The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the

canton of Schwyz The canton of Schwyz (german: Kanton Schwyz rm, Chantun Sviz; french: Canton de Schwytz; it, Canton Svitto) is a canton in central Switzerland between the Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne to the west and Lake Zürich in the north, centred o ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ''Bundesbriefmuseum''. The official language of Schwyz is (the Swiss variety of)

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic

Swiss German Swiss German (Standard German: , gsw, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no defined orthography for any of them, many different spelling ...

dialect.

Name

The earliest certain record of the name dates to 972, recorded in

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...

as '. There are a number of uncertain records dated between 924 and 960, in the form ''Swites'' (''Suuites'') and ''Switz''. The name is recorded as ''Schwitz'' in the 13th century, and in the 17th to 18th century often as ''Schweitz''. The name's etymology is uncertain. It was long presented as derived from the name of an

eponymous founder An origin myth is a myth that describes the origin of some feature of the natural or social world. One type of origin myth is the creation or cosmogonic myth, a story that describes the creation of the world. However, many cultures have stor ...

in Swiss legend, one ''Suito'' or ''Switer'', an explanation found in Swiss school textbooks until the first half of the 20th century. There is currently no consensus on the name's derivation.

Isaac Wake Sir Isaac Wake (1580/81 – 1632Vivienne Larminie‘Wake, Sir Isaac (1580/81–1632)’ ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 10 November 2008) was an English diplomat and political commentator. He ...

, diplomat of King

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

suggested in 1625 that the name originated in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, among the '' Suecia'', "who in the time of king ic Sigebert made a transmigration out of Suecia and planted themselves in this country". A Germanic etymology was suggested by Gatschet (1867), deriving the name from an

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old Hig ...

verb ' "to burn" (referring to

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...

clearing of woodland for habitation). Brandstetter (1871) is critical of Gatschet's suggestion and prefers derivation from an Alemannic personal name in ''Svid-'' as it were presenting a scholarly defense of the ''Suito'' of the founding legend. The etymology proposed for the ' by Hubschmied (1929) derives the name from a Gallo-Roman *', from the Gaulish or Latin word for " pig", via a Romance *' "(mountain, pasture) of pigs" yielding an Alemannic '. Hubschmied distanced himself from this opinion in 1961, preferring an unspecified pre-Roman (or "Etruscan") source. Sonderegger (1966) revisits Gatschet's ' "slash-and-burn" proposal, but now claims derivation from a cognate Celtic root, ', Proto-Celtic ' with a meaning of "clearing" or similar, giving Gaulish *' (the long vowel as in ' "

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

"), Gallo-Romance *''Svēdus, -is'', and finally ' in Old High German by the 8th century. The name ' was extended to the area dominated by Schwyz (the Canton of Schwyz), and later to the entire

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy ( Modern German: ; historically , after the Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or In the charters of the 14th centur ...

. Other cantons tended to resent this in the 15th century, but after 1499 the term ' was widely self-adopted, out of spite so to speak, since it had been employed as a term of abuse by the Swabian side during the

Swabian War The Swabian War of 1499 ( gsw, Schwoobechrieg (spelling depending on dialect), called or ("Swiss War") in Germany and ("War of the Engadin") in Austria) was the last major armed conflict between the Old Swiss Confederacy and the House of ...

. ' and ' (the origin of the English name ''Switzerland'') could be used interchangeably as country names in the 16th century. The

pronunciation is the same for the name of the town and that of the country (the two are distinguished only by use of the definite article for the latter, "Schwyz", "Switzerland"). The spelling of ''y'' for ːoriginates from the ligature '' ij'' in 15th-century handwriting.

History

While a few

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

coins have been found in Schwyz, the earliest evidence of a settlement comes from the 8th century. The

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pre ...

cemetery at the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

and the church itself are both from the first half of the 8th century. This first church was followed by a second ottonian church around 1000, which may have been destroyed by the

1117 Verona earthquake An earthquake, rated at IX (''Violent'') on the Mercalli intensity scale, struck northern Italy and Germany on 3 January 1117. The epicentre of the first shock was near Verona, the city which suffered the most damage. The outer wall of the Ve ...

