A Short Timeline for Switzeland History

A Short Timeline  for Switzeland History
 
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210Mil BC
The Plateosaurus, a peaceful herbivore measuring up to 10 meters from head to tail, roamed river deltas in large herds about this time, when most of Switzerland was covered with desert and its landscape may have looked much like the estuary of the Nile now.
(Reuters, 8/9/07)
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152 Million
In 2004 a Swiss paleontologist said hundreds of dinosaur prints dating back this time had been discovered in the Jura mountains in the northwest of Switzerland.
(AFP, 10/11/04)
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14600BC-14100BC
A canine jaw, dating to this time, was found in Switzerland in 1873. Analysis in 2010 indicated the age of the bone and proved humans were keeping dogs at this time.
(SFC, 8/4/10, p.A2)
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3063BC In 2010
Swiss archaeologists in Zurich said they have unearthed a 5,000-year-old door that may be one of the oldest ever found in Europe. Using tree rings to determine its age, they believed the door could have been made in the year 3,063 BC, around the time that construction on Britain's world famous Stonehenge monument began.
(AP, 10/20/10)
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c45BC
Colonia Julia Equestris, a veterans’ colony, was founded in what is now Nyon, Switzerland. Nyon is derived from the Celtic name Noviodunum.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.10)
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c111AD
A Roman amphitheater was built at Nyon. An inscription at the site had a dedication to the emperor Trajan.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.10)
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563
A tsunami devastated Geneva. It was generated by a massive rockfall on what was called Mount Tauredunum.
(Econ, 11/3/12, p.79)
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990
A set of instructions on chess, the Versus de Scachis (Poem About Chess), emerged in Switzerland about this time. The game had begun in India before the 6th century.
(Arch, 1/05, p.40)(Econ, 10/29/11, p.97)
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1291
Aug 1, The Everlasting League formed and became the basis of Swiss Confederation. The people of the 3 small cantons (Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden) formed a co-operative pact called the Bundesbrief following the death of Habsburg Emp. Rudolf I.
(Econ, 2/14/04, Survey p.6)
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1294
Jun 30, Jews were expelled from Bern, Switzerland.

1291
Origin of the Swiss confederation when three cantons form an alliance to resist outside control.

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1815
In the wake of the Napoleonic wars, the borders of Switzerland - and the territory's neutrality - are established at the Congress of Vienna.

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1848
Federal constitution defines the political system, providing for a centralised government.

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1874
Revised constitution allows for the exercise of direct democracy by referendum.

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1914-1918
Switzerland organises Red Cross units during World War I.

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1919-1920
Treaty of Versailles reaffirms Swiss neutrality.

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1920
Joins League of Nations. League's headquarters established in Geneva.

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1923
Customs union with Liechtenstein.

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1939-1945
Federal Council issues a declaration of neutrality at start of World War II. Refuses to join United Nations.

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1959
Founder-member of European Free Trade Association (Efta).
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Four party government system comes into being in a political agreement know as the "magic formula" which lasts for decades and brings a large measure of political stability.

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1963
Joins Council of Europe.

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1967
Right-wing groups campaign to restrict entry of foreign workers.

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1971
Women granted right to vote in federal elections.

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1979
After referendum, French-speaking part of Bern becomes separate canton of Jura.

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1985
Referendum guarantees women legal equality with men within marriage.

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1986 - Referendum opposes UN membership by three to one. Immigrant numbers restricted.

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1992
Switzerland joins World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) but December referendum rejects membership of European Economic Area - a free-trade zone.

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1994
Referendum approves law making racial discrimination and denial of Nazi Holocaust illegal. Laws tightened against drugs traffickers and illegal immigrants.

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1995
Swiss Banking Association announces - after pressure from Jewish groups - it has uncovered dormant pre-1945 bank accounts containing millions of dollars.

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1998 August
Swiss banks agree $1.25bn compensation deal with Holocaust survivors and families.

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1999 October
General election strengthens right-wing vote. The People's Party (SVP), led by Christoph Blocher, becomes second strongest political force in the country with nearly a quarter of the vote.

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2001 March
Voters reject moves to open talks on joining the European Union.

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2001 June
Swiss vote narrowly in favour of allowing their soldiers to carry weapons during peacekeeping missions abroad.

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2001 September
Parliament votes overwhelmingly in favour of United Nations membership, paving the way for a referendum on the issue.

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2001 October
Eleven die as huge fire breaks out after crash in Gotthard tunnel.

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2001 December
Voters reject proposal to scrap the army.

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2002 January
Bankrupt national carrier Swissair relaunched as Swiss.

