Municipalities of Switzerland

Political community (including municipality, local community)
Community of citizens (including civic community, local community, local civic community, Tagwen, bourgeoisie, bourgeois commune, Patriziato, vischnanca burgaisa )
Unified community
Mixed community
Munizipalgemeinde
Bäuert
Fraction borough
Corporation community
Civil parish (repealed)
Parish
School community

As the lowest level in the three-tier structure of state administration Switzerland (Confederation - Cantons - community) the community designated by a parent term as a municipality apply.

In the cantons of Aargau, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Lucerne, Obwalden, Schaffhausen, Solothurn, Uri and train them is as municipality in the canton of Glarus as a local church ( end of 2010 ), in the canton of Valais as Munizipalgemeinde referred to. In the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden the political municipality is known.

The Switzerland political communities have passed since the Middle Ages historically grown structures of different area and population. Also to be designated as a city places have as authorities this legal form. A city is always a political community. On 1 May 2013, Switzerland had 2,396 political communities.

General competence

The municipality has the so-called general competence in municipal affairs. Undertake any municipal tasks by overriding right not to effect circle of another community type (eg, parishes, school communities ) are explained. An example: After the Bernese Municipalities Act the municipalities responsible citizens, " all community tasks that can not be met under specific provisions of another community legal entity ." (Art. 110 GdeG -BE)

This was not always so. Even in the early 19th century, emerged from the old community of pre-revolutionary civil parishes or local citizen communities have held almost all skills. Today, this old -based civil rights community forms are numerically sharply but.

The burgers or civil communities (eg, the traditional civic community of Bern ), however, are organized as communities Burger machinations in some cantons. The Burger municipalities are entitled to the grant of representation or civil rights community in the form of burgers law, then the fulfillment of their other traditional tasks on the management of their assets and finally the handling of tasks which are transferred by special regulations. You can take on additional tasks, as long as they are not already the same are met by the inhabitants of communities or subdivisions. (Art. 112 GdeG -BE)

Other community types, see community ( Switzerland ).

Autonomy

The scope of municipal autonomy is governed by cantonal law under the subsidiarity principle and differs significantly within Switzerland. In general, one can say that it decreases from east to west; greatest is traditional in the canton of Grisons, which formed a federation of communities until the mid 19th century. The tasks of political communities so that covers all areas that are not regulated exhaustively by the federal government and the cantons.

The European Charter of Local Self-Government - which has been ratified by Switzerland - has, in the preamble to the fact that local authorities are one of the main foundations of any democratic regime and that this right can be exercised at the local level most directly. The protection and strengthening of local self-government they deemed important contribution to building a Europe that is based on the principles of democracy and the decentralization of power.

The independence of many communities is very important. Therefore there - despite fusion pressure of the cantonal and federal - still 2'495 political communities (as of 1 January 2011).

In addition, there are many more than " communities " designated entities not possess political sovereignty over a territory, but a particular public purpose - for example, the operation of a school - meet. These include education, civic and corporate communities. Another special type of communities are finally the parishes that have a variety of special features and are usually not subject to the cantonal community laws.

Changes as a part of the communities

Communities by 2008

Communities to October 24, 2009

Communities to December 31, 2009

Communities until November 20, 2010

The municipalities until 31 December 2010

The communities until June 30, 2011

Municipalities to 31 December 2011

The municipalities until 31 March 2012

The municipalities until 31 December 2012

The communities until April 13, 2013

The municipalities and 31 December 2013

Mutations as a part of the communities can be made by incorporation, merger community, community separation, Out My Dung, Location Abtausch or change the community name. Other changes that may affect the territory of the municipality only indirectly arise by changing the cantonal and / or district affiliation, change of name or renumbering district ( community number ).

