"the end of the 19th century, the only country with a legation in the Swiss capital Bern was France. As of 2015, there were four state visits of Presidents of France in Switzerland: Armand Fallières in August 1910, François Mitterrand on 14–15 April 1983, Jacques Chirac in 1998 and François Hollande on 15–16 April 2015. 194,000 Swiss people live in France - the largest Swiss community outside Switzerland - while 163,000 French people live in Switzerland - the largest French community outside France. 150,000 French nationals cross the border to work in Switzerland, half of all foreign cross-border commuters. France"
"is Switzerland's third-largest trading partner (after Germany and Italy) and the two are integrated economically via Swiss treaties with the European Union. Switzerland is also part of the Schengen Area, which abolishes border checks between member states. France–Switzerland relations Diplomatic relations between Switzerland and France have traditionally been close, notably through important economic and cultural exchanges. Switzerland and France, which is part of the European Union, share about 600 km of border (prompting strong cross-border cooperation) and a language (French is one of Switzerland's four official languages). In 1516, France and Switzerland signed a Treaty of Perpetual Peace (). A"
"Austria–Switzerland border The modern states of Austria and Switzerland share a border with a length of 180 km in two parts, separated by Liechtenstein, the longer stretch running across the Grison Alps and the shorter one following the Alpine Rhine to its mouth at Lake Constance. The course of the border ultimately reflects the success of the various rivals of the House of Habsburg (most notably the Old Swiss Confederacy and the Three Leagues) in limiting the influence of the Habsburg Archdukes of Austria in the original Habsburg domains west of the Rhine in the 14th and 15th centuries. Most"
"Italy–Switzerland border The border between the modern states of Switzerland and Italy extends to , from the French-Swiss-Italian tripoint at Mont Dolent in the west to the Austrian-Swiss-Italian tripoint near Piz Lad in the east. Much of the border runs across the High Alps, rising above as it passes east of Dufourspitze, but it also descends to the lowest point in Switzerland as it passes Lago Maggiore below . The border is a product of the Napoleonic period, established with the provisional constitution of the Helvetic Republic of 15 January 1798, restored in 1815. While this border existed as a"
"""urgent talks"" after Switzerland decided to close ""three minor border crossings"" during night hours. Italy–Switzerland border The border between the modern states of Switzerland and Italy extends to , from the French-Swiss-Italian tripoint at Mont Dolent in the west to the Austrian-Swiss-Italian tripoint near Piz Lad in the east. Much of the border runs across the High Alps, rising above as it passes east of Dufourspitze, but it also descends to the lowest point in Switzerland as it passes Lago Maggiore below . The border is a product of the Napoleonic period, established with the provisional constitution of the Helvetic"
"border of Switzerland from 1815, there was only a unified Italian state to allow the existence of a ""Swiss-Italian border"" with the formation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, it previously comprised the borders between Switzerland and the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia and the province of Cisleithania of Austria-Hungary. There remained some territorial disputes after the formation of the Kingdom of Italy, resolved in the ""Convenzione tra l'Italia e la Svizzera per l'accertamento della frontiera fra la Lombardia ed il Cantone dei Grigioni"" of 1863. Other Swiss-Italian treaties regarding the course of the border date to"
"in the middle of the portion of Europe west of the Carpathian Mountains. Defining the Ural Mountains as the eastern limit of the continent, Switzerland is located within the western third of Europe, approximately 15 degrees of longitude away from the extreme west and 50 degrees away from extreme east. Phytogeographically, the part of Switzerland that lies north of the Alps belongs to Central Europe, while the part south of the Alps belongs to Southern Europe. Geography of Switzerland The geography of Switzerland encompasses the geographical features of Switzerland, a mountainous and landlocked country located in Western and Central Europe."