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2002 March
A narrow majority of Swiss vote in favour of joining the United Nations in a referendum.
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Bergier report by independent panel of historians finds that Swiss authorities knew what lay in store for Jewish refugees to whom Swiss borders were closed in 1942. The report also concluded that Switzerland had bolstered the economy of Nazi Germany but not to a degree that prolonged the war.

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2002 June
Swiss people vote in referendum to decriminalise abortion which will be allowed in first 12 weeks of pregnancy. A proposal which would have tightened the already strict abortion law is rejected in a separate referendum.

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2002 September
Switzerland formally becomes a member of the UN.

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2002 November
By narrowest of margins, referendum rejects drastic tightening of asylum laws.

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2003 May
Nine different issues put to referendum. Swiss vote against abolition of nuclear power, new proposals on rights for the disabled and the introduction of car-free Sundays but in favour of army cuts and changes to civil defence.

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2003 October
The right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) becomes the biggest force in parliament after winning almost 28% of the vote in general elections.

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2003 December
Parliament agrees to grant right-wing Swiss People's Party second post in seven-seat government at the expense of the Christian Democrats, altering the "magic formula" which had brought stability to Swiss politics since 1959.

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2004 May
Agreement signed with EU on taxing accounts held in Swiss banks by EU taxpayers.

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2004 September
Voters in a referendum reject moves to relax strict naturalisation laws. The result is seen as a victory for the right-wing.

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2004 November
Referendum votes in favour of allowing scientific research using stem cells taken from human embryos.

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2005 June
Voters in referendum support joining EU Schengen and Dublin agreements and extending rights for same-sex couples.

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In the most serious breakdown in Swiss railway history, power failure brings trains to a standstill for several hours.

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2005 September
Referendum vote goes in favour of opening job market to workers from the 10 newest European Union countries.

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2005 November
Referendum backs five-year ban on use of genetically modified crops.

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2006 September
Voters in a national referendum back plans to make their asylum laws among the toughest in the West.

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2007 January-May
Ex-directors of Swissair, which collapsed in 2001, are in the dock in Switzerland's biggest corporate trial. They are all cleared.

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2007 September
Row over Swiss People's Party's ''kick out the black sheep'' poster aimed at deporting foreigners who commit crimes.

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2007 October
Elections. Swiss People's Party (SVP) boosts its standing as the biggest group in parliament, scooping nearly 29% of the vote.

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2007 December
Swiss People's Party (SVP) quits the governing coalition after one of its leaders, Christoph Blocher, is forced from his cabinet seat.

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2008 June
Voters reject referendum initiative to limit naturalisation of foreigners by allowing Swiss communes to vote on individual cases.

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2008 October
Libya cancels all oil deliveries to Switzerland and withdraws assets worth billions of dollars from Swiss banks in response to the arrest of leader Muammar Gaddafi's son, Hannibal. Mr Gaddafi and his wife were detained for assault but the charges were later dropped.

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Switzerland unveils a $5.3bn rescue plan for its largest bank, UBS, which was badly hit by the global credit crisis.

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2008 December
Swiss People's Party (SVP) rejoins the governing coalition with the election of party member Ueli Maurer to the Federal Council.

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Switzerland scraps routine passport controls at all its borders after joining the EU's Schengen Agreement.

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2009 January
Swiss economy officially goes into recession.

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2009 March
Switzerland's government announces it will relax its rules on banking secrecy to allow Swiss financial institutions to co-operate with international investigations into tax evasion.

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2009 September
Swiss economy returns to growth. Switzerland overtakes the United States as the world's most competitive economy.

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2009 November
Swiss voters approve referendum initiative banning the construction of minarets.

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2010 September
Election of fourth female minister to seven-member Federal Council gives Swiss cabinet majority of women for first time ever.

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2010 November
Swiss voters approve referendum initiative on automatically deporting foreigners who have committed serious crimes.

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2011 January
A former Swiss banker who said he gave Wikileaks details of rich tax evaders is found guilty of breaching Switzerland's strict bank secrecy.

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2011 February
Voters in a referendum reject plans for tighter gun controls.

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2011 May
In the wake of the crisis at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, Switzerland becomes the first country in Europe to announce plans to phase out nuclear power.

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2011 September
The government announces that the Swiss franc is to be pegged to the euro, after Swiss manufacturers warn that the currency's strength is making Swiss exports uncompetitive and risks tipping the country back into recession.

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2011 October
Right-wing Swiss People's Party loses ground in parliamentary elections, but remains the largest party.

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