Examples of mutation processes at the municipal

1 incorporation: [A] [B ] = [ A ]

2 community Fusion: [A ] [B ] = [A -B] or [A ] [B ] = [C ]

3 community isolation: [A ] = [B ] [C ] ( [D ] etc. )

4 On the My Dung: [A] = [ A ] [B] ( [ C] etc. )

5 area Abtausch: [A] [B ] = [ A ] [ B ]

6th amendment of the municipality name: [A ] = [B ]

7th Amendment to the Kantons-/Bezirkszugehörigkeit

Municipal mergers

Many smaller communities are forced today to take fusion projects with their neighbors in the eye. Reasons for this are: functional integration of the settlement areas, the complexity of the task / overtaxing the authorities of small communities, lack of young people for local authorities, lack of political weight in the canton of some experts view have also suboptimal size (number of inhabitants) per se Other experts and studies, however, out that the size alone is not decisive. Smaller communities often have an efficient, cost-effective and citizen-oriented administration ( militia system ) and their finances better control.

Generous subsidies from governments of Canton, yes actual fusion projects ( as in Fribourg and Ticino ) are an added impetus for municipal mergers. see: municipal mergers in Switzerland

On 7 May 2006, the municipality of Glarus decided surprisingly, a reduction of from 27 to just three communities to the year 2011. The request of the government had provided a reduction to ten municipalities. Thus, this is the most radical fusion community so far.

Development

Since the Federal Statistical Office ( BfS) in 1960, the community leads directory, the number of municipalities in Switzerland is sinking. While, however, occurred in the three decades from 1960 to 1990 with a reduction of 3095 to 3021 municipalities, which represents a decline of 2.4 percent, only a slight reduction, so the process has accelerated considerably in the recent past. Alone in the decade from 1990 to 2000, the number was reduced by an additional 122 communities, representing a decrease of 4 percent and nearly double the decline of the 30 years before that. In the new millennium, a further acceleration is observed, as could be counted in the spring of 2010, only 2588 municipalities. In this decade, the number of municipalities decreased by 303, respectively, 10.5 percent. From 1 January 2000 until 1 January 2010, the decline was therefore greater than in the previous 40 years.

The following table shows the exact course of the decline, each serving of 1 January in the year in question as a basis:

Number of municipalities in the cantons

Size classes

The largest municipalities are the cities of Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Bern, Lausanne and Winterthur. With a population of more than 100,000 people are considered to be major cities. St. Gallen, Lucerne, Lugano and Biel / Bienne have more than 50,000 inhabitants.

Total 129 municipalities have more than 10,000 inhabitants and are thus statistically as a city. Some but designate itself as " community " (eg: Köniz in the canton of Bern with 37,000 inhabitants). However, there are also town with old city law, but far below 10,000 residents who are proud to be allowed to "town" call; However, this city concept is purely historical in nature and in modern law without relevance. (Examples: Eglisau, emperor chair, Bischofszell, Murten, Sempach or Fuerstenau ). See also List of cities in Switzerland.

The fact that Switzerland has even the smallest communities show different parameters:

The median is 1023 inhabitants ( end of 2007 figures by BfS ESPOP ) ( ie, 50 percent of all municipalities have more, and half less inhabitants than this value ),
The average, however, 2'806 inhabitants ( end of 2007 figures by BfS ESPOP ) (the total population of all municipalities divided by the number of municipalities).

50 % of the municipalities thus have a total population of under 1023 people. 99 municipalities ( 3.7%) have even 100 inhabitants and below ( 2004). The smallest municipality was the end of 2011 Corippo with 12 inhabitants.

Size classes can also be formed by the surface of the territory. The largest community of Switzerland since 1 January 2011, with 426 km ², which emerged as part of the Glarus local government reform by the merger of 13 municipalities municipality of Glarus Süd. The smallest municipalities are 0.32 km ² emperor chair in the canton of Aargau and Rivaz, Canton of Vaud. Be the church faces the higher situated, the greater - between the sea level and the surface, there is a clear link. Most small communities are in the southern Ticino.

Overview of the largest and smallest municipalities of Switzerland

Largest communities:

The smallest municipalities:

Alphabetical List of Swiss municipalities

( according to the Federal Statistical Office, with mutations to 1 July 2011 in accordance with addenda to the official community register of Switzerland )

Overview - A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Communities by Canton

( according to the Federal Statistical Office, with mutations until 1 January 2010, in accordance with addenda to the official community register of Switzerland )

299519