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Switzerland has overwhelming natural beauty. It is a country of clear blue lakes, snow-capped peaks and rugged Alpine mountains. Switzerland’s approximate size is 41,295 km² (25,659 miles²) and is made up of 60% mountains, with the rest being meadows and pastures, forests and agricultural land. It is located in the centre of Europe. The most northern dimension is Oberbargen, the most eastern dimension is Piz Chavalatsch, the most southern dimension is Chiasso and the most western dimension is Chancy. With regard to political boundaries, Switzerland is divided into twenty-three cantons and three sub-cantons. Switzerland’s climate varies greatly from one region to another. Sunshine is typical weather for summer, while one can expect rain during spring and autumn. Winter is, of course, famous for the heavy snowfalls, which make Switzerland ideal for skiing.
Switzerland is a country of outstanding natural beauty with an alpine panorama second to none! The country is well organized and runs as smoothly as its watches. Its trains are run with a precision that is an envy of all the world. Its cities are carefully planned to appear as almost large towns. The popular tourist havens of Lucerne, Interlaken and Geneva remain fairly much as they have been for decades and yet are in pace with the times. Switzerland is a traveler's dream come true and is worth as much time as you can spend exploring this extraordinary country.
There are three federal languages, namely German, French and Italian. There is also another language, namely Rhaeto-Romanic or Romansch. It is an official national (not federal) language. English has a lower priority than the other languages.
Switzerland’s Alpine terrain is ideal for a wide variety of sports and activities especially hiking and skiing. There are many lakes in Switzerland, making water sports very popular among tourists as well as locals.
Time
Switzerland uses Central European Time. This is six hours more than Eastern Standard Time, one hour more than Greenwich Mean Time, nine hours less than Eastern Australia Time and eleven hours less than New Zealand Time. Switzerland uses the 24-hour clock for all official purposes.
Tourist Offices
The Swiss National Tourist office publish a large amount of information about tours and vacations. Every town of any tourist importance, and some others, are served by tourist offices. Even the smallest towns have some sort of tourist bureau.
One can identify these offices quite easily because they are all marked with the standard green ‘i’ sign. Do not take for granted that the staff can speak English because it is not a requirement in smaller towns.
In most small towns, there is generally someone in the train station who can direct one to the local tourist office. In larger cities, there is a branch of the tourist office helping with accommodations in the train station itself. These major stations also have extended hours for currency exchange.
Visas & Passports
Citizens of the United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa do not need visas for stays of up to three months in Switzerland. All travellers need valid passports to enter Switzerland and to re-enter their own country. It is important to know that travellers may be denied entrance if their passports expire in less than six months. Returning to their home country with an expired passport may result in a fine.
Admission into the country as a visitor does not include the right to work, which is authorized only by the Swiss government. Citizens of these countries who wish to stay longer than the allotted time must carry a visa as well as a passport.
Swiss Embassies and Consulates in other countries can provide further information.
Customs
It is obligatory on entering Switzerland to pass through customs. Certain regulations must be observed.
Money
The unit of currency in Switzerland is the Swiss franc (CHF).
Business Hours
Banks are open Mondays to Friday from 08:30 until 16:00 with some local variations.
Transport
The roads in Switzerland are good and well-maintained. Public transport is available in and between major centres. Buses and run within and between the major cities. Swissair is the national Swiss airline.
Public Holidays
Switzerland has nine public holidays. Some cantons have three additional holidays.
Peak Seasons
Tourism is an all year round industry in Switzerland. The peak seasons generally are from November to March and June to August.
Post & Telecommunications
Switzerland has a very efficient postal system. Letters arriving in the country will be delivered in one to three days and letters going overseas will take between ten and fourteen days to reach their destinations. Airmail is known as first class mail in Switzerland. Letters and postcards weighing up to 20 g (0.7 oz) cost CHF 1.80 when going to the United States of America and CHF 1.00 when going to the United Kingdom.
Local telephone calls cost 60 centimes. The cost for international calls range from CHF 1.00 to CHF 2.00 a minute. Calls within Switzerland are 60% cheaper on weekdays between 17:00 and 19:00 and between 21:00 and 08:00 and throughout the weekend. International calls to Europe are cheaper from 21:00 until 08:00 on weekdays, and throughout the weekend. Phonecards are available for CHF 10.00 and CHF 20.00. They can be bought at the post office, change bureaus, kiosks or at train stations. The country code for Switzerland is 41.
