Around a fifth of Switzerland's communes have their own parliaments, and local laws relating to matters such as streets, school buildings, water and energy prices, as well as parking regulations.
Keystone
Municipal mergers led to the disappearance of 33 Swiss communes in 2017, according SonntagsZeitung newspaper. Another 145 municipalities have plans to merge.
Those figures reflects a broader trend towards municipal amalgamations. The past ten years witnessed the merger of 500 municipalities, the newspaper wrote, citing official statistics.
The trend is most visible in the mountain regions “where the rate of emigration has intensified once again,” according to Reto Lindegger, director of the Association of Swiss Municipalities.
To ensure their survival, smaller municipalities or communes are banding together and merging into one. Some are going even further in a bid to boost their number of residents.
More
More
Holidaymaker becomes village chief
This content was published on
It took a headhunter to find a new local council leader in Tujetsch – a man who owns a holiday flat in the mountain village.
Following the example of Albinen in the region of Valais, the nearby municipality of Varen is offering conditional financial assistance to anyone who moves there.
Swiss communes are the lowest administrative division of Switzerland. They are governed by their own elected representatives and often enjoy considerable discretionary powers.
Communes can decide on matters of education, health, transport and public security. They also collect all taxes.
Most Read Swiss Abroad
More
Thousands of emigrants’ descendants in Argentina demand Swiss citizenship
This content was published on
The latest figures from the Federal Office of Public Health show that lab-confirmed cases dropped from nearly 2,340 to under 2,000 last week.
Swiss cities targeted by Russian hackers during WEF
This content was published on
Russian hackers have targeted canton Schaffhausen and the cities of Geneva and Sierre, paralysing their websites on Wednesday morning.
This content was published on
Paul Hottinguer, a member of one of Switzerland’s most famous banking families, will face trial in Paris for tax fraud and money laundering.
Swiss man who died in Iranian prison had photographed military site
This content was published on
The Iranian judiciary said that the Swiss man who died in an Iranian prison on January 9 had been detained for photographing a restricted military site.
Swiss researchers patent new device for avalanche detection
This content was published on
The WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research said it has granted a group of Swiss researchers a patent for a device to enhance avalanche warnings.
Berset discusses ECHR climate ruling implementation at Davos
This content was published on
Switzerland has submitted a report on the court's ruling in Strasbourg. Berset told Justice Minister Beat Jans that the Council of Europe is reviewing it.
This content was published on
A 27-year-old ski tourer has died in the hospital in Sion, in southwestern Switzerland, after being caught in an avalanche on Saturday.
Swiss health minister criticises Trump’s ‘rash’ WHO exit
This content was published on
Switzerland has expressed “deep” regret over Trump’s decision to withdraw from the WHO, Swiss Health Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider said in Davos.
This content was published on
Job vacancies in Switzerland fell by 10% in 2024, marking the first negative annual balance since the Covid-19 pandemic, says Adecco.
Swiss president meets Zelensky in Davos amid tensions with Europe
This content was published on
Swiss President met Zelensky at Davos. As Zelensky thanked Switzerland, Keller-Sutter said it's too early to discuss a new summit, awaiting Trump's actions.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Refugees and locals learn to live together in Swiss town
This content was published on
Bex was one of the first towns in the region to have an asylum seekers' centre and its foreign population is relatively high. So do people get along?
This content was published on
Rheinau, a Swiss municipality in the outskirts of Zurich has decided to guarantee basic income to residents on a trial basis.
This content was published on
Participation in town hall meetings has reached a new low, marking a 30-year decline in Swiss democracy at a local level. But all is not lost.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.