Hi! Glad you could stop by for a moment here at my "learn
by doing" web site. On the following pages I have put
together information and facts about the interesting place
where
I have been living and working for some years - the country of
Switzerland. Even though located in the heart of Europe
there are
so many things which set it apart from the neighboring countries.
The story of this separate identity , how it originated and how it
functions in the present day world is an interesting story and
deserves to be better known and appreciated.
It is a paradox that this country of some
seven million inhabitants
(20% foreigners), a technical-industrial giant, not to mention
the
size of the banking and financial sector, has essentially
isolated
itself politically from the rest of the world. It does not belong
to the
European Union and has only recently (April 2002) joined the UN!
Before that it was the only nation in the world, except for the
Vatican,
to voluntarily refuse (2x in a vote) to join the UN.
Did you know that it has three distinct
social-cultural regions, and
uses four official languages (plus English). The basis for the
stability
of this complex and inhomogeneous country is rooted in the very
active use a complex form of direct democracy not found any
other
country.
To begin, I will describe the origin of
the Alps and the geology of
central Europe. Then the history of several civilizations
which have
lived in this area - the Celts, the Romans and the
developments
during the Middle Ages. The advantages and disadvantages of
a
direct democracy in the modern world and also something
about
the excellent education system. Also, something about the
problems
for the students in a multilanguage country and for the
economy.
Then, on to things about the politics and
defense, with some links
to other sites to the region where I live - the French
speaking canton
of Neuchatel situated on the northwest border.
Switzerland
and its Neighbors -
To start, perhaps some statistics would be useful-
Geographical
position (for Neuchatel) 47deg. north and 7 deg.
east. This corresponds to just above Montreal, Canada
on the
American continent.
Time zone is GMT +1hrs. During summertime the position (+2
hr.)
which is halfway between Vienna (-15 deg.) and London
(0 deg.)
means the sideral or suntime lags by 1 1/2 hours, ie.
noon is
really only 1030 A.M.
Population - 7.1 million (20% foreigners). Refugees about 2%.
Statistical population density- 170 persons per
sq. km. In reality,
it is near 400 per sq. km. due to the extensive
mountainous
areas. This means the density is near that of Holland
which has
the highest density of inhabitants in Europe.
Maximum east- west
dimension 384 km. (216 mi.)
Maximum north-south dimension 220 km. (136
mi.)
Average annual temperature in the plain at an average
elevation of 580 meters is 8-10 deg. C. or
around 47-50 deg. F.
There are 51 mountain summits over 4000 m. The
highest is
Mt. Dufour at 4634 m. - not the Matterhorn (it is
just the prettiest).
Lake Neuchatel is the largest lake entirely within
Swiss territory.
It is 8 km. wide and 38 km. long and has a max. depth
of 150 m.
Did you know that the official name of
Switzerland is -
Confoederatio Helvetica? And that this is the
reason for the
CH that is used internationally as the country
designation such
as on official papers, as international postal code,
on passes,
auto plates, etc. Also, did you know that in 1919 in
recognition
of Swiss help the International Red Cross
(headquartered in
Geneva) adopted the Swiss national flag as their
symbol - with
the colors inverted - a white cross on a red
background?
You knew that? Great, then you knew
more then I did. But, did
you know that the Swiss flag is one of the few which
is square in
shape? It stands out in a slight breeze where longer
forms like
the oblong US flag just begins to move. And something
else -
the arms and body of the white cross look square but
the arms
of the cross are 1/6 longer than wide.
Actually, a white cross on a red
field is an old Christian symbol
going back to the Holy Roman Empire in the eleventh
century.
The Swiss use of the symbol dates from the 15th
century but the
present form was officially adopted only in
1889.
Perhaps you will find some more things which are new and
interesting on the following pages. If you entered a
page in the
site directly from a bookmark or search engine you
can find your
way back to the opening page at www.tgladden.com.
This
should do to get things started. Sorry, no spectacular
graphic effects or publicity on these pages - just
information.
Links to the official tourist information sites and
things such as
the present time and weather in Switzerland are
included on the
Miscellaneous page. If you have any comments
or questions you
can forward them using the Contact page. New
information and
topics will be added as new and interesting events
concerning
life in Switzerland come to my attention.
Oh
yes, one more thing I just thought of! Above, I said that
Switzerland was literally the last country in
the world to join the
UN. But believe it or not, it is also the only
country in the UN
where the citizens voted directly to join (with 55%
approval).
Such a vote is mandatory under the direct democracy
mechanism
which will influences almost every aspect of
life in the country.
One aspect or another of this important subject
will appear on
almost every page here.
With that, I will now get out
of the way and let you proceed to
the interesting stuff-
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