"Hinduism in Switzerland The 2000 census reported 27,839 residents of Switzerland self-identifying as Hindus (0.38% of the total population; 1.11% in Berne, 1% in Zurich, 0.27% in Geneva). Most of them are Sri Lankan Tamils (81.2%). Approximately 90% of Hindu adherents are foreign-born, and about a third of them have the status of refugee or asylum seeker. The Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple, located in the Sihl Valley in Adliswil, is the most famous and largest Hindu temple in Switzerland, the Arulmihu Sivan Temple located in Glattbrugg is dedicated to Shiva, and the latest foundation is the Sri Vishnu Thurkkai Amman Temple"
"Zürich Zürich or Zurich ( ; ) is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. The municipality has approximately 400,028 inhabitants, the urban agglomeration 1.315 million and the Zürich metropolitan area 1.83 million. Zürich is a hub for railways, roads, and air traffic. Both Zürich Airport and railway station are the largest and busiest in the country. Permanently settled for over 2,000 years, Zürich was founded by the Romans, who, in 15 BC, called it """". However, early settlements have been"
"This was the first time the event had been held in Zürich. Zürich Zürich or Zurich ( ; ) is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. The municipality has approximately 400,028 inhabitants, the urban agglomeration 1.315 million and the Zürich metropolitan area 1.83 million. Zürich is a hub for railways, roads, and air traffic. Both Zürich Airport and railway station are the largest and busiest in the country. Permanently settled for over 2,000 years, Zürich was founded by the Romans,"
"that would finally lead to even better results. There are people living in Zürich (as of ), making it Switzerland's largest city. Of registered inhabitants (in 2016), 32% (133,473) do not hold Swiss citizenship. Of these, German citizens make up the largest group with 8% (33,548), followed by Italians 3.5% (14,543). The population of the city including suburbs totals 1.19 million people. The entire metropolitan area (including the cities of Winterthur, Baden, Brugg, Schaffhausen, Frauenfeld, Uster/Wetzikon, Rapperswil-Jona and Zug) has a population of around 1.83 million people. The official formal language used by governmental institutions, print, news, universities/schools, courts, theater"
"with about 450 people per km and the landscape continually shows signs of human presence. The weight of the largest metropolitan areas, which are Zürich, Geneva–Lausanne, Basel and Bern tend to increase. In international comparison the importance of these urban areas is stronger than their number of inhabitants suggests. In addition the two main centres of Zürich and Geneva are recognised for their particularly great quality of life. Switzerland has no official state religion, though most of the cantons (except Geneva and Neuchâtel) recognise official churches, which are either the Roman Catholic Church or the Swiss Reformed Church. These churches,"
"789); 1,598 serve as representatives in town parliaments (31.3% of 3,508). Lise Girardin was in 1968 the first female mayor of a Swiss city, Geneva, and also served as the first female Councillor of States (1971–1975). Corine Mauch (member of the Social Democratic Party) presides the largest Swiss city Zürich as its mayor since 2009. she has convincingly been re-elected in first round as ""Stadtpräsidentin"" for another 4 years. She is openly gay and lives in a relationship. The constitution of 1848, the origin of modern Switzerland, proclaims the equality in the eyes of the law of all human beings"
"Lausanne Lausanne (; ; ; , ) is a city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and the capital and biggest city of the canton of Vaud. The city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva (, or simply ). It faces the French town of , with the Jura Mountains to its north-west. Lausanne is located northeast of Geneva. Lausanne has a population (as of November 2015) of 146,372, making it the fourth largest city in Switzerland, with the entire agglomeration area having 420,000 inhabitants (as of March 2015). The metropolitan area of Lausanne-Geneva (including Vevey-Montreux, Yverdon-les-Bains, and"
"274,000 kilometres daily. Half of these are long distance services; the other half are regional and suburban services. In 2013, 366 million passengers used the Swiss Federal Railways. Rail transport in Switzerland also includes a car and truck transportation service (German: ""Autoverlad"") on some lines. Urban commuter rail networks are focused on the country's major cities: Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Bern, Lausanne and Neuchâtel. Lausanne is the only city with a metro system (Lausanne Metro), which includes two lines: one is light rail; the other, a fully automated metro, opened in 2008. After its opening, Lausanne replaced Rennes as the smallest"
