Switzerland

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is located in Western, Central, and Southern Europe. Switzerland borders Germany, France, Italy, Austria, and Liechtenstein.
Switzerland has no sea coast and covers an area of 41,285 km². Switzerland is a country that is divided into three main geographical regions: the Alps, the Swiss Plateau, and the Jura Mountains. The population of Switzerland is 8.7 million according to 2021 data. Most of the population lives on the Swiss Plateau, but the largest surface area is in the Alps.
Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world according to gross domestic product per capita. Zurich ranks 2nd and Geneva ranks 8th in the world in terms of quality of life.

Switzerland can be divided into four main linguistic regions: German-, French-, Italia. speaking parts, and Romansh-speaking valleys. Because of this linguistic diversity, the country is called by different names in local languages. However, instead of these four languages, the Latin name of the country, Confoederatio Helvetica, is used on coins and stamps. Switzerland was founded on 1 August 1291, and people celebrate this anniversary every year as Swiss National Day.

Etymology

The name Switzerland was used between the 16th and 19th centuries. It is derived from Switzer. Switzer comes from Schwiizer in German. “Switzerland” comes from “Switzer,” an old word used between the 1500s and 1800s to mean a Swiss person, combined with “land.”

The adjective “Swiss” comes from the French word “Suisse” and has been used since the 16th century

History

Switzerland was adopted as a country with the Swiss Federal Constitution in 1848, and it has existed in this form since that time. The Confederation was established, forming the basis of modern Switzerland. Over the centuries, Switzerland changed from a group of towns and rural areas into a federal state made up of 26 cantons. It developed in a similar way to much of Western Europe, but it managed to keep its unique character and independence.

Prehistory

Archaeological evidence shows that hunter-gatherers were already living in the lowlands north of the Alps about 150,000 years ago. Farming in Switzerland began around 5500 BC.

By the Neolithic period, the area was quite well populated. Remains of Bronze Age pile dwellings from as early as 3800 BC have been found in the shallow parts of many lakes. Around 1500 BC, Celtic tribes settled in the area. The Raetians lived in the eastern regions, while the west was occupied by the Helvetii.