Canton of Fribourg
Canton|short_name=Fribourg|local_names=Fribourg
Freiburg|coa_img_path=Fribourg.png|locatormap_img_path=Swiss_Canton_Map_FR.png|cantonalmap_img_path=Karte Kanton Freiburg.png|capital=
Fribourg/
Freiburg|area=1671|area_rank=8th|area_scale=9|population=239100|population_rank=12th|population_asof=2003|population_density=143|since=1481|abbr=FR|languages=
French,
German|executive=Conseil d'Etat/Staatsrat|executive_members=7|legislative=
Grand Conseil/Grosser Rat|parliament_members=130|highest=Vanil Noir|highest_m=2389|municipalities_number=242|districts_designation=Bezirke|districts_number=7|}}The
Canton of Fribourg is a
canton of
Switzerland. It is located in the west of the country. The capital of the canton is
Fribourg. The name
Fribourg is French, whereas is the German name for both the canton and the town.
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.
The canton of Fribourg lies in the west of Switzerland. It is bounded to the west by the
Lake Neuchâtel. To the west and the south of the canton lies the canton of
Vaud. To the east the canton of Fribourg is bound by the
canton of Bern. There are enclaves within the canton of
Vaud. The area of the canton of Fribourg is 1,669 km², 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. The highest elevation in the canton is the
Vanil Noir with 2,389 m.
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. The river Saane later joins the river
Aare. The river
Broye drains the west of the canton and flows northeast into
Lake Morat (
Murtensee). The south west of the canton is drained by the river
Veveyse which flows south into
Lake Geneva (
Le Léman).
Agriculture is important in the canton of Fribourg. The main agricultural activities are cattle breeding and
dairy farming.
Cheese-making is established, in particular in the district of
La Gruyère, home of the
cheese with the same name. 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 in the service sector. Forests are important in the
La Gruyère (
Greyerz) district.
The district of
La Sarine is home to electric power plants used for home use as well as export. The mountain areas attract tourists all year round. The lake regions are frequented by tourists - mainly families - in summer and autumn.
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.
The canton is predominantly
Roman Catholic. There are a number of monasteries as well as convents. The canton is situated on the Swiss linguistic frontier. Two thirds of the population speak
French, one third speaks
Alemannic dialects of German. The French speaking areas are in the west of the canton, whereas the Alemannic speaking areas are in the east. There are a number of bilingual towns, a fact that has attracted some businesses, such as telesales. The population (
as of 2002) is 239,100.
There are
168 municipalities in the canton of Fribourg as of January 2006.
[Official web site of the Canton of Fribourg] The number is decreasing as the canton subsidizes mergers between municipalities.
*
Fribourg - Capital city of the canton.
*
German language*
French language*
Franco-Provençal language*
Official Statistics*
Official Site (French & German)
*
History of the Canton of Fribourg (French)
