Rough Guides - The Rough Guide to Switzerland (Travel Guide eBook)

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BASELS RATHAUS

Contents

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Introduction to

Switzerland

Despite being one of the most visited countries in Europe, Switzerland remains one of the least understood. It has brought forth luminaries in the arts and sciences of the calibre of Hans Holbein, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Albert Einstein, Paul Klee, Hermann Hesse and Alberto Giacometti, but is often thought of as simply the well-ordered land of cheese, chocolate and watches. Come for a summer mountain holiday, a week of skiing or a short city-break, and youll appreciate the pristine beauty, genteel calm and well-oiled efficiency of the country. Stay a little longer if youre equal to the notoriously high prices and youll discover a place thats a whole lot more varied and idiosyncratic, with strong regional identities, exuberant carnivals, local culinary traditions and urbane cosmopolitan cities.

More than anything, it is the magnificent mountain ranges enclosing the country to the south that define it. The main draw for visitors, they have also played a profound role in forming Switzerlands national identity, and are the favourite recreation grounds for summer hiking and winter skiing. Within this rugged environment, community spirit is perhaps stronger than anywhere else in Europe. Since the country is not an ethnic, linguistic or religious unity, it has survived so the Swiss are fond of saying simply through the will of its people to resolve their differences. Not only are there four official languages spoken (German, French, Italian and Romansh), but communities divide into Catholic and Protestant, while regional characteristics remain sharply defined and diverse. Local pride is fuelled by a range of traditional customs , most of which stem from pagan or medieval Christian festivals. Most prominent of these is carnival , held throughout the country on or around Mardi Gras, the last day before Lent. In the centre and the east, the old isolation of tight-knit mountain communities lingers on in Swiss German Kantnligeist (little cantonal spirit), a stubborn parochialism leavened by down-to-earth rumbustiousness. To the west lies the Rstigraben , a comical name given to the invisible language border between French-speaking Switzerland, where they dont eat the traditional potato dish Rsti , and German-speaking Switzerland, where they do.

FACT FILE

• Switzerland covers an area of 41,285 sq km. The highest point is the Dufourspitze at 4634m above sea level, the lowest is Lake Maggiore at 193m.
• The total population is around 8.6 million, of whom a quarter are not Swiss citizens.
• Switzerland has a long tradition of direct democracy . At every level of government commune, cantonal or national level the Swiss frequently vote on issues affecting all aspects of life, from local recycling projects to national immigration policy.
• There are four official languages . About two-thirds of the population have German as their first language, though the Swiss-German that is spoken is a very different dialect to High German, which is written. A fifth speak French and six percent speak Italian, while Romansh, a direct descendant of Latin, has clung on in pockets of the mountainous southeast. Around one in ten people use English every day, and many Swiss are comfortably tri or quadrilingual.
• For over fifty years, Switzerland has been one of the top locations for shooting Bollywood films. Hundreds have been filmed here: Sangam was the first, in 1964, while one of the most famous is the 1995 classic Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge , starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. Scenes were shot in Gstaad, Saanen and Jungfraujoch.

These different communities are held together through a unique style of bottom-up democracy, which ensures real power still rests with the people. Switzerland may be small, but this variety means it has plenty more to offer than most visitors would initially expect.

Where to go

Though small by global standards, Swiss cities often punch above their weight in terms of international importance and cultural cachet. Having escaped bombing in World War II, they retain beautifully preserved Old Town centres of cobbled medieval alleys, picturesque buildings and churches, with several offering the most stunning of natural settings. Geneva , Zrich and Basel are crammed with world-class museums and galleries, while in both Zrich and Lausanne theres a humming arts scene and underground club culture that feeds nightlife as vibrant as anything youll find in much larger European cities. Geneva , home to such illustrious global institutions as the UN, the Red Cross and CERN, sits at the tip of the idyllic Lake Geneva. The diminutive Swiss capital Bern has a fine cobbled Old Town, while equally attractive Lucerne , spanned by wooden bridges and with a beautiful lakeside location, draws in visitors throughout the year, particularly for its summer classical music festival and springtime carnival. The other great carnival city is Basel , located on the Rhine at the point where France, Germany and Switzerland meet. At the opposite end of the country, Lugano basks on the shores of an azure lake a few kilometres from the Italian border. Any of these or smaller but no less charming regional towns and cities such as Winterthur, St Gallen, Schaffhausen, Neuchtel, Chur, Fribourg, Sion or Bellinzona could serve as a base for a relaxing short break, or as a starting point from which to venture out into the countrys epic landscapes.

Switzerland is, of course, best known for its mountain scenery , and there are countless possibilities for exploring the great outdoors. The Alps run in a band across the centre and south of the country, with resorts big and small throughout, and stunning views guaranteed. The Bernese Oberland , focused around the tourist hub of Interlaken , features such famous names as Wengen and Grindelwald . To the south, in Valais , sit Verbier , Crans-Montana and, at the foot of the iconic Matterhorn, Zermatt . In the southeast are Davos , Klosters and St Moritz , while south of Lucerne, Engelberg attracts adventurous freeriders and Andermatt is currently the countrys fastest-growing high mountain resort. Justifiably popular, all these places boast some of the best winter skiing and summer hiking in Europe.

Schwingen your pants

Many Swiss traditions are familiar to the point of clich to the outside world the Heidi image of yodelling, Alpine horns, cow bells and embroidered folk dress. And youll still see all that, particularly in remote mountain regions. However, one folk pastime that is popular within Switzerland but hardly known outside is Schwingen , Swiss wrestling. Burly men don what can only be described as oversized pants made out of jute, worn over their trousers. They grab onto their opponent by these garments and wrestle it out in an open-air ring, with exacting rules about how they can throw their opponent.

Competitions take place throughout Switzerland, particularly in rural German-speaking areas, in large festive competitions. A national championship takes place every three years, the Schwing-und lplerfest , which incorporates all sorts of Alpine traditions and sports. The festival can attract 250,000 people and champion Schwingers are high-profile national figures. You can find out more about this Swiss national sport at