Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a country in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The sovereign state is a federal republic situated in western, central and southern Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning a total area of (land area ). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the
Flags and arms of cantons of Switzerland independence, Appenzell had a flag of a bear statant (on all fours) on a honeycombed field, attested from 1377. Appenzell split into its two half-cantons as a result of the Swiss Reformation, in 1597. The letters V and R in the Ausserrhoden flag stand for "Ussere Rhoden" "outer districts" (V representing /u/). The oldest representation of the letters is found on a flag, presumably of the 17th century and known to have been in use in 1743. On this flag, the bear is facing away from the hoist, with the letters V and R on the hoist side, behind the