The following international and local enquiry numbers can be dialled in all areas:
| 111 |
Information, including directory assistance, train schedules and other information |
| 191 or 114 |
English-speaking international operator |
| 117 |
Police emergency number |
| 118 |
Fire emergency |
| 157 50 14 |
Anglo-phone, providing information ranging from weather reports to English-speaking doctor referrals (CHF 1.40 per minute) |
Electricity
The electric current is 220 V and 50 Hz. With regard to sockets, the standard Continental plug, with two round pins, can be used in the Swiss three-pin socket. But if the socket is recessed to receive the Swiss six-sided plug, you won’t be able to use the Continental plug. International adapters do not fit Swiss sockets and travellers are advised to buy and fit a Swiss plug on arrival.
Disabled Travellers
Most of the buildings and rest rooms in Switzerland have ramps leading up to them. The Swiss Federal Railways has adapted most of their train cars to be wheelchair-accessible and InterCity and long-distance express trains have wheelchair compartments. Often there are also wheelchairs available at the station, but inform the station beforehand that you will need one. In addition to this, there are ramps or lifts and wheelchair-accessible toilets in more than 100 stations.
Foreign visitors with either the Disabled Badge of their country or the International Wheelchair Badge mounted inside the windshield of their car are entitled to use parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities throughout the country. Motorists who cannot walk unaided can obtain a special permit for parking privileges, as well as the international badge mentioned above, from the local police authority.
Budget Travel
Hostel Accommodation
Schweizerischer Jugendherbergen
Schaffhauserstrasse 14
CH-8042
Zürich
Switzerland
Tel. 41-1-4823544
Organisations
SSR Travel
Swiss Student Travel Office
Baeckerstrasse 52
Box 8026
Zürich
Switzerland
Tel. 41-1-2971111
History
Early History
The first inhabitants of Switzerland were a Celtic tribe, the Helvetii. The Romans entered the country through the St Bernard Pass in 107 BC. Their conquest, however, was never decisive because of the difficulty of the terrain. The Germanic Alemanni tribe, which settled in Switzerland during the fifth century, gradually drove them back. Burgundians and Franks also settled here and introduced Christianity to the area.
In 1032 Switzerland was united under the Holy Roman Empire, but because central control was never very tight, neighbouring nobles started contesting each other for local influence. This state of affairs was changed by the Germanic Habsburg family which became the most powerful dynasty in central Europe. Rudolph I was the driving force behind the Habsburg expansion. He gradually took over most of the regions and brought the nobles to heel.
Swiss Confederation
Rudolph I died in 1291, which gave local leaders the chance to gain independence from the Habsburg family. The forest communities, Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden, formed the Ewige Bund (Everlasting League) on 1 August 1291. This pact is seen as the origin of the Swiss Confederation that still exists today. This league started to win the Habsburgs and later Fribourg, Solothurn, Basel, Schaffhausen and Appenzell joined the confederation. After their victory at Dornach in 1499, they gained independence from the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. In 1515 they lost against a combined force of French and Venetians at Marignano. After this defeat, they withdrew from the international scene. The Swiss realised that without better equipment, they could no longer compete against larger powers and therefore they renounced all their expansionist policies and declared their neutrality.
The Reformation
The Reformation in the sixteenth century caused upheaval throughout Europe. The Protestant teachings of Luther, Zwingli and Calvin spread quickly. This, however, caused internal unrest and in 1527 fights broke out between the Roman Catholic and Protestant cantons. The Protestant cities were defeated at Kappel in 1531. Protestants were given the freedom to remain Protestant, but were prohibited from imposing their faith on others. This religious division and unrest dragged on for centuries, but Switzerland managed to avoid international disputes. At the end of the Thirty Years’ War in 1648, they were recognised in the Treaty of Westphalia as a neutral state.
Swiss neutrality
Although the French invaded Switzerland in 1798, the Swiss strongly resisted the centralised control of the French. Napoleon was forced to restore the former confederation of cantons in 1803. After this, more cantons joined the Confederation. After Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo, the Congress of Vienna guaranteed Switzerland’s independence and permanent neutrality.
The Modern State
Even though Switzerland always strove towards becoming one nation, each canton remained independent, even to the extent of controlling its own coinage and postal services. The cantons lost these powers in 1848 when a new federal constitution was agreed upon. It was revised in 1874, but is still in place today. Bern was established as the capital and the federal assembly was set up to take care of national issues. The cantons retained legislative and executive powers to deal with local matters.
