The twenty-six are the State s of the Federal State of Switzerland . Historically and until the mid-19th century, each Canton in the then-confederation was a sovereign state, with its own borders, army, and currency; the current federal structure was established in 1848 .
During the sixteenth century, the Swiss Confederation was composed of thirteen self-governed states. These states were called cantons, and there were two different kinds of cantons: the six forest cantons and seven urban cantons. Though they were technically part of the Holy Roman Empire , they had become almost completely independent when the Swiss defeated Emperor Maximillian in 1499 .
The six forest cantons were Democratic Republics , while the seven urban cantons were governed by city councils. However, these city councils were controlled by small Oligarchies of wealthy citizens. The urban cantons included Zürich , Bern , and Basel .
Each canton has its own Constitution , Legislature , Government and Courts . Most of the cantons' legislatures are Unicameral Parliament s, their size varying between fifty-eight and two hundred seats. A few legislatures are General Assemblies ( Landsgemeinde n). The cantonal governments consist of either five or seven members, depending on the canton. For the names of the institutions, see List Of Legislative And Executive Councils Of The Cantons Of Switzerland .
All tasks that do not explicitly fall within the Confederation according to the Swiss Constitution are matters of the cantons. The cantons determine the degree of autonomy of the Municipalities , thus this varies greatly. The sizes of the cantons are extremely different: from just 37 to 7,105 square km; the populations vary from 14,900 to 1,244,400.
In cantonal matters, Direct Democracy in the form of general assemblies ('' Landsgemeinde '') is now confined to the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus . In all other cantons democratic rights are expressed using the ballot box. Since the creation of the Canton Of Jura in 1978 there have been no new cantons.
According to the constitution of , Appenzell , and Basel are counted as two half-cantons each. Unterwalden is divided into Obwalden and Nidwalden , Appenzell into Innerrhoden and Ausserrhoden , while Basel is divided into Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft .
The table below lists the cantons in the order of the constitution.
Flag
| Abbr
| Canton
| Since
| Capital
| Population 1
| Area 2
| Density 3
| Nr. Of Mun.s 1
| Official Language s
|
|---|
| ZH | Zürich (Zurich) | 1351 | Zürich | 1,228,600 | 1,729 | 701 | 171 | German
|
|---|
| BE | Bern (Berne) | 1353 | Bern | 947,100 | 5,959 | 158 | 399 | German , French
|
|---|
| LU | Lucerne | 1332 | Lucerne | 350,600 | 1,493 | 233 | 107 | German
|
|---|
| UR | Uri | 1291 | Altdorf | 35,000 | 1,077 | 33 | 20 | German
|
|---|
| SZ | Schwyz | 1291 | Schwyz | 131,400 | 908 | 143 | 30 | German
|
|---|
| OW | Obwalden (Obwald) | 1291 | Sarnen | 32,700 | 491 | 66 | 7 | German
|
|---|
| NW | Nidwalden (Nidwald) | 1291 | Stans | 38,600 | 276 | 138 | 11 | German
|
|---|
| GL | Glarus | 1352 | Glarus | 38,300 | 685 | 51 | 28 | German
|
|---|
| ZG | Zug | 1352 | Zug | 100,900 | 239 | 416 | 11 | German
|
|---|
| FR | Fribourg | 1481 | Fribourg | 239,100 | 1,671 | 141 | 242 | French , German
|
|---|
| SO | Solothurn | 1481 | Solothurn | 245,500 | 791 | 308 | 126 | German
|
|---|
| BS | Basel-Stadt (Basle-City) | 1501 | Basel | 186,700 | 37 | 5,072 | 3 | German
|
|---|
| BL | Basel-Landschaft (Basle-Country) | 1501 | Liestal | 261,400 | 518 | 502 | 86 | German
|
|---|
| SH | Schaffhausen | 1501 | Schaffhausen | 73,400 | 298 | 246 | 34 | German
|
|---|
| AR | Appenzell Ausserrhoden (Outer Rhodes) | 1513 | Herisau 4 | 53,200 | 243 | 220 | 20 | German
|
|---|
| AI | Appenzell Innerrhoden (Inner Rhodes) | 1513 | Appenzell | 15,000 | 173 | 87 | 6 | German
|
|---|
| SG | St. Gallen (St. Gall) | 1803 | St. Gallen | 452,600 | 2,026 | 222 | 90 | German
|
|---|
| GR | Graubünden (Grisons) | 1803 | Chur | 185,700 | 7,105 | 26 | 211 | German , Romansh , Italian
|
|---|
| AG | Aargau (Argovia) | 1803 | Aarau | 550,900 | 1,404 | 388 | 232 | German
|
|---|
| TG | Thurgau (Thurgovia) | 1803 | Frauenfeld | 228,200 | 991 | 229 | 80 | German
|
|---|
| TI | Ticino | 1803 | Bellinzona | 311,900 | 2,812 | 110 | 244 | Italian
|
|---|
| VD | Vaud | 1803 | Lausanne | 626,200 | 3,212 | 188 | 382 | French
|
|---|
| VS | Valais | 1815 | Sion | 278,200 | 5,224 | 53 | 160 | French , German
|
|---|
| NE | Neuchâtel | 1815 | Neuchâtel | 166,500 | 803 | 206 | 62 | French
|
|---|
| GE | Geneva | 1815 | Geneva | 414,300 | 282 | 1,442 | 45 | French
|
|---|
| JU | Jura | 1979 | Delémont | 69,100 | 838 | 82 | 83 | French
|
|---|
| CH
| Switzerland
|
| Bern
| 7,261,200 | 41,285
| 174
| 2,890
| German , French , Italian , Romansh
|
|---|
Notes: 1 As of , 3 per Km² , based on 2000 population 4 seat of government and parliament, the seat of the judicial authorities is Trogen .