"France–Switzerland relations Diplomatic relations between Switzerland and France have traditionally been close, notably through important economic and cultural exchanges. Switzerland and France, which is part of the European Union, share about 600 km of border (prompting strong cross-border cooperation) and a language (French is one of Switzerland's four official languages). In 1516, France and Switzerland signed a Treaty of Perpetual Peace (). A military treaty was signed in 1521. France has been appointing ambassadors to Switzerland since the 16th century and Switzerland's first representation abroad, in 1798, was in French capital Paris (closely followed by a consulate in Bordeaux). By"
"border every day and there is strong cross border cooperation, particularly on the Upper Rhine and Lake Constance. However relations are strained by unresolved tax issues and German restrictions on flights into Zurich. Germany–Switzerland relations Diplomatic relations between Germany and Switzerland are Switzerland's closest. Between Switzerland and Germany; and between Switzerland and the European Union (EU), of which Germany is a member, there are over 200 agreements. Switzerland is also part of the EU's Schengen Area which abolishes international borders between Schengen states. Germany is Switzerland's most important trading partner: a third of all imports to Switzerland come from Germany"
"rolling hills and plains of the plateau. The smaller Jura Mountains are located on the north west side of the plateau. Much of the northern border with Germany follows the Rhine, though the Rhine enters Switzerland near Schaffhausen. The eastern border with Germany and a portion of Austria is drawn through Lake Constance (). A portion of the southwest border with France is drawn through Lake Geneva. Switzerland is divided into 26 sovereign cantons. The cantons along the Swiss Plateau tend to be the most populous, industrial and religiously Protestant. The cantons in the Alps tend to be less populous,"
"and Bettingen into the canton of Basel Stadt. The border then cuts across the E35 south of Weil am Rhein and back to the Rhine, where it terminates in the French-German-Swiss tripoint, dividing into the French-German and the French-Swiss borders. The tripoint is located in the Rhine at . A monument has been built near it, known as the Dreiländereck. Germany–Switzerland border The border between the modern states of Germany and Switzerland extends to 362 km, mostly following the High Rhine between Lake Constance and Basel. Much of the border is within the sphere of the Zurich metropolitan area and"
"the southwest, the Swiss Plateau is confined by Lake Geneva, in the northeast, by Lake Constance and the Rhine. Geologically, the Swiss Plateau is part of a larger basin that extends beyond the border of Switzerland. At its southwestern end, in France, the plateau, in the Genevois, ends at Chambéry where Jura and Alps meet. At the other side of the Lake Constance, the plateau continues in the German and Austrian Pre-Alps. Within Switzerland, the Swiss Plateau has a length of about , and its width increases from the west to the east: In the Geneva region, it is about"
"Zug. The countries with which Switzerland shares mountain ranges of the Alps are (from west to east): France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. The Alps are usually divided into two main parts, the Western Alps and Eastern Alps, whose division is along the Rhine from Lake Constance to the Splügen Pass. The western ranges occupy the greatest part of Switzerland while the more numerous eastern ranges are much smaller and are all situated in the canton of Graubünden. The latter are part of the Central Eastern Alps, except the Ortler Alps which belong to the Southern Limestone Alps. The Pennine, Bernese"
"Catholic, and have an agrarian or tourism-based economy. Switzerland is also divided by language. There are four official languages: German (spoken by 63.7% of population), French (by 20.4% of population), Italian (by 6.5%) and Romansh (0.5%). From Bern east (except Ticino) the population generally speaks German. West of Bern, the population generally speaks French. In the southern Canton of Ticino, most people speak Italian. Romansh, a group of dialects descended from Vulgar Latin, is spoken in several regions in the canton of Graubünden. Switzerland extends between the parallels 45°49'05 and 47°48'30 lat. and the meridians 5° 57'23 and 10°29'31 long."
"It forms an irregular quadrilateral, of which the greatest length from east to west is , and the greatest breadth from north to south is nearly . Switzerland is a landlocked country, the closest coastline being at the Gulf of Genoa, 160 km south of Chiasso. Its political boundaries often do not coincide with those of nature. The entire canton of Ticino is south of the Alps, as are the valleys of Simplon (Valais), Mesocco, Bregaglia, Poschiavo and Müstair (all in Graubünden); the whole canton of Schaffhausen and part of that of Basel are north of the Rhine, while a"
"when renewed upward pressure on the Swiss franc exceeded the Bank's level of tolerance. Switzerland–European Union relations The relations between Switzerland and the European Union (EU) are framed by a series of bilateral treaties whereby the Swiss Confederation has adopted various provisions of European Union law in order to participate in the Union's single market, without joining as a member state. All but one (the microstate Liechtenstein) of Switzerland's neighbouring countries are EU member states. The European Union is Switzerland's largest trading partner, and Switzerland is the EU's third largest trading partner, after the U.S. and China. Switzerland accounts for"
"Gall, etc. The cantons largely had their current borders since 1815 (at accession of Valais, Neuchâtel and Geneva), except for the notable change from secession of Jura from Berne in 1979. The total length of the border is 1,899 km, enclosing an area of ( land: , water: ). Elevation extremes: <br>""lowest point:"" Lake Maggiore: <br>""highest point:"" Monte Rosa: <br>""deepest point:"" In Lake Maggiore: See also: Extreme points of Switzerland No subdivision of Europe is universally accepted, therefore naming the different European regions and defining the borders between them is subject to debates. Depending on the definition chosen, Switzerland can"
