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102-808: Born into affluent Polish nobility, Potocki lived abroad from an early age and was primarily educated in Switzerland . He frequently visited the salons of Paris and toured Europe before temporarily returning to Poland in 1778. As a soldier, he fought in Austrian ranks in the War of the Bavarian Succession , and in 1789 was appointed a military engineer in the Polish army. During his extensive voyages he actively documented prevailing customs, ongoing wars, revolutions and national awakenings, which made him

204-561: A Willensnation ("nation of volition") rather than a nation state . The English name Switzerland is a portmanteau of Switzer , an obsolete term for a Swiss person which was in use during the 16th to 19th centuries, and land . The English adjective Swiss is a loanword from French Suisse , also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer , in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory , one of

306-799: A Chinese box narrative; other instances of this style of narrative can be found in Plato 's Symposion , Jostein Gaarder 's The Solitaire Mystery , Emily Brontë 's Wuthering Heights , and Joseph Conrad 's Heart of Darkness . Frame stories have appeared in comic books . Neil Gaiman 's comic book series The Sandman featured a story arc called Worlds End which consisted of frame stories, and sometimes even featured stories within stories within stories. Sometimes, as in Washington Irving 's Sketch Book , which contains " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow " and " Rip Van Winkle " among others,

408-451: A fly fisherman , a person who is expected to tell tales of unbelievably large fish. The movie Amadeus is framed as a story that an old Antonio Salieri tells to a young priest, because the movie is based more on stories Salieri told about Mozart than on historical fact. Another use is a form of procatalepsis , where the writer puts the readers' possible reactions to the story in the characters listening to it. In The Princess Bride

510-457: A frame tale , frame narrative , sandwich narrative , or intercalation ) is a literary technique that serves as a companion piece to a story within a story , where an introductory or main narrative sets the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or for a set of shorter stories. The frame story leads readers from a first story into one or more other stories within it. The frame story may also be used to inform readers about aspects of

612-681: A lower house (the National Council , with representatives elected from across the country). Referendums were made mandatory for any amendments. This new constitution ended the legal power of nobility in Switzerland . A single system of weights and measures was introduced, and in 1850 the Swiss franc became the Swiss single currency , complemented by the WIR franc in 1934. Article 11 of

714-517: A change of policy following threats from Germany. Over 100 Allied bombers and their crews were interned. Between 1940 and 1945, Switzerland was bombed by the Allies , causing fatalities and property damage. Among the cities and towns bombed were Basel , Brusio , Chiasso , Cornol , Geneva, Koblenz , Niederweningen , Rafz , Renens , Samedan , Schaffhausen , Stein am Rhein , Tägerwilen , Thayngen , Vals , and Zurich. Allied forces maintained that

816-422: A convenient conceit to organize a set of smaller narratives, either devised by the author or taken from a previous stock of popular tales, slightly altered by the author for the purpose of the longer narrative. Sometimes a story within the main narrative encapsulates some aspect of the framing story, in which case it is called a mise en abyme . A typical frame story is One Thousand and One Nights , in which

918-464: A known publicist, publishing newspapers and pamphlets, in which he argued for various reforms. He also established in 1788 in Warsaw a publishing house named Drukarnia Wolna (Free Press) as well as the city's first free reading room. His relation with Stanislaus Augustus was thorny, as Potocki, while often supportive of the king, on occasion did not shy from his critique. He was also highly critical of

1020-463: A multi-story frame story within the dream). Later, John Bunyan used a dream device in the Christian allegory Pilgrim's Progress and its sequel, explaining that they were dreams he had while he was in prison and felt God wanted him to write down. This worked because it made what might have been seen as a fantasy more like a divine revelation to others who believed as he did. In modern usage, it

1122-549: A pioneer of travel literature . Fascinated by the occult , Potocki studied ancient cultures, rituals and secret societies. Simultaneously, he was a member of parliament and took part in the Great Sejm shortly before the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ceased to exist. In spite of his literary career, Potocki became burdened by mental illness and melancholy . He committed suicide by gunshot in 1815; however,

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1224-690: A remarkable size, while hundreds of agricultural estates ( Villae rusticae ) were established in the countryside. Around 260 AD, the fall of the Agri Decumates territory north of the Rhine transformed today's Switzerland into a frontier land of the Empire. Repeated raids by the Alamanni tribes provoked the ruin of the Roman towns and economy, forcing the population to shelter near Roman fortresses, like

1326-536: A sign of support. In September 2020, a referendum calling for a vote to end the pact that allowed a free movement of people from the European Union was introduced by the Swiss People's Party (SVP). However, voters rejected the attempt to retake control of immigration, defeating the motion by a roughly 63%–37% margin. On 9 February 2014, 50.3% of Swiss voters approved a ballot initiative launched by

