Cantons of Switzerland
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The twenty-six cantons of Switzerland are the states of the federal state of Switzerland. Historically each canton in the then-confederation was a sovereign state, with its own borders, army, and currency until the current federal structure was established in 1848.
During the sixteenth century, the Swiss Confederation was composed of thirteen self-governed states. These states were called cantons, and there were two different kinds of cantons: the six forest cantons and seven urban cantons. Though they were technically part of the Holy Roman Empire, they had become almost completely independent when the Swiss defeated Emperor Maximillian in 1499.
The six forest cantons were democratic republics, while the seven urban cantons were governed by city councils. However, these city councils were controlled by small oligarchies of wealthy citizens. The urban cantons included Zürich, Bern, and Basel.
Each canton has its own constitution, legislature, government and courts. Most of the cantons' legislatures are unicameral parliaments, their size varying between fifty-eight and two hundred seats. A few legislatures are general assemblies known as Landsgemeinden. The cantonal governments consist of either five or seven members, depending on the canton. For the names of the institutions, see List of legislative and executive councils of the Cantons of Switzerland.
All tasks that do not explicitly fall within the Confederation according to the Swiss Constitution are matters of the cantons. The cantons determine the degree of autonomy of the municipalities, thus this varies greatly. The sizes of the cantons are extremely different: from just 37 to 7,105 square km; the populations vary from 14,900 to 1,244,400.
In cantonal matters, direct democracy in the form of general assemblies (Landsgemeinde) is now confined to the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus. In all other cantons democratic rights are expressed using the ballot box. Since the Canton of Jura split from the Canton of Bern in 1978, no new cantons have been created.
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[edit] List and map
The cantons are listed in the order given in the federal constitution. [1]
| Flag | Abbr | Canton | Since | Capital | Population1 | Area2 | Density3 | Nr. of mun.s1 | Official languages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
ZH | Zürich (Zurich) | 1351 | Zürich | 1,228,600 | 1,729 | 701 | 171 | German |
 |
BE | Berne (Bern) | 1353 | Berne | 947,100 | 5,959 | 158 | 399 | German, French |
 |
LU | Lucerne | 1332 | Lucerne | 350,600 | 1,493 | 233 | 107 | German |
 |
UR | Uri | 1291 | Altdorf | 35,000 | 1,077 | 33 | 20 | German |
 |
SZ | Schwyz | 1291 | Schwyz | 131,400 | 908 | 143 | 30 | German |
 |
OW | Obwalden (Obwald) | 1291 | Sarnen | 32,700 | 491 | 66 | 7 | German |
 |
NW | Nidwalden (Nidwald) | 1291 | Stans | 38,600 | 276 | 138 | 11 | German |
 |
GL | Glarus | 1352 | Glarus | 38,300 | 685 | 51 | 28 | German |
 |
ZG | Zug | 1352 | Zug | 100,900 | 239 | 416 | 11 | German |
 |
FR | Fribourg | 1481 | Fribourg | 239,100 | 1,671 | 141 | 242 | French, German |
 |
