The Swiss cheese fondu “moitié-moitié”, which means half-half in English, will soon have its own figurative trademark, reports RTS. On 16 November 2022, the cheese producers’ association in the canton of Fribourg announced that it had applied for a trademark for the well-known “moitié-moitié” cheese fondu, which is made up of a 50/50 mix of […]
Trust in neighbours high in Switzerland, according to survey
A survey published this week shows high levels of trust and generosity towards neighbours in Switzerland. Published by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute, an offshoot of Migros, the survey reported that three quarters of those surveyed felt very safe where they lived and practically no one reported being dissatisfied with their relationships with their neighbours. 67% […]
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 […]
Switzerland unwelcoming to expats, shows survey
A survey of expats published on 12 July 2022 ranks Switzerland 43rd out of 52 nations on ease of settling in. The definition of an expat is based on the sample used in the Expat Insider 2022 survey. This group was 46 years old on average, more female (52%) than male (47%), most likely to […]
Geneva terraces to close at midnight from 1 June
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 […]
