SWITZERLAND

TEN FACTS

• Land size 41,285km^2 (135th)
• Population sixe: 8 million (96th)
• Capital: Bern
• Official languages: German, French, Itialian, Romanish
• Religion: Roman Catholic (38.2%) Swiss Reformed (26.9%)

10 INTERESTING FACTS CONT.

• Federal Chancellor: Corina Casanova
• It's divided into 20 Cantons and 6 Half Cantons
• It has not been involved in a war since 1515
• Often used as a mediator between countries
• Does not have a navy

EARLY HISTORY

• Settlements dating back to 5,300BC
• La Tène was the first major settlement
• Flourished between 530BC - 58BC

THE OLD SWISS CONFEDERACY

• Federal charter of 1291
• 1353 the first three cantons were created
• 1499 they joined the Holy Roman Empire

NAPOLEON

• 1798 Napoleon conquers Switzerland
• 1803 Napoleon organizes a meeting with Swiss ambasators
• 1815 Switzerland is completely neutral and independant

GEOOGRAPHY

• Swiss Alps south
• Swiss Plateau central
• Jura mountains west

GOVERNMENT

• Commune (local)
• Canton (state)
• Federal (national)

CULTURE

• Very safe/non violent
• Extremely diverse (they have four national languages)
• A lot of resorts, but a lot of farmers
• Several festivals a year

ECONOMY

• One of the most stable
• Banks
• Safe haven

SPORTS

• Alps
• Skiing, snowboarding, mountaineering
• First skiing championships

SOCIAL ISSUES

• Nutrality
• Diversity issues

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland#Culture