SO | Solothurn | 1481 | Solothurn | 245,500 | 791 | 308 | 126 | German |
 |
BS | Basel-Stadt (Basle-City) | 1501 | Basel | 186,700 | 37 | 5,072 | 3 | German |
 |
BL | Basel-Land (Basle-Country) | 1501 | Liestal | 261,400 | 518 | 502 | 86 | German |
 |
SH | Schaffhausen | 1501 | Schaffhausen | 73,400 | 298 | 246 | 34 | German |
 |
AR | Appenzell Ausserrhoden (Outer Rhodes) | 1513 | Herisau4 | 53,200 | 243 | 220 | 20 | German |
 |
AI | Appenzell Innerrhoden (Inner Rhodes) | 1513 | Appenzell | 15,000 | 173 | 87 | 6 | German |
 |
SG | St. Gallen (St. Gall) | 1803 | St. Gallen | 452,600 | 2,026 | 222 | 90 | German |
 |
GR | Graubünden (Grisons) | 1803 | Chur | 185,700 | 7,105 | 26 | 211 | German, Romansh, Italian |
 |
AG | Aargau (Argovia) | 1803 | Aarau | 550,900 | 1,404 | 388 | 232 | German |
 |
TG | Thurgau (Thurgovia) | 1803 | Frauenfeld | 228,200 | 991 | 229 | 80 | German |
 |
TI | Ticino | 1803 | Bellinzona | 311,900 | 2,812 | 110 | 244 | Italian |
 |
VD | Vaud | 1803 | Lausanne | 626,200 | 3,212 | 188 | 382 | French |
 |
VS | Valais | 1815 | Sion | 278,200 | 5,224 | 53 | 160 | French, German |
 |
NE | Neuchâtel | 1815 | Neuchâtel | 166,500 | 803 | 206 | 62 | French |
 |
GE | Geneva | 1815 | Geneva | 414,300 | 282 | 1,442 | 45 | French |
 |
JU | Jura | 1979 | Delémont | 69,100 | 838 | 82 | 83 | French |
 |
CH | Switzerland | Bern | 7,261,200 | 41,285 | 174 | 2,890 | German, French, Italian, Romansch |
Notes: 1 As of 31 December 2001, National Statistics, 2 km², 3 per km², based on 2000 population 4 seat of government and parliament, the seat of the judicial authorities is Trogen.
The two-letter abbreviations for Swiss cantons are widely used, e.g. on car license plates and in the ISO 3166-2 codes (with the prefix "CH-", i.e. CH-SZ for the canton of Schwyz).
[edit] The traditional half-cantons
Six cantons have traditionally been called "half-cantons". This term is now deprecated by constitutional scholars, as the 1999 constitution lists 26 coequal cantons, and the more unwieldy appellation "cantons with half a cantonal vote" is sometimes used.
All traditional half-cantons have resulted from the division of a preexisting territory or canton:
- The region of Unterwalden has, in the historical record, always been divided into the half-cantons of Obwalden and Nidwalden.
- The canton of Appenzell split into the half-cantons of Innerrhoden and Ausserrhoden in 1597 as a result of the Reformation.
- The canton of Basel was divided into the half-cantons of Basel-City and Basel-Country after a revolt of the Basel countryside in 1833.
As federal states, the traditional half-cantons have the same institutional structure as well as the same rights and obligations as the other cantons, with two exceptions. For one thing, they elect only one member of the Council of States instead of two. Also, in popular referenda that require not only a national popular majority but also the assent of a majority of the cantons (Ständemehr / majorité des cantons), such as constitutional amendments, the result of their cantonal vote counts half as much as that of other cantons, to the effect that a majority of the cantons is actually the majority of twenty-three cantonal votes.
