Switzerland: timeline and key events
1st century BC
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War
The Helvetii defeated by Caesar
Having set out en masse for western Gaul, the Helvetii were defeated by Julius Caesar near Bibracte and forced back to the Swiss Plateau. The region then gradually came under Roman rule.
13th century
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Politics
Federal Charter
The communities of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden concluded a mutual assistance alliance, regarded as the founding act of the Swiss Confederation. 1 August has become the national holiday.
14th century
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War
Battle of Morgarten
The Confederates ambushed and crushed the army of Duke Leopold I of Habsburg. The victory strengthened the alliance, renewed a few weeks later by the Pact of Brunnen.
15th century
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War
Burgundian Wars: Grandson and Morat
The Confederates defeated Charles the Bold at Grandson and then at Morat, before helping to bring about his defeat and death at Nancy in 1477. These victories made the Swiss infantry the most feared in Europe.
16th century
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War
Battle of Marignano
Swiss troops fighting for the Duke of Milan were defeated by Francis I of France. The defeat ended the Confederation's expansion, and in 1516 it signed a perpetual peace with France; Marignano is often seen as the origin of Swiss neutrality.
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Religion
Zwingli launches the Reformation in Zurich
Appointed preacher at Zurich's Grossmünster, Huldrych Zwingli began preaching a radical reform of the Church. The Confederation became lastingly divided between Protestant and Catholic cantons.
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Religion
Calvin settles in Geneva
Recalled by the city authorities, John Calvin returned to Geneva and organised a strict Reformed Church there. The city became the “Protestant Rome”, from which Calvinism spread to France, the Netherlands, Scotland and as far as America.
17th century
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Politics
Independence recognised in the Peace of Westphalia
Thanks to the efforts of Basel's mayor Johann Rudolf Wettstein, the Peace of Westphalia recognised the Confederation's exemption from the Holy Roman Empire, establishing its independence in law.
18th century
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Politics
Helvetic Republic
After the French invasion, the old Confederation collapsed and gave way to the Helvetic Republic, a centralised state on the French model. This unstable regime was replaced in 1803 by Napoleon's Act of Mediation, which restored the cantons.
19th century
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Politics
Perpetual neutrality recognised
After the Congress of Vienna, the great powers recognised Switzerland's perpetual neutrality and the inviolability of its territory. Geneva, Valais and Neuchâtel joined the Confederation, which now numbered 22 cantons.
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War
Sonderbund War
The Catholic and conservative cantons, allied in the Sonderbund, were defeated in less than a month by the federal army of General Guillaume-Henri Dufour. This short and relatively bloodless civil war paved the way for the federal state.
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Politics
Federal Constitution
The Diet declared the entry into force of the Constitution that turned the confederation of states into a federal state, with a two-chamber Parliament and a seven-member Federal Council. Bern was chosen as the federal city a few weeks later.
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Society
Founding of the Red Cross in Geneva
Inspired by Henry Dunant, who had witnessed the carnage of the Battle of Solferino, a committee of five Genevans founded what would become the International Committee of the Red Cross. The first Geneva Convention, signed in 1864, laid the foundations of humanitarian law.
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Technology
Gotthard rail tunnel opens
The 15 km Gotthard rail tunnel linked German-speaking Switzerland with Ticino and Italy. Nearly 200 workers died building it; in 2016 the Gotthard Base Tunnel (57 km) became the longest railway tunnel in the world.
20th century
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Politics
Joining the League of Nations
In a referendum, the Swiss approved joining the League of Nations, which had chosen Geneva as its seat. The city became a major centre of international diplomacy.
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War
Second World War: armed neutrality
The Federal Assembly elected Henri Guisan as general, and Switzerland mobilised its army to defend its neutrality. Spared the fighting, the country also traded with Nazi Germany; its restrictive refugee policy was criticised by the Bergier report in 2002.
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Science
CERN founded near Geneva
The European Organization for Nuclear Research was officially established and set up at Meyrin, near Geneva. CERN has become the world's largest particle physics laboratory; the World Wide Web was invented there in 1989.
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Society
Women's suffrage
Male voters granted women the right to vote and stand for election at federal level, by 65.7% in favour. Switzerland was one of the last countries in Europe to do so; the last canton, Appenzell Innerrhoden, was only forced to follow by the Federal Supreme Court in 1990.
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Politics
No to the European Economic Area
With 50.3% of the vote, the Swiss rejected joining the European Economic Area. The country then opted for bilateral agreements with the European Union, the first package of which came into force in 2002.
21st century
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Politics
Joining the United Nations
After approval by the people and the cantons in the referendum of 3 March, Switzerland became the 190th member of the United Nations, whose European office was already based in Geneva.
