Switzerland (/ˈswɪtsərlənd/; German: Schweiz [ˈʃvaɪts]; French: Suisse [sɥis(ə)]; Italian: Svizzera [ˈzvittsera]; Romansh: Svizra [ˈʒviːtsrɐ] or [ˈʒviːtsʁːɐ]), officially the Swiss Confederation (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviatio…
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and most powerful particle collider, and the largest single machine in the world, built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) from 1998 to 2008.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA /ˈfiːfə/; English: International Federation of Association Football or International Federation of Soccer) is the international governing body of association football (soccer), futsal and b…
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (French: Organisation européenne pour la recherche nucléaire), known as CERN (/ˈsɜrn/; French pronunciation: [sɛʁn]; derived from the name "Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire"; see History) i…
The city of Bern or Berne (German: Bern, pronounced [bɛrn]; French: Berne [bɛʁn]; Italian: Berna [ˈbɛrna]; Romansh: Berna [ˈbɛrnə]; Berndeutsch/Bärndütsch (Bernese German): Bärn [b̥æːrn]) is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to by the Sw…
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human…
CROCUS is a research reactor at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, sometimes described as zero power but in fact limited to 100 W.
Lucerne (/ˌluːˈsɜrn/; German: Luzern, [luˈtsɛrn]; French: Lucerne, [lysɛʁn]; Italian: Lucerna, [luˈtʃɛrna]; Romansh: Lucerna; Lucerne Swiss-German: Lozärn) is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is t…
The Eiger is a 3,970 metres (13,020 ft) mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) (French: Comité international olympique, CIO) is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre, Baron de Coubertin, on 23 June 1894 with Demetr…
ETH Zürich (German: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich) is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the city of Zürich, Switzerland.
The University of Konstanz (German: Universität Konstanz) is a university in the city of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was founded in 1966, and the main campus on the Gießberg was opened in 1972. The University is situated on the shore …
The Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) is a railway tunnel through the Alps in Switzerland expected to open on 2 June 2016. With a route length of 57 km (35.4 mi) and a total of 151.84 km (94.3 mi) of tunnels, shafts and passages, it will be the world's lon…
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS; French: Banque des règlements internationaux, BRI) is an international organization of central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks"…
The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (German: Schweizer Alpen, French: Alpes suisses, Italian: Alpi svizzere, Romansh: Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, alongside with …
Zürich Airport (German: Flughafen Zürich, IATA: ZRH, ICAO: LSZH), also known as Zürich Kloten Airport, is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zürich, Switzerland's larges…
The Universal Postal Union (UPU, French: Union postale universelle) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consist…
The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, English: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne) is a university specialising in engineering and technology located in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Geneva International Airport (IATA: GVA, ICAO: LSGG), formerly known as Cointrin Airport and officially as Genève Aéroport, is the international airport of Geneva, Switzerland. It is located 4 km (2.5 mi) northwest of the city centre.
Civil defense, civil defence (see spelling differences) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from military attack. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, prep…
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857.
Institut Le Rosey (French pronunciation: [ɛ̃stity lə ʁo.zɛ]), commonly referred to as Le Rosey or simply Rosey, is a school near Rolle, Switzerland which has educated royalties from around the world. The school was founded by Paul-Émile Carnal in 1…
ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS) is one of the seven particle detector experiments (ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, TOTEM, LHCb, LHCf and MoEDAL) constructed at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a particle accelerator at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclea…
Crossair Flight LX 3597 was a scheduled flight from Berlin, Germany to Zurich, Switzerland.
The Jungfrau (German: "maiden/virgin"; 4,158 metres (13,642 ft)) is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the southern canton of Bern and the northern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch.
The Lion Monument (German: Löwendenkmal), or the Lion of Lucerne, is a sculpture in Lucerne, Switzerland, designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen and hewn in 1820–21 by Lukas Ahorn. It commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the Frenc…
The University of Zurich (UZH, German: Universität Zürich), located in the city of Zürich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 26,000 students.
The Reichenbach Falls (German: Reichenbachfall) are a series of waterfalls on the Reichenbach stream in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. They have a total drop of 250 metres (820 ft). At 90 metres (300 ft), the Upper Reichenbach Falls is …
The University of Geneva (French: Université de Genève, UNIGE) is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the…
The Jungfraujoch is a col between the Jungfrau and the Mönch. It lies at a height of 3,466 meters (11,371 ft) above sea level in the Bernese Alps, on the boundary between the cantons of Bern and Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch.
The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) is the second-largest of the four major office sites of the United Nations (second to the United Nations Headquarters in New York City).
Gstaad (/ˈʃtɑːd/ or /ɡəˈʃtɑːd/; locally: [kʃtaːd̥]) is a bilingual village in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Bern in southwestern Switzerland. It is part of the municipality of Saanen and is known as a major ski resort and a popular de…
The Zentrum Paul Klee is a museum dedicated to the artist Paul Klee, located in Bern, Switzerland and designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano.
The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (also known as the Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement, abbreviated IHEID or the Graduate Institute Geneva) is a postgraduate university located in Geneva, Swi…
The Palace of Nations (French: Palais des Nations) in Geneva, Switzerland, was built between 1929 and 1936 to serve as the headquarters of the League of Nations.
The Château de Chillon (Chillon Castle) is an island castle located on Lake Geneva, south of Veytaux in the canton of Vaud. It is situated at the eastern end of the lake, on the narrow shore between Montreux and Villeneuve, which gives access to the…