Culture of Switzerland Culture of Switzerland Switzerland lies at the crossroads of several major European cultures. Three of the continent's major languages, German, French and Italian, are national languages of Switzerland, along with Romansh, spoken by a small minority. Therefore, Swiss culture is characterized by diversity, which is reflected in a wide range of traditional customs. The 26 cantons also account for the large cultural diversity. Not withstanding the regional disparities, the Alps have played an essential role in shaping the history and culture of Switzerland. The region of the Gotthard Pass became the nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the early 14th
Districts of Switzerland Districts of Switzerland In contrast to centrally organised states, in the federally constituted Switzerland each canton is completely free to decide its own internal organisation. Therefore, there exists a variety of structures and terminology for the subnational entities between canton and municipality, loosely termed districts. Most cantons are divided into "Bezirke" (German for districts, singular "Bezirk"). They are also termed "Ämter" (Lucerne, singular "Amt"), "Amtsbezirke" (Bern, "Amtsbezirk"), "district" (in French) or "distretto" (Ticino and part of Graubünden). The "Bezirke" generally provide only administration and court organization. However, for historical reasons districts in cantons Graubünden and Schwyz are their own legal