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Switzerland, federal republic in west central Europe. Switzerland is a small, landlocked country set amid mountainous terrain in the heart of the European continent. It is bordered on the west by France, on the north by Germany, on the east by Austria, and on the south by Italy. The tiny principality of Liechtenstein lies between Switzerland and Austria. Each of the four major bordering countries has had an influence on Swiss culture. The Swiss people are an ethnic mix consisting mainly of native German, French, and Italian speakers, and most towns have two or even three correct names in those languages. The country has an area of 41,285 sq km (15,940 sq mi). Its largest city is Zürich, and the capital is Bern.
Switzerland may be neutral but it is certainly not flavorless. The fusion of German, French and Italian ingredients has formed a robust national culture, and the country's alpine landscapes have enough zing to reinvigorate the most jaded traveler.
Goethe summed up Switzerland succinctly as a combination of the colossal and the well-ordered. You can be sure that your trains and letters will be on time. The tidy, just-so precision of Swiss towns is tempered by the lofty splendor of the landscapes that surround them.
Switzerland conjures up a fair swag of clichés: irresistible chocolates, yodeling Heidis, humorless bankers, international bureaucracies and an orderly, anally-retentive and rather bland national persona. The Swiss, who are a brainy lot, have won more Nobel Prizes and registered more patents per capita than any other nation on earth. |
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