The two-letter abbreviations for Swiss cantons are widely used, e.g. on car license plates and in the ISO 3166-2 codes (with the prefix "CH-", i.e. CH-SZ for the canton of Schwyz).
Abbr
| English
| French
| Italian
| German
| Romansh
| Spanish
| Esperanto 1
|
|---|
| AG | Aargau (rare: ''Argovia'') | Argovie | Argovia | | Argovia | Argovia | Argovio
|
|---|
| AI | Appenzell Innerrhoden (Appenzell Inner-Rhodes) | Appenzell Rhodes-Intérieures | Appenzello Interno | | Appenzell dadens | Appenzell Rodas Interiores |
|
|---|
| AR | Appenzell Ausserrhoden (Appenzell Outer-Rhodes) | Appenzell Rhodes-Extérieures | Appenzello Esterno | | Appenzell dador | Appenzell Rodas Exteriores |
|
|---|
| BS | Basel-Stadt (Basel or Basle-City) | Bâle-Ville | Basilea Città | | Basilea-Citad | Basilea Ciudad | Bazelo-Urbo
|
|---|
| BL | Basel-Landschaft (Basel or Basle-Country) | Bâle-Campagne | Basilea Campagna | | Basilea-Champagna | Basilea-Campaña | Bazelo-Kamparo
|
|---|
| BE | Bern (Berne) | Berne | Berna | | Berna | Berna | Berno
|
|---|
| FR | Fribourg | Fribourg | Friburgo | | Friburg | Friburgo | Friburgo
|
|---|
| GE | Geneva | Genève | Ginevra | | Genevra | Ginebra | Ĝenevo
|
|---|
| GL | Glarus | Glaris | Glarona | | Glaruna | Glaris |
|
|---|
| GR | Graubünden (Grisons) | Grisons | Grigioni | | Grischun | Grisones | Grizono
|
|---|
| JU | Jura | Jura | Giura | | Giura | Jura | Ĵuraso
|
|---|
| LU | Lucerne | Lucerne | Lucerna | | Lucerna | Lucerna | Lucerno
|
|---|
| NE | Neuchâtel | Neuchâtel | Neuchâtel | | Neuchâtel | Neuchatel | Novkastelo
|
|---|
| NW | Nidwalden | Nidwald | Nidvaldo | | Sutsilvana | Unterwalden Bajo | Nidvaldo
|
|---|
| OW | Obwalden | Obwald | Obvaldo | | Sursilvania | Unterwalden Alto | Obvaldo
|
|---|
| SH | Schaffhausen (Schaffhouse) | Schaffhouse | Sciaffusa | | Schaffusa | Schaffhausen | Ŝafhaŭzo
|
|---|
| SZ | Schwyz | Schwyz (or Schwytz) | Svitto | | Sviz | Schwyz |
|
|---|
| SO | Solothurn | Soleure | Soletta | | Soloturn | Soleura | Soleŭro
|
|---|
| SG | St. Gallen (St. Gall) | Saint-Gall | San Gallo | | Son Gagl | Sankt Gallen |
|
|---|
| TG | Thurgau (Thurgovia) | Thurgovie | Turgovia | | Turgovia | Turgovia | Turgovio
|
|---|
| TI | Ticino | Tessin | Ticino | | Tessin | Tesino | Tiĉino
|
|---|
| UR | Uri | Uri | Uri | | Uri | Uri |
|
|---|
| VS | Valais | Valais | Vallese | | Vallais | Valais | Valezo
|
|---|
| VD | Vaud | Vaud | Vaud | | Vad | Vaud | Vaŭdo
|
|---|
| ZG | Zug | Zoug | Zugo | | Zug | Zug | Zugo
|
|---|
| ZH | Zürich (Zurich) | Zurich | Zurigo | | Turitg | Zurich | Zuriko
|
|---|
Notes: ¹where a version differing from German is available.
- GeoPuzzle - Assemble cantons on a Swiss map
- Badac - Database on Swiss cantons and cities (French/German)
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