[edit] Names in other languages
| Abbr | English | French | Italian | German | Romansh | Spanish | Esperanto1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AG | Aargau (rare: Argovia) | Argovie | Argovia | Aargau | Argovia | Argovia | Argovio |
| AI | Appenzell Innerrhoden (Appenzell Inner-Rhodes) | Appenzell Rhodes-Intérieures | Appenzello Interno | Appenzell Innerrhoden | Appenzell dadens | Appenzell Rodas Interiores | |
| AR | Appenzell Ausserrhoden (Appenzell Outer-Rhodes) | Appenzell Rhodes-Extérieures | Appenzello Esterno | Appenzell Ausserrhoden | Appenzell dador | Appenzell Rodas Exteriores | |
| BS | Basel-Stadt (Basel or Basle-City) | Bâle-Ville | Basilea Città | Basel-Stadt | Basilea-Citad | Basilea Ciudad | Bazelo-Urbo |
| BL | Basel-Land (Basel or Basle-Country) | Bâle-Campagne | Basilea Campagna | Basel-Landschaft | Basilea-Champagna | Basilea-Campaña | Bazelo-Kamparo |
| BE | Berne (Bern) | Berne | Berna | Bern | Berna | Berna | Berno |
| FR | Fribourg | Fribourg | Friburgo | Freiburg | Friburg | Friburgo | Friburgo |
| GE | Geneva | Genève | Ginevra | Genf | Genevra | Ginebra | Ĝenevo |
| GL | Glarus | Glaris | Glarona | Glarus | Glaruna | Glaris | |
| GR | Graubünden (Grisons) | Grisons | Grigioni | Graubünden | Grischun | Grisones | Grizono |
| JU | Jura | Jura | Giura | Jura | Giura | Jura | Ĵuraso |
| LU | Lucerne | Lucerne | Lucerna | Luzern | Lucerna | Lucerna | Lucerno |
| NE | Neuchâtel | Neuchâtel | Neuchâtel | Neuenburg | Neuchâtel | Neuchatel | Novkastelo |
| NW | Nidwalden | Nidwald | Nidvaldo | Nidwalden | Sutsilvania | Unterwalden Bajo | Nidvaldo |
| OW | Obwalden | Obwald | Obvaldo | Obwalden | Sursilvania | Unterwalden Alto | Obvaldo |
| SH | Schaffhausen (Schaffhouse) | Schaffhouse | Sciaffusa | Schaffhausen | Schaffusa | Schaffhausen | Ŝafhaŭzo |
| SZ | Schwyz | Schwyz (or Schwytz) | Svitto | Schwyz | Sviz | Schwyz | |
| SO | Solothurn | Soleure | Soletta | Solothurn | Soloturn | Soleura | Soleŭro |
| SG | St. Gallen (St. Gall) | Saint-Gall | San Gallo | St. Gallen | Son Gagl | Sankt Gallen | |
| TG | Thurgau (Thurgovia) | Thurgovie | Turgovia | Thurgau | Turgovia | Turgovia | Turgovio |
| TI | Ticino | Tessin | Ticino | Tessin | Tessin | Tesino | Tiĉino |
| UR | Uri | Uri | Uri | Uri | Uri | Uri | |
| VS | Valais | Valais | Vallese | Wallis | Vallais | Valais | Valezo |
| VD | Vaud | Vaud | Vaud | Waadt | Vad | Vaud | Vaŭdo |
| ZG | Zug | Zoug | Zugo | Zug | Zug | Zug | Zugo |
| ZH | Zürich (Zurich) | Zurich | Zurigo | Zürich | Turitg | Zúrich | Zuriko |
Notes: ¹where a version differing from German is available.
[edit] Notes
- ^ This is the order generally used in Swiss official documents. At the head of the list are the three city cantons that were considered preeminent in the Old Swiss Confederacy; the other cantons are listed in order of accession to the Confederation. This traditional order of precedence among the cantons has no practical relevance in the modern federal state, in which the cantons are equal to one another, although it still determines formal precedence among the cantons' officials (see Swiss order of precedence).
[edit] See also
- List of legislative and executive councils of the Cantons of Switzerland
- List of 2005 cantonal office-holders on January 1, 2005.
- Data codes for Switzerland#Cantons
- List of Cantons of Switzerland by area
- List of Cantons of Switzerland by highest point
- Flags of Swiss cantons
- Cantonal bank, a commercial bank where the canton is the guaranteer
[edit] External links
- GeoPuzzle - Assemble cantons on a Swiss map
- Badac - Database on Swiss cantons and cities (French/German)
| Cantons of Switzerland |  |
|---|---|
| Aargau | Appenzell Ausserrhoden | Appenzell Innerrhoden | Basel-City | Basel-Country | Berne | Fribourg | Geneva | Glarus | Graubünden | Jura | Lucerne | Neuchâtel | Nidwalden | Obwalden | Schaffhausen | Schwyz | Solothurn | St. Gallen | Thurgau | Ticino | Uri | Valais | Vaud | Zug | Zürich | |
