Etruscans, Rhaetians, Celts, Romans, and Germanic peoples have left their imprint on Switzerland in the course of its historical evolution. The present population shows traces mainly of the Alpine, "Nordic," and southern Slav or Dinaric peoples. To survive as a cohesive unit, the disparate elements of the Swiss people have had to learn a mutual cooperation to protect the neutrality that has been their safeguard. Their outlook has been shaped largely by economic and political necessity, which has made them realistic, cautious, and prudent in accepting innovation and creative in the use of what resources they have. Switzerland's human resource has been effectively educated and efficiently utilized to transform what was a predominantly mountainous, rural, and landlocked country with limited natural resources into one of the most diversified and important industrial and commercial nations in the world.

Switzerland encompasses the area in which the major cultural regions of western continental Europe--German, French, and Italian--come into contact. Thus, one of the distinctive features of the Swiss Confederation is the variety of its languages. In the early 1990s 65 percent of the total population spoke German, 18 percent French, about 10 percent Italian, and about 1 percent Romansh (Rhaeto-Romanic). The latter is a linguistic relic preserved in the mountainous regions between the Gotthard massif and the eastern Alps; it is subdivided into even smaller dialect regions. In 1938 a federal popular vote formally recognized Romansh as a fourth national (though not federally official) language.

Switzerland also exhibits diversity in the area of religion; however, the distribution of religions does not coincide with that of languages. The great internal population shift caused by industrialization has also resulted in a greater mixture of the religions. The Swiss are divided almost equally into Protestants and Roman Catholics, with a tiny Jewish community. The constitution of 1874 guaranteed full religious liberty but repeated the 1848 constitution's prohibition of settlement by Jesuits (members of the Roman Catholic Society of Jesus) and their affiliated societies in Switzerland. This anti-Jesuit article was repealed in a national referendum in 1973.

Visitors to the Switzerland of 1500 B.C. might have seen villages built on stilts over water, a style that replace earlier Cro-Magnon settlements. The Celts evolved from populations rising in Europe during the Bronze Age. In the 6th century B.C. they formed rich settlements run by unified dynasties, forging an original culture. In the first century B. C. Roman colonizers arrived. Later, Burgundians and Alemannians drove out the Romans. The Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages was followed by feudal dynasties, in which cities gained free-town status. All these influences are interwoven in the fabric of modern Switzerland. There is much to appreciate and explore in the heritage of Switzerland, a land of rich, sometimes surprising, culture and contrasts.

The typical person may think of Switzerland as simply a Germanic land of long-standing democracy and political neutrality. But Switzerland has had periods of religious wars and aggressive expansionism. A visit to Switzerland provides an opportunity to uncover springs of influence of Western Civilization.

A Brief History

Other cantons joined the confederation during the first decades of the 14th century, despite the Austrian armies bitter battles to retain the territory. By the beginning of the 15th century, the Swiss Confederation was a strong military power. In 1515 the Swiss were overwhelmed by the French at a battle in Italy. The next year Switzerland signed a treaty agreeing to perpetual peace with France. The confederation also committed itself to neutrality. At the end of the 30 Years' Wars, the Treaty of Westphalia recognized Switzerland's independence and neutrality.

Switzerland's long history of cantonal authority is reflected in a consitution that places great authority in those regions and in individual citizens. The consitution provides for the referendum and the initiative, which allow Swiss citizens to have direct influence in setting government policy or amending the consitution. The first allows citizens, following a petition, to put any federal legislation to popular vote. The second allows them to propose legislation for consideration by the parliament.