Canton of Fribourg

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox settlement The canton of Fribourg,Template:Efn also canton of Freiburg,Template:Efn is located in western Switzerland. The canton is bilingual, with French spoken by more than two thirds of the citizens and German by a little more than a quarter.<ref name=SJF14>Template:Cite web</ref> Both are official languages in the canton. The canton takes its name from its capital city of Fribourg.

History

On the shores of Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Morat significant traces of prehistoric settlements have been unearthed.

The canton of Fribourg joined the Swiss Confederation in 1481. The area is made up of lands acquired by the capital Fribourg. The present extent was reached in 1803 when Murten (Morat) was acquired. The canton of Fribourg joined the separatist league of Catholic cantons in 1846 (Sonderbund). The following year, its troops surrendered to the federal army.

Geography

File:Freiburger Voralpen - Dent de Brenleire (rechts vorne) Vanil Noir (hinten).jpg
Fribourg Prealps: Dent de Brenleire (2358 m, to the right) and Vanil Noir (2389 m, in the background)

The canton is bounded to the west by Lake Neuchâtel, to the west and the south by the canton of Vaud, and to the east by the canton of Bern. The canton includes two enclaves within Vaud and one within the canton of Bern, as well as a large exclave on the lake; it also enclaves the Bernese municipality of Münchenwiler. The area of the canton is Template:Convert, including the small enclaves.

The canton lies on the elevated Swiss Plateau. In the west the lands are flat, but towards the south east of the canton, the lands rise to a hilly region. This region is commonly called pre-Alps but is part of the Bernese Alps. The highest elevation in the canton is the Vanil Noir with Template:Convert.

The river Saane/Sarine flows from the south to the north of the canton. Together with its tributaries it drains most of the lands in the canton, then joins the river Aare. The river Broye drains the west of the canton and flows northeast into Lake Morat (Murtensee). The southwest part of the canton is drained by the river Veveyse, which flows south into Lake Geneva (Template:Langx).

Political subdivisions

Districts

File:Districts of Canton Freiburg.png
Districts of canton Fribourg

The Canton is divided into seven districts:

Municipalities

There are 121 municipalities in the canton of Fribourg Template:As of. The number is decreasing as the canton subsidizes mergers between municipalities.

Demographics

In contrast to the mainly Protestant cantons of Vaud to its west and Bern to its east, the canton of Fribourg is a predominantly Catholic enclave (Template:As of, 70%) with a Protestant minority (15%).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This explains why the canton straddles the French-German linguistic border, for in the past, denominational considerations were more important than linguistic when drawing Switzerland's cantonal borders.Template:Fact

The main centres of population are the capital Fribourg (34,300 inhabitants) and Bulle (18,200 inhabitants).Template:Fact

Two thirds of the population speak French; the remainder speak Alemannic dialects of German. The French-speaking areas are in the west of the canton, the Alemannic-speaking areas in the east. The number of bilingual towns, and consequently the large number of people who can speak both French and German fluently, has attracted businesses such as telesales companies. The population of the canton (as of Template:Swiss populations date) is Template:Swiss populations.Template:Swiss populations ref Template:As of, the population included 43,838 foreign-born residents, or about 16.65% of the total population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Historical population

The canton’s historical population is given in the following table:

Historic Population Data<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Year Total Population Swiss Non-Swiss Population share
of total country
1850 99 891 98 556 1 335 4.2%
1870 114 994 113 219 1 775 4.1%
1900 127,951 123,579 4,372 3.9%
1950 158,695 154,527 4,168 3.4%
1970 180,309 163,503 16,806 2.9%
2000 241,706 206,182 35,524 3.3%
2020 325,496 3.8%

Economics

Agriculture is important in the canton of Fribourg. The main agricultural activities are cattle breeding and dairy farming. The region is a major cheese producer, especially the district of Gruyère, home of the cheese of the same name. The chocolate industry is also well established in Broc, home to an international chocolate research centre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other agricultural produces include tobacco, fruit and cereals. Agriculture is predominant in the north of the canton where the most fertile lands lie.

There is light industry concentrated around the capital Fribourg. Other centres of light industry are Bulle, Villars-sur-Glâne, Düdingen (Guin), Murten (Morat) and Estavayer-le-Lac. These five centers have also a large number of established small and medium-sized businesses, many of which are in the service sector. Forests are important in the La Gruyère (Greyerz) district.

Power plants in the district of Sarine export electricity. The mountain areas attract tourists all year round. The lake regions are frequented by tourists in summer and autumn.

Transport

File:Tpf-bahnhof.jpg
Transports publics Fribourgeois bus station in Fribourg

The canton of Fribourg is well connected to other areas of Switzerland with motorways A1, A12 and fast rail links. The main railway between Geneva and Lausanne in the south west to Bern and Zürich connects Fribourg with other centres of the country. Connections within the canton are mostly provided by the Transports Publics Fribourgeois, with numerous bus routes and trains connecting the main towns. The nearest airports to the canton are Geneva Airport, and Bern Airport.

Politics

Federal election results

Percentage of the total vote per party in the canton in the Federal Elections 1971–2019<ref>Template:Cite report</ref>
Party Ideology 1971 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019
FDP.The LiberalsTemplate:Ref style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color"| Classical liberalism 24.7 22.1 23.0 20.0 16.7 16.1 15.9 14.8 12.8 13.8 12.8 14.2 14.4
CVP/PDC/PPD/PCD style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color"| Christian democracy 41.5 46.9 39.9 38.0 37.7 36.8 36.0 33.7 25.4 24.8 20.3 22.7 14.4
SP/PS style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color"| Social democracy 19.9 25.7 30.7 24.0 22.2 18.6 17.3 20.3 21.5 22.7 26.7 24.2 17.4
SVP/UDC style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color"| Swiss nationalism 8.7 4.3 6.4 8.8 8.9 9.7 8.3 11.4 21.4 22.0 21.4 25.9 19.2
EVP/PEV style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color"| Christian democracy *Template:Ref * * * * * * * 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7
CSP/PCS style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color"| Christian socialism 5.3 * * 7.5 6.9 7.7 8.7 10.9 10.4 7.1 5.5 1.8 3.3
GLP/PVL style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color"| Green liberalism * * * * * * * * * * 3.5 3.2 3.8
BDP/PBD style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color"| Conservatism * * * * * * * * * * 1.9 1.3 0.7
PdA/PST-POP/PC/PSL style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color"| Socialism * * * * * * 0.9 * * * * * *
GPS/PES style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color"| Green politics * * * * 4.2 Template:Ref 2.3 * 4.0 6.3 5.0 5.3 12.5
FGA Feminist * * * * 1.7 Template:Ref * * * * * * *
SD/DS style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color"| National conservatism * * * * * 1.4 0.9 0.3 * * * * *
EDU/UDF style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color"| Christian right * * * * * * * * 0.7 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.7
Other * 1.0 * 1.7 1.9 9.6 9.7 8.6 3.1 1.6 1.5 * 12.9
Voter participation % 53.5 47.7 48.6 52.9 46.3 45.0 39.5 41.2 45.4 48.0 47.2 47.2 43.0
Template:Note FDP before 2009, FDP.The Liberals after 2009
Template:Note "*" indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton.
Template:Note Included under "Other" in this election.

See also

Notes

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References

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Template:Commons category

Template:Cantons of Switzerland Template:Switzerland topics Template:Portal bar

Template:Authority control

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