1428-405: A significant impact on the psychology and society of Switzerland. The war convinced most Swiss of the need for unity and strength. Swiss from all strata of society, whether Catholic or Protestant, from the liberal or conservative current, realised that the cantons would profit more from merging their economic and religious interests. Thus, while the rest of Europe saw revolutionary uprisings ,

1530-404: A variety of ways. A common reason to frame a single story is to draw attention to the narrator's unreliability . By explicitly making the narrator a character within the frame story, the writer distances him or herself from the narrator. The writer may characterize the narrator to cast doubt on the narrator's truthfulness, as when in P. G. Wodehouse 's stories of Mr. Mulliner , Mulliner is made

1632-556: A whole rather than being modified one amendment at a time. This need soon proved itself when the rise in population and the Industrial Revolution that followed led to calls to modify the constitution accordingly. The population rejected an early draft in 1872, but modifications led to its acceptance in 1874. It introduced the facultative referendum for laws at the federal level. It also established federal responsibility for defence, trade, and legal matters. In 1891,

1734-407: A wide range of themes, subjects, and styles, including gothic horror, picaresque adventures, and comic, erotic , and moral tales. The stories reflect Potocki's interest in secret societies , the supernatural , and oriental cultures, and they are illustrated with his detailed observations of 18th-century European manners and customs, particularly those of upper-class Spanish society. Many of

1836-418: Is asked. The last portion of the film then unfolds without any narrator. In musical sonata form or rondo , a reprised theme occurs at the beginning and end of the work, or returns periodically. A framing device may take the form of a recurrent element at the beginning and end of the narrative. For example, a story may begin with a character visiting a park under one set of circumstances, then returning at

1938-468: Is considered the confederacy's founding document, even though similar alliances likely existed decades earlier. The document was agreed among the rural communes of Uri , Schwyz , and Unterwalden . By 1353, the three original cantons had joined with the cantons of Glarus and Zug and the Lucerne , Zurich and Bern city-states to form the "Old Confederacy" of eight states that obtained through

2040-597: Is explained in the foreword, which is narrated by an unnamed French officer who describes his fortuitous discovery of an intriguing Spanish manuscript during the sack of Zaragoza in 1809, in the course of the Napoleonic Wars . Soon after, the French officer is captured by the Spanish and stripped of his possessions; but a Spanish officer recognizes the manuscript's importance, and during the French officer's captivity

2142-409: Is one of the world's most developed countries having the highest nominal wealth per adult , and the eighth-highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita . Switzerland performs highly on several international metrics , including economic competitiveness and democratic governance . Cities such as Zurich, Geneva and Basel rank among the highest in terms of quality of life, albeit with some of

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2244-471: Is sometimes used in works of fantasy as a means toward suspension of disbelief about the marvels depicted in the story. J.R.R. Tolkien , in his essay " On Fairy-Stories " complained of such devices as unwillingness to treat the genre seriously; he used frame stories of different kinds in his Middle-earth writings. Lewis Carroll 's Alice stories ( Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through

2346-659: Is the highest, although the Matterhorn (4,478 m or 14,692 ft) is the best known. Both are located within the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais , on the border with Italy. The section of the Bernese Alps above the deep glacial Lauterbrunnen valley, containing 72 waterfalls, is well known for the Jungfrau (4,158 m or 13,642 ft) Eiger and Mönch peaks, and its many picturesque valleys. In

2448-701: The Waldstätte cantons which formed the nucleus of the Old Swiss Confederacy . The Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for "Confederates", Eidgenossen (literally: comrades by oath ), used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland , CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica ( Helvetic Confederation ). The toponym Schwyz itself

2550-542: The Axis and Allied powers. Switzerland's trade was blockaded by both the Allies and the Axis. Economic cooperation and extension of credit to Nazi Germany varied according to the perceived likelihood of invasion and the availability of other trading partners. Concessions reached a peak after a crucial rail link through Vichy France was severed in 1942, leaving Switzerland (together with Liechtenstein ) entirely isolated from

2652-628: The Castrum Rauracense near Augusta Raurica. The Empire built another line of defence at the north border (the so-called Donau-Iller-Rhine-Limes). At the end of the fourth century, the increased Germanic pressure forced the Romans to abandon the linear defence concept. The Swiss Plateau was finally open to Germanic tribes . In the Early Middle Ages , from the end of the fourth century, the western extent of modern-day Switzerland

