpine pastures, and the sound helps to recover a lost cow.
Bells (church)
Most Swiss villages have a Catholic and a Protestant church (a cock on the steeple means Protestant, a cross means Catholic). You might be in Switzerland on a Saturday afternoon when the churches «ring in Sunday». The din can be phenomenal as all bells ring at the same time. There is an unwritten rule that the church with the older vicar/priest starts first.
Bells (Whisky)
Is not Swiss.
Flags
Switzerland has more flags per capita than any other country. If you have a big enough garden, you have to have a flagpole. There are flags suspended over streets, there are flags as big as tablecloths on the steamships, there are flags everywhere. But unlike other flag-crazy countries like Norway, the national flag is less important than the flag of the canton. You might recognize some cantons like Bern with the bear in red and yellow, the key and eagle of Geneva in the same colours or Lucerne with the blue and white halves.
Public Transport
Switzerland has invested a large part of its national budget to achieve the most sophisticated train network in Europe. The project «Bahn 2000» has linked up the whole country with trains that run as regularly as if they belonged to a suburban system. Cars are seen as plain luxury and are considered by many as socially unacceptable polluters of the environment.
Folklore
In the mountainous parts of Switzerland, folklore is still taken seriously and not re-invented for tourism. On some summer Sundays, you might come across an «Älplerfest», a gathering somewhere in a big meadow. The main attraction is the «Schwingen», a sort of wrestling tournament that takes place in a circle of sawdust in the middle of the meadow. As the sport itself is not that riveting, the spectators are entertained by music groups in their «Tracht» (local costume). The star of the band is most likely the lady yodeller. Other entertainments include flag throwing (a good way to cope with the overproduction of flags), alphorn blowing and rock throwing («Steistosse»).
The alpine pastures
The wild flowers of the alpine pasture are responsible for the unique flavour of Swiss milk and also of course, of the cheese and chocolate. Snowed in for most of the year, the animals stay in the valleys until the early summer. At the beginning of June the cows and goats are transferred to the mountain pastures, where they are looked after by a «Senn», a cow man who is responsible for all the cows of the village until the beginning of September. There are still some communities which have kept the tradition of the «Alpaufzug» – the ceremonial ascent of the animals into the mountains. They are all lined up and form a long train led by the queen cow. The queen is the cow that produced the most milk the previous year. Her horns are decorated with flowers and she wears the biggest bell. The bells of all the other cows are silenced with bundles of straw.
History
Swiss history starts on the first of August 1291 with the «Rütlischwur», the oath of three farmers, who got together in a field at the edge of the Lake of Lucerne (the Rütli), where they agreed that they didn’t like the Holy Roman Emperor, they didn’t like his family, the Habsburgs, they particularly didn’t like the Habsburg tax-collectors and that they were quite happy on their own thank you very much. The three farmers represented the cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. To agree on common policy, the people of these cantons used to meet regularly somewhere in a field or a market square and voted by holding up their hands – the earliest manifestation of democracy in modern Europe – and they decided never to obey anyone but God, and to help each other out in case of danger.
Of course the Habsburgs didn’t like this and sent their bailiffs to put things straight. William Tell’s solo bravery was followed by several battles against the Habsburg army. The scenario of these battles was always the same: Swiss farmers with halbards on top of hill; Habsburg knights in heavy armour on bottom of hill. Swiss throw stones, arrows, cowbells etc. onto knights. Knights, without rear mirrors, reverse into bog, lake, river or other wet element. Armour doesn’t float; knights drown. Emperor furious and sends fresh army to bottom of hill. (Da Capo).
In 1388 the confederation, now joined by five more cantons (including Lucerne, Zürich and Berne) won its final battle against the Habsburgs. Of course new enemies emerged, with an eye on that part of Europe. This time the danger came from Burgundy. The successful battles of the Swiss against Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy boosted the prestige of the Swiss soldier tremendously. Swiss mercenaries were at the top of the transfer list. Of course the Swiss soldiers were flattered and didn’t need to be asked twice, since beating up the enemy was far less tiring and more lucrative than struggling with farming in the mountains. In 1515 the Swiss soldiers, with an eye on territory in Northern Italy, made a bad choice and fought on the wrong side. Francis I, king of France emerged victor of the battle of Marignano and imposed on the Swiss confederation a vow of neutrality, which was to shape the destiny of Switzerland until the present day. The mercenaries however interpreted this as making them free agents, able to work for any ruler who would offer a good price. The most famous employers were the Pope (the Swiss Guards in the Vatican) and the French King (as commemorated by the Lion Monument in Lucerne).
The enforced neutrality was great for Switzerland as it enabled them to keep out of the Thirty Years War and all other European conflicts, with the exception of the Napoleonic Wars – our friend Bonaparte simply declared ‘neutrality is nonsense, as there is always an advantage to be gained from somebody’s triumph’. Given her geographical situation in the centre of Europe – on the fault line between the Habsburgs and France and later caught between the protagonists of the two World Wars – it is remarkable that Switzerland has managed to remain uninvolved. The Swiss see themselves as a special case (Spezialfall Schweiz) and, in this are not unlike the British.
Their Reformation too, was different from everybody else’s. This was a private Swiss affair, less directed against the Pope and clerical abuses than was the case elsewhere, and it was all over by 1531. Ulrich Zwingli, a monk and later bishop of Zurich, led the reform; advocating a return to the Bible and focussing on a direct relationship with God. His teachings were warmly welcomed in the towns and by the literate population but he met a stumbling block in the rural cantons such as Uri and Schwyz. Here the peasants, who had profited from mercenary service, thought it a bit much that Zwingli, himself an ex-mercenary, should denounce the practice. Furthermore, if the Catholic church had got it wrong, where were their departed ancestors and suffering what fate? It was bound to come to blows. The city dwellers were no match for the sturdy peasants. At the battle of Kappel in 1531 Zwingli was killed and his quartered body thrown into a fire. There were no further attempts to convert the Catholics and, in typical Swiss style, the different religious persuasions co-habit to this day. Calvin carried on Zwingli’s work in the French-speaking cantons and Geneva became a haven for French Huguenots fleeing religious persecution.
Since then, Swiss history is an orderly and peaceful progression with practically no hiccup which leads many citizens to believe that the country is set for a continuing rosy future. But is the Spezialfall Schweiz crumbling?
Apart from Norway, Switzerland is the only Western European country not to have joined the European Union. Her proposed entry was narrowly rejected in a referendum a few years ago. Many young people and professionals involved in international businesses see Switzerland’s isolation as the start of a severe period of economic and cultural decline.
This is not the first time that the Swiss have been stuck in the past without being able to change their constitution. Until 1971 Swiss women did not have a vote. Any constitutional change requires a majority vote, both from the population and the cantons. Because of the large number of small conservative cantons, new ideas tend to be voted down.