"colloquially called ""Bern-Belp"" or ""Belpmoos"", is connected to several European cities. Additionally Zürich Airport, Geneva Airport and EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg also serve as international gateways, all reachable within less than two hours by train or car from Bern. Bern Bern or Berne ( , , , , ) is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to by the Swiss as their (e.g. in German) ""Bundesstadt,"" or ""federal city"". With a population of 142,656 (March 2018), Bern is the fifth-most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 36 municipalities, had a population of 406,900 in 2014. The"
"Bern Bern or Berne ( , , , , ) is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to by the Swiss as their (e.g. in German) ""Bundesstadt,"" or ""federal city"". With a population of 142,656 (March 2018), Bern is the fifth-most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 36 municipalities, had a population of 406,900 in 2014. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000. Bern is also the capital of the canton of Bern, the second-most populous of Switzerland's cantons. The official language in Bern is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the"
"Swiss population of approximately eight-and-a-half million people is concentrated mostly on the plateau, where the largest cities are to be found: among them are the two global cities and economic centres Zürich and Geneva. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the late medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria and Burgundy. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation; it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815"
"events in order to encourage LGBT people to develop a positive relationship with their identity, particularly among young LGBT people. Claude Janiak, State Councillor (Senator) and former National Council President, is involved in AIDS work, Network, and the Pink Cross. Corine Mauch, the Mayor of Zürich, Switzerland's biggest city, is openly gay. The ""Gay Happiness Index"" (GHI) published based on a poll by PlanetRomeo lists Switzerland at rank nine with a GHI score of 70. In 2017, the rights group Rainbow Europe ranked Switzerland three places lower after the Government did not heed requests, including updates to its anti-discrimination laws"
"Important railway stations are the Zürich HB (466,800 passengers per day on a working day), Bern (210,000 ppd), Basel SBB (114,200 ppd), Lausanne (108,900 ppd), Winterthur (108,000 ppd), Luzern (96,200 ppd), Zürich Oerlikon (85,700 ppd), Zürich Stadelhofen (83,300 ppd), Olten (81,300 ppd), and Geneva (73,700 ppd). Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) is the largest railway company in Switzerland and handles the majority of national and international traffic. It operates the main east-west track in the Swiss Plateau area calling all larger Swiss cities and many smaller ones, and the north-south routes through the Alps via the Gotthard Line (Milano-Chiasso-Lugano-Luzern/Zurich-Basel"
"Geneva Geneva (; ; ; ; ; ) is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of the Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situated where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva. The municipality (""ville de Genève"") has a population () of , and the canton (essentially the city and its inner-ring suburbs) has residents. In 2014, the compact ""agglomération du Grand Genève"" had 946,000 inhabitants in 212 communities in both Switzerland and France. Within Swiss territory, the commuter area named """"Métropole lémanique"""" contains"
"handling 24.9 million passengers in 2013. The second largest airport, Geneva Cointrin, handled 14.4 million passengers (2013) and the third largest Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Airport 6.5 million passengers; both airports are shared with France. Switzerland has approved billions of francs for the improvement of its public transportation infrastructure. The modal split for public transportation is one of the highest in Europe, standing at 21.3% in 2010. In many cities with a population above 100,000, the modal split for public transportation lies above 50%. Switzerland has a very high density of railway network, with an average of 122 km of track for every"
