Monograms Tours Europe: Switzerland

Switzerland,  a federal republic,  is a landlocked country bordered by Germany, France, Austria and Liechtenstein.  It is  the  birthplace of the Red Cross and was not invaded in either World War I or II. Switzerland has existed as a state in its present form since 1848, but its early loose confederation dates to the 13th century.  Traces of man living in Switzerland date back 150,000 years. Glaciers are found in the Swiss Alps, and from these come several major rivers: the Rhine, the Rhone, the Inn, and the Ticino. Lake Geneva, Lake Constance, and Lake Maggiore are important. Mountain peaks abound: Monte Rosa, the Matterhorn, Jungfrau, Eiger, Piz Bernina.  Basel, Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Lucerne, Ticino, Lugano, and Zurich are major cities. Switzerland is home to large multinational  companies: Glencore,  Nestle,  Novartis, Hoffmann-LaRoche,  AABB,  Adeco, UBS AG, Zurich Financial Services, Credit Suisse, Swiss Re, and the Swatch Group.  The  Nobel  Peace Prize has been awarded 9 times to organizations residing in Switzerland. There have been 113 Nobel  Prize winners in fields with some relation to  Switzerland .  Albert Einstein developed his theory of relativity while working in  Bern. The Lucerne Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, and the Locarno International Film Festival are held annually. A statue of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, writer and philosopher, can be seen in  Geneva. The most famous Swiss  literary work would have to be Heidi  by Johanna Spyn.  This a most interesting country to visit on your Monograms tour.