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Swiss Confederation | |||||||
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| 1848–present | |||||||
| Anthem: Various
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 Location of Modern history of Switzerland (green) inEurope (green and dark grey) | |||||||
| Capital | 46°57′N7°27′E / 46.950°N 7.450°E /46.950; 7.450 | ||||||
| Largest city | Zürich | ||||||
| Official languages | |||||||
| Religion |
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| Demonyms | |||||||
| Government | Federalassembly-independent[2][3]directorialrepublic with elements of adirect democracy | ||||||
| First: Current: | |||||||
| Johann Ulrich Schiess (first) Viktor Rossi (currently) | |||||||
| Legislature | Federal Assembly | ||||||
| Historical era | Modern era | ||||||
• Creation of theSwiss Federal Constitution | 12 September 1848 | ||||||
| 1914–1918; 1939–1945 | |||||||
• Dissolution of the 1848 constitution | 1 January 2000 | ||||||
| 25 February 2020 | |||||||
| Area | |||||||
• Total | 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi) (132nd) | ||||||
• Water (%) | 4.34% | ||||||
| Population | |||||||
• Estimate | 8,902,308[4] | ||||||
• 2002 | 1.28 billion | ||||||
| Currency | Swiss franc (franc) (CHF) | ||||||
| Time zone | UTC+1 (Central European Time) | ||||||
| Date format | dd.mm.yyyy (AD) | ||||||
| Calling code | +41 | ||||||
| ISO 3166 code | CH | ||||||
| Internet TLD | |||||||
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Part ofa series on the |
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This article deals with thehistory of Switzerland since 1848.
SeeEarly Modern Switzerland for theEarly Modern period,Switzerland in the Napoleonic era for the period of 1798–1814, andRestoration and Regeneration (Switzerland) for the period of 1815–1848.
Following a 27-day civil war in Switzerland, theSonderbundskrieg, theSwiss Federal Constitution was passed on 12 September 1848. The constitution was heavily influenced by theUS Constitution and the ideas of theFrench Revolution. The constitution establishes theSwiss Confederation, governed by a comparatively strongfederal government, instead the model of aconfederation of independentcantons bound by treaties.
From 1847 to 1914, theSwiss railway network was developed. TheSchweizerische Nordbahn (SNB) society opened thefirst railway line on Swiss soil in 1847, connectingZürich andBaden.TheGotthard Rail Tunnel was completed in 1881.
TheSwiss watchmaking industry has its origins in the 18th century, but boomed during the 19th century, turning the village ofLa Chaux-de-Fonds into an industrial center. Rapid urban growth also enlargedZürich, which incorporated itsindustrial suburbAussersihl into the municipality in 1891.
Banking emerged as a significant factor in Swiss economy with the foundation of theUnion Bank of Switzerland in 1862, and theSwiss Bank Corporation in 1872.
TheGolden age of alpinism in the 1850s to 1860s lay the foundation to thetourism industry.
DuringWorld War I andWorld War II, Switzerland maintained a stance of armedneutrality, and apart from minor skirmishes was not involved militarily. Because of its neutral status, Switzerland was of considerable interest to the warring parties, as a scene fordiplomacy,espionage,commerce, and as a safe haven forrefugees.
During World War I, Switzerland was situated between theCentral Powers to the north and east, and theEntente Powers to the south and west. During World War II, Switzerland was entirely surrounded by theAxis powers from 1940 to 1944.
From 1959, theFederal Council, elected by the parliament, is composed of members of the four major parties, the liberalFree Democrats, the CatholicChristian Democrats, the left-wingSocial Democrats and the right-wingPeople's Party, essentially creating a system without a sizeableparliamentary opposition (seeconcordance system), reflecting the powerful position of an opposition in adirect democracy.
Women were granted theright to vote in the first Swiss cantons in 1959, at the federal level in 1971[5] and, after resistance, in the last cantonAppenzell Innerrhoden in 1990. Aftersuffrage at the federal level women quickly rose in political significance, with the first woman on the seven-memberFederal Council executive beingElisabeth Kopp who served from 1984 to 1989. The first female president wasRuth Dreifuss, elected in 1998 to become president during 1999. The Swiss president is elected every year from those among the seven member high council and cannot serve two consecutive terms.
During theCold War, Swiss authoritiesconsidered the construction of a Swissnuclear bomb.[6] Leading nuclear physicists at theFederal Institute of Technology Zürich such asPaul Scherrer made this a realistic possibility. In a nationwidereferendum held in April 1962, the Swiss people chose not to prohibit nuclear arms in Switzerland.[7] However, financial problems with the defense budget prevented the substantial funds from being allocated, and theNuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 was seen as a valid alternative. All remaining plans for building nuclear weapons were dropped by 1988.[8]
In 1979, parts of theBernese Jura attainedindependence while remaining in the Federation, forming the newcanton of Jura.
TheDemographics of Switzerland has changed in similar ways as in other states in Western Europe. Since 1945, the population of Switzerland has grown from roughly 4.5 to 7.5 million, mostly between 1945 and 1970, with a brief negative growth in the late 1970s, and a population growth hovering around 0.5% per year since the 1990s, mostly due to immigration. With a population composed of a roughly balanced combination of Roman Catholics and Protestants, together amounting to more than 95%, the population without any religious affiliation has grown to more than 10% in the 2000s, while the Muslim population grew from practically nil to some 4% over the past decades.Italians had been the largest group of resident foreigners since the 1920, but with theYugoslav wars of the 1990s, large-scale immigration of refugees has changed this picture, and residents with origins in the formerYugoslavia now constitute the largest group of resident foreigners, with some 200,000 people (roughly 3% of the population).
With the exception ofLiechtenstein, Switzerland has been completely surrounded by theEuropean Union since 1995. Swiss-EU relations are a major issue in the country.
Swiss voters narrowly rejecteda December 1992 referendum to join theEuropean Economic Area, with 50.3% of voters opposed. Swiss voters rejected EU membership ina March 2001 referendum, with 76.8% opposed.
Despite Swiss opposition to joining the EU, voters have acceptedbilateral agreements with the union. Ina May 2000 referendum, for example, Swiss voters approved such agreements. Ina June 2005 referendum, Swiss voters approved joining theSchengen Area.
In February 2014, Swiss voters approveda referendum to reinstitute quotas on immigration to Switzerland, setting off a period of finding an implementation that would not violate theEU's freedom of movement accords that Switzerland adopted.
Switzerland co-founded theEuropean Free Trade Association in 1960, which is a parallel organization to the EU.
Als 1848 ein politisch-administratives Zentrum für den neuen Bundesstaat zu bestimmen war, verzichteten die Verfassungsväter darauf, eine Hauptstadt der Schweiz zu bezeichnen und formulierten stattdessen in Artikel 108: "Alles, was sich auf den Sitz der Bundesbehörden bezieht, ist Gegenstand der Bundesgesetzgebung." Die Bundesstadt ist also nicht mehr und nicht weniger als der Sitz der Bundesbehörden.[In 1848, when a political and administrative centre was being determined for the new federation, the founders of the constitution abstained from designating a capital city for Switzerland and instead formulated in Article 108: "Everything, which relates to seat of the authorities, is the subject of the federal legislation." The federal city is therefore no more and no less than the seat of the federal authorities.]
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