"a famous dance competition, takes place at the Palais de Beaulieu (the biggest theatre in Switzerland) over a one-week period. The event attracts dancers and some of the big names in dance from all over the world. The Swiss Film Archive is based in Lausanne and the city hosts film festivals such as the ""Festival cinémas d'Afrique"" and the Lausanne Underground Film and Music Festival. In addition to modern cinemas, the ""Capitole"" (in activity since 1929) is the biggest cinema in Switzerland (currently 867 seats). The town hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 1989. Each July, the ""Festival de la cité"""
"three million people live in the area. The Swiss federal office for statistics defines an unofficial metropolitan area as including all areas where more than one twelfth workforce commutes to the core area. According to the 2000 Swiss census, this includes a total of 220 municipalities in seven cantons: 127 in the canton of Zurich, 58 in Aargau, 11 in Schwyz, 10 in Zug, 9 in Schaffhausen, 3 in Thurgau and 2 in St. Gallen. The area covered by these municipalities is 2103 km² (excluding Lake Zurich and Greifensee), inhabited by a population of 3.8 million. Numerous Swiss and international"
"by Switzerland, a country that is traditionally perceived as independent and reluctant to enter supranational bodies. Extending across the north and south side of the Alps in west-central Europe, Switzerland encompasses a great diversity of landscapes and climates on a limited area of . The population is about 8 million, resulting in an average population density of around 195 people per square kilometre (500/sq mi). The more mountainous southern half of the country is far more sparsely populated than the northern half. In the largest Canton of Graubünden, lying entirely in the Alps, population density falls to 27 /km² (70"
"with many works of art occupy a portion of these surfaces. In the plains, lakes and streams near areas of habitat are used for recreation and relaxation. Habitats, damp or dry, and nature reserves are managed and these areas contribute to maintain biodiversity. The population of Switzerland is heavily urbanised. In 2009, 74% of the 7,785,800 inhabitants lived in urban areas. The distribution of population is shaped by the topography of the country, the plateau being the most populous area and including the major cities of Switzerland. With a population density of 450 inhabitants per km, it is one of"
"which is based mostly on recycling and energy-producing incinerators due to a strong political will to protect the environment. As in other European countries, the illegal disposal of garbage is not tolerated at all and heavily fined. In almost all Swiss municipalities, stickers or dedicated garbage bags need to be purchased that allow for identification of disposable garbage. In 2018, Switzerland's population slightly exceeded 8.5 million. In common with other developed countries, the Swiss population increased rapidly during the industrial era, quadrupling between 1800 and 1990. Growth has since stabilised, and like most of Europe, Switzerland faces an ageing population,"
"(1,166 per square mile). In the regions around Lake Geneva, Lake Zurich and other cities, the population density exceeds 1000 people per km. As well as the majority of the population, the Swiss Plateau is also home to the majority of industry, manufacturing and farming in Switzerland. The farms are generally small and very organized. Most farms include small meadows alternating with fields with a variety of crops and small wooded areas. The Swiss Alps form part of a chain of mountains that stretch across southern Europe and isolate Northern Europe from the Mediterranean Sea. Several important passes through the"
"smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,636 as of 2009. While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities. The area of the municipalities varies between 0.32 km² (Kaiserstuhl, Aargau and Rivaz, Vaud) and 439 km² (Scuol, Graubünden). Each canton defines their responsibilities. These may include providing local government services such as education, medical and social services, public transportation, and tax collection. The degree of centralization varies from one canton to another. Communes are generally governed by a council (sometimes called Municipality) headed by"
"with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Switzerland ranks at or near the top globally in several metrics of national performance, including government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic competitiveness, and human development. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name ""Switzerland"" is a compound containing ""Switzer"", an obsolete term for the Swiss, which was in use during the 16th to 19th centuries."
