Cantons of Switzerland

About Cantons of Switzerland



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.

Contents
List and map
The traditional half-cantons
Names in other languages
Notes
See also
External links

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
Flag of canton
ZHZürich (Zurich)1351Zürich1,228,6001,729701171German
Flag of canton
BEBerne (Bern)1353Berne947,1005,959158399German, French
Flag of canton
LULucerne1332Lucerne350,6001,493233107German
Flag of canton
URUri1291Altdorf35,0001,0773320German
Flag of canton
SZSchwyz1291Schwyz131,40090814330German
Flag of canton
OWObwalden (Obwald)1291Sarnen32,700491667German
Flag of canton
NWNidwalden (Nidwald)1291Stans38,60027613811German
Flag of canton
GLGlarus1352Glarus38,3006855128German
Flag of canton
ZGZug1352Zug100,90023941611German
Flag of canton
FRFribourg1481Fribourg239,1001,671141242French, German
Flag of canton
SOSolothurn1481Solothurn245,500791308126German
Flag of canton
BSBasel-Stadt (Basle-City)1501Basel186,700375,0723German
Flag of canton
BLBasel-Land (Basle-Country)1501Liestal261,40051850286German
Flag of canton
SHSchaffhausen1501Schaffhausen73,40029824634German
Flag of canton
ARAppenzell Ausserrhoden (Outer Rhodes)1513Herisau / Trogen453,20024322020German
Flag of canton
AIAppenzell Innerrhoden (Inner Rhodes)1513Appenzell15,000173876German
Flag of canton
SGSt. Gallen (St. Gall)1803St. Gallen452,6002,02622290German
Flag of canton
GRGraubünden (Grisons)1803Chur185,7007,10526211German, Romansh, Italian
Flag of canton
AGAargau (Argovia)1803Aarau550,9001,404388232German
Flag of canton
TGThurgau (Thurgovia)1803Frauenfeld5228,20099122980German
Flag of canton
TITicino1803Bellinzona311,9002,812110244Italian
Flag of canton
VDVaud1803Lausanne626,2003,212188382French
Flag of canton
VSValais1815Sion278,2005,22453160French, German
Flag of canton
NENeuchâtel1815Neuchâtel166,50080320662French
Flag of canton
GEGeneva1815Geneva414,3002821,44245French
Flag of canton
JUJura1979Delémont69,1008388283French
Flag of Switzerland

CH
Switzerland
 
Bern
7,261,20041,285
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 is Herisau, the seat of the judicial authorities is Trogen, 5 seat of parliament half-yearly alternates between Frauenfeld and Weinfelden.
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).

The traditional half-cantons


Six cantons have traditionally been called "half-cantons" (or "demicantons"). This term is now depreciated 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.

★ The region of Unterwalden has, in the historical record, always been divided into the half-cantons of Obwalden and Nidwalden.
The other four half-cantons have resulted from the division of a preexisting canton:

★ 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 had 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 referendums 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.

Names in other languages




Abbr
English
French
Italian
German
Romansh
Spanish
Esperanto1
AG Aargau (rare: ''Argovia'') Argovie Argovia Argovia Argovia Argovio
AI Appenzell Innerrhoden (Appenzell Inner-Rhodes)Appenzell Rhodes-Intérieures Appenzello Interno Appenzell dadens Appenzell Rodas Interiores  
AR Appenzell Ausserrhoden (Appenzell Outer-Rhodes)Appenzell Rhodes-Extérieures Appenzello Esterno Appenzell dador Appenzell Rodas Exteriores  
BS Basel-Stadt (Basel or Basle-City)Bâle-Ville Basilea Città Basilea-Citad Basilea Ciudad Bazelo-Urbo
BL Basel-Land (Basel or Basle-Country)Bâle-Campagne Basilea Campagna Basilea-Champagna Basilea-Campaña Bazelo-Kamparo
BE Berne (Bern)Berne Berna Berna Berna Berno
FR Fribourg Fribourg Friburgo Friburg Friburgo Friburgo
GE Geneva Genève Ginevra Genevra Ginebra Ĝenevo
GL Glarus Glaris Glarona Glaruna Glaris  
GR Graubünden (Grisons)Grisons Grigioni Grischun Grisones Grizono
JU Jura Jura Giura Giura Jura Ĵuraso
LU Lucerne Lucerne Lucerna Lucerna Lucerna Lucerno
NE Neuchâtel Neuchâtel Neuchâtel Neuchâtel Neuchatel Novkastelo
NW Nidwalden Nidwald Nidvaldo Sutsilvania Unterwalden Bajo Nidvaldo
OW Obwalden Obwald Obvaldo Sursilvania Unterwalden Alto Obvaldo
SH Schaffhausen (Schaffhouse)Schaffhouse Sciaffusa Schaffusa Schaffhausen Ŝafhaŭzo
SZ Schwyz Schwyz (or Schwytz) Svitto Sviz Schwyz  
SO Solothurn Soleure Soletta Soloturn Soleura Soleŭro
SG St. Gallen (St. Gall) Saint-Gall San Gallo Son Gagl Sankt Gallen  
TG Thurgau (Thurgovia)Thurgovie Turgovia Turgovia Turgovia Turgovio
TI Ticino Tessin Ticino Tessin Tesino Tiĉino
UR Uri Uri Uri Uri Uri  
VS Valais Valais Vallese Vallais Valais Valezo
VD Vaud Vaud Vaud Vad Vaud Vaŭdo
ZG Zug Zoug Zugo Zug Zug Zugo
ZH Zürich (Zurich)Zurich Zurigo Turitg Zúrich Zuriko

Notes: ¹where a version differing from German is available.

Notes


1. 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).

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

External links



★ GeoPuzzle - Assemble cantons on a Swiss map

★ Badac - Database on Swiss cantons and cities (French/German)

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