Canton of nidwalden
The canton of Nidwalden or Lower Unterwalden (German Nidwalden, French Nidwald, Italian Nidvaldo, in Romansh Sutsilvania) is a canton of Central Switzerland and one of the forested cantons (Waldstätten). Its capital is the historic city of Stans.
Together with the canton of Obwalden it formed the canton of Unterwalden, one of the three primitive cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy.
Toponymy
The name Nidwalden is derived from the name Unterwalden. Originally, Unterwalden was known in Latin as inter silvas, which in Spanish can be translated as between woods and in German it was taken as Unterwalden. Then, to differentiate the two valleys that made up the territory of Unterwalden, the one was called ob dem Wald, while the second was called nid dem Wald, which in 1803 in the Act of Mediation is referred to as Nidwalden.
History
In 1291 the inhabitants of the canton of Nidwalden united together with the towns of the canton of Uri and canton of Schwyz to form the Federal Pact of 1291 (Bundesbrief). At that time there was no real state, but by the end of the XIV century the first forms of organized government appeared. These included institutional assemblies and courts.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, the canton was united with the canton of Obwalden, although the two cantons were never really a single entity. This union was called Unterwalden, and although it is not recognized today, it left its repercussions in the history of the two cantons, since counting as semi-cantons, they only have the right to send a representative to the Council of States in Bern.
Around the year 1500 many people in the canton worked as mercenaries. Some of these soldiers emigrated, which meant the decrease of the high growth of the population. One of the great destinations of these soldiers was Alsace. After having felt the rigor of Napoleon's constitution, the idea of the French revolution was not very well received in this basically rural territory. The canton of Nidwalden was attacked by French troops on September 9, 1798. At the end of French domination in 1814, most of the changes introduced by the French were abolished, it was not until 1877 that the canton of Nidwalden approved its first constitution.. Public meetings (Landsgemeinde) were abolished in 1997.
Geography
The semi-canton of Nidwalden is located in the region of Central Switzerland. It is bordered to the north by the Lake of Four Cantons and the cantons of Lucerne and Schwyz, to the east by the canton of Uri, to the south and west by the canton of Obwalden, and to the south by the canton of Bern.
The maximum height of the canton is the Rotstöckli with 2901 meters above sea level, which is orographically located in the Uranian Alps. However, most of the canton's territory is based on the Swiss Prealps (Lucerne Prealps). The lowest point of the canton is located on the shores of the Lake of the Four Cantons. Finally, the canton is crossed from south to north by the Engelberger Aa river, which flows into the Lake of the Four Cantons.
Demographics
The canton of Nidwalden has 42,080 inhabitants in 2014, making it one of the least populated cantons in Switzerland. In fact only the cantons of Appenzell Inner Rhodes, Obwalden, Uri and Glarus are less populated. Approximately 10% of the population is of foreign origin.
75% of the population claims to be Catholic, while 11.9% say they are Protestants. At the linguistic level, the official language of the canton is German, spoken by 92.5% of the population. The German-Swiss dialect spoken in the region belongs to the Höchstalamanisch family.
Politics
Inside the Confederation, Nidwalden is a semi-canton, this gives it all the rights of an ordinary canton, with the exception of the Council of States, in which each canton sends two representatives and each semi-canton only one.
The Landrat (local parliament) has 60 representatives elected according to the proportional system for a period of four years. The executive is called the Regierungsrat (Governing Council) and is made up of seven members.
Economy
Until the end of the 20th century the canton of Nidwalden was primarily agricultural. From the middle of the XIX century, commerce, industry and tourism began to form part of the local economy. Today a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises dominate the economy. Pilatus Aircraft, an airplane building company, is one of the largest labor supplies.
Traditional areas such as forestry and agriculture are still important to the local economy. Agriculture is specialized in livestock and the production of game meat.
Tourism
Thanks to the geography of the territory, tourism plays an important role for the cantonal economy. The lakes and mountains attract many tourists, both during the winter season and during the summer season. The places not to be missed are: Klewenalp, Stanserhorn, Titlis, Bannalp and Bürgenstock.
Communes
The canton of Nidwalden has eleven communes: Beckenried, Buochs, Dallenwil, Emmetten, Ennetbürgen, Ennetmoos, Hergiswil, Oberdorf, Stans, Stansstad and Wolfenschiessen. The capital is Stans.