"the entire country. The total financial volume of tourist lodging is 5.19 billion CHF and eating at the lodging provides an additional 5.19 billion. The total gross value added of 14.9 billion is about 2.9% of Switzerland's 2010 nominal GDP of 550.57 billion CHF. The major airport of Switzerland is at Zurich, main railway connections are to Geneva, Zurich and Basel. The main connection across the Alps is via the Gotthard Road Tunnel and the Gotthard Rail Tunnel. The new Gotthard Base Tunnel, opening in 2016, will improve the rail connection. The most visited Swiss tourist attractions are first, the"
"Swiss National Museum The Swiss National Museum ()—part of the ""Musée Suisse Group"", itself affiliated with the Federal Office of Culture is located in the city of Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, next to the Hauptbahnhof. The museum building of 1898 in the historicist style was built by Gustav Gull in the form of the French Renaissance city chateaus. His impressive architecture with dozens of towers, courts and his astonishing park on a peninsula between the rivers Sihl and Limmat has become one of the main sights of the Old City District of Zurich. The exhibition tour takes the visitor from"
"Lucerne Lucerne (; ; ; ; ; Lucerne German: ""Lozärn"") is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the district of the same name. With a population of about 81,057 people (), Lucerne is the most populous town in Central Switzerland, and a nexus of economics, transportation, culture, and media of this region. The city's urban area consists of 17 municipalities and towns located in three different cantons with an overall population of about 250,000 people (). Owing to its location on the"
"Lugano Lugano (; ) is a city in southern Switzerland in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino bordering Italy. It has a population () of , and an urban agglomeration of over 145,000. The 9th largest Swiss city, it is the largest in Ticino and largest with an Italian speaking majority outside of Italy. The city lies on Lake Lugano, surrounded by the mountains of the Lugano Prealps. The toponym is first recorded in 804, in the form ""Luanasco"", in 874 as ""Luano"", and from 1189 as ""Lugano"". German-language variants of the name (now no longer in use) were ""Lowens, Lauis,"
"of 30 hours per week during that year. Kreuzlingen is a rail node, and also the northern terminus of the A7 motorway in Switzerland. Kreuzlingen Kreuzlingen is a municipality in the district of Kreuzlingen in the canton of Thurgau in north-eastern Switzerland. It is the seat of the district and is the second largest city of the canton, after Frauenfeld, with a population of about 20,800. Together with the adjoining city of Konstanz just across the border in Germany, Kreuzlingen is part of the largest conurbation on Lake Constance with a population of almost 120,000. In 1874, the municipality of"
"the 74th largest city in Switzerland by population and the third largest in the Ticino canton, after Lugano and Bellinzona. The official language of Locarno is Italian. The town is known for hosting the Locarno International Film Festival which takes place every year in August and involves open-air screenings at the main square, the Piazza Grande. It is also known for the Locarno Treaties, a series of European territorial agreements negotiated here in October 1925. In January 2004, the Italian historian Marino Vigano speculated that Locarno's castle may have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci. In 1934 in the vicinity"
"on 1 August 2004. The Universal Postal Union is situated in Bern. Bern is home to 114 Swiss heritage sites of national significance. It includes the entire Old Town, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and many sites within and around it. Some of the most notable in the Old Town include the Cathedral which was started in 1421 and is the tallest cathedral in Switzerland, the Zytglogge and Käfigturm towers, which mark two successive expansions of the Old Town, and the Holy Ghost Church, which is one of the largest Swiss Reformed churches in Switzerland. Within the"
"class athletes such as Yohan Blake and Valerie Adams. The city also provides facilities for ice-hockey, figure-skating, golf, swimming, basketball, rugby, skateboarding, climbing and more. Lucerne hosted FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event Lucerne Open 2015 and FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championship in 2016. Lucerne Lucerne (; ; ; ; ; Lucerne German: ""Lozärn"") is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the district of the same name. With a population of about 81,057 people (), Lucerne is the most populous town"
"Zürich Hauptbahnhof vary from 25 minutes to over 40 minutes depending on the route and service. <br> Pfäffikon, Schwyz Pfäffikon is the principal town of the Municipality of Freienbach in the canton of Schwyz (SZ) in Switzerland. Together with Wollerau, Pfäffikon is considered the principal town of the district (""Bezirk"") of Höfe and the center of the region of Ausserschwyz. The former farm town is known today as cultural, economic and service center with its main focus on hedge funds. With 7,200 residents Pfäffikon is the third biggest town of the canton after Küssnacht and Einsiedeln. Pfäffikon, together with Wilen"
"plans for the affected areas of the city, and especially the station area. Zürich Hauptbahnhof Zürich Hauptbahnhof (often shortened to Zürich HB) (""Zürich Main Station"" or ""Zürich Central Station"") is the largest railway station in Switzerland. Zürich is a major railway hub, with services to and from across Switzerland and neighbouring European countries such as Germany, Italy, Austria and France. The station was originally constructed as the terminus of the Spanisch Brötli Bahn, the first railway built completely within Switzerland. Serving up to 2,915 trains per day, Zürich HB is one of the busiest railway stations in the world. The"