Canton of Schwyz
| Kanton Schwyz | |||
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| — Canton of Switzerland — | |||
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| Coordinates: 47°4′N 8°45′E / 47.067°N 8.75°ECoordinates: 47°4′N 8°45′E / 47.067°N 8.75°E | |||
| Capital | Schwyz | ||
| Largest City | Freienbach | ||
| Subdivisions | 30 municipalities, 6 districts | ||
| Government | |||
| • Executive | Regierungsrat (7) | ||
| • Legislative | Kantonsrat (100) | ||
| Area[1] | |||
| • Total | 907.92 km2 (350.55 sq mi) | ||
| Population (12/2010)[2] | |||
| • Total | 146,730 | ||
| • Density | 161.6/km2 (419/sq mi) | ||
| Highest point | 2,802 m (9,193 ft) - Bös Fulen | ||
| Lowest point | 406 m (1,332 ft) - Lake Zurich | ||
| Joined | 1291 | ||
| Abbreviation | SZ | ||
| Languages | German | ||
| Website | SZ.ch | ||
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Map of Schwyz
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Schwyz (Standard German 
Schwyz (help·info)) is a canton in central Switzerland between the Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne to the west and Lake Zurich in the north, centered around and named after the town of Schwyz.
It is one of the founding cantons of Switzerland; Switzerland's Standard German name, Schweiz, is derived from the name of the canton, and the flag of Switzerland from its coat of arms. For the history of the name, see Schwyz. The Swiss Federal Charter is on display in Schwyz. Northeast of the town of Schwyz is the Einsiedeln Abbey.
In June 2008, Schwyz was the only one of Switzerland's 26 cantons to vote in favor of a failed measure that would have subjected Swiss citizenship applications to a popular vote.
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[edit] History
There are findings that show that people were living in the area of the canton of Schwyz thousands of years ago. Many of these findings are concentrated in the north of the canton, in the area of Hurden and Freienbach on Lake Zürich. Many of the findings date back 5000 years. Stone and bronze tools were recovered from these sites.
About 1400 years ago, the Allemanni settled in the area of the canton. This influenced agriculture and the way of living of the locals. Christianity only arrived in the area by the late 7th century. There are churches in Tuggen and Schwyz that date back to this time.
In the 10th century the abbey of Einsiedeln became more and more powerful. It soon controlled many of the surrounding lands, many of which are outside the area today covered by the canton of Schwyz. The economy benefited from the transit across the Gotthard, but these profits attracted other powers, such as the Habsburgs.
On 1 August 1291 the canton of Schwyz founded the Swiss Confederation together with Uri and Unterwalden (Rütlischwur, Pact of the Rütli). It is one of the Four Forest Cantons (Vier Waldstätten): Schwyz, and the cantons of Uri, Obwalden and Nidwalden — the latter two being traditional subdivisions of the canton of Unterwalden — all located on the shores of the Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne). The canton of Schwyz took the leadership in the confederation early on. As early as 1320 the name of the canton was applied to the whole of the confederation. It was only in 1803, howerver, that the name Schweiz as derived from the canton of Schwyz became the official name of Switzerland. The flag of Switzerland is derived from the banner of Schwyz.
The rulers of Schwyz, little by little, expanded their area of influence. This included a number of small battles, such as the Alt Zürcherkrieg. In 1386 the canton of Schwyz won the Battle of Sempach and, as a result, greatly expanded its area. The Protestant reformation was resisted in the canton. At the Battle of Kappel in 1531 troops of Schwyz beat those of the reformation leader Huldrych Zwingli. Zwingli himself was the most prominent to die at this battle which killed hundreds of soldiers.
Between 1798 and 1803 the canton of Schwyz was part of the Helvetic Republic. Joseph Thomas Fassbind compiled a history of the canton during this period, published in the 1830s. After 1803 Schwyz regained its independence and most of the changes introduced by Napoleon were reverted. This led to frictions within the canton, leading to the separation of part of the canton. A canton of Schwyz Outer Countries was created in 1830, only to be re-unified with the other half in 1833. In 1845 the canton joined the separatist Roman Catholic league (Sonderbund). The venture of this league failed and the canton re-joined the confederation as an ordinary member.
The constitution of 1848 ended the openair assemblies (Landsgemeinde). The constitution was revised in 1876 and 1898.
