1291 Middle Ages
Federal Charter
Three Alpine valleys swear mutual assistance: the founding act of the Confederation.
Switzerland
Swiss Confederation
A confederation born of a pact of valleys in 1291, Switzerland made armed neutrality and direct democracy a model without equal.
Heritage
Calvin's Geneva was the “Protestant Rome” and a refuge for the Huguenots; Basel printed Erasmus; the abbey of Saint Gall preserves one of Europe's oldest monastic libraries. The Red Cross, born in Geneva in 1863, transposes into international law the Christian idea of aid to the wounded regardless of side.
History
The 1291 pact between Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden founded a defensive alliance that widened by successive accretion of cantons. Victories over the Habsburgs and then Burgundy established the Swiss military reputation.
The Reformation durably split the Confederation between Catholic and Reformed cantons: Zwingli in Zurich, Calvin in Geneva. After the defeat at Marignano in 1515 and above all the Peace of Westphalia, neutrality became a principle.
The modern federal state was born in 1848, with American-inspired bicameralism and direct democracy. Switzerland rejected EEA membership in 1992 and Union membership, but is linked to it by a dense network of bilateral agreements; it joined the Schengen area in 2008 and the UN in 2002.
Milestones
1499 Renaissance and Reformations
Swabian War
The Confederation becomes de facto free of the Holy Roman Empire, formally recognised in 1648.
1536 Renaissance and Reformations
Calvin in Geneva
The Institutes of the Christian Religion make Geneva a centre of the European Reformation.
1848 Early modern period
Federal Constitution
After a brief civil war, Switzerland becomes a federal state with direct democracy.
1863 Early modern period
Founding of the Red Cross
Henry Dunant creates in Geneva the institution that will give birth to humanitarian law.
1923 Contemporary period lead actor
Customs union with Switzerland
The Swiss franc becomes official currency; Bern represents the principality abroad.
1992 European construction
Rejection of the EEA
The people reject the European Economic Area; the bilateral path prevails.
2008 European construction
Schengen entry
Without Union membership, Switzerland abolishes its border controls.
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