Capitol: bern

demographics Population 7,655,628 Population growth .199% National languages: german, italian, french, and romantsch Nationality: swiss

government Long republican tradition Modern democratic

constitution back to 1848 with a 2 chamber parliament

Switzerland's national council is their “house of representatives”

The council of states is like the us senate

7 head ministers oversee certain parts of the government

Switzerland has no full time president

Swabian war Also known as the Swiss war Started by the Swiss rejection of the diet of worms of

1495 The peace of Basel ended the war and gave

Switzerland complete independence from the holy roman empire

Economy Biggest trading partners are Germany, France, and

Italy 80% of trade is with members of the European union economy is focused around tourism, banking, and

railway freight transport Major trading in European electricity market

food Known mostly for its Chocolates Beurre maison

Major city Zurich Largest city in switzerland Population: 1,392,396

Contribution to the arts Paul klee is considered both a german and Swiss

painter Born 1879 in munchenbuchsee, switzerland Influenced by movements such as expressionism and

surrealism. died in 1940

Wild card!!! Skiing is a favorite past time in switzerland Also very popular for tourism Verbier is the premier ski resort for french speaking

swiss A lot of skiers get buried in avalanches and

avaanches kill more than a dozen people each year

Work cited http://

www.indexmundi.com/switzerland/demographics_profile.html http://www.all-about-switzerland.info/ http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/give/bene69/swiss.jpg http://www.globalpost.com http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/klee/hd_klee.htm