History of Switzerland
A very short summary of the rich history
The history of Switzerland has always been a subject of pride for its citizens.
Founded in 1291 as a unity of three cantons, Switzerland expanded gradually as more cantons joined and by the end of 15th century it was strong enough to affect the balance power in Europe.
However, in 1515 Switzerland declared itself as a neutral state in all international relations, no more aiming in expansion. Indeed, neutrality still plays a very important role in politics of the country: Switzerland was not involved in World Wars I and II despite sharing land borders with belligerent states. As a consequence of neutrality policy, Switzerland has been selected as a headquarter for many international organizations including United Nations.
Along with neutrality, democracy is another defining element of Swiss policy: since the creation, Switzerland was always a home for freedom-loving people and it is one of the few places in the world where direct democracy is still practiced.
Modern Switzerland is made up of 26 cantons with population of 8 million people.
Even though the majority of Swiss citizens speak Swiss German, there are 3 more official languages as French, Italian and Romansch.
Switzerland is famous for high level of government transparency, quality of life, human development and economic competitiveness and we are here to share success stories of Switzerland so the rest of the world can learn from.
Fantastic history in Fantastic Switzerland