Schwyz

Schwyz
Schwyz
; Schwyz [zoom]
Canton	Schwyz
District	Schwyz
	47°1′N 8°39′E / 47.017°N 8.65°ECoordinates: 47°1′N 8°39′E / 47.017°N 8.65°E
Population	14,171 (December 2006)
- Density	267 /km2 (690 /sq mi)
Area	53.17 km2 (20.53 sq mi)
Elevation	516 m (1,693 ft)
Postal code	6430
SFOS number	1372
Mayor	Beat Bürgler
Localities	Schwyz, Ibach, Seewen, Rickenbach
Surrounded by; (view map)	Alpthal, Illgau, Ingenbohl, Lauerz, Morschach, Muotathal, Oberiberg, Rothenthurm, Sattel, Steinen
Website	www.schwyz.ch; SFSO statistics

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The town of Schwyz (help·info) (French: Schwyz, Italian: Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.

As of 2006^[update] its population is 14'171. With the territory of 53.17 km², the population density is 269/km².

The Bundesbrief can be seen at the Bundesbriefmuseum.

[edit] History of the toponym

Schwyz with Brunnen on Lake Lucerne, Mount Rigi and Lake Lauerz, seen from Grosser Mythen

Street in Schwyz

The name Schwyz is first attested in 972 as the village Suittes and is perhaps related to Old High German suedan "to burn", referring to the area of forest that was burned and cleared to build^[1]. The name was extended to the area dominated by Schwyz (the Canton of Schwyz), and later to the entire Old Swiss Confederacy: while other cantons tended to resent this in the 15th century, the term Schwyzer was widely adopted as self-designation after 1499, out of spite, as it had been employed as a term of abuse by the Swabian side during the Swabian War, and Eidgenossenschaft and Schwytzerland could be used interchangeably in the 16th century. Today, Swiss-German people use the name Schwyz as the Swiss name of the country. Famous is the sentence "Hop hop Schwyz", which most Swiss people yell in an international soccer game.