Municipalities of Switzerland

Municipalities of Switzerland

Municipalities (sometimes called communities or communes, after the French/Italian names) are the smallest government division in Switzerland, and are called "Gemeinden" in German, "communes" in French, "comuni" in Italian and "vischnancas" in Romansh. As of January 2006, Switzerland has 2740 municipalities. [Official list of Swiss municipalities, p. 17] While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities. The area of the municipalities varies between 0.28 km² (Ponte Tresa, Ticino) and 282 km² (Bagnes, Valais).

Each canton defines their responsibilities. These may include providing local government services such as education, medical and social services, public transportation, and tax collection. The degree of centralization varies from one canton to another.

Municipalities are generally governed by a council headed by a mayor as executive and the town meeting as legislature. Most cantons leave the option to larger municipalities to opt for a city parliament. In some cantons, foreign persons that have dwelled for a certain time in Switzerland are also allowed to participate in the municipal politics.

Swiss citizenship is based on the citizenship of a municipality. Every Swiss is citizen of one or several municipalities (i.e. the place of origin, "lieu d'origine", "Heimatort").

Municipalities are financed through direct taxes (e.g. income tax), with rates varying more or less within a framework set by the canton.

Many municipalities are having difficulties maintaining the civil services they need to perform the duties they are required to do. In an effort to reduce expenses, many municipalities are combining together (through mergers or the creation of special-purpose districts). This restructuring is generally encouraged by the cantonal governments and the rate of these unions is increasing .

"Cities" ("villes" or "Städte") are the municipalities with more than 10'000 inhabitants or smaller places which had medieval town rights. There is no specific designation for smaller municipalities ("villages", "towns").

Municipalities are numbered by the Swiss Federal Office for Statistics (see "Community Identification Number#Switzerland"). One or more postal codes (PLZ/NPA) can by assigned to a municipality or shared with other municipalities.

"See also:" List of cities in Switzerland

Lists of municipalities by canton


*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

See cantons of Switzerland for the number of municipalities per canton.

List of municipalities by population

Largest municipalities
City C. Pop.
Zürich ZH 365,000
Geneva GE 171,000
Basel BS 166,300
Berne BE 136,300
Lausanne VD 128,100
Winterthur ZH 87,000
St. Gallen SG 75,200
Lucerne LU 61,000
Lugano TI 52,000
Biel/Bienne BE 51,900
Thun BE 38,200
KönizBE36,993
La Chaux-de-FondsNE36,966
SchaffhausenSH33,764
FribourgFR32,549
ChurGR31,911
NeuchâtelNE31,630
VernierGE29,459
UsterZH28,770
SionVS27,697
EmmenLU26,973

Smallest municipalities (2002)
RankMunicipalityC.Pop.
1.PorteinGR22
2.CorippoTI23
3.MulegnsGR25
4.BisterVS26
5.MartisbergVS28
6.Goumoens-le-JuxVD30
6.LargarioTI30
8.CluginGR35
9.CaucoGR36
9.MonibleBE36
11.St. MartinGR37
12.GressoTI38
12.MontfavergierJU38
14.VaugondryVD39
15.ArrissoulesVD40
15.RomaironVD40
15.SelmaGR40
18.AusserbinnVS41
18.LinescioTI41
18.MaurazVD41
18.SteinhausVS41

nb. Corippo has now taken place as smallest city/municipality in Switzerland with only 17 inhabitants. (2004 Census)

ee also

*List of municipalities of Switzerland
*List of twin towns and sister cities in Switzerland
*Former municipalities of Switzerland

Notes

References

* [http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/news/publikationen.html?publicationID=2321 Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz/Liste officielle des communes de la Suisse/Elenco ufficiale dei Comuni della Svizzera, 2006] . Neuchâtel, 2006. ISBN 3-303-00334-3.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Former municipalities of Switzerland — This is a list of former municipalities of Switzerland, i.e. municipalities of Switzerland ( de. Gemeinden, fr. communes, it. comuni, rm. vischnancas) that no longer exist. In 1850, Switzerland had 3203 municipalities. [… …   Wikipedia

  • List of municipalities of Switzerland — The following is a list of the municipalities in Switzerland, listed alphabetically (from Aadorf to Zwischbergen) …   Wikipedia

  • Municipalities of the canton of Vaud — Municipalities in the canton of Vaud There are 339 municipalities in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland, (as of October 2011[update]) …   Wikipedia

  • Municipalities of the canton of Fribourg — Municipalities in the canton of Fribourg There are 167 municipalities in the canton of Fribourg, Switzerland (as of July 2011[update]) …   Wikipedia

  • Municipalities of the canton of Ticino — Municipalities in the canton of Ticino There are 157 municipalities in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland, (as of November 2010[update]) …   Wikipedia

  • Municipalities of the canton of Zürich — Municipalities in the canton of Zürich There are 171 municipalities in the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland, (as of December 2008[u …   Wikipedia

  • Municipalities of the canton of Bern — Municipalities in the canton of Bern There are 383 municipalities in the canton of Bern, Switzerland (as of July 2011[update]) …   Wikipedia

  • Municipalities of the canton of Solothurn — Municipalities in the canton of Solothurn These are the 122 municipalities of the canton of Solothurn, Switzerland (as of April 2010[update]) …   Wikipedia

  • Municipalities of the canton of Valais — Municipalities in the canton of Wallis There are 143 municipalities in the canton of Valais, Switzerland (as of February 2010[update]) …   Wikipedia

  • Municipalities of the canton of St. Gallen — Municipalities in the canton of St. Gallen The following are the 85 municipalities of the canton of St. Gallen, (as of April 2010[update]) …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”