[edit] Geography
Schwyz has an area, as of 2011[update], of 908.2 square kilometers (350.7 sq mi). Of this area, 41.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 33.7% is forested, 5.4% is settled (buildings or roads) and 20.0% is unproductive land.[3]
The canton of Schwyz is located in central Switzerland. The river Sihl and the smaller Muota traverse the canton. It includes parts of Lake Zürich and Lake Lucerne. Only a small part of Lake Zug is within the canton of Schwyz. The smaller lakes Lauerz (Lauerzersee) and Sihl (Sihlsee), however, are completely within the canton of Schwyz.
The highest elevation is the Bös Fulen at 2,802 m (9,193 ft). Although not as high, the summits of the Rigi massif (Kulm, 1,798 m [5,899 ft], and Scheidegg, 1,665 m [5,463 ft]) are probably the most famous mountains within the borders of the canton.
[edit] Political subdivisions
The Canton is divided into six districts and 30 municipalities, although the Einsiedeln, Küssnacht and Gersau districts comprise the municipality of the same name. The largest towns are Küssnacht and Pfäffikon.
[edit] Coat of arms
The blazon of the coat of arms is Gules, a Confederate cross couped in the hoist argent.[4]
[edit] Demographics
Schwyz has a population (as of December 2010[update]) of 146,730.[2] As of 2008[update], 15.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 12.8%. Migration accounted for 10%, while births and deaths accounted for 3.9%.[3]
Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (115,688 or 89.9%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian is the second most common (2,667 or 2.1%) and Albanian is the third (2,477 or 1.9%). There are 502 people who speak French, 2,447 people who speak Italian and 234 people who speak Romansh.[5]
As of 2008[update], the population was 49.9% male and 50.1% female. The population was made up of 5,824 Swiss men (42.2% of the population) and 1,058 (7.7%) non-Swiss men. There were 5,932 Swiss women (43.0%) and 988 (7.2%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the canton, 50,778 or about 39.5% were born in Schwyz and lived there in 2000. There were 19,319 or 15.0% who were born in the same canton, while 35,617 or 27.7% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 19,622 or 15.2% were born outside of Switzerland.[5]
As of 2000[update], children and teenagers (0-19 years old) make up 25.6% of the population, while adults (20-64 years old) make up 61.4% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 12.9%.[3]
As of 2000[update], there were 57,353 people who were single and never married in the canton. There were 59,385 married individuals, 6,201 widows or widowers and 5,765 individuals who are divorced.[5]
As of 2000[update], there were 50,089 private households in the canton, and an average of 2.5 persons per household.[3] There were 15,043 households that consist of only one person and 4,801 households with five or more people. As of 2009[update], the construction rate of new housing units was 7.8 new units per 1000 residents.[3]
As of 2003[update] the average price to rent an average apartment in Schwyz town was 1185.58 Swiss francs (CHF) per month (US$950, £530, €760 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one room apartment was 543.08 CHF (US$430, £240, €350), a two room apartment was about 904.87 CHF (US$720, £410, €580), a three room apartment was about 1068.78 CHF (US$860, £480, €680) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1461.34 CHF (US$1170, £660, €940). The average apartment price in Schwyz was 106.2% of the national average of 1116 CHF.[6]
The vacancy rate for the canton, in 2010[update], was 0.97%.[3]
[edit] Historic Population
The historical population is given in the following chart:[7] 
| Historic Population Data [7] | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total Population | German Speaking | Italian Speaking | Catholic | Protestant | Other | Jewish | Islamic | No religion given | Swiss | Non-Swiss |
| 1850 | 44,168 | 44,013 | 155 | 43,970 | 198 | ||||||
| 1880 | 51,109 | 49,631 | 1,377 | 50,266 | 954 | 15 | 7 | 48,585 | 2,524 | ||
| 1900 | 55,385 | 53,834 | 1,108 | 53,537 | 1,836 | 12 | 9 | 52,422 | 2,963 | ||
| 1950 | 71,082 | 69,231 | 1,191 | 66,297 | 4,642 | 64 | 15 | 68,416 | 2,666 | ||
| 1970 | 92,072 | 82,957 | 6,663 | 84,087 | 7,271 | 671 | 19 | 202 | 238 | 81,301 | 10,771 |
| 2000 | 128,704 | 115,688 | 2,447 | 92,868 | 16,401 | 19,389 | 51 | 5,598 | 6,331 | 108,381 | 20,323 |
[edit] Politics
In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 38.0% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (20.6%), the SP/PS (15.7%) and the FDP (15.5%).[8]
The SVP lost about 7.0% of the vote when compared to the 2007 Federal election (45.0% in 2007 vs 38.0% in 2011). The CVP retained about the same popularity (20.1% in 2007), the SPS moved from below fourth place in 2007 to third and the FDP moved from below fourth place in 2007 to fourth.[9]
The evolving party membership in the Kantonsrat is shown in the following chart (for selected dates):[7] 
[edit] Economy
Most of the canton relies on agriculture. The local breed of brown cattle is renowned. The textile industry used to be of great importance in the canton but has now almost ceased to exist; remnants are concentrated around the capital Schwyz. Located in the same area are many producers of fine furniture. There are a few large hydroelectric power plants in the canton.