2754-558: The Congress of Vienna fully re-established Swiss independence, and the European powers recognised permanent Swiss neutrality. Swiss troops served foreign governments until 1860 when they fought in the siege of Gaeta . The treaty allowed Switzerland to increase its territory, with the admission of the cantons of Valais , Neuchâtel and Geneva . Switzerland's borders saw only minor adjustments thereafter. The restoration of power to

2856-677: The First War of Villmergen , in 1656, and the Toggenburg War (or Second War of Villmergen), in 1712. In 1798, the revolutionary French government invaded Switzerland and imposed a new unified constitution. This centralised the government of the country, effectively abolishing the cantons: moreover, Mülhausen left Switzerland and the Valtellina valley became part of the Cisalpine Republic . The new regime, known as

2958-639: The Hallstatt and La Tène cultures , named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel . La Tène culture developed and flourished during the late Iron Age from around 450 BC, possibly influenced by Greek and Etruscan civilisations. One of the most prominent La Tène tribes were the Helvetii , who primarily occupied the Swiss Plateau , alongside the Rhaetians in

3060-615: The Holy Roman Empire around 1000 AD. In the 10th century, as the rule of the Carolingians waned, Magyars destroyed Basel in 917 and St. Gallen in 926. In response, Henry the Fowler , the then ruler of East Francia, decreed the fortification of key settlements to defend against these invasions. Large villages and towns, including strategic locations like Zurich and St.Gallen, were fortified. This initiative led to

3162-593: The League of Nations , which was based in Geneva , after it was exempted from military requirements. During World War II , detailed invasion plans were drawn up by the Germans, but Switzerland was never attacked. Switzerland was able to remain independent through a combination of military deterrence, concessions to Germany, and good fortune, as larger events during the war intervened. General Henri Guisan , appointed

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3264-683: The Sanskrit epics Mahabharata , Ramayana , Panchatantra , Syntipas 's The Seven Wise Masters , and the fable collections Hitopadesha and Vikram and The Vampire . This form gradually spread west through the centuries and became popular, giving rise to such classic frame tale collections as the One Thousand and One Nights ( Arabian Nights ), The Decameron , and the Canterbury Tales , in which each pilgrim tells his own kind of tale, and whose frame story "was once

3366-576: The Swiss Alps to the south, the Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau, and the Jura mountains on the west. The Alps are a mountain range running across the central and south of the country, constituting about 60% of the country's area. The majority of the population live on the Swiss Plateau. The Swiss Alps host many glaciers, covering 1,063 square kilometres (410 sq mi). From these originate

3468-610: The Swiss Confederation , is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe . It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau , the Alps and the Jura ; the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, whereas most of the country's population of 9 million are concentrated on

3570-613: The Swiss economy . During the Cold War , Swiss authorities considered the construction of a Swiss nuclear bomb . Leading nuclear physicists at the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich such as Paul Scherrer made this a realistic possibility. In 1988, the Paul Scherrer Institute was founded in his name to explore the therapeutic uses of neutron scattering technologies. Financial problems with

3672-998: The WTO , the WHO , the ILO , FIFA , the WEF , and the UN. It is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), but not part of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area , or the eurozone ; however, it participates in the European single market and the Schengen Area . Switzerland is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons , with federal authorities based in Bern . Switzerland

3774-457: The commander-in-chief for the duration of the war ordered a general mobilisation of the armed forces. The Swiss military strategy changed from static defence at the borders to organised long-term attrition and withdrawal to strong, well-stockpiled positions high in the Alps, known as the Reduit . Switzerland was an important base for espionage by both sides and often mediated communications between

3876-546: The 2005 novel Q & A ), about a poor street kid named Jamal who comes close to winning Kaun Banega Crorepati (the Indian equivalent of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ) but finds himself accused of cheating. Most of the story is narrated at a police station by Jamal, who explains how he knew the answers to each of the questions as the show is played back on video. The show itself then serves as another framing device , as Jamal sees flashbacks of his past as each question

3978-615: The Bold of Burgundy during the 1470s, and the success of the Swiss mercenaries . The Swiss victory in the Swabian War against the Swabian League of Emperor Maximilian I in 1499 amounted to de facto independence within the Holy Roman Empire . In 1501, Basel and Schaffhausen joined the Old Swiss Confederacy. The Confederacy acquired a reputation of invincibility during these earlier wars, but expansion of

4080-608: The EU was attained that eliminated quotas on EU citizens, but still allowed favourable treatment of Swiss-based job applicants. On 27 September 2020, 62% of Swiss voters rejected the anti-free movement referendum by SVP. Extending across the north and south side of the Alps in west -central Europe, Switzerland encompasses diverse landscapes and climates across its 41,285 square kilometres (15,940 sq mi). Switzerland lies between latitudes 45° and 48° N , and longitudes 5° and 11° E . It contains three basic topographical areas:

