A Catholic and Protestant heritage
Roman Catholicism and Protestantism have played an important role in shaping modern Switzerland and the way the Swiss see themselves. The Roman Catholic Church is the majority in Switzerland, with over 3 million members. It is dominant in rural cantons and in the cities that welcomed immigration from southern Europe in the 1970s. Among the strongly Catholic cantons are Uri (over 90%), Schwyz, Nidwalden and Obwalden, the same ones that took the oath of confederation in 1291, the foundation of modern Switzerland. By coming together at that time, they were able to assert their ancestral right to self-determination and free self-government in the eyes of outside powers. Today, it is these same regions which, when it comes to voting, are most vehemently opposed to any changes which they feel might bring Switzerland closer to its neighbors and threaten its neutrality. Switzerland was also home to two of the key figures in the Protestant Reformation that swept across Europe in the 16th century: Ulrich Zwingli and Jean Calvin. Across the country, it was the wealthier rural cantons and the cities where industrial centers later developed that embraced the new religion. Geneva in particular became one of the strongholds of Protestantism and a haven for refugees, including Calvin, fleeing oppression in Catholic countries. Indeed, Geneva is nicknamed "Protestant Rome". The Museum of the Reformation, the Wall of the Reformers in Geneva and the guided tours of the city offered by Geneva Tourism take you back in time to this Calvinist period. Huguenot refugees from the 15th and 16thcenturies made a major contribution to the economic and intellectual life of the country. Is watchmaking not the heir to this know-how handed down by Protestant refugees? Protestants valued rationalism and hard work, and saw financial affluence as a reward from God, an ethic that laid the foundations of modern Swiss prosperity.
Tradition and innovation
It's a land of legends, some of which gave birth to Switzerland, with the sense of freedom and spirit of independence embodied in the epic of William Tell. The other myth that symbolizes Switzerland around the world is undoubtedly the story of Heidi, the little mountain girl. Johanna Spyri (1827-1901) turned it into a bestseller. Heidi's village (HeidiLand) will transport you to the original setting of the story.
