Armed Neutrality | The Animated History of Switzerland

#switzerland #history #suibhne

Four languages, two major religions, peaks climbing high above the sky. What is Switzerland, and how did this truly unique nation come to be?

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[michaelmeier]

The German Kaiser Wilhelm II asked a Swiss soldier during a maneuver in 1912 "You are 100, 000 Swiss riflemen, what if I come with 200, 000 Prussians?" The Swiss soldiers answer is legendary: "Then we have to shoot twice, Your Majesty."

[photographicsynthesis]

As a proud Swiss man myself I feel neutral about this this video

[GuentherVanRaven]

Our government is so professional we don‘t even know their names.

[brc]

is the glass half full, or half empty?
optimist: half full!
pessimist: half empty!
Switzerland: yes.

[Kenny-lbaum]

As a Swiss I can confirm, this is pretty much the fastest and most entertaining way to learn the Swiss history. Really cool, thanks a lot.

[arnileleiss]

These kind of videos make me really proud of my country. We often tend to consider it as boring ourselves, but throughout history swiss people have always been loyal and respected. Thanks for reminding that to every Swiss

[karsentubeyt]

15th century Habsburgs: “Oh would you look at that it’s Tuesday time to try to conquer Switzerland”
Switzerland: “How many times do I have to teach you this lesson old man”

[etxne]

Switzerland is like one of those kids that stares at you in the bus. We observ but never attack and if you attack, you will deeply regret it

[cedi]

some Nation: attacks switzerland


switzerland: I'm about to end this man's whole career

[tuxedopenguen]

It is said that the German Emperor Wilhelm stopped in Appenzell (a rural Swiss canton) on one of his journeys because he was curious about the 'wit' of the farmers living there, which was known far beyond the country's borders. He now had a servant tell one of the farmers that His Highness the Emperor demanded a taste of this humor. The Appenzeller shrugged his shoulders unimpressed and disappeared into a barn. A little later the barn gate opened and a small sow ran across the square with a helmet on her head. A large sow chased after it at a distance. The farmer silently joined the emperor and his servant, who watched the spectacle impatiently and rather uncomprehendingly. "His Highness would like an explanation, " grumbled the servant. "Ganz ääfach, " replied the Appenzeller, "Kleine Sau hat Helm - Grosse Sau wil(l) Helm!"

[TheIncognito]

As a longtime fan of your channel and a Swiss, I have to applaud you! This was the first time I felt my country‘s history so well represented. From the cantonal sigils to even the Sonderbund war and the battle at the Tuilleries, you covered the essential history of Switzerland very well. Congratulations! Kind regards from Lucerne, Switzerland

[hallerhans]

Please note that the "Trachten" of these figures can certainly not be Swiss, but rather Bavarian ! - And we do not define ourselves as Germanic, but as Helvetians. You can also read this on each coin: "Confoderatio Helvetica" is written on it. - We were never Germans, but part of the Habsbuger Empire. And the Habsburgs in and of themselves, originally even come from the canton of Aargau, i.e. from Switzerland. - The course of Swiss history is very unusual, even unique. Sometimes even non-Swiss people cannot easily understand this. It began with the Swiss Confederation from which, in the end, Switzerland emerged. Today we are a country with the so-called direct democracy. This means that I as a Swiss have far more political rights than anyone else in the world. - We not only elect our parliament, we can also vote on political proposals. Right now it is their 5 "federal" bills on which we will be called to the ballot box on 27.9.2020. This is completely normal for us and it is a good thing. This is really lived democracy, it only exists in Switzerland!

[jaybhailikar]

Switzerland is like a drug dealer who never gets high off his supply

[sirrliv]

Fun fact: The Swiss were, and are, absolutely mad about railways. Beginning with the first line, the Spanisch-Brotli-Bahn between Zurich and Baden in 1847, Swiss engineers were quick to recognize the advantages steam railways offered and the advantage offered by Switzerland's unique central location within Western Europe; basically, if anything wanted to pass from east to west or north to south chances are it would have to pass through Switzerland, so why not facilitate that trade and reap the unimaginable profits? The first major step in this transeuropean connection was the completion of the Gotthard Pass in 1882 followed by the Simplon Pass in 1906. With these and other connections, Switzerland became one of the biggest railway hubs in Europe.

