consisting of 26 cantons
, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe
,Or Central Europe
depending on the definition. See Geography of Switzerland
. where it is bordered by Germany
to the north, France
to the west, Italy
to the south, and Austria
and Liechtenstein
to the east.
Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps
, the Central Plateau
and the Jura
, spanning an area of 41285 km² (15,940.2 sq mi).
1291 The Swiss Confederation is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.
1349 The Jewish population of Basel, Switzerland, believed by the residents to be the cause of the ongoing Black Death, is rounded up and incinerated.
1422 Battle of Arbedo between the duke of Milan and the Swiss cantons.
1499 Treaty of Basel: Switzerland becomes an independent state.
1500 Ludovico Sforza is captured by the Swiss troops at Novara and is handed over to the French.
1513 Italian Wars: Battle of Novara. Swiss troops defeat the French under Louis de la Tremoille, forcing the French to abandon Milan. Duke Massimiliano Sforza is restored.
1525 The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in the home of Manz's mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union.
1531 The Second war of Kappel results in the dissolution of the Protestant alliance in Switzerland.
1799 War of the Second Coalition: Austrian forces defeats the French at Winterthur, Switzerland, securing control of the northeastern Swiss Plateau because of the town's loaction at the junction of seven cross-roads.
1809 The Swiss canton of Aargau denies citizenship to Jews.