"/sq mi). Switzerland lies between latitudes 45° and 48° N, and longitudes 5° and 11° E. It contains three basic topographical areas: the Swiss Alps to the south, the Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau, and the Jura mountains on the west. The Alps are a high mountain range running across the central-south of the country, comprising about 60% of the country's total area. The majority of the Swiss population live in the Swiss Plateau. Among the high valleys of the Swiss Alps many glaciers are found, totalling an area of . From these originate the headwaters of several major rivers,"
"Germany–Switzerland relations Diplomatic relations between Germany and Switzerland are Switzerland's closest. Between Switzerland and Germany; and between Switzerland and the European Union (EU), of which Germany is a member, there are over 200 agreements. Switzerland is also part of the EU's Schengen Area which abolishes international borders between Schengen states. Germany is Switzerland's most important trading partner: a third of all imports to Switzerland come from Germany (more than Switzerland's next four trading partners combined). Switzerland is also the third largest foreign investor in Germany (after other EU states and the United States) and Swiss companies also employ 260,000 people"
"in order to reduce the level of illegal immigration passing through Switzerland. The German-Swiss border begins in at the German-Swiss-Austrian tripoint, which is located in the Lake Constance, approximately at . The border makes landfall south of Constance. The Lake Constance divides the German Bodenseekreis from the Swiss canton of Thurgau. The stretch of border (c. 1.5 km) dividing Constance from Kreuzlingen comprises the only territory of Germany on the left bank of the High Rhine. The border then runs along the Untersee, passing south of Reichenau. At the lake's exit it turns inland, towards the north, leaving Stein am"
"North Korea–Switzerland relations North Korea–Switzerland relations are foreign relations between North Korea and Switzerland. Switzerland has a cooperation office in the Taedonggang River District of Pyongyang, North Korea, while official diplomatic duties are performed by the Swiss embassy in Beijing, China. North Korea maintains an embassy in Bern. Switzerland was a member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) upon the end of the Korean War. The two countries have had diplomatic relations since 1974. Additionally, Switzerland has long been a mediator party in talks between the involved parties of the conflict in the Korean"
"3 June 2006, and Serbia's formal declaration of independence on 5 June. Switzerland, officially known as the ""Swiss Confederation"", is an example of a modern country that traditionally refers to itself as a confederation. This is due to the fact that the official (and traditional) name of Switzerland in German (the majority language of the Swiss) is ' (literally ""Swiss Comradeship by Oath""), an expression which was translated into the Latin ' (Helvetic Confederation). It had been a confederacy since its inception in 1291 as the Old Swiss Confederacy, originally created as an alliance among the valley communities of the"
"are identical to the Russian stamps and have the same information. They can be stamped in green, red, orange, blue, pink and sometimes black ink. Even though there is an open border agreement with Italy, visitors can have their passport stamped by the San Marino authority at the passport office in the city centre for a small fee. Serbia stamps both Serbian and foreign passports on exit, and foreign passports also on entry (however, until March 2018, foreign passports were not stamped on exit). Although Switzerland is not a European Union member state, it is part of the Schengen Area"
"Liechtenstein–Switzerland relations Diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Liechtenstein have been close due to Switzerland's role in safeguarding the interests of its smaller neighbour, Liechtenstein. At the request of Liechtenstein's government in 1919, Switzerland safeguards Liechtenstein's interests and citizens abroad. The two form a common economic and monetary area (Liechtenstein has used the Swiss franc (since 1920) and has had a customs union (since 1924) with Switzerland) with open borders (though both are now also party to the Schengen Agreement). The countries also have a common patent system. Switzerland is empowered to enter into treaties on Liechtenstein's behalf if Liechtenstein is"
"Denmark bordering to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria to the southeast, Switzerland to the south-southwest, France, Luxembourg and Belgium lie to the west, and the Netherlands to the northwest. It lies mostly between latitudes 47° and 55° N and longitudes 5° and 16° E. Germany is also bordered by the North Sea and, at the north-northeast, by the Baltic Sea. With Switzerland and Austria, Germany also shares a border on the fresh-water Lake Constance, the third largest lake in Central Europe. German territory covers , consisting of of land and of water. It is"
"against Pakistan and its 200 million people is totally unacceptable"" and was a matter of ""grave concern"". Pakistan–Switzerland relations Pakistan and Switzerland maintain a bilateral relationship. Pakistan has an embassy in Bern, whereas Switzerland has embassy in Islamabad, a Consulate-General in Karachi and an honorary consulate in Lahore. Pakistan and Switzerland have signed several agreements, which include an agreement on the reciprocal promotion and protection of investments, the avoidance of double taxation, air traffic, technical and scientific cooperation. Both countries share over six decades of friendship, and have cooperated closely in several fields. Switzerland ranks fifth in terms of foreign"
"Switzerland–European Union relations The relations between Switzerland and the European Union (EU) are framed by a series of bilateral treaties whereby the Swiss Confederation has adopted various provisions of European Union law in order to participate in the Union's single market, without joining as a member state. All but one (the microstate Liechtenstein) of Switzerland's neighbouring countries are EU member states. The European Union is Switzerland's largest trading partner, and Switzerland is the EU's third largest trading partner, after the U.S. and China. Switzerland accounts for 5.2% of the EU's imports; mainly chemicals, medicinal products, machinery, instruments and time pieces."
