Outdoor diners and drinkers in Geneva will soon need to move inside at midnight under new rules aimed at cutting nighttime noise in the city, reported the newspaper 20 Minutes. The rule, to be introduced on 1 June 2022, will apply from Sunday until Thursday. On Fridays and Saturdays outdoor dining and drinking will be […]
Pilot glides from Swiss Jura to southern England
On 1 May 2022, pilot Yves Gerster glided 516km from the Jura mountain range in Switzerland all the way to Lasham in the south of England. Gerster took off from Courtelary at 7:35 am and landed in Lasham at 4:44 pm, a little over 9 hours later, according to the website weglide.org. During the first […]
Swiss government supports wider definition of rape
This week, Switzerland’s Federal Council agreed that Switzerland’s legal definition of rape should be extended, reported RTS. Currently, Swiss law defines rape as vaginal penetration by a man where the woman has resisted, a narrow definition that excludes male victims and cases where a woman has not resisted, for example in cases where resisting would […]
Compulsory Swiss military service: reform options include women
This week, against the backdrop of war in Ukraine, Switzerland’s federal government set out a number of options for the reform of Switzerland’s military service. By 2024, the government aims to have a reform plan, which might extend compulsory service to women. Work on the project began long before the war in Ukraine. A key […]
The people who moved in Switzerland in 2020
During 2020, 10.3% of Switzerland’s population moved. The average distance moved was 12.5 km. However, the likelihood of movement and the distance moved varied significantly by age and nationality. People in the age band between 20 and 40 were the most likely to move. There was also a small bump in numbers between the ages […]
Buying a ticket once a train has departed can be very expensive in Switzerland
Recently, a 72 year old man was fined CHF 90 francs after he bought a train ticket on his phone 1.5 minutes after his train departed, reported Le Matin. On 11 January 2022, the man caught a train from Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau. Trying to buy his ticket before boarding, the man found […]
What do Swiss eat on new year’s eve? Language matters.
On new year’s eve the Swiss traditionally serve an alpine version of a Chinese hot pot, which consists of meats and vegetables cooked in a large pot of hot broth. Like cheese fondu those around the table share a pot, but instead of forks armed with bread or potato, diners are equipped with small wire […]
Domestic violence widespread in Switzerland, according to survey
According to a recent study, 42% of women and 24% of men reported being subject to violence by their partner in Switzerland. Across both groups the percentage was 33%. The survey, run by Sotomo on behalf of the National Federation for women’s solidarity, questioned 3,597 people across Switzerland. The National Federation for women’s solidarity provides […]
Swiss national day: 4 things you ought to know
Every year on 1 August, Swiss celebrate the founding of their nation with barbecues, friends, town celebrations and a lot of fireworks. But what is it all about? 1. The Federal Charter of 1291 Switzerland’s national celebration, held every year on 1 August, celebrates the signing of the Federal Charter of 1291 in early August […]
Avalanches: 7 ski deaths in three days in Switzerland
At around 10:20am on Monday 18 January 2021, ten people were caught in an avalanche below Les Attelas in Verbier – pictured below. All ten, who were wearing avalanche detectors, were found, however, a 38 year old British citizen and resident of Verbier died and another was rushed to hospital in a helicopter, according to […]
