https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Switzerland in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Perhaps the most prominent sign of Switzerland’s cultural, linguistic and gastronomical diversity, the Röstigraben is a well-known concept in Switzerland. https://www.thelocal.ch/20210813/rostigraben-what-is-switzerlands-invisible-language-and-culture-barrier Fri, 13 Aug 2021 18:03:55 +0200 rostigraben-what-is-switzerlands-invisible-language-and-culture-barrier A small country of 8.7 million people and the geographical area of merely 41,285 square kilometres, Switzerland is made up of 26 states — known here as cantons. How did this happen? https://www.thelocal.ch/20211005/why-is-switzerland-divided-into-26-cantons Tue, 05 Oct 2021 14:25:24 +0200 why-is-switzerland-divided-into-26-cantons Most of those living in Switzerland have heard of ‘röstigraben’, a cultural divide between the German and French speaking parts of Switzerland. In times of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new expression has been coined: ‘coronagraben’. What is it and how does it reflect the current situation? https://www.thelocal.ch/20201116/a-covid-19-phenomenon-in-switzerland-the-coronagraben Mon, 16 Nov 2020 16:53:52 +0100 a-covid-19-phenomenon-in-switzerland-the-coronagraben The so-called Röstigraben – the traditional societal division between French and German-speaking Switzerland along linguistic lines – has decreased over the past decade as a new country-versus-city division emerges, according to a new study. https://www.thelocal.ch/20161108/study-country-city-divide-replaces-swiss-rstigraben Tue, 08 Nov 2016 10:27:11 +0100 study-country-city-divide-replaces-swiss-rstigraben The minister of education in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino has said Switzerland often ‘forgets’ that Italian is its third national language. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160711/italian-ignored-by-swiss-schools-in-language-wars Mon, 11 Jul 2016 13:32:29 +0200 italian-ignored-by-swiss-schools-in-language-wars The famed Röstigraben is alive and well in Switzerland in 2016, according to a new survey which shows that nearly a fifth of Swiss people have never crossed the cultural and language barrier. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160509/survey-some-swiss-never-cross-countrys-linguistic-divide Mon, 09 May 2016 11:30:52 +0200 survey-some-swiss-never-cross-countrys-linguistic-divide