Swiss politics Switzerland is a semi-direct democratic federal republic. The federal legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the Federal Assembly: the National Council and the Council of States. The Federal Council holds the executive power ...

and the history of the

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 century ...

, a is the body of

voting Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect hol ...

population in a certain

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

(as it were English ''

dale Dale or dales may refer to: Locations * Dale (landform), an open valley * Dale (place name element) Geography ;Australia * The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean ;Canada * Dale, Ontario ;Ethiopia *Dale (woreda), district ;Norway *D ...

-ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

''). The grouping of voters by valley rather than

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

is a tradition harking back to before the establishment of the current administrative divisions with the foundation of

Switzerland as a federal state The rise of Switzerland as a federal state began on 12 September 1848, with the creation of a federal constitution in response to a 27-day civil war, the ''Sonderbundskrieg''. The constitution, which was heavily influenced by the United Sta ...

in 1848. A will typically include voters of several municipalities. For example, the of

Lauterbrunnen Valley , neighboring_municipalities= Aeschi bei Spiez, Blatten (Lötschen) (VS), Fieschertal (VS), Grindelwald, Gündlischwand, Kandersteg, Lütschental, Reichenbach im Kandertal, Saxeten, Wilderswil , twintowns = } Lauterbrunnen is a village and m ...

includes the voting population of the municipalities of Lauterbrunnen,

Wengen Wengen () is a mountain village in the Bernese Oberland of central Switzerland. Located in the canton of Bern at an elevation of above sea level, it is part of the Jungfrauregion and has approximately 1,300 year-round residents, which swells ...

, Mürren, Stechelberg, Gimmelwald and Isenfluh. Similarly, the of Hasli consists of six municipalities, Gadmen, Guttannen,

Hasliberg Hasliberg is a Swiss municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern. Hasliberg is situated on a south-west facing terrace above the valley of the river Aare. The four villages spread out along this terrace ...

, Innertkirchen, Meiringen and

Schattenhalb Schattenhalb is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The municipality includes the settlements of Willigen, Geissholz, Falcheren and Lüögen. History The municipality was cr ...

. In this case, the is coterminous with the Bernese

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

of Oberhasli. Historically, is the traditional German translation of the Latin term in the Federal Charter of 1291, literally 'the people of the valley'. Thus, the enumeration of the Confederates, : is rendered as :"the people of the Uri, the entirety of the valley of

Schwyz The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ...

and the community of people of the of Unterwalden"

References

See also