(Redirected from Solothurn (canton))
is a
canton of
Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is
Solothurn.
Geography
The canton is located in the north west of Switzerland. To the west and south lies the
canton of Bern, to the east the one of
Aargau. To the north the canton is bound by the canton of
Basel-Landschaft. Two of the districts are enclaves and are located along the
French border.
The lands are drained by the
Aare river and its tributaries. The landscape is mostly flat, but it includes the foothills of the
Jura massif. The flat lands are a plain created by the Aare river.
The total area of the canton is
791 km².
History
The lands of the canton consist of territories acquired by the capital. For that reason the shape of the canton is somewhat irregular and includes two enclaves along the French border which form separate districts of the canton.
Between
1798 and
1803 the canton was part of the
Helvetic Republic. In
1803 Solothurn was one of the 19 Swiss cantons that were reconstituted by Napoleon (''Mediation'').
Even though the population was strictly
Roman Catholic, Solothurn did not join the Catholic separatist movement (''Sonderbund'') in
1845. Similarly, the federal constitutions of
1848 and
1874 were approved. The current constitution of the canton dates from
1887. In
1895, however, the constitution was thoroughly revised.
Economy
Up to the
19th century agriculture was the main economic activity in the canton. Agriculture is still of importance, but manufacturing and the service industry 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 global competition meant that the Swiss canton was not competitive enough.
There is a nuclear power plant near
Gösgen which started operation in
1979.
Transport
The canton is well connected to other parts of Switzerland, both by rail and road. There is a railway junction at
Olten with direct trains to
Geneva,
Zurich,
Basel and the
Ticino via
Lucerne.
Demographics
The population is mostly
German speaking. About 60% of the population are
Roman Catholic, with most of the remainder being
Protestants. The population is 247,400 (
2004).
Districts
Municipalities
The canton has 125
municipalities (''Einwohnergemeinden'').
External links
★
Official site (German)
★
Official statistics
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