. In 1121 the third church building, a romanesque building, was consecrated. This was followed in the 15th Century by the much larger fourth church which was destroyed, along with much of the village, by fire in 1642. The fifth church, an early

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

church was replaced because of serious structural defects by the current late baroque church which was dedicated in 1774. Because Schwyz was the capital of a canton, many of the government organizations administered both the town and the canton at the same time, and the history of the town is closely tied to the history of the canton. According to the chronicle of Johann Stumpf from 1548, the old town originally consisted of a village square, the church and its cemetery, the town hall, the inn, the archive tower and a number of scattered wooden houses. Around 1500, to distinguish it from the Canton of Schwyz, Schwyz town was often called ''Kilchgassen'', which meant the village around the church but not the surrounding villages. The fire of 1642, which destroyed 47 buildings in the center of the village, allowed the town to be totally rebuilt. A new, larger town square with major roads radiating out was built in front of the new church and the new city hall. The houses were rebuilt as urban townhouses and a ring of about 30 large patrician farm houses grew up surrounding the village center.

Geography

Besides the town of Schwyz, the municipality includes the settlements of Ibach, Seewen and Rickenbach. To the east, the municipality includes, or borders on, the mountains of Hochstuckli,

Kleiner Mythen The Kleiner Mythen is a mountain in the Schwyzer Alps of Central Switzerland. The mountain lies in the canton of Schwyz, to the east of the town of Schwyz, to the south of the village of Alpthal in the valley of the Alp river, and to the north ...

Grosser Mythen The Grosser Mythen (also ''Grosse Mythe'') is a mountain in the Schwyzer Alps of Central Switzerland. The mountain lies in the canton of Schwyz, to the east of the town of Schwyz, and to the south of the village of Alpthal in the valley of the ...

, Rotenflue, and Furggelenstock. The river Muota flows out of these mountains and through the municipality on its way to

Lake Lucerne __NOTOC__ Lake Lucerne (german: Vierwaldstättersee, literally "Lake of the four forested settlements" (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), french: lac des Quatre-Cantons, it, lago dei Quattro Cantoni) is a lake in central S ...

. The Haggenegg Pass and Holzegg Pass both cross to

Alpthal Alpthal is a village and municipality in Schwyz District in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. Besides the village of Alpthal, the municipality includes the ski resort of Brunni, and settlement of Eigen. History Alpthal is first mentioned in 101 ...

, whilst the Ibergeregg Pass crosses to Oberiberg. Schwyz has an area, , of . Of this area, 46.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 39.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 8.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (5.8%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

Coat of arms

The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The ...

of the municipal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

is ''Gules, a Confederate cross couped in the hoist argent.''

Demographics

Schwyz had a population () of . , 15.6% of the population were resident foreign nationals. Over the year 2010–2011 the population reduced by 0.6%. Migration accounted for −0.9%, while births and deaths accounted for 0.0%.Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 11 December 2013 Most of the population () speaks

(12,441 or 90.1%) as their first language,

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...

is the second most common (378 or 2.7%) and Italian is the third (273 or 2.0%). There are 23 people who speak

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and 25 people who speak Romansh. , the population was 49.9% male and 50.1% female. The population was made up of 5,824 Swiss men (42.2% of the population), 1,058 (7.7%) non-Swiss men, 5,932 Swiss women (43.0%) and 988 (7.2%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 6,681 or about 48.4% were born in Schwyz and lived there in 2000. There were 2,195 or 15.9% who were born in the same canton, while 2,780 or 20.1% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 1,797 or 13.0% were born outside of Switzerland. , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25.6% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 14.1%. , there were 6,314 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 6,305 married individuals, 722 widows or widowers and 461 individuals who are divorced.STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 – 2000
accessed 2 February 2011 , there were 5,250 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.5 persons per household. There were 1,582 households that consist of only one person and 536 households with five or more people. , a total of 4,968 apartments (90.3% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 375 apartments (6.8%) were seasonally occupied and 156 apartments (2.8%) were empty.Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB – Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 – Gebäude und Wohnungen
accessed 28 January 2011 , the construction rate of new housing units was 4.8 new units per 1000 residents. the average price to rent an average apartment in Schwyz was 1185.58

Swiss franc The Swiss franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the ...

s (CHF) per month (US$950, £530, €760 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one-room apartment was 543.08 CHF (US$430, £240, €350), a two-room apartment was about 904.87 CHF (US$720, £410, €580), a three-room apartment was about 1068.78 CHF (US$860, £480, €680) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1461.34 CHF (US$1170, £660, €940). The average apartment price in Schwyz was 106.2% of the national average of 1116 CHF.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Rental prices
2003 data accessed 26 May 2010 The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.25%.

