Switzerland

Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Switzerland fought or stood against, from the first to today.

1. 🇮🇹 Roman Republic107 BC to 58 BC

   The Helvetian Tigurini under Divico defeated a Roman army in southern Gaul in 107 BC. In 58 BC Caesar stopped the Helvetii's migration and beat them at Bibracte, sending the survivors home.

2. 🇦🇹 House of Habsburg1291 to 1474

   The founding cantons fought the Habsburgs for control of their valleys, winning at Morgarten in 1315, Sempach in 1386 and Nafels in 1388. Peace came with the Perpetual Accord of 1474.

3. Duchy of Burgundy1474 to 1477

   Charles the Bold attacked the confederates and their allies. The Swiss crushed him at Grandson and Murten in 1476 and helped kill him at Nancy in 1477, ending his dream of a kingdom between France and the Empire.

4. 🇮🇹 Duchy of Milan1478 to 1512

   Uri and its allies pushed south over the Gotthard, beating Milanese troops at Giornico in 1478, and by 1512 the confederates had taken Ticino, which remains Swiss.

5. 🇩🇪 Holy Roman Empire1499

   Emperor Maximilian I and the Swabian League fought the confederates in 1499. After Swiss victories such as Dornach, the Peace of Basel freed them from imperial courts and taxes in practice.

6. 🇫🇷 Kingdom of France1515 to 1516

   Francis I of France defeated the Swiss at Marignano in 1515, ending their campaigns in Italy. The Perpetual Peace of 1516 made them France's chief supplier of mercenaries.

7. Duchy of Savoy1536 to 1603

   Bern seized Vaud from Savoy in 1536. In December 1602 Savoy's night attack on Geneva, the Escalade, failed, and the Treaty of Saint-Julien in 1603 recognised Geneva's independence.

8. 🇫🇷 French Republic1798 to 1815

   French armies invaded in 1798, beat Bern's troops at Grauholz and crushed resistance in Nidwalden. Switzerland became a battlefield for France, Austria and Russia in 1799 and a French satellite until 1813.

9. 🇩🇪 Kingdom of Prussia1856 to 1857

   Neuchatel was both a Swiss canton and a Prussian principality. Royalists tried a coup in 1856, and war threatened until the King of Prussia gave up his rights in 1857.

10. 🇩🇪 Nazi Germany1939 to 1945

    Germany drew up invasion plans in 1940, and Swiss and German fighters clashed over the border that June. Switzerland mobilised its army and kept trading with Germany until the end of the war.

Today

Switzerland now

The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. A constitution of 1848, which was modified in 1874 to allow voters to introduce referenda on proposed laws, replaced the confederation with a centralized federal government.

Capital

Bern

Government

federal republic (formally a confederation)

Head of government

Swiss Federal Council

Languages

Italian, Romansh, German

Area

41,291 km²

Through time

Then and now

• Population8.9 million2023 · 4.7 million in 1950
• Life expectancy84.0 years2023 · 68.9 years in 1950
• GDP per person$63,3232022 · $11,541 in 1950
• Living in cities86%2025 · 44% in 1950
• Literacy99%1950
• Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Liberal democracy in 1950
• Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
• Military spending0.8% of GDP2025
• War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.