Moreso than its international connections, the internal Swiss railway network exploded in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Perhaps no other nation in Europe has experienced such profound railway mania than the Swiss; at times it seemed that every town in the country had at least two different railway companies operating out of it. At the peak of the mania prior to mass nationalization and consolidation starting in 1901 the number of independent railways in this tiny nation was several hundred; even today there are 74 different railway operators in Switzerland. This expansion was facilitated by new innovations that made building railways through the Alps possible and easier. For instance, large portions of the Swiss network were, and still are, meter gauge, their rails set closer together than normal standard gauge railways. This made the lines cheaper to build and meant that they could navigate tighter curves than bigger trains, but at the cost of bigger standard gauge trains not being able to use narrow gauge track. The Swiss had a solution for this though: The rollwagen, special ultra-low flatbed cars with rails that allowed standard gauge cars to be rolled onto them and then locked in place, then being carried on the narrow gauge like ordinary oversized cargo. Another problem facing the Swiss were the steep grades necessitated at points by the mountainous terrain. While some of these could be overcome by looping the track over itself in massive spirals, at other times there was nothing for it but to climb. To climb points where normal adhesion between wheel and rail were not enough, the rack railway was invented; essentially a line of cog teeth placed between the rails and engaged by a cog wheel underneath the locomotive allowing the train to be pulled up very steep grades without slipping. While rack railways were employed on steep sections of normal mainline railways, they truly came into their own on the new invention of the mountain railway, a special type of railway run entirely by rack rail system, thus allowing trains to climb extraordinary grades to reach the tops of mountain peaks. While some mountain railways found modest commercial use such as supplying isolated mountain communities, by and large they served the last great fuel for Switzerland's railway boom: Tourism.

With foreign visitors attracted by the stunning views, supposed health benefits of the pure mountain air, and later by the sporting offerings of the Swiss Alps, the railways offered easy access to the great resorts such as St. Moritz, as well as unparalleled views of the spectacular scenery. Some Swiss trains that catered primarily to the tourist trade would go on to become legends in their own right, with names like the Glacier Express, Bernina Express, and William Tell Express. Such was the popularity of railway tourism in Switzerland that in the 1920's the Belgian-based Compagnie International des Wagon-Lits, or CIWL, the same company that operated legendary trains like the Orient Express, established the only narrow gauge luxury Pullman service in Europe, a tradition that continues to this day as the Alpine Classic Pullman Express.

[fathertime]

“Sponsored by ‘World of Tanks’”

Switzerland: “WAIT A MINUTE!!!”

[keliartist]

I'm Swiss and I love the Video, but Zwingli wasn't the only Reformer.
There was also for example Calvin in Geneva.

[mrinternetguy]

Zwingli: Eats a Sausage
16th Century Catholic Church: **GASPS**

[oOSTFUOo]

As a Swiss, I humbly approve of this message in an adequately neutral way.

[donday]

To sum up switzerland: "We won't absolutely mess you up if you don't try to mess us up".

[peldar_]

My favourite swiss battle:
Tha Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs.
The French were on the Way to Zürich, were the old swiss confederation was in Siege of the city, to end this siege.
The French had 20'000 soldiers with them, including Archers and artillery etc.
So a Army of about 1'300 soldiers decided to go and face oncoming Army. They were joined by 200 Basilean soldiers on the way, so 1500 in total.
They were faced with an overwhelming power, but nevertheless charged and fought to the last man. They defeated around 4'000 french soldiers.
During the battle when the swiss seemed beaten, a royal knight, fighting for the french came to discuss the defeat of the swiss. But he got kind of coky when he arrived (the swiss were cornered in front of a "sickhouse" that had roses in front of it), opened the visor of his helmet and said something like: it would be a pity for all these roses to die due to the battle.
A swiss soldier, threw a rock through the open visor of the soldier and said: "eat your goddamn roses"
Thre knight fell of his horse and got dragged over the battlefield by it, resulting in his death.
The remaining swiss soldiers then got slaughtered. But the impact of this battle made the french reconsider about marching on zurich, where a 20'000 soldiers strong army was waiting fro them.