Switzerland

Switzerland country is divided between the Alpine region of the Swiss Alps in the south, the Swiss Plateau with its rolling hills, plains, and large lakes, and the mountainous Jura in the northwest.

 

  • Switzerland is one of the only two countries to have a square flag – the Vatican has the only other square flag in the world. The Swiss flag is a red square with a white cross in the centre.
  • Switzerland is prepared for a nuclear war, if there ever was one – there are enough nuclear fallout shelters to accommodate its entire human population, due to laws that require everybody to have access to a shelter in their building or nearby. The Swiss military keeps fully stocked artillery bunkers, disguised as quaint country homes, in the middle of populated villages.
  • Switzerland’s main access points are wired to blow in case of an attack – one of the country’s defence strategies is to demolish every main road, bridge and railway access into Switzerland in case of a foreign invasion, with at least 3,000 locations around the country prepared to blow at a moment’s notice.
  • Coffee in Zurich is the most expensive in the world – costing an average CHF3.65 (USD 3.65) in the Coffee Price Index 2016, with Copenhagen, Basel, Bern, and Geneva rounding out the top five respectively. Switzerland was also the origin of instant coffee when the Nestlé Company, started by Swiss businessman Henri Nestlé in 1867, created Nescafe in 1938.
  • In Switzerland, citizens can challenge any law passed by Parliament – provided they can gather 50,000 signatures against the law within 100 days. If successful, a national vote is held and voters decide by a simple majority whether to accept or reject the law.

Places in Switzerland

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