Historic population

The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width:800 height:500 PlotArea = top:10 left: 100 bottom:90 right:100 Legend = columns:3 left:220 top:70 columnwidth:160 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:14000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:3000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:600 start:0 Colors= id:TO value:yellowgreen legend:Total id:GE value:teal legend:German_Speaking id:IT value:green legend:Italian_Speaking id:CA value:lightpurple legend:Catholic id:PR value:oceanblue legend:Protestant id:SW value:red legend:Swiss PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1850 from:start till:5432 text:"5,432" color:TO bar:1870 from:start till:6137 text:"6,137" color:TO bar:1888 from:start till:6616 text:"6,616" color:TO bar:1900 from:start till:7398 text:"7,398" color:TO bar:1910 from:start till:8000 text:"8,000" color:TO bar:1930 from:start till:8256 text:"8,256" color:TO bar:1950 from:start till:10259 text:"10,259" color:TO bar:1970 from:start till:12194 text:"12,194" color:TO bar:1990 from:start till:12872 text:"12,872" color:TO bar:2000 from:start till:13802 text:"13,802" color:TO LineData = points:(244,274)(307,292) color:GE points:(307,292)(369,306) color:GE points:(369,306)(431,315) color:GE points:(431,315)(493,371) color:GE points:(493,371)(556,410) color:GE points:(556,410)(618,419) color:GE points:(618,419)(680,445) color:GE points:(244,93)(307,97) color:IT points:(307,97)(369,100) color:IT points:(369,100)(431,97) color:IT points:(431,97)(493,97) color:IT points:(493,97)(556,111) color:IT points:(556,111)(618,103) color:IT points:(618,103)(680,98) color:IT points:(120,245)(182,265) color:CA points:(182,265)(244,277) color:CA points:(244,277)(307,298) color:CA points:(307,298)(369,313) color:CA points:(369,313)(431,319) color:CA points:(431,319)(493,373) color:CA points:(493,373)(556,422) color:CA points:(556,422)(618,416) color:CA points:(618,416)(680,412) color:CA points:(120,90)(182,91) color:PR points:(182,91)(244,92) color:PR points:(244,92)(307,94) color:PR points:(307,94)(369,95) color:PR points:(369,95)(431,97) color:PR points:(431,97)(493,100) color:PR points:(493,100)(556,104) color:PR points:(556,104)(618,109) color:PR points:(618,109)(680,111) color:PR points:(120,244)(182,261) color:SW points:(182,261)(244,272) color:SW points:(244,272)(307,287) color:SW points:(307,287)(369,301) color:SW points:(369,301)(431,314) color:SW points:(431,314)(493,373) color:SW points:(493,373)(556,407) color:SW points:(556,407)(618,413) color:SW points:(618,413)(680,426) color:SW

Heritage sites of national significance

The ''Bundesbriefmuseum'' ( Museum of the Swiss Charters of Confederation), the Dominican nuns

Convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Angl ...

of St. Peter am Bach, the entire medieval and early modern settlement, the Hermitage and chapel, the Forum der Schweizer Geschichte (Forum of Swiss History), the ''Ab Yberg im Grund'' House, the ''Bethlehem'' House at Reichsstrasse 9, the ''Ceberg im Feldli'' house at Theodosiusweg 20, the house at Gotthardstrasse 99 in Ibach, the ''Grosshus'' at Strehlgasse 12, the ''Immenfeld'' house, the house at Langfeldweg 14 in Kaltbach, the house at Oberschönenbuch 79 in Ibach, the Herrenhaus Waldegg, the Hettlingerhäuser, the Hofstatt Ital Reding, the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Parish Church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of St. Martin, the Maihof, the Palais Büeler, the

Rathaus In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

(Town council house), the Reding House, the State Archives of Schwyz and the ''Köplihaus'' house are listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire old city of Schwyz is part of the

Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage. Sites of national importance Types The types are based on t ...

. File: Bundesbriefmuseum.jpg , ''Bundesbriefmuseum'' ( Museum of the Swiss Charters of Confederation) File: Frauenkloster www.f64.ch-2.jpg , Dominican Nuns

