Canton of Solothurn Canton of Soleure | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Coordinates: 47°9′N7°38′E / 47.150°N 7.633°E | |
Capital | Solothurn |
Largest city | Olten |
Subdivisions | 122 municipalities, 10 districts |
Government | |
• Executive | Regierungsrat (5) |
• Legislative | Kantonsrat (100) |
Area | |
• Total | 790.45 km2 (305.19 sq mi) |
Population (December 2020) [2] | |
• Total | 277,462 |
• Density | 350/km2 (910/sq mi) |
GDP | |
• Total | CHF 18.209 billion (2020) |
• Per capita | CHF 65,237 (2020) |
ISO 3166 code | CH-SO |
Highest point | 1,445 m (4,741 ft): Hasenmatt |
Lowest point | 277 m (909 ft): Birs at the cantonal border in Dornach |
Joined | 1481 |
Languages | German |
Website | www |
The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure (German : Kanton Solothurn; Romansh : Chantun Soloturn; French : Canton de Soleure; Italian : Canton Soletta) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn.
The foundation of the village of Salodurum took place in the time of the Roman emperor Tiberius. The territory of the canton comprises land acquired by the former town, mainly in the Middle Ages. For that reason the shape of the canton is irregular and includes two exclaves along the French border, separated from the rest of the canton by Basel-Land, which form separate districts of the canton. In 1481, the canton became a member of the military alliance of the former Swiss confederation. At the end of the Reformation, Solothurn maintained its Catholic religion. Between 1798 and 1803 the canton was part of the Helvetic Republic. In 1803 Solothurn was one of the 19 Swiss cantons that were reconstituted by Napoleon ( Mediation ). In 1830, the population rebelled against the aristocratic regime and the canton became definitely liberal-democratic. Even though the population was strictly Roman Catholic, Solothurn did not join the Catholic separatist movement ( Sonderbund ) in 1845–7. Similarly, the federal constitutions of 1848 and 1874 were approved. The current constitution of the canton dates from 1987.
The canton is located in the north-west of Switzerland. To the west and south lie the cantons of Jura and Bern, to the east is Aargau. To the north the canton is bounded by the canton of Basel-Landschaft. Parts of two of the districts are exclaves and are located along the border of France (Grand Est). The lands are drained by the Aare river and its tributaries. The landscape is mostly flat, but it includes the foothills of the Jura massif. Part of this, the massif of the Weissenstein, overlooks Solothurn and the Mittelland from the north and has views of the Bernese Alps. The flat lands are a plain created by the Aare river. The total area of the canton is 791 km².
From 2005, Solothurn's ten districts are merged pairwise into five electoral districts, termed Amtei. From 2005, the districts have only a statistical significance.
There are 125 municipalities in the canton (as of 2009 [update] ). [4]
The population is mostly German-speaking. In 2000 about 44% of the population was Roman Catholic, with most of the remainder being Protestant (31%). [5] The population of the canton (as of 31 December 2020) is 277,462. [2] As of 2007 [update] , the population included 46,898 foreigners, or about 18.7% of the total population. [6]
The historical population is given in the following table:
Historic Population Data [7] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Total Population | Swiss | Non-Swiss | Population share of total country |
1850 | 69 674 | 68 741 | 933 | 2.9% |
1880 | 80 362 | 78 153 | 2 209 | 2.8% |
1900 | 100 762 | 96 562 | 4 200 | 3.0% |
1950 | 170 508 | 164 172 | 6 336 | 3.6% |
1970 | 224 133 | 189 828 | 34 305 | 3.6% |
2000 | 244 341 | 201 877 | 42 464 | 3.4% |
2020 | 277,462 | 3.2% | ||
Up to the 19th century agriculture was the main economic activity in the canton. Agriculture is still of importance, but manufacturing and the service industry are now more significant. The industries of the canton are specialized in watches, jewellery, textiles, paper, cement and auto parts. Until recently the manufacturing of shoes was an important economic activity, but global competition thought that the Swiss canton was not competitive enough.[ citation needed ]
The canton is home to the Gösgen Nuclear Power Plant near Däniken which started operation in 1979.[ citation needed ]
Percentage of the total vote per party in the canton in the Federal Elections 1971-2015 [8] | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Ideology | 1971 | 1975 | 1979 | 1983 | 1987 | 1991 | 1995 | 1999 | 2003 | 2007 | 2011 | 2015 | |
FDP.The Liberals a | Classical liberalism | 34.3 | 38.7 | 39.0 | 37.2 | 36.3 | 32.8 | 25.4 | 25.4 | 24.0 | 21.0 | 18.4 | 21.2 | |
CVP/PDC/PPD/PCD | Christian democracy | 27.7 | 26.0 | 27.6 | 26.7 | 25.1 | 22.2 | 21.5 | 21.4 | 21.0 | 20.4 | 17.9 | 14.8 | |
SP/PS | Social democracy | 26.3 | 31.4 | 28.4 | 27.8 | 22.3 | 19.8 | 24.2 | 27.2 | 25.4 | 19.5 | 18.3 | 20.0 | |
SVP/UDC | Swiss nationalism | * b | * | * | * | * | * | 6.7 | 18.6 | 22.5 | 27.1 | 24.3 | 28.8 | |
Ring of Independents | Social liberalism | 7.2 | * | * | 4.0 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 1.6 | * | * | * | * | * | |
EVP/PEV | Christian democracy | * | * | * | * | * | 1.2 | * | * | 1.2 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.2 | |
GLP/PVL | Green liberalism | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | 5.0 | 3.5 | |
BDP/PBD | Conservatism | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | 4.4 | 3.4 | |
PdA/PST-POP/PC/PSL | Socialism | * | * | 1.0 | * | 0.3 | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
POCH | Progressivism | * | 3.4 | 4.1 | 3.5 | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | |
GPS/PES | Green politics | * | * | * | * | * | 7.3 | 5.8 | 4.9 | 6.0 | 10.0 | 7.5 | 5.6 | |
SD/DS | National conservatism | 4.6 | * | * | * | * | * | 2.8 | * | * | 0.4 | 0.4 | * | |
EDU/UDF | Christian right | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | 0.5 | 0.5 | |
FPS/PSL | Right-wing populism | * | * | * | * | 4.9 | 9.1 | 10.6 | 1.3 | * | * | * | * | |
Other | * | 0.6 | * | 0.9 | 7.5 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 1.3 | * | * | 2.3 | 1.0 | ||
Voter participation % | 64.2 | 64.1 | 56.9 | 60.7 | 60.8 | 56.1 | 48.3 | 50.0 | 47.4 | 50.7 | 51.7 | 50.2 | ||
The canton has good connections with other parts of Switzerland, both by rail and by road. There is a railway junction at Olten with direct trains to Geneva, Zürich, Basel and the Ticino via Lucerne.
Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country, informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital city is Liestal. It is traditionally considered a "half-canton", the other half being Basel-Stadt, its urban counterpart.
Basel-Stadt or Basel-City is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of three municipalities with Basel as the capital. It is traditionally considered a "half-canton", the other half being Basel-Landschaft, its rural counterpart.
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the Waldstätte. Two important periods in the development of the Old Swiss Confederacy are summarized by the terms Acht Orte and Dreizehn Orte.
The Republic and Canton of Jura, less formally the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura, is the newest of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital is Delémont. It shares borders with the canton of Basel-Landschaft, the canton of Bern, the canton of Neuchatel, the canton of Solothurn, and the French régions of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Grand Est.
The canton of Fribourg, also canton of Freiburg, 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. Both are official languages in the canton. The canton takes its name from its capital city of Fribourg.
The canton of Glarus is a canton in east-central Switzerland. The capital is Glarus. The population speaks a variety of Alemannic German. The majority of the population (81%) identifies as Christian, about evenly split between Protestants and Catholics.
Appenzell Ausserrhoden, in English sometimes Appenzell Outer Rhodes, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of twenty municipalities. The seat of the government and parliament is Herisau, and the seat of judicial authorities are in Trogen. It is traditionally considered a "half-canton", the other half being Appenzell Innerrhoden.
Thurgau, anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld.
Olten is a town in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland and capital of the district of the same name.
Districts of Switzerland are a political subdivision for cantons. In the federally constituted Switzerland, each canton is completely free to decide its own internal organisation. Therefore, there exists a variety of structures and terminology for the subnational entities between canton and municipality, loosely termed districts. Most cantons are divided into Bezirke. They are also termed Ämter, Amtsbezirke, district or distretto. The Bezirke generally provide only administration and court organization. However, for historical reasons districts in cantons Grisons and Schwyz are their own legal entities with jurisdiction over tax and often have their own Landsgemeinde.
Islam in Switzerland has mostly arrived via immigration since the late 20th century. Numbering below 1% of total population in 1980, the fraction of Muslims in the population of permanent residents in Switzerland has quintupled in thirty years, estimated at just above 5% as of 2013. The Turks and those from The Balkans make up the largest group. There is also a large North African community and a significant Middle Eastern community. This is due to the fact that in the 1960s and 1970s, Switzerland encouraged young men from Yugoslavia and Turkey to come as guest workers. Initially these young men were only planning on staying in Switzerland temporarily, however, revised Swiss immigration laws in the 1970s permitted family regrouping. Consequently, these men ended up staying in Switzerland as these new laws allowed the wives and children of these young men into the country. Since this time period, most of the Muslim immigration to Switzerland stems from asylum seekers arriving primarily from Eastern Europe. In more recent years, there has been migration from Turkey, the Balkans, Iraq, Syria, Morocco, Somalia, and Tunisia.
Grenchen is a municipality in the district of Lebern in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland.
Kleinlützel is a municipality in the district of Thierstein in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is an exclave of the Canton of Solothurn, enclaved in the Canton of Basel-Country and Alsace.
Niedergösgen is a municipality in the district of Gösgen in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland.
Trimbach is a municipality in the district of Gösgen in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland.
Bucheggberg District is one of the ten districts of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, situated to the southwest of the canton. Together with the Wasseramt District, it forms the Amtei of Wasseramt-Bucheggberg. It has a population of 8,009.
Wasseramt District is one of the ten districts of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, situated to the south of the canton. Together with the Bucheggberg District, it forms the Amtei of Wasseramt-Bucheggberg. It has a population of 52,949.
Lebern District is one of the ten districts of the canton of Solothurn, Switzerland, situated to the west of the canton. Together with the city of Solothurn, it forms the Amtei of Solothurn-Lebern. It has a population of 46,439.
Dorneck District is one of the ten districts of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, situated to the north of the canton. Together with Thierstein District, it forms the Amtei of Dorneck-Thierstein. It has a population of 20,802. Five of the district's eleven municipalities are exclaves, either within the canton of Basel-Country or bordering France.
Thierstein District is one of the ten districts of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, situated to the north of the canton. Together with the Dorneck District, it forms the Amtei of Dorneck-Thierstein. It has a population of 14,802.