Switzerland

Sunlight on the top of the Matterhorn (4,478 m) and the reflection of the mountain's east and north faces on the Stelli Lake. It is not the highest mountain in Switzerland, but the Matterhorn is one of the world's most famous mountains. Image: Jean Schmitt

Helvetia, how the country was called in ancient times, but even today, the name is still in use. The country's official Latin name is Confoederatio Helvetica (CH).

Switzerland is a landlocked mountainous country in South-Central Europe, bordered by Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Liechtenstein.

With an area of 41,285 km², the country is just slightly smaller than the Netherlands or almost twice the size of the US state of New Jersey.

Switzerland has a population of just under 8.7 million people (in 2020); capital city is Bern; the largest city is Zürich. Spoken languages are German, French, Italian and Rumantsch, traditionally spoken in the different regions (cantons) of the country. According to the World Happiness Report 2021, the Swiss Confederation is officially the third-happiest nation on Earth, after Finland and Denmark.

Geographically the country is divided into three major regions; there are the Swiss Alps in the south. The Alps fade out into the Swiss Plateau with a landscape of rolling hills, plains and large lakes and average elevations between 400 m and 700 m. To the northwest along the French/Swiss border is the Jura, a sub-alpine mountain range.

What is Switzerland famous for?
The short answer is cash, cows, cheese, chocolate, and clocks, followed by mountains, meadows, Edelweiss and Heidi.

The idyllic life of Heidi and Peter on the mountain pasture. The characters from the Heidi children's books by Johanna Spyri are world-famous. Image: Heidiland

What is Switzerland known for?

• Practically the whole country is a single vacation spot. Switzerland has idyllic landscapes with a variety of snow-capped mountains and ice-cold mountain lakes, melting glaciers and mountain pastures well suited as downhill ski slopes in winter.
• The weather offers four seasons that effectively change the landscape.
• The country has several cosmopolitan cities and many cozy villages like out of a Heimatfilm. Switzerland is home to 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The coffee is drinkable, and the food is mostly tasty. Switzerland has been ranked as the "world's best country" by the American media company U.S. News for several consecutive years.
• The relatively small country has four national languages and the oldest policy of military neutrality in the world.

Swiss landscape
The country is a popular tourist destination, known for its picturesque landscapes. Switzerland has about 1,500 lakes and nearly 50 mountain peaks that are 4,000 meters high or higher. The Dufourspitze (4,634 m (15,203 ft)), a peak of the Monte Rosa massif, is the highest mountain peak of both Switzerland and the Pennine Alps.

The Basilique de Valère (left) and Tourbillon castle (right) in Sion in the canton of Valais (Wallis). In the background are the peaks of Thyon (left) Dent de Nendaz (right). Image: Espandero

The waters of Swiss-born rivers end up in the Black Sea (Inn via the Danube), the  Adriatic Sea (Ticino via Po) and the North Sea (via Rhine). The Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen is Europe's most powerful waterfall.

The Hölloch (English: Hellhole) in the municipality of Muotathal (Schwyz) is an over 200 km long system of stalactite caves with a difference in altitude of 1033 m between the lowest and the highest point. It is the second-longest cave in Europe after Optymistychna Cave in Ukraine.

Alpine culture and other Swiss traditions

• Yodeling, the art of communication among Alpine hill tribes. The Alphorns, very long Alpine instruments played by herdsmen and villagers.
• Dirndl and other folk costumes originated in German-speaking areas of the Alps.
• The Swiss St. Bernard dogs were originally bred for rescue work by the hospice of the Great St Bernard Pass on the Italian-Swiss border.
• The Swiss Guard; Swiss mercenaries, usually equipped with halberds, were employed as a security force, formerly by sovereigns of France and Spain, now only at the Vatican.
• Wilhelm Tell, the legendary hero of the liberation of Switzerland from Austrian oppression. The expert marksman with the crossbow and a master of arrows, allegedly killed Albrecht Gessler, a vasall of Habsburg (Austria), in the Hohle Gasse (hollow way) between Immensee and Küssnacht.
• Heidi, Geissenpeter, and the Almöhi, world-famous characters from the Heidi children books by Johanna Spyri.

Rappen and Franken

Switzerland is an expensive country by European standards. In global comparison, Geneva, Zurich and Bern frequently appear among the costliest cities. 

A Swiss bank account has become a must for people who want to avoid the local tax collector; Swiss banks offer accounts in all major currencies. The Swiss banking industry, together with tourism, is one of the main pillars of the country's economy.

Swiss boarding schools; elite care facilities for the children of the rich and famous.

Sports

Due to the presence of mountains and the proper climate, skiing and mountaineering are important leisure activities in the country. Switzerland is traditionally one of the strongest nations in alpine winter sports and competes above all with its archrival Austria [Learn more].

A Glacier Express train of the Rhaetian Railway on the Landwasser Viaduct in the direction of Thusis. The Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Image: Luca Gerber

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