4182-536: The French in the name of the Helvetic Republic. In 1803 Napoleon organised a meeting of the leading Swiss politicians from both sides in Paris. The Act of Mediation was the result, which largely restored Swiss autonomy and introduced a Confederation of 19 cantons. Henceforth, much of Swiss politics would concern balancing the cantons' tradition of self-rule with the need for a central government. In 1815

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4284-701: The Helvetic Republic, was highly unpopular. An invading foreign army had imposed and destroyed centuries of tradition, making Switzerland nothing more than a French satellite state . The fierce French suppression of the Nidwalden Revolt in September 1798 was an example of the oppressive presence of the French Army and the local population's resistance to the occupation. When war broke out between France and its rivals, Russian and Austrian forces invaded Switzerland. The Swiss refused to fight alongside

4386-588: The Helvetii were forced by Caesar to return to their original lands, where they were subjected to stringent restrictions on their autonomy and movements. In 15 BC, Tiberius (later the second Roman emperor) and his brother Drusus conquered the Alps, integrating them into the Roman Empire . The area occupied by the Helvetii first became part of Rome's Gallia Belgica province and then of its Germania Superior province. The eastern portion of modern Switzerland

4488-591: The Holy Roman Empire and its neutrality . During the Early Modern period of Swiss history, the growing authoritarianism of the patriciate families combined with a financial crisis in the wake of the Thirty Years' War led to the Swiss peasant war of 1653 . In the background to this struggle, the conflict between Catholic and Protestant cantons persisted, erupting in further violence at

4590-489: The Looking-Glass ) includes such a frame, the stories themselves using dream-like logic and sequences. Still, even as the story proceeds realistically, the dream frame casts doubt on the events. In the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , the events really occur; the dream frame added for the movie detracts from the validity of the fantasy. To be a frame narrative, the story must act primarily as an occasion for

4692-408: The Russian ambassador, Otto Magnus von Stackelberg . Potocki's wealth enabled him to travel extensively about Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia, visiting Italy, Sicily , Malta , the Netherlands , Germany , France , England , Russia , Turkey , Dalmatia , the Balkans , the Caucasus , Spain , Tunisia , Morocco , Egypt , and even Mongolia . He was also one of the first travel writers of

4794-561: The Spaniard translates it for him into French. The manuscript has been written by a young officer of the Walloon Guard, Alphonse van Worden. In 1739, while en route to Madrid to serve with the Spanish Army, he is diverted into Spain's rugged Sierra Morena region. There, over a period of sixty-six days, he encounters a varied group of characters, including Muslim princesses, Gypsies , outlaws, and kabbalists , who tell him an intertwining series of bizarre, amusing, and fantastic tales which he records in his diary. The sixty-six stories cover

4896-440: The Swiss Alps. 90% of Switzerland's 65,000-kilometre-long network of rivers and streams have been straightened, dammed, canalized or channeled underground, in an effort to prevent natural disasters such as flooding, landslides, and avalanches. 80% of all Swiss drinking water comes from groundwater sources. Forty-eight mountains are 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) or higher in height. At 4,634 m (15,203 ft), Monte Rosa

4998-407: The Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) to restrict immigration . This initiative was mostly backed by rural (57.6% approval) and suburban groups (51.2% approval), and isolated towns (51.3% approval) as well as by a strong majority (69.2% approval) in Ticino, while metropolitan centres (58.5% rejection) and the French-speaking part (58.5% rejection) rejected it. In December 2016, a political compromise with

5100-442: The Swiss drew up a constitution that provided for a federal layout , much of it inspired by the American example . This constitution provided central authority while leaving the cantons the right to self-government on local issues. Giving credit to those who favoured the power of the cantons (the Sonderbund Kantone), the national assembly was divided between an upper house (the Council of States , two representatives per canton) and

5202-423: The adoption of the Swiss Federal Constitution in 1848. Switzerland's precursors established a defensive alliance in 1291, forming a loose confederation that persisted for centuries. The oldest traces of hominid existence in Switzerland date to about 150,000 years ago. The oldest known farming settlements in Switzerland, which were found at Gächlingen , date to around 5300 BC. The earliest known tribes formed

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5304-424: The birth of ethnology – he was one of the first to study the precursors of the Slavic peoples from a linguistic and historical standpoint. In 1790 he became the first person in Poland to fly in a hot air balloon when he made an ascent over Warsaw with the aeronaut Jean-Pierre Blanchard , an exploit that earned him great public acclaim. He spent some time in France, and upon his return to Poland, he became

