Thecanton of Solothurn orcanton of Soleure (German:Kanton Solothurn;Romansh:Chantun Soloturn;French:Canton de Soleure;Italian:Canton Soletta) is acanton ofSwitzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital isSolothurn.
Figures 2 and 3 in the image are wearing traditional costumes of the Canton of Solothurn.
The village ofSalodurum was founded in the time of the Roman emperorTiberius (1st century CE). The territory of the canton comprises land acquired by the former town, mainly in the Middle Ages. For that reason the canton is irregular in shape and includes two exclaves along the French border, separated from the rest of the canton byBasel-Landschaft. In 1481, the canton became a member of the military alliance of the former Swiss confederation. At the end of theReformation, Solothurn maintained its Catholic religion. Between 1798 and 1803 the canton was part of theHelvetic Republic. In 1803 Solothurn was one of the 19 Swiss cantons that were reconstituted by Napoleon (Mediation). In 1830, the population rebelled against the aristocratic regime and the canton became definitely liberal-democratic. Even though the population was strictlyRoman Catholic, Solothurn did not join the Catholic separatist movement (Sonderbund) in 1845–7. Similarly, thefederal constitutions of 1848 and 1874 were approved. The current constitution of the canton dates from 1987.
The canton is located in the north-west of Switzerland. To the west and south lie the cantons ofJura andBern, to the east isAargau. To the north the canton is bounded by the canton ofBasel-Landschaft. Parts of two of the districts are exclaves and are located along the border ofFrance (Grand Est). The lands are drained by theAare river and its tributaries. The landscape is mostly flat, but it includes the foothills of theJura massif. Part of this, the massif of the Weissenstein, overlooks Solothurn and the Mittelland from the north and has views of the Bernese Alps. The flat lands are a plain created by the Aare river. The total area of the canton is 791 km2.
From 2005, Solothurn's ten districts are merged pairwise into five electoral districts, termed Amteien (singular: Amtei). From 2005, the districts have only a statistical significance.
The population is mostlyGerman-speaking. In 2000 about 44% of the population wasRoman Catholic, with most of the remainder beingProtestant (31%).[5] The population of the canton (as of 31 December 2020) is 277,462.[2] As of 2007[update], the population included 46,898 foreigners, or about 18.7% of the total population.[6]
Up to the 19th century agriculture was the main economic activity in the canton. Agriculture is still of importance, but manufacturing and service industries are now more significant. The industries of the canton are specialized in watches, jewellery, textiles, paper, cement and auto parts. Until recently the manufacturing of shoes was an important economic activity, but this industry became globally uncompetitive.[citation needed]
