Top 10 interesting facts about Switzerland

Today we will talk about Switzerland, a country that is famous for being a tax haven for the rich, producing delicious chocolate and being neutral in wars. In addition, here are some of the best institutions of higher education in the world, and ordinary citizens, for the most part, are fluent in several languages.

Of course, even in this very comfortable state for living, there are pitfalls, but even they do not bother millions of immigrants who, once arriving in Switzerland, are trying to settle down here securely.

We present you a list of 10 interesting facts about Switzerland: traditions, local laws and culture.

10 There are no motorsport competitions

There are almost no car competitions in Switzerland. They were initially banned after Pierre Lev’s infamous 24 Hours of Le Mans crash in 1955, in which 80 people died, causing the government of that country to label such competitions as dangerous for people who came to admire them.

This was an obvious contradiction, because Switzerland is the country where many Formula 1 stars lived, and since 1973, national rally championships have been held here.

In June 2007, 60 years later, the Swiss parliament proposed to repeal this law, after which the ban on racing was lifted. However, to this day, there is no motorsport tradition here and people don’t come to watch it.

9. First among the best

Switzerland is known for the fact that the locals here eat a lot of chocolate (up to 12 kg per person per year), make a lot of cheese. In addition, there are many banks in this country (more banks than dentists), many Starbucks cafes (more Starbucks than banks), many lakes, many watch manufactures (they make up more than half of the world’s luxury watch production), many lakes. All in all, everything is in abundance here and everything is of the highest quality.

8. Switzerland has many nuclear shelters

In 1963, at the height of the Cold War, federal law required all Swiss residents to have an atomic shelter under the floor of their homes. On March 9, 2011, the lower house of parliament passed a proposal to repeal this rule, but two days later, Japan was hit by an earthquake and tsunami that devastated Fukushima I. This incident revived fear among the Swiss, so the recently passed law was repealed.

There are currently 300 nuclear shelters in homes, hospitals and schools in Switzerland, as well as another 000 community shelters, covering 114% of the population.. If you are planning to build a house in Switzerland but want to avoid having to build a bunker, you can pay a tax of 1 francs (500 euros) to the local administration.

8. Many useful things have been invented in Switzerland

The Swiss created Velcro, cellophane, Swiss army knife, absinthe (an alcoholic drink), potato peeler, Helvetica font, LSD, muesli, milk chocolate, and Swiss Henri Nestle invented Nescafé. They also pioneered the introduction of luge.

7. Swiss customs

When you are introduced to someone, you should address the new acquaintance in the appropriate language of the province (canton) in which you are located, indicating your last name.

It is not necessary to call an unknown person by name or kiss him – in Switzerland, a greeting is accompanied by a handshake. Three kisses can only be allowed with friends or people you know well.

Oddly enough, curtains are not in demand in Switzerland. If you add to this Swiss architecture, which generally uses a lot of glass, you can see almost everything that happens in the house.

In general, solidarity and the civilized coexistence of a person in a community is essential for the Swiss. Here you can easily be called to the police if you loudly quarrel at home or you have to warn the neighbors in case you plan to have a party.

In Switzerland, people often say hello on the street, even if they don’t know each other. Besides, the issue of punctuality is fundamental to the Swiss. Lateness is not welcome here..

6. Gun legal

Switzerland is one of the countries with the lowest crime rate, but it also is the European country with the largest number of weapons in the hands of the civilian population and the fourth country with the largest number of firearms in the world. According to the Geneva-based NGO Review of Small Arms, there are 100 guns for every 46 Swiss.

This is due to the peculiarities of the police system. There are hardly 5% of the military in the Swiss armed forces, the rest of the personnel, if necessary, consists of citizens aged 20 to 34 who must be registered as soldiers, and during the entire time of service they keep their weapons at home .

5. Anti-PowerPoint

As you know, Switzerland strictly honors the observance of human rights and the political will of citizens. Of course, this is very good, but such freedom sometimes leads to absurd situations.

For example, there exists a political party called Anti-PowerPoint (APPP). Removing the option of the same name from Microsoft Office is the only task that this new political force is a priori interested in. According to their doctrine, they hope to become the fourth political force in the country and spread throughout Europe.

The APPP proclaims itself to be the protector of the estimated 250 million people around the world who are forced to attend boring presentations at companies, universities and other institutions every month and who have not yet been represented in politics.

4. The Republic consists of 20 cantons and 6 half-cantons

Switzerland has 20 cantons and 6 half-cantons, which are federal states of the Swiss Confederation. They vary greatly in size and population. For example, the canton of Geneva consists of one city, while the canton of Uri lies entirely between mountains and valleys.

Or the population of the canton of Zurich is more than a million people, while the hinterland of Appenzell Rhodes would fit an entire football stadium.

The territorial specificity is even more aggravated when you consider that they speak four national languages. However, locals say that if you do not know one of these languages, but speak another, most likely even beggars will understand you, because at school the Swiss already learn at least three languages, the official language of the canton, the second official language (German or French ) and English. Almost 60% of the population speaks English. In a college (university), one more language is usually added to the main program.

3. More visitors than natives

Another curious thing about the population of Switzerland is that the state accepts more visitors than natives. That is, 7,6 million people currently live in Switzerland, but 8,6 million people visit the country every year. Nearly 80% of them come to the three major cities (Geneva, Bern and Zurich), so it’s very easy to see the obvious cultural diversity on the streets.

Foreigners make up about 25 percent of the Swiss population, one of the highest rates in the world.

2. Has no political leader

Switzerland is not run by a head of state, but by an executive council, consisting of seven members who are its collective head. The president is elected for a term of one year, but is considered first among equals and does not decide or propose anything without others.

1. Caring for guinea pigs

The Swiss are legally prohibited from keeping only one guinea pig at home.. This is due to the fact that, according to the research of specialists, these smaller brothers of ours yearn for loneliness and need constant company.

Therefore, in the event of the death of one guinea pig, its owner must buy another pair for it and fall into the endless bondage of keeping guinea pigs. To prevent this from happening, the authorities organized a rental service for these animals – you can buy a guinea pig and return it for half the price at any time.

Regarding domestic cats in Switzerland, there is also a special rule: you can only get one if it can walk along the street or see other fellows from the window. If this is not the case, then you will have to start two cats at once.