Thecanton of Fribourg,[a] alsocanton of Freiburg,[b] is located in westernSwitzerland. Thecanton isbilingual, with French spoken by more than two thirds of the citizens and German by a little more than a quarter.[4] Both are official languages in the canton. The canton takes its name from its capital city ofFribourg.
On the shores ofLake Neuchâtel andLake Morat significant traces of prehistoric settlements have been unearthed.
The canton of Fribourg joined theSwiss Confederation in 1481. The area is made up of lands acquired by the capital Fribourg. The present extent was reached in 1803 whenMurten (Morat) was acquired. The canton of Fribourg joined the separatist league of Catholic cantons in 1846 (Sonderbund). The following year, its troops surrendered to the federal army.
The canton is bounded to the west by Lake Neuchâtel, to the west and the south by the canton ofVaud, and to the east by thecanton of Bern. The canton includes twoenclaves within Vaud and one within the canton of Bern, as well as a largeexclave on the lake; it also enclaves the Bernese municipality ofMünchenwiler. The area of the canton is 1,669 square kilometers (644.4 sq mi), including the small enclaves.
The canton lies on the elevatedSwiss Plateau. In the west the lands are flat, but towards the south east of the canton, the lands rise to a hilly region. This region is commonly calledpre-Alps but is part of theBernese Alps. The highest elevation in the canton is theVanil Noir with 2,389 m (7,838 ft).
The riverSaane/Sarine flows from the south to the north of the canton. Together with its tributaries it drains most of the lands in the canton, then joins the riverAare. The riverBroye drains the west of the canton and flows northeast intoLake Morat (Murtensee). The southwest part of the canton is drained by the riverVeveyse, which flows south intoLake Geneva (French:Le Léman).
There are121 municipalities in the canton of Fribourg as of January 2025[update]. The number is decreasing as the canton subsidizes mergers between municipalities.
In contrast to the mainly Protestant cantons ofVaud to its west andBern to its east, the canton of Fribourg is a predominantlyCatholic enclave (as of 2000[update], 70%) with aProtestant minority (15%).[5] This explains why the canton straddles the French-German linguistic border, for in the past, denominational considerations were more important than linguistic when drawing Switzerland's cantonal borders.[citation needed]
The main centres of population are the capital Fribourg (34,300 inhabitants) andBulle (18,200 inhabitants).[citation needed]
Two thirds of the population speak French; the remainder speakAlemannic dialects of German. The French-speaking areas are in the west of the canton, the Alemannic-speaking areas in the east. The number of bilingual towns, and consequently the large number of people who can speak both French and German fluently, has attracted businesses such as telesales companies. The population of the canton (as of 31 December 2020) is 325,496.[2] As of 2007[update], the population included 43,838 foreign-born residents, or about 16.65% of the total population.[6]
Agriculture is important in the canton of Fribourg. The main agricultural activities are cattle breeding anddairy farming. The region is a major cheese producer, especially the district ofGruyère, home of thecheese of the same name. The chocolate industry is also well established inBroc, home to an international chocolate research centre.[8] Other agricultural produces include tobacco, fruit and cereals. Agriculture is predominant in the north of the canton where the most fertile lands lie.
There is light industry concentrated around the capital Fribourg. Other centres of light industry areBulle,Villars-sur-Glâne,Düdingen (Guin),Murten (Morat) andEstavayer-le-Lac. These five centers have also a large number of established small and medium-sized businesses, many of which are in the service sector. Forests are important in theLa Gruyère (Greyerz) district.
Power plants in the district ofSarine export electricity. The mountain areas attract tourists all year round. The lake regions are frequented by tourists in summer and autumn.
The canton of Fribourg is well connected to other areas ofSwitzerland with motorwaysA1, A12 and fast rail links. The main railway betweenGeneva andLausanne in the south west toBern andZürich connects Fribourg with other centres of the country. Connections within the canton are mostly provided by theTransports Publics Fribourgeois, with numerous bus routes and trains connecting the main towns. The nearest airports to the canton areGeneva Airport, andBern Airport.
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