5406-438: The bombings, which violated the 96th Article of War , resulted from navigation errors, equipment failure, weather conditions, and pilot errors. The Swiss expressed fear and concern that the bombings were intended to put pressure on Switzerland to end economic cooperation and neutrality with Nazi Germany. Court-martial proceedings took place in England. The US paid SFR 62M for reparations. Switzerland's attitude towards refugees

5508-406: The book, Robert Walton writes letters to his sister, describing the story told to him by the scientist Victor Frankenstein . Midway through Frankenstein's story, he is met by the monster , who tells him his own story after he was created, and this third narrative even briefly contains the tale of a family whom he had been observing. This set of frame narratives that fit together is sometimes called

5610-402: The bus-stop bench. However, in the last fifth or so of the film, Forrest gets up and leaves the bench, and we follow him as he meets with Jenny and her son. This final segment suddenly has no narrator unlike the rest of the film that came before it, but is instead told through Forrest and Jenny's dialogues. This approach is also demonstrated in the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire (adapted from

5712-410: The character Scheherazade narrates a set of fairy tales to the Sultan Shahriyar over many nights. Many of Shahrazad's tales are also frame stories, such as Tale of Sindbad the Seaman and Sindbad the Landsman , a collection of adventures related by Sindbad the Seaman to Sindbad the Landsman. Ovid 's Metamorphoses makes extensive use of framing, with the stories nested several deep, allowing

5814-513: The circumstances of his death remain controversial to this day. Jan Potocki was born into the Potocki aristocratic family , that owned vast estates across Poland. He was educated in Geneva and Lausanne , served twice in the Polish Army as a captain of engineers, and spent some time on a galley as novice to the Knights of Malta . His colorful life took him across Europe , Asia and North Africa , where he embroiled himself in political intrigues, flirted with secret societies and contributed to

5916-436: The citizens, the membership application was withdrawn. Nonetheless, Swiss law is gradually changing to conform with that of the EU, and the government signed bilateral agreements with the European Union. Switzerland, together with Liechtenstein, has been surrounded by the EU since Austria's entry in 1995. On 5 June 2005, Swiss voters agreed by a 55% majority to join the Schengen treaty , a result that EU commentators regarded as

6018-428: The conceit is that the author of the book is not the real author but a fictional character, in this case a man named Crayon. Here the frame includes the world of the imagined Crayon, his stories, and the reader who is assumed to play along and "know" who Crayon is. When there is a single story, the frame story is used for other purposes – chiefly to position the reader's attitude toward the tale. This can be done in

6120-473: The confederation suffered a setback in 1515 with the Swiss defeat in the Battle of Marignano . This ended the so-called "heroic" epoch of Swiss history. The success of Zwingli 's Reformation in some cantons led to inter-cantonal religious conflicts in 1529 and 1531 ( Wars of Kappel ). It was not until more than one hundred years after these internal wars that, in 1648, under the Peace of Westphalia , European countries recognised Switzerland's independence from

6222-410: The constitution forbade sending troops to serve abroad, marking the end of foreign service. It came with the expectation of serving the Holy See , and the Swiss were still obliged to serve Francis II of the Two Sicilies with Swiss Guards present at the siege of Gaeta in 1860 . An important clause of the constitution was that it could be entirely rewritten, if necessary, thus enabling it to evolve as

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6324-469: The constitution was revised with uncommonly strong elements of direct democracy , which remain unique today. Switzerland was not invaded during either of the world wars. During World War I , Switzerland was home to the revolutionary and founder of the Soviet Union Vladimir Illych Ulyanov ( Vladimir Lenin ) who remained there until 1917. Swiss neutrality was seriously questioned by the short-lived Grimm–Hoffmann affair in 1917. In 1920, Switzerland joined

6426-404: The country top-level domain ".ch", are both taken from the state's Latin name). Helvetica is derived from the Helvetii , a Gaulish tribe living on the Swiss Plateau before the Roman era . Helvetia appeared as a national personification of the Swiss confederacy in the 17th century in a 1672 play by Johann Caspar Weissenbach. The state of Switzerland took its present form with

6528-402: The country, Schwiiz , is homophonous to that of the canton and the settlement, but distinguished by the use of the definite article ( d'Schwiiz for the Confederation, but simply Schwyz for the canton and the town). The long [iː] of Swiss German is historically and still often today spelled ⟨y⟩ rather than ⟨ii⟩ , preserving the original identity of

6630-409: The defence budget and ethical considerations prevented the substantial funds from being allocated, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 was seen as a valid alternative. Plans for building nuclear weapons were dropped by 1988. Switzerland joined the Council of Europe in 1963. Switzerland was the last Western republic (the Principality of Liechtenstein followed in 1984) to grant women