of St. Peter am Bach File: Einsiedelei Schwyz www.f64.ch-1.jpg , Hermitage with Chapel of the 14 Emergency Helpers and a Brothers' House File: Forum der schweizer geschichte04.jpg , Forum der Schweizer Geschichte (Forum of Swiss History) File: Haus Ab Yberg Schwyz 1-www.f64.ch.jpg , ''Ab Yberg im Grund'' House with St. Sebastian Chapel File:Herrenhaus "Mittleres Feldli" in Schwyz (2022).jpg, Manor house "Mittleres Feldli" and Mythen File: Schwyz Haus Bethlehem und Grosser Mythen.jpg , ''Bethlehem'' House at Reichsstrasse 9 File: Haus Ceberg Schwyz www.f64.ch-3.jpg , ''Ceberg im Feldli'' House at Theodosiusweg 20 File: Gotthardstrasse 99 www.f64.ch-1.jpg , House at Gotthardstrasse 99, Ibach File: Grosshus Schwyz www.f64.ch-2.jpg , ''Grosshus'' House at Strehlgasse 12 File: Haus Immenfeld Schwyz www.f64.ch-9.jpg , ''Immenfeld'' House File: Langfeldweg 14 www.f64.ch-3.jpg , House at Langfeldweg 14, Kaltbach File: Schönenbuch Schwyz www.f64.ch-2.jpg , House at Oberschönenbuch 79, Ibach File: Hettlingerhaeuser Schwyz www.f64.ch-4.jpg , Hettlingerhäuser File: Ital-Reding-Hofstatt Schwyz.jpg , Hofstatt Ital Reding File: Kopp1august 1.JPG ,

of St. Martin ith ''Kerchel'' and ''Heiligkreuz'' Chapel File: Maihof Palais Niederoest 2-www.f64.ch.jpg , Maihof File: Palais Bueeler Schwyz www.f64.ch-1.jpg , Palais Büeler (formerly Palais von Weber) File: Schwyz Rathaus.jpg ,

(Town council house) File: Schwyz_Hofstatt_Ital_Reding.jpg , Reding House File: Staatsarchiv www.f64.ch-2.jpg , State Archives of Schwyz

Politics

In the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not ...

the most popular party was the SVP which received 39.91% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (26.12%), the

SPS SPS may refer to: Law and government * Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the WTO * NATO Science for Peace and Security * Single Payment Scheme, an EU agricultural subsidy * The Standard Procurement System, ...

(17.05%) and the FDP (12.72%). In the federal election, a total of 5,554 votes were cast, and the

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...

was 57.8%.

Economy

, Schwyz had an unemployment rate of 1.8%. , there were 484 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 174 businesses involved in this sector. 2,756 people were employed in the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construc ...

and there were 179 businesses in this sector. 7,099 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 696 businesses in this sector. the total number of

full-time equivalent Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit that indicates the workload of an employed person (or student) in a way that makes workloads or class loads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often used to measure a ...

jobs was 8,570. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 303, of which 273 were in agriculture and 30 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 2,647 of which 1,589 or (60.0%) were in manufacturing, 8 or (0.3%) were in mining and 928 (35.1%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 5,620. In the tertiary sector; 1,357 or 24.1% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 306 or 5.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 272 or 4.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 136 or 2.4% were in the information industry, 733 or 13.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 427 or 7.6% were technical professionals or scientists, 260 or 4.6% were in education and 1,053 or 18.7% were in health care. , there were 4,484 workers who commuted into the municipality and 2,168 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 2.1 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving.Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Statweb
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 13.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 45.3% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 11,269 or 81.6% were

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, while 675 or 4.9% belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...

. Of the rest of the population, there were 423 members of an Orthodox church (or about 3.06% of the population), there were 7 individuals (or about 0.05% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 155 individuals (or about 1.12% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 5 individuals (or about 0.04% of the population) who were

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and 502 (or about 3.64% of the population) who were

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

ic. There were 42 individuals who were

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, 31 individuals who were

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and 7 individuals who belonged to another church. 377 (or about 2.73% of the population) belonged to no church, are

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficien ...

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 385 individuals (or about 2.79% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

In Schwyz about 4,873 or (35.3%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 1,473 or (10.7%) have completed additional higher education (either

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

or a ''

Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied art ...

''). Of the 1,473 who completed tertiary schooling, 71.1% were Swiss men, 19.4% were Swiss women, 5.3% were non-Swiss men and 4.1% were non-Swiss women. , there were 419 students in Schwyz who came from another municipality, while 186 residents attended schools outside the municipality. Schwyz is home to the ''Kantonsbibliothek Schwyz'' library. The library has () 108,142 books or other media, and loaned out 136,064 items in the same year. It was open a total of 276 days with average of 29 hours per week during that year. A major school in Schwyz is the ''Kantonsschule Kollegium Schwyz'' (KKS), an upper Secondary school that is a Gymnasium and a vocational or technical college. The KKS has operated for over 150 years, though it builds on several older schools. The first Latin school in Schwyz opened in 1627 in the former Capuchin monastery of St. Josef im Loo. This school remained open until the 1798 French invasion. On 25 July 1841, the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

laid the cornerstone of what would become the Jesuit College on the site of the modern ''Kollegium''. The school opened in 1844 but only remained under Jesuit control for three years. In 1847, Federal troops marched into Schwyz to suppress the Catholic Sonderbund and forced the Jesuits to flee. It was reopened in 1855 under the Capuchin

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

Theodosius Florentini and in the following year began teaching students. The school continued to teach students using both religious and secular teachers until the 1970s. In 1972, the lower Secondary students moved to Pfäffikon and the school became an upper Secondary ''Kantonsschule''.

