About Switzerland

     Switzerland (German: Schweiz, French: Suisse, Italian: Svizzera, Romansh: Svizra), officially the Swiss Confederation (Confoederatio Helvetica in Latin, hence its ISO country code CH), is a landlocked country of 7.5 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km². Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called cantons. Berne is the seat of the federal government and de facto capital, while the country's economic centers are its two global cities, Geneva and especially Zürich.

     Switzerland is bordered by Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. Switzerland is multilingual and has four national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. Switzerland has a long history of neutrality – it has not been at war since 1815 – and hosts many international organizations, including the Red Cross, the WTO and one of the U.N.'s two European offices.

    The Latin formal name of Switzerland, Confoederatio Helvetica is derived from the Helvetii, an ancient Celtic people in the Alpine region. It is rendered in German as Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, in French as Confédération suisse, in Italian as Confederazione Svizzera and in Romansh as Confederaziun svizra. The independence of Switzerland is traditionally dated to August 1, 1291; the first of August is the national holiday.

    With an area of 41,285 square kilometres (15,940 sq mi), Switzerland is a relatively small country. The population is about 7.4 million, resulting in an average population density of 182 people per square kilometer (472/sq mi). However, the more mountainous southern half of the country is far more sparsely populated than this average, while the northern half has a somewhat greater density, as it comprises more hospitable hilly terrain, partly forested and partly cleared, as well as several large lakes.

     Switzerland comprises three basic topographical areas: the Swiss Alps, the Swiss plateau or "middleland", and the Jura mountains along the northwestern border with France. The Alps are a high mountain range running across the central-south of the country. Among the high peaks of the Swiss Alps, the highest of which is the Dufourspitze at 4,634 metres (15,203 ft), are found countless valleys, many with waterfalls and glaciers. From these the headwaters of several major European rivers such as the Rhine, Rhône, Inn, Aare, and Ticino flow finally into the largest Swiss lakes such as Lake Geneva (Lac Leman), Lake Zürich, Lake Neuchâtel, and Lake Constance.

     The most famous mountain is the Matterhorn (4,478 m) in Valais and Pennine Alps bordering Italy. The highest mountain, the Dufourspitze (4,634 m) or Monte Rosa, is close to the Matterhorn. The section of the Bernese Alps above the deep glacial Lauterbrunnen Valley containing 72 waterfalls is also well known for the Jungfrau (4,158 m), Mönch, Eiger group of peaks, and the many picturesque valleys in the region. In the southeast the long Engadin Valley, encompassing the St Moritz area in canton Graubünden, is also quite known and the highest peak here is the Piz Bernina (4,049 m).

 

About Vorpommern

     Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, often officially translated as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, is a state in northern Germany. It comprises two parts, Mecklenburg and Vorpommern. Its capital is Schwerin.

     Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is among the least densely populated and least industrial German states, being the sixth largest in size, but only 14th in population. The Baltic Sea coastline and its islands (such as Rügen), the cities, as well as the Mecklenburg Lake District are very popular with tourists, making the state one of Germany's leading tourist destinations. Moreover, the universities of Greifswald (est. 1456) and Rostock (est. 1419) are amongst the oldest in Germany and, indeed, northern Europe.

     Major cities include Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Stralsund, Greifswald and Wismar.

     The state's name is frequently abbreviated as MV. A common but informal name — used chiefly by other Germans and not necessarily by local people, is Meck-Pomm. 

     The state was the site of the 2007 G8 summit of the leaders of the world's 7 leading industrial nations, plus Russia.

     Sixth-largest in area but only fourteenth in population among Germany's sixteen states, it is bounded to the north by the Baltic Sea, to the west by Schleswig-Holstein, to the southwest by Lower Saxony, to the south by Brandenburg, and to the east by Poland. Its administrative seat is Schwerin. The largest city is Rostock with approximately 200,000 people. Other major cities include Greifswald, Güstrow, Neubrandenburg, Stralsund and Wismar. The state's Baltic Sea coast features several islands, most notably Germany's biggest island Rügen, but also Hiddensee, Usedom and Poel. The southern part of the state is marked by a multitude of lakes, the largest of which is Lake Müritz.