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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 55 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Switzerland
Between 7 and 8 million. It is around seven and a quarter million (2000)
70 percent. The other thirty percent is the Swiss Plateau, an area of rolling hills. Most of the population live in this area.
Jura Mountains. The Jura mountains are in the western part of Switzerland.
Lausanne. Bern is the administrative capital
Matterhorn . The Matterhorn is 14,692 feet high. Cervin is the name it is known by in French speaking Switzerland.
Liechtenstein. It has an area of 60 square miles and a population of just over 32,000 (2000).
Lac Leman. The German speaking Swiss know this lake as as Genfer See.
Rhine. The Rhone, which rises only fifty miles away from the Rhine's source flows into the Mediterranean
foehn. The chinook is a similar wind that blows from the Rockies in North America. The sirocco is a hot humid wind that blows into southern Italy. The mistral is a dry, cold northerly wind of southern France.
Bern. Bern is the fourth largest city in Switzerland with an approximate population of 129,400 people.
Roman Catholic. Approximately 49% of Switzerland is Roman Catholic, with about 48% Protestant, and 3% other.
Lake Geneva. Lake Geneva is the largest lake in Switzerland.
Aletschgletscher. The Aletschgletscher has an area of 118 km2.
Zurich. Zurich has a population of approximately 250,000 people.
German. German is spoken by 74% of the population, French has 20%, Italian has 5%, and Romansch has 1%
99%. This is for people over the age of 15.
Monte Rosa. Stretching 4634m high, this is definately Switzerland's highest mountian. The Matterhorm reaches 4477m.
| A majority of the Swiss population speaks a variety of German as their first language. French and Italian are also official languages. What is the fourth official language of Switzerland? | Travels in Switzerland
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Romansch. Romansch is the first language of about one-percent of the Swiss population. Several dialects of this ancient language are spoken in Grisons. It has been recognized as an official language since 1938.
| One of Switzerland's prettiest lakes is the Vierwaldstatter See, or Lake of the Four Forest Cantons. Which tourist destination lies near Mt. Pilatus on this lake? | Travels in Switzerland
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Lucerne. The four forest cantons are Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, and Lucerne. The first three of these are the three original cantons of the first Swiss federation.
| Murten, with its well-preserved medieval walls, is a popular tourist destination near Bern. Murten is the German name for the city, but it also has many French-speaking residents. What is the French name for Murten? | Travels in Switzerland
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Morat. Murten/Morat lies on a ridge marking the linguistic boundary between French-speaking Switzerland and German-speaking Switzerland.
| The Centovalli train passes through a series of picturesque villages. One end of this line terminates in Domodossola, Italy. Which Swiss city lies at the other end of the line? | Travels in Switzerland
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Locarno. The Val Centovalli ("The Valley of 100 Valleys") provides one of the most scenic train rides in all of Europe.
| The Rhine Falls is a popular tourist destination in the northern part of Switzerland. Which Swiss city is home to the Rhine Falls? | Travels in Switzerland
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Schaffhausen. The Rhine Falls, the mightiest falls in central Europe, display their greatest force in June and July after the melting of the mountain snows.
| The Glacier Express is perhaps Switzerland's best known tourist train. It links St. Moritz to what other popular tourist destination? | Travels in Switzerland
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Zermatt. Three private rail companies combine their resources to provide the Glacier Express. The entire trip from St. Moritz to Zermatt (or vice versa) takes about eight hours.
| From its name, it is clear that Interlaken lies between two lakes. One of them is Lake Brienz. What is the name of the other lake? | Travels in Switzerland
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Lake Thun. Both Lake Brienz and Lake Thun are only about ten miles long and two miles wide, but during the summer, due to the beautiful scenery surrounding both lakes, the tourist boats are packed.
Aare River. In summer, Swiss citizens and visitors alike enjoy float trips down the Aare to the center of the city.
| The castle of Chillon inspired Lord Byron's poem, "The Prisoner of Chillon." If you'd like to visit Chillon, to what city would you travel? | Travels in Switzerland
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Montreux. Visitors to Chillon can today see the spot where Byron carved his name into one of the support pillars when he visited the site (as a tourist) almost 200 years ago.
| One of the best ways to see the sights of the Berner Oberland is to use the private rail system to travel southward into the Lauterbrunnen Valley to Grindlewald, Wengen, and the Jungfraujoch. From which city does the traveler begin this journey to the south? | Travels in Switzerland
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Interlaken. The rail trip to the top of the Jungfrau is one of the most breathtaking (and one of the most expensive) in Switzerland. The Jungfrau line, completed in 1912, leads to the highest railway station in Europe at over 11,000 feet.
| Some visitors may travel to this region of Switzerland to ascend the Santis, one of the tallest peaks in northeastern Switzerland. But in the region they can also find many small villages that preserve traditions in arts and crafts, music, costuming, and politics. What is the name of this region that is made up of two half-cantons? | Travels in Switzerland
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Appenzell. Visitors who drive through Appenzell in the fall might find their way blocked by the processions of the flower-bedecked cows returning home after summering in the high pastures.
| Although the principality of Liechtenstein is not a part of Switzerland, it does use the Swiss currency and the Swiss postal system. What is the capital of this principality? | Travels in Switzerland
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Vaduz. Although it does use the Swiss postal system, it issues its own stamps, one of the most popular tourist purchases in the country. Visitors to the capital can have their passports stamped (for a small fee!) at the Vaduz tourist information office.
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