Weather

Schwyz has an average of 149.2 days of rain per year and on average receives of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

. The wettest month is August during which time Schwyz receives an average of of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.9 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is June, with an average of 14.8, but with only of precipitation. The driest month of the year is February with an average of of precipitation over 13.9 days., the weather station elevation is 480 meters above sea level.

Transport

The A4 motorway, between

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Z ...

and the Brunnen passes through the west of the municipality, and the town is linked to it by main roads and motorway junctions. Other main roads connect the town to

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label= Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital o ...

(along both banks of

), to the Gotthard Pass and southern Switzerland, and to Pfaffikon and

Einsiedeln Einsiedeln () is a municipality and district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century. History Early history There was no permanent settlement in the area ...

in the north of the canton of Schwyz. A minor road crosses the Ibergeregg Pass to Oberiberg, providing an alternative route to Einsiedeln. Other minor roads reach to near the summits of both the Haggenegg Pass and Holzegg Pass, but only hiking trails actually cross these passes and continue to

. Schwyz railway station, on the

Gotthard railway The Gotthard railway (german: Gotthardbahn; it, Ferrovia del Gottardo) is the Swiss trans-alpine railway line from northern Switzerland to the canton of Ticino. The line forms a major part of an important international railway link between nort ...

, is located about outside the town, in the parish of Seewen. The station is served by InterRegio and

S-Bahn The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban-suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble c ...

trains. Early plans for the Schweizerische Südostbahn included a proposal for what is now the Pfäffikon SZ–Arth-Goldau railway to terminate at Brunnen railway station instead of Arth-Goldau railway station. If that proposal had come to fruition, the Schwyz town centre would have had a railway station – initially on the Kollegi football field, and later in Steisteg. From 6 October 1900 to 14 December 1963, the Schwyzer Strassenbahnen linked the Schwyz railway station with the town centre. On 8 May 1915, the additional section between Schwyz and Brunnen See was opened – and on the same day, the Schwyz SBB–Schwyz line was shut down. The trams were eventually replaced by the Auto AG Schwyz, which today operates 12 bus lines in the cantons of Lucerne and Schwyz. The ''Rotenfluebahn'', a

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate ...

, links Rickenbach with the summit of the Rotenfluh mountain, which is, in summer, a popular vantage point over the

region, and, in winter, a ski area.

Notable people

* Theodor von Reding (1755 in Schwyz – 1809) a Spanish general, led Swiss and Spanish troops against Napoleon *

Alois von Reding Alois (Latinized ''Aloysius'') is an Old Occitan form of the name Louis. Modern variants include ''Aloïs'' ( French), ''Aloys'' ( German), ''Alois'' ( Czech), ''Alojz'' ( Slovak, Slovenian), '' Alojzy'' (Polish), '' Aloísio'' (Portuguese, Sp ...

(1765 in Schwyz – 1818) a Swiss patriot, military officer and politician * Carl Elsener Sr. (1922 – 2013 in Schwyz) a Swiss entrepreneur with the Swiss Army knife * Xavier Koller (born 1944 in Schwyz) a Swiss film director and screenwriter *

Gertrud Leutenegger Gertrud Leutenegger (born 1948) is a German-speaking Swiss poet, novelist, playwright and theatre director.Böttcher, Kurt, et al., eds., ''Lexikon deutschsprachiger Schriftsteller 20. Jahrhundert.'' Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlag, 1993, p. 476. ...

(born 1948 in Schwyz) a Swiss poet, novelist, playwright and theatre director * Monika Kaelin (born 1954 in Schwyz) a model and actress IMDb Database
retrieved 28 January 2019 ; Sport * Oscar Camenzind (born 1971 in Schwyz) a former professional road racing cyclist * Luca Schuler (born 1998 in Schwyz) a Swiss freestyle skier, competed at the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympi ...

References

External links

Municipality of Schwyz

Canton of Schwyz
{{Authority control Schwyz (capital) Cantonal capitals of Switzerland Cities in Switzerland Municipalities of the canton of Schwyz Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Schwyz