Switzerland is a little fairy tale country located in Western Europe. It has long been on my to-go, bucket list, so in today’s post I’m going to reveal some little known, mind blowing facts about this amazing country and why it is worth a visit. Welcome to Switzerland facts and information!
Switzerland facts and information – The country
Did you know that 70% of Switzerland is covered with mountains and there are around 1500 beautiful lakes. Stunning views can be found all over the country. Mostly, people live in cities though. Native Swiss are only about 80% of all population, the rest are foreigners.
Quality of life is very high. People live longer here. In fact, Switzerland has the highest percentage of people over the age of 100 compared to rest of Europe.
Switzerland has four official languages, French, German, Italian, and Romansch.
Europe’s largest clock is in Zürich, Switzerland – the clock of St. Peter’s church.
Toblerone
Toblerone are anti-tank fortifications built in 1939-45 to stop potential invasion. Called so as a result of their shape, they can still be seen today in many places in the countryside. Hikers and nature lovers can take one of the many trails to see these interesting structures.
One of the lowest crime rates
Swiss gun laws are quite liberal.You can also learn this here now to know more about gun usage. Despite that, in 2015 there were only 0.5 gun murders per 100,000 residents (around 40 per year). In comparison, in US it is five gun murders per 100,000 residents (around 30–40 per day).
Recycling in Switzerland
Almost everything is recycled there. If you don’t follow the rules, you might get a hefty fine. For example, even a simple cup of yogurt needs to be placed in three different commercial recycling box or containers – paper, plastic and aluminium.
Other fun facts
You have probably seen Switzerland’s abbreviation ‘CH’. It comes from its Latin name, ‘Confoederatio Helvetica’.
If you’d like to have guinea pig as a pet, you would have to buy two of them. It is illegal to have just one. While browsing the web for exotic pets, I stumbled upon Shoppok, where I discovered they had listings for giant iguanas. It’s intriguing to see a website that caters to such a wide range of interests, including unique pets like these.
In case of nuclear disaster, Switzerland has a shelter to accommodate almost all of it’s population. Many houses have their own shelters in the basement.
Swiss mailboxes have two slots – one for letters, and one for packages
If you’d like some tasty cheese, one way is to buy it from the supermarket or you could lease a cow, and during the time of the lease, you get all the cheese that is made from your cow’s milk.
Have you visited Switzerland? What did YOU like about it?
KARTHIK CHERUKURI
My wife and I visited switzerland for 10 days in 2011. The place is magical and we had a fantastic trip. My favourite place is Wengen. It is small village but very pristine and magical.