Because Switzerland achieved political stability, the Swiss were able to concentrate on economic and social matters. Switzerland developed industries predominantly dependent on highly skilled labour because the country is relatively poor in mineral resources. A network of railways and roads was built, opening up previously inaccessible Alpine regions and helping the development of tourism. The international Red Cross was founded in Geneva in 1863 by Henri Dunant, and compulsory free education was introduced.
The Swiss guarded their neutrality in the twentieth century. Their only involvement in World War I lay in the organising of Red Cross units. Switzerland joined the League of Nations after peace was won, under the provision that its involvement would be purely financial and economic rather than entailing any possible military sanctions. Despite some accidental bombing, World War II also left Switzerland almost unscathed and its territory proved to be a safe haven for escaping allied prisoners. While other European countries had to repair the war damage, Switzerland was able to develop further from an already strong commercial, financial and industrial base.
Because Switzerland did not want to compromise its neutrality, it declined to become a member of the United Nations or NATO. Currently Switzerland has an observer status in the UN, that is it gives money but does not vote. It did, however join EFTA (European Free Trade Association). In the face of other EFTA nations applying for EU (European Union) membership, Switzerland made its own application in 1992. As a prelude to full EU membership Switzerland was to join the EEA (European Economic Area), but the citizens rejected the EEA in a referendum in December 1992. Switzerland’s EU application consequently had to be put on hold, but in the meantime the government has been laying the groundwork for closer integration with the EU in the hope that the Swiss citizens will eventually approve.
Population
Switzerland has a population of 6,828,023 people (July 1992) and a growth rate of 0.6% (1992). There are more or less 166 inhabitants per square kilometre. The Alpine district is sparsely populated while the Mittelland is densely populated, especially along the shores and larger lakes.
Zürich is the largest city with 343,000 people, Basel has 172,000 people, Geneva 167,000 and Bern 134,000. Most people are of Germanic origin and this is reflected in the languages that are spoken. More than 17% of the people in the country are residents, but not Swiss citizens because of a foreign influx from southern Europe after World War II.
Government
The modern Swiss Confederation consists of twenty-three cantons. Three of these cantons are subdivided, which brings the total to twenty-six. Each canton has its own constitution and legislative body for dealing with local issues.
The National legislative power rests with the Federal Assembly which consists of two chambers. The lower chamber, the National Council, is elected by proportional representation with one member per 22,000 people. The upper chamber, the States Council, is composed of forty-six members, two per full canton. The Federal Assembly elects seven members to form the Federal Council, which holds executive power. All elections are for a four-year term except the posts of president and vice-president of the Confederation, which are rotated annually. The vice-president always succeeds the president, meaning the governing body is not dominated by any one individual. The current president is Jean-Pascal Delamuraz.
Under the 1874 constitution, laws can actually be influenced directly by the Swiss people, provided enough signatures can be collected from active citizens. Citizens regularly vote in referenda on national, local and communal issues. Surprisingly for such a democratic people, women only won the right to vote in federal elections in 1971 and in some cantons women gained a local vote only in the last few years. A few cantons still vote by a show of hands in an open-air parliament called the ‘Landsgemeinde’.
Language
The three official federal languages are German, French and Italian. Rhaeto-Romanic (or Romansch) is an official national (not federal) language. About 65% of the locals speak German, 18% speak French and 12% speak Italian. Rhaeto-Romanic is spoken by 1% of the locals and 4% of the Swiss speak languages other than these four. Rhaeto-Romanic is mainly spoken in the canton of Graubünden. The language is derived from Latin and survived in the isolation of the mountain valleys. In 1938 it became an official national language.
Locals normally speak French and/or German and Italian. English has a lower priority than the other languages, but most hotels and restaurants will have at least one English-speaking staff member.
The German-speaking Swiss have no problem understanding and speaking standard High German, but they use Swiss German or Schwyzerdütsch for private conversation or any nonofficial conversation. One finds a variety of dialects in Switzerland that differ greatly from High German.
English is well understood and spoken in German Switzerland. In French Switzerland the locals understand English well, but the grasp of the language is not as good as in German Switzerland. In Italian Switzerland tourists who can only speak English will find it quite difficult to communicate with the locals because they do not speak or understand English very well.
Religion
Protestantism and Roman Catholicism are equally widespread, though the concentration varies between cantons. Cantons that are very strong Protestant areas are Bern, Vaud and Zürich, while Valais, Ticino and Uri are Catholic. Some churches are totally supported by donations from the public, while others receive state subsidies.