Tourism is of importance in a number of regions, most notably in the centre of pilgrimage Einsiedeln. Einsiedeln is also a centre of winter sports. The mountain railways on the Rigi are well known around the country. Freienbach, in the north of the canton, is known for the lowest taxes in Switzerland. This has attracted a number of the rich.
The best known, worldwide product of the canton is the Swiss Army Knife manufactured by Victorinox in Ibach just downhill from the main town of Schwyz.
As of 2010[update], Schwyz had an unemployment rate of 2.3%. As of 2008[update], there were 4,723 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 1,789 businesses involved in this sector. 18,661 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 1,937 businesses in this sector. 41,198 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 6,207 businesses in this sector.[3]
In 2008[update] the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 53,451. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 2,939, of which 2,795 were in agriculture, 130 were in forestry or lumber production and 14 were in fishing or fisheries. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 17,505 of which 10,048 or (57.4%) were in manufacturing, 88 or (0.5%) were in mining and 6,959 (39.8%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 33,007. In the tertiary sector; 8,708 or 26.4% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 2,193 or 6.6% were in the movement and storage of goods, 3,376 or 10.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1,382 or 4.2% were in the information industry, 2,294 or 7.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 4,126 or 12.5% were technical professionals or scientists, 1,922 or 5.8% were in education and 4,504 or 13.6% were in health care.[10]
Of the working population, 15.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 56% used a private car.[3]
[edit] Religion
From the 2000 census[update], 92,868 or 72.2% were Roman Catholic, while 15,140 or 11.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 2,758 members of an Orthodox church (or about 2.14% of the population), there were 46 individuals (or about 0.04% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 2,658 individuals (or about 2.07% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 51 individuals (or about 0.04% of the population) who were Jewish, and 5,598 (or about 4.35% of the population) who were Islamic. There were 272 individuals who were Buddhist, 429 individuals who were Hindu and 62 individuals who belonged to another church. 6,331 (or about 4.92% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 3,752 individuals (or about 2.92% of the population) did not answer the question.[5]
[edit] Education
In Schwyz about 46,694 or (36.3%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 13,848 or (10.8%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Of the 13,848 who completed tertiary schooling, 66.3% were Swiss men, 19.4% were Swiss women, 9.1% were non-Swiss men and 5.2% were non-Swiss women.[5]
[edit] See also
Theodor Ab Yberg, head of the canton 1846-1847
[edit] References
- ^ Arealstatistik Standard - Kantonsdaten nach 4 Hauptbereichen
- ^ a b Swiss Federal Statistics Office – STAT-TAB Ständige und Nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Region, Geschlecht, Nationalität und Alter (German) accessed 10 December 2011
- ^ a b c d e f g h Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 24-February-2012
- ^ Flags of the World.com accessed 24-February-2012
- ^ a b c d e STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000 (German) accessed 2 February 2011
- ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Rental prices 2003 data (German) accessed 26 May 2010
- ^ a b c Schwyz in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Elections in Switzerland (German) accessed 5 January 2012
- ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Nationalratswahlen 2007: Stärke der Parteien und Wahlbeteiligung, nach Gemeinden/Bezirk/Canton (German) accessed 28 May 2010
- ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB Betriebszählung: Arbeitsstätten nach Gemeinde und NOGA 2008 (Abschnitte), Sektoren 1-3 (German) accessed 28 January 2011
[edit] External links
- Official site (German)
Media related to Canton of Schwyz at Wikimedia Commons
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