6732-415: The development of what were essentially early urban strongholds and city governments in Eastern Switzerland. By 1200, the Swiss Plateau comprised the dominions of the houses of Savoy , Zähringer , Habsburg , and Kyburg . Some regions ( Uri , Schwyz , Unterwalden , later known as Waldstätten ) were accorded the Imperial immediacy to grant the empire direct control over the mountain passes. With

6834-423: The eastern regions. Facing pressures from Germanic tribes, in 58 BC, the Helvetii, influenced by Orgetorix , a wealthy aristocrat, decided to abandon the Swiss Plateau for better opportunities in western Gallia. After Orgetorix's mysterious death, the tribe continued their migration but was decisively defeated by Julius Caesar's armies at the Battle of Bibracte , in present-day eastern France. Following their defeat,

6936-465: The end of the 15th century. The expansion led to increased power and wealth for the confederation. By 1460, the confederates controlled most of the territory south and west of the Rhine to the Alps and the Jura mountains , and the University of Basel was founded (with a faculty of medicine) establishing a tradition of chemical and medical research. This increased after victories against the Habsburgs ( Battle of Sempach , Battle of Näfels ), over Charles

7038-403: The end to the same park under a different set of circumstances, having undergone a change that allows him or her to see the park in a new light. A framing device might simply be a defining image of the narrative or art that is used at the beginning and end of the work, as in the film Chariots of Fire which begins and ends with the characters running along a beach, accompanied at both times by

7140-539: The extinction of its male line in 1263, the Kyburg dynasty fell in AD 1264. The Habsburgs under King Rudolph I (Holy Roman Emperor in 1273) laid claim to the Kyburg lands and annexed them, extending their territory to the eastern Swiss Plateau. The Old Swiss Confederacy was an alliance among the valley communities of the central Alps. The Confederacy was governed by nobles and patricians of various cantons who facilitated management of common interests and ensured peace on mountain trade routes. The Federal Charter of 1291

7242-415: The frame is a dream vision , where the narrator claims to have gone to sleep, dreamed the events of the story, and then awoken to tell the tale. In medieval Europe, this was a common device, used to indicate that the events included are fictional; Geoffrey Chaucer used it in The Book of the Duchess , The House of Fame , Parlement of Foules , and The Legend of Good Women (the last also containing

7344-436: The frame of a grandfather reading the story to his reluctant grandson puts the cynical reaction a viewer might have to the romantic fairytale into the story in the grandson's persona, and helps defuse it. This is the use when the frame tells a story that lacks a strong narrative hook in its opening; the narrator can engage the reader's interest by telling the story to answer the curiosity of his listeners, or by warning them that

7446-661: The headwaters of several major rivers, such as the Rhine , Inn , Ticino and Rhône , which flow in the four cardinal directions, spreading across Europe. The hydrographic network includes several of the largest bodies of fresh water in Central and Western Europe, among which are Lake Geneva (Lac Léman in French), Lake Constance (Bodensee in German) and Lake Maggiore . Switzerland has more than 1500 lakes and contains 6% of Europe's freshwater stock. Lakes and glaciers cover about 6% of

7548-607: The highest costs of living . Switzerland holds an international reputation for its established banking sector, alongside its distinctive recognition for their watchmaking and chocolate production. It has four main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh . Although most Swiss are German-speaking, national identity is fairly cohesive, being rooted in a common historical background, shared values such as federalism and direct democracy , and Alpine symbolism. Swiss identity transcends language, ethnicity, and religion, leading to Switzerland being described as

7650-433: The inclusion of many different tales in one work. Emily Brontë 's Wuthering Heights uses this literary device to tell the story of Heathcliff and Catherine, along with the subplots. Her sister Anne uses this device in her epistolary novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall . The main heroine's diary is framed by the narrator's story and letters. Mary Shelley 's novel Frankenstein has multiple framed narratives. In

7752-645: The last few years of his life he completed his novel. Potocki's most famous work, originally written in French , is The Manuscript Found in Saragossa ( Manuscrit trouvé à Saragosse ). It is a frame tale . On account of its rich, interlocking structure, and telescoping story sequences, the novel has drawn comparisons to such celebrated works as the Decameron and the Arabian Nights . The book's title

7854-612: The last widely recognised state without full UN membership. Switzerland is a founding member of the EFTA but not the European Economic Area (EEA). An application for membership in the European Union was sent in May 1992, but did not advance since rejecting the EEA in December 1992 when Switzerland conducted a referendum on the EEA. Several referendums on the EU issue ensued; due to opposition from

