The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure (german: Kanton Solothurn rm, Chantun Soloturn french: Canton de Soleure; it, Canton Soletta) is a

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

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 ...

. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn.

History

The foundation of the village of ''Salodurum'' took place in the time of the Roman emperor Tiberius. The territory of the canton comprises land acquired by the former town, mainly in the Middle Ages. For that reason the shape of the canton is irregular and includes two exclaves along the French border, separated from the rest of the canton by Basel-Land, which form separate districts of the canton. In 1481, the canton became a member of the military alliance of the former Swiss confederation. At the end of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, Solothurn maintained its Catholic religion. Between 1798 and 1803 the canton was part of the Helvetic Republic. In 1803 Solothurn was one of the 19 Swiss cantons that were reconstituted by Napoleon ('' Mediation''). In 1830, the population rebelled against the aristocratic regime and the canton became definitely liberal-democratic. Even though the population was strictly

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 ...

, Solothurn did not join the Catholic separatist movement ('' Sonderbund'') in 1845–7. Similarly, the federal constitutions of 1848 and 1874 were approved. The current constitution of the canton dates from 1987.

Geography

The canton is located in the north-west of Switzerland. To the west and south lie the cantons of Jura and

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 ...

, to the east is Aargau. To the north the canton is bounded by the canton of Basel-Landschaft. Parts of two of the districts are exclaves and are located along the border of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(

Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administr ...

). The lands are drained by the Aare river and its tributaries. The landscape is mostly flat, but it includes the foothills of the

Jura massif The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Frenc ...

. Part of this, the massif of the Weissenstein, overlooks Solothurn and the Mittelland from the north and has views of the Bernese Alps. The flat lands are a plain created by the Aare river. The total area of the canton is 791 km².

Political subdivisions

Districts

From 2005, Solothurn's ten districts are merged pairwise into five electoral districts, termed Amtei. From 2005, the districts have only a statistical significance. * Bucheggberg, Amtei Wasseramt-Bucheggberg * Dorneck, Amtei Dorneck-Thierstein (unofficially ''Schwarzbubenland'') *

Gäu In the south German language (of the Alemannic-speaking area, or in Switzerland), a ''gäu'' landscape (''gäulandschaft'') refers to an area of open, level countryside. These regions typically have fertile soils resulting from depositions of loess ...

, Amtei Thal-Gäu * Gösgen, Amtei Olten-Gösgen (unofficially ''Niederamt'') * Lebern, Amtei Solothurn-Lebern * Olten, Amtei Olten-Gösgen * Solothurn, Amtei Solothurn-Lebern * Thal, Amtei Thal-Gäu * Thierstein, Amtei Dorneck-Thierstein *

Wasseramt Wasseramt District is one of the ten districts of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, situated to the south of the canton. Together with the Bucheggberg District, it forms the ''Amtei'' (electoral district) of Wasseramt-Bucheggberg. It has a ...

, Amtei Wasseramt-Bucheggberg

Municipalities

There are 125 municipalities in the canton ().

Demographics

The population is mostly

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 ...

-speaking. About 44% of the population are

, with most of the remainder being

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

s (31% ). The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the population included 46,898 foreigners, or about 18.7% of the total population.

Historical population

The historical population is given in the following table:

Economy

Up to the 19th century agriculture was the main economic activity in the canton. Agriculture is still of importance, but manufacturing and the service industry are now more significant. The industries of the canton are specialized in

watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached ...

es,

jewellery Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry ( U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a w ...

, textiles,

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distribu ...

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel (aggregate) together. Cement mixe ...

and auto parts. Until recently the manufacturing of

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from cultur ...

s was an important economic activity, but global competition thought that the Swiss canton was not competitive enough. The canton is home to the

Gösgen Nuclear Power Plant The Gösgen Nuclear Power Plant (in German ''Kernkraftwerk Gösgen'', abbreviated in KKG) is located in the Däniken municipality (canton of Solothurn, Switzerland) on a loop of the Aar river. It is operated by the ''ad hoc'' society Kernkraftw ...

near Däniken which started operation in 1979.

Politics

Federal election results

: FDP before 2009, FDP.The Liberals after 2009 : "*" indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton.

Transport

The canton has good connections with other parts of Switzerland, both by rail and by road. There is a railway junction at Olten with direct trains to

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

, Zurich,

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...

and the

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

via Lucerne.

Notes and references

External links

Official site

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Solothurn Cantons of Switzerland Cantons of the Helvetic Republic