Background: The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. Switzerland's sovreignty and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and the country was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations, but retains a strong commitment to neutrality.
July 10th 2008Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Grindelwald Penny found true love in Switzerland .... the evergreen hills and alpine meadows, the snow-capped mountains, crystal blue lakes, the scary great cows with giant bells, and she didn't even taste the wo ... [full story]
June 8th 2008Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Grindelwald Sorry my entries are getting so late, but as you’ve probably guessed traveling with someone means I have less free time that I should spend on writing ;) I have a 9 hour train ride tomorrow (the ... 132 photos[full story]
August 6th 2007Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Grindelwald Well, it looks like all of our blogs before this morning's post were lost in a server crash or something like that. Bummer. Its OK though because we know that everyone reads them all the day we post ... 8 photos[full story]
Map of Switzerland
Switzerland's Flag