7956-401: The locations described in the tales are real places and regions which Potocki would have visited during his travels, while others are fictionalized accounts of actual places. While there is still some dispute about the novel's authorship, it is now generally accepted to have indeed been written by Potocki. He began writing it in the 1790s and completed it in 1814, a year before his death, though

8058-534: The modern era, penning lively accounts of many of his journeys, during which he also undertook extensive historical, linguistic, and ethnographic studies. Potocki married twice and had five children. His first marriage ended in divorce, and both marriages were the subject of scandalous rumors. In 1812, disillusioned and in poor health, he retired to his estate at Uładówka (now Uladivka) near Vinnytsia in present-day Ukraine, suffering from " melancholia " (which today would probably be diagnosed as depression ), and during

8160-403: The most admired part of Chaucer's work". The use of a frame story in which a single narrative is set in the context of the telling of a story is also a technique with a long history, dating back at least to the beginning section of Homer 's Odyssey , in which the narrator Odysseus tells of his wandering in the court of King Alcinous . A frame story is a literary device that acts as

8262-814: The national territory. Lake Geneva is the largest lake and is shared with France. The Rhône is both the main source and outflow of Lake Geneva. Lake Constance is the second largest and, like Lake Geneva, an intermediate step by the Rhine at the border with Austria and Germany. While the Rhône flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the French Camargue region and the Rhine flows into the North Sea at Rotterdam , about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) apart, both springs are only about 22 kilometres (14 miles) apart in

8364-492: The novel's structure is thought to have been fully mapped out by 1805. The novel was never published in its entirety during Potocki's lifetime. A proof edition of the first ten "days" was circulated in Saint Petersburg in 1805, and a second extract was published in Paris in 1813, almost certainly with Potocki's permission. A third publication, combining both earlier extracts, was issued in 1814, but it appears that at

8466-582: The patriciate was only temporary. After a period of unrest with repeated violent clashes, such as the Züriputsch of 1839, civil war (the Sonderbundskrieg ) broke out in 1847 when some Catholic cantons tried to set up a separate alliance (the Sonderbund ). The war lasted less than a month, causing fewer than 100 casualties, most of which were through friendly fire . The Sonderbundskrieg had

8568-539: The plateau, which hosts its largest cities and economic centres, including Zurich , Geneva , and Basel . Switzerland originates from the Old Swiss Confederacy established in the Late Middle Ages , following a series of military successes against Austria and Burgundy ; the Federal Charter of 1291 is considered the country's founding document. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire

8670-401: The private collection of Potocki's heirs. They identified two versions of the novel: one unfinished, of 1804, published in 1805, and the full version of 1810, which appears to have been completely reconceived in comparison to the 1804 version. Whereas the first version has a lighter, more sceptical tone, the second one tends towards a darker, more religious mood. In view of the differences between

8772-414: The right to vote . Some Swiss cantons approved this in 1959, while at the federal level, it was achieved in 1971 and, after resistance, in the last canton Appenzell Innerrhoden (one of only two remaining Landsgemeinde , along with Glarus ) in 1990. After obtaining suffrage at the federal level, women quickly rose in political significance. The first woman on the seven-member Federal Council executive

8874-606: The secondary narrative(s) that may otherwise be hard to understand. This should not be confused with narrative structure . A notable example is the 1001 Nights or The Decameron . Some of the earliest frame stories are from ancient Egypt, including one in the Papyrus Westcar , the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor , and The Eloquent Peasant . Other early examples are from Indian literature , including

8976-778: The sixth century, following Clovis I 's victory over the Alemanni at Tolbiac in 504 AD, and later Frankish domination of the Burgundians. Throughout the rest of the sixth, seventh and eighth centuries, Swiss regions continued under Frankish hegemony ( Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties) but after its extension under Charlemagne , the Frankish Empire was divided by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. The territories of present-day Switzerland became divided into Middle Francia and East Francia until they were reunified under

9078-684: The southeast the long Engadin Valley, encompassing St. Moritz , is also well known; the highest peak in the neighbouring Bernina Alps is Piz Bernina (4,049 m or 13,284 ft). The Swiss Plateau has greater open and hilly landscapes, partly forested, partly open pastures, usually with grazing herds or vegetable and fruit fields, but it is still hilly. Large lakes and the biggest Swiss cities are found there. Switzerland contains two small enclaves : Büsingen belongs to Germany, while Campione d'Italia belongs to Italy. Switzerland has no exclaves. Frame tale A frame story (also known as

9180-422: The story began in an ordinary seeming way, but they must follow it to understand later actions, thereby identifying the reader's wondering whether the story is worth reading to the listeners'. Such an approach was used, too, by Edith Wharton in her novella Ethan Frome , in which a nameless narrator hears from many characters in the town of Starkfield about the main character Ethan's story. A specialized form of

