Switzerland is a small land-locked nation famous for its mountains, watches and chocolate. It is about twice the size of New Jersey and is located between France, Italy and Germany. Switzerland is made up of 26 Cantons, which are like states because they have a lot of power to govern themselves. Originally, Switzerland was a union of two states, or Cantons, that were created in 1291. They didn’t become one country until 1815.
The Internet is a huge part of society now. It’s hard to even imagine a world without it. It began as just a way to share files in universities and institutes. It was called the World Wide Web (that’s what the www in Internet addresses stands for) and was created by Tim Berners-Le, a British Scientist who worked at CERN. CERN is The European Organization for Nuclear Research. It has the largest particle physics lab in the world and focuses on discovering the tiniest building blocks of the universe. It is located in Switzerland but incredible scientists from all over the world have come here for years to study and work with the amazing instruments like the particle accelerators. Huge discoveries are often made at CERN, perhaps one of the biggest being the creation of the World Wide Web.
Below are some interesting facts about Switzerland and the Swiss people.
• They have been neutral in all conflicts for almost 200 years
• The official name is The Swiss Confederation
• The capital is Bern
• The official languages are German, French, Italian and Romansch
• German is the most commonly spoken language
• The currency is the Swiss Franc
• The biggest mountain is Dufourspitze or Monte Rosa (15,203 feet tall)
• The most famous mountain is the Matterhorn
• The largest city is Zürich
• There are 1,500 lakes in Switzerland
• The largest three lakes are Lake Geneva, Lake Constance and Lake Maggiore
• The people of Switzerland eat more chocolate per capita than any other in the world
• The tallest mountains in Europe — the Alps — run through Switzerland
• The population of Switzerland is 7,800,000
• The mountains in Switzerland help to protect from invasion, but also isolate the country
• The longest river in the country is the Rhine
• The Red Cross, World Health Organization and International Olympic Committee all have their headquarters in Switzerland