"and the Jura 10%. The rugged terrain of the Jura and the Alps are very sparsely populated, except for some large valleys such as the Valais. Most of the population lives on the plateau where the country's major cities such as Geneva, Zurich and Bern are located. The Swiss Plateau extends from Lake Geneva on the French border across central Switzerland to Lake Constance on the German and Austrian borders. In the north and northwest, the Swiss Plateau is sharply delimited geographically and geologically by the Jura Mountains. In the south, there is no clear border with the Alps. Usually,"
"Italy–Switzerland relations Diplomatic relations between Italy and Switzerland have traditionally been close and are currently governed by a complex set of treaties (including those with the European Union (EU), of which Italy is a member). The two countries share a long border and three common languages (Italian is one of Switzerland's four official languages, German and French are recognised minority languages in Italy). There are 48,000 Swiss in Italy and Italian citizens are the largest foreign group in Switzerland: 500,000 including those with dual citizenship. Switzerland was a popular destination for Italian emigrants in the 19th century and between 1950"
"Zernez. The road through the park leads over the Fuorn Pass (or ""Ofenpass"") to South Tyrol in Italy. In addition to the Swiss National Park, Switzerland also has sixteen regional nature parks. Swiss National Park The Swiss National Park (; ; ; ) is located in the Western Rhaetian Alps, in eastern Switzerland. It is within the canton of Graubünden, between Zernez, S-chanf, Scuol, and the Fuorn Pass in the Engadin valley on the border with Italy. It is part of the worldwide UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It was founded on 1 August 1914, the national holiday of Switzerland. It was"
"The border persisted even during the Nazi era (although with the ""Anschluss"" of Austria, the German-Swiss border technically included the Austrian-Swiss border from 1938 and until the formation of the German Federal Republic in 1949). On 12 December 2008 Switzerland implemented the Schengen Agreement. This removed all passport controls for travellers crossing the border; however, customs officers from both countries are still authorised to carry out customs checks on border crossers, as Switzerland is not in the EU Customs Union. In mid-2016, during the European migrant crisis, the German government deployed an additional 90 border guards and 40 police officers"
"Borders, tied with Belgium, Latvia, New Zealand, Slovakia and Sweden. Media of Switzerland With its four national languages, its cultural diversity and economical status, Switzerland has long had one of the best developed and most complete media sectors in Europe. Still, due to its small territorial size, it is strongly influenced by the media of larger bordering countries, with foreign journals, radios and televisions popular throughout the country. The broadcasting sector is dominated by the SRG SSR, subsidized by the federal government, while the printed press is free of governmental involvement. Switzerland was ranked ""seventh"" in 2008 in the annual"
"and 1970 half of all foreigners in Switzerland were Italian. There are also more Swiss schools in Italy than any other country in the world. Italy is Switzerland's second largest trading partner and Switzerland is Italy's 8th largest investor (CHF 22bn) creating 78,000 jobs. Italy invests CHF 6bn in Switzerland and creates 13,000 jobs. The two are integrated heavily through the EU's treaties with Switzerland and Switzerland is also part of the EU's Schengen Area which abolishes international borders between Schengen states. Italy–Switzerland relations Diplomatic relations between Italy and Switzerland have traditionally been close and are currently governed by a"