Switzerland is chocolate, banks and precision. But did you know it has 7000 lakes, a bunker system for every resident, and the only town accessible only by train? Here are 15 facts.
- Switzerland has bunkers for 100% of residents. A 1963 law requires a nuclear shelter in every residential building. 9 million places total — more than residents.
- Zermatt is car-free — no cars on the streets (only electric taxis). Accessible only by Matterhorn-Gotthard narrow-gauge railway.
- The Matterhorn (4478 m) is the world's most photographed mountain. Toblerone chocolate has its shape in the logo.
- Switzerland has never joined the EU. In referendums 1992, 2001, 2014 — always NO. It operates in EFTA with 120+ bilateral agreements with the EU.
- 4 official languages — German (62%), French (23%), Italian (8%), Romansh (0.5%). Every banknote/document is in 4 languages.
- Swiss chocolate — 200,000 tonnes annually. The average Swiss eats 11 kg of chocolate per year (world's highest). Lindt, Toblerone, Nestlé.
- Geneva: 40% of residents are foreigners — UN, WTO, CERN, ICRC, WHO. Headquarters of 30+ international organisations.
- Switzerland has 7000 lakes. Lake Geneva (deepest, 310 m), Lake Constance (border with Germany/Austria), Lucerne, Zürichsee, Neuchâtel.
- Glacier Express — the world's slowest express train. 8 hours over 291 km between Zermatt and St. Moritz, through 91 tunnels and 291 bridges.
- Direct democracy — 4 referendums per year. Every citizen can force a national vote by collecting 100,000 signatures in 18 months.
- Military: every man has a rifle at home. After mandatory service, soldiers keep their weapons. Hence 2 million rifles in homes (out of 5 million adult men).
- CERN under Geneva — Large Hadron Collider (LHC). 27 km tunnel under the French-Swiss border, the world's most powerful accelerator. The Higgs boson was discovered here (2012).
- Swiss post delivers parcels in 24h in 95% of cases. A standard rarely matched in Europe.
- Europe's highest railway station — Jungfraujoch (3454 m). Rack railway 100% inside tunnels under Eiger and Mönch, opened 1912.
- Swiss Victorinox knife — in use since 1891. Made in Ibach (canton Schwyz), officially given to every newly elected pope.
Sources: Federal Statistical Office Switzerland, SBB Swiss Federal Railways, CERN, Lindt & Sprüngli annual report.