Art & Culture
Switzerland has a long and rich history which is evident in the many museums, castles, cathedrals and art galleries. All the large cities also have theatres. Detailed information is provided in the Tourist Region section.
Food & Drink
Switzerland offers visitors a diverse dining experience, giving you the option of either French, Italian or German cuisine depending on which canton you are visiting. In French areas, the cuisine is Gallic with wine stews, organ meats and sausages served alongside standard cuisine bourgeois, such as thick, rare beef entrocôte with a variety of rich sauces and truite meunière. Truite meunière is trout rolled in flour and fried in butter. In the Ticino, the Italian canton, one finds pure Italian cuisine, especially the Alpine forest specialities of Piedmont and Lombardy, which are risotto, gnocchi, polenta and porcini mushrooms. The German cantons have a preference for pork and on average serve more pork than the neighbours of Switzerland. They also favour another dish that represents Switzerland very well, namely Röste, a broad patty of hash-brown potatoes crisped in a skillet and often flavoured with bacon, herbs or cheese. Other typically Swiss dishes are raclette (cheese melted over pickled vegetables and boiled potatoes), veal and fruits from low-lying orchards. And, of course, Swiss chocolate for dessert.
Entertainment
Cinemas normally show films in their original language. Check posters for the upper-case letter, which gives an indication of the language it will be in. The lower-case letter indicates the language in which the subtitles will be. The coding they use is E for English, D for German and F for French. Nightlife in the cities is not as exciting as one would expect a modern country’s nightlife to be and it is very expensive.
Shopping
Just as the country is very diverse, one can also choose from a wide variety of shopping experiences from old-fashioned little open-air markets to everyday supermarkets to expensive shopping malls. Although you might not find many bargains in Switzerland, there are some things that can be called unique Swiss treasures, such as watches, clocks and Swiss Army knives. Other good buys are chocolates, music boxes, linens and good cottons, and pottery and ceramics.
Parks & Reserves
The Swiss National Park is located in the beautiful Engadin Valley.
Sports & Activities
The locals’ sports interests include shooting, gymnastics, mountaineering, skiing and fishing. Hiking is the number one activity. Sports and activities offered to tourists are mainly water sports, skiing, hiking and mountaineering.
Climate
Ticino in the south is known for having a hot, Mediterranean climate, while Valais in the southwest is noted for being dry. Elsewhere, the normal temperature is between 20 °C (68 °F) and 25 °C (77 °F) in summer, between 2 °C (36 °F) and 6 °C (42.8 °F) in winter and between 7 °C (44.6 °F) and 14 °C 57.2 °F) in spring and autumn. Sunshine is typical weather for summer, while one can expect rain during spring and autumn.
The Föhn is a hot, dry wind that blows in the valleys. It can be very uncomfortable and can happen at any time during the year.
Daily weather reports covering more than twenty-five resorts are displayed in all the major train stations.
Switzerland has a climate that varies greatly from one area to another. The rain falls mainly on the temperate Mittelland that extends across from Lake Constance in the northeast through Zürich and Bern, down to Geneva. In the Alps, snow is the norm.
Health
No inoculations are required for entry to Switzerland. However, all medical treatment must be paid for, whether in cantonal, university hospitals or private clinics. Charges are high, therefore medical insurance is strongly advised.
When visiting places at a high altitude, such as the ski resorts, remember that the air is thinner. Avoid exertion at altitudes above 3,000 m (9843 ft). When feeling light-headed, go to a lower altitude.
It is very important to review your existing health and home-owner policies to find out whether they cover expenses incurred while traveLling, but beware of buying unnecessary travel coverage. If you plan to participate in Alpine sports, make sure that your insurance will cover that.
Many of the first-aid centres and hospitals in major cities can provide travellers with medical care from an English-speaking doctor. Consulates in major foreign cities should also have a list of English-speaking doctors in town. In most major cities, a rotating pharmacy is open 24-hours a day. One can usually consult the door of any pharmacy to find out which one is open for the night.
In case of a medical emergency call the country’s emergency number, which is 144.
Safety
Although Switzerland’s crime rate is very low, visitors should be careful because there are many young drug addicts in Switzerland who may cause problems. Emergency numbers to phone are 117 for the police, 118 for the fire brigade and 140 for motoring assistance. Take special care in the mountain areas because helicopter rescue is extremely expensive. |