9282-515: The telling of other stories. For example, Odysseus narrates much of the Odyssey to the Phaeacians , but, even though this recollection forms a great part of the poem, the events after and before the interpolated recollection are of greater interest than the memory. A film that plays with frame narrative is the 1994 Forrest Gump . Most of it is narrated by Forrest to various companions on

9384-422: The time of his death Potocki had not yet decided on the novel's final form. Potocki composed the book entirely in the French language. Sections of the original manuscripts were later lost, but have survived in a Polish translation that was made in 1847 by Edmund Chojecki from a complete French copy, now lost. The most recent and complete French-language version, edited by François Rosset and Dominique Triaire,

9486-633: The two names even in writing. The Latin name Confoederatio Helvetica was neologised and introduced gradually after the formation of the federal state in 1848, harking back to the Napoleonic Helvetic Republic . It appeared on coins from 1879, inscribed on the Federal Palace in 1902 and after 1948 used in the official seal (e.g., the ISO banking code "CHF" for the Swiss franc , the Swiss postage stamps ('HELVETIA') and

9588-704: The two versions, the 1804 and 1810 versions have been published as two separate books; paperback editions were issued in early 2008 by Flammarion . The first English-language edition, published in 1995, was a translation of Radrizzani's edition by Oxford scholar Ian MacLean. Potocki's novel became more widely known thanks to the stylish black-and-white 1965 film adaptation directed by renowned filmmaker Wojciech Has and starring Zbigniew Cybulski as Alphonse van Worden. Modern editions have appeared as follows: [REDACTED] Category Switzerland in Europe  (green and dark grey) Switzerland , officially

9690-695: The wider world by Axis-controlled territory. Over the course of the war, Switzerland interned over 300,000 refugees aided by the International Red Cross , based in Geneva. Strict immigration and asylum policies and the financial relationships with Nazi Germany raised controversy, only at the end of the 20th century. During the war, the Swiss Air Force engaged aircraft of both sides, shooting down 11 intruding Luftwaffe planes in May and June 1940, then forcing down other intruders after

9792-560: Was Elisabeth Kopp , who served from 1984 to 1989, and the first female president was Ruth Dreifuss in 1999. In 1979 areas from the canton of Bern attained independence from the Bernese, forming the new canton of Jura . On 18 April 1999, the Swiss population and the cantons voted in favour of a completely revised federal constitution . In 2002 Switzerland became a full member of the United Nations, leaving Vatican City as

9894-575: Was complicated and controversial; over the course of the war, it admitted as many as 300,000 refugees while refusing tens of thousands more, including Jews persecuted by the Nazis. After the war, the Swiss government exported credits through the charitable fund known as the Schweizerspende and donated to the Marshall Plan to help Europe's recovery, efforts that ultimately benefited

9996-462: Was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes , perhaps related to swedan 'to burn' (cf. Old Norse svíða 'to singe, burn'), referring to the area of forest that was burned and cleared to build. The name was extended to the area dominated by the canton, and after the Swabian War of 1499 gradually came to be used for the entire Confederation. The Swiss German name of

10098-581: Was formally recognised in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Switzerland has maintained a policy of armed neutrality since the 16th century and has not fought an international war since 1815 . It joined the United Nations only in 2002 but pursues an active foreign policy that includes frequent involvement in peace building . Switzerland is the birthplace of the Red Cross and hosts the headquarters or offices of most major international institutions including

10200-564: Was integrated into the Roman province of Raetia . Sometime around the start of the Common Era , the Romans maintained a large camp called Vindonissa , now a ruin at the confluence of the Aare and Reuss rivers, near the town of Windisch . The first and second century AD was an age of prosperity on the Swiss Plateau. Towns such as Aventicum , Iulia Equestris and Augusta Raurica reached

10302-454: Was part of the territory of the Kings of the Burgundians , who introduced the French language to the area. The Alemanni settled the Swiss Plateau in the fifth century and the valleys of the Alps in the eighth century, forming Alemannia . Modern-day Switzerland was then divided between the kingdoms of Alemannia and Burgundy . The entire region became part of the expanding Frankish Empire in

10404-669: Was published in 2006 in Leuven , Belgium, as part of a critical scholarly edition of the complete works of Potocki. Unlike Radrizzani's 1989 edition of the Manuscript Found in Saragossa , Rosset and Triaire's edition has been based solely on Potocki's French-language manuscripts found in several libraries in France, Poland (in particular, previously unknown autograph pieces that they discovered in Poznań ), Spain, and Russia, as well as in

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