Canton of GenevaThe Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of forty-five municipalities, and the seat of the government and parliament is in the City of Geneva. Geneva is the French-speaking westernmost canton of Switzerland. It lies at the western end of Lake Geneva and on both sides of the Rhone, its main river. Within the country, the canton shares borders with Vaud to the east, the only adjacent canton.
Swiss AlpsThe Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (Schweizer Alpen, Alpes suisses, Alpi svizzere, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main physiographic regions. The Swiss Alps extend over both the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps, encompassing an area sometimes called Central Alps.
Switzerland during the World WarsDuring World War I and World War II, Switzerland maintained armed neutrality, and was not invaded by its neighbors, in part because of its topography, much of which is mountainous. Germany was a threat and Switzerland built a powerful defense. It served as a "protecting power" for the belligerents of both sides, with a special role in helping prisoners of war. The belligerent states made it the scene for diplomacy, espionage, and commerce, as well as being a safe haven for 300,000 refugees.
Vatican CityVatican City (ˈvætᵻkən), officially Vatican City State (Stato della Città del Vaticano; Status Civitatis Vaticanæ), is a landlocked independent country, city-state, microstate, and enclave within Rome, Italy. It became independent from Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty, and it is a distinct territory under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See, itself a sovereign entity under international law, which maintains the city state's temporal power and governance, diplomatic, and spiritual independence.
Lake ConstanceLake Constance (Bodensee, ˈboːdn̩ˌzeː) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (Obersee), Lower Lake Constance (Untersee), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Lake Rhine (Seerhein). These waterbodies lie within the Lake Constance Basin (Bodenseebecken) in the Alpine Foreland through which the Rhine flows. The lake is situated where Germany, Switzerland, and Austria meet. Its shorelines lie in the German states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, the Swiss cantons of St.
Sion, SwitzerlandSion (sjɔ̃; Sitten ˈzɪtn̩; Seduno; Sedunum) is a Swiss town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Valais and of the district of Sion. it had a population of (known as Sédunois(es)). On 17 January 1968, the former municipality of Bramois merged into the municipality of Sion. On 1 January 2013, the former municipality of Salins merged into the municipality of Sion, and on 1 January 2017, Les Agettes did the same. Landmarks in Sion include the Basilique de Valère and the Château de Tourbillon.
Neutral countryA neutral country is a state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, CSTO or the SCO). As a type of non-combatant status, nationals of neutral countries enjoy protection under the law of war from belligerent actions to a greater extent than other non-combatants such as enemy civilians and prisoners of war.
RhôneThe Rhône (rəʊn , ʁon) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Arles, near its mouth, the river divides into the Great Rhône (le Grand Rhône) and the Little Rhône (le Petit Rhône). The resulting delta forms the Camargue region. The river's source is the Rhône Glacier, at the east edge of the Swiss canton of Valais.
BernBern (bɛrn) or Berne (bɛʁn) is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city". With a population of about 133,000 (), Bern is the fifth-most populous city in Switzerland, behind Zürich, Geneva, Basel and Lausanne. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 36 municipalities, had a population of 406,900 in 2014. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000. Bern is also the capital of the canton of Bern, the second-most populous of Switzerland's cantons.
