Culture + Myths and urban legends

Culture + Myths and urban legends

essay

Switzerland has a culture, are a mixture of the cultures of Germany, Italy and France. The combination of cultural, linguistic, culinary, musical and literary influences from these three nations has led to the creation of a Swiss culture that is a synthesis of elements.

The Swiss don’t have lots of myths or urban legends that influence your culture but the Swiss people are known for their warm heartedness and love of life. They celebrate many festivals in Switzerland with great gusto and tourists are welcome to join in while traveling in Switzerland. Many towns and villages have a feast day in honor of a local saint. There are also harvest festivals to celebrate the gathering of seasonal crops including fruit and wine. These secular festivals are a celebration of the bounty of the Swiss countryside. Christmas is a grand celebration in Switzerland when young and old celebrate this festival of brotherhood.

However for Swiss, William Tell is a hero, he became a symbol of Switzerland's national pride and independence. Tell's feat of archery supposedly took place around 1300, when Switzerland was under Austrian rule. The independent-minded Tell refused to salute an Austrian official, who then ordered Tell to take the nerve-wracking shot. Afterward, the official spotted a second arrow. Tell said that if his first arrow had missed, he would have used the second one to kill the official. As punishment, Tell was sent to prison, but he escaped and killed the Austrian official. This act inspired the rebellion that eventually ended Austrian rule in Switzerland. Some accounts name Tell a leader in that fight. For this reason, William Tell first appeared in legends and songs of the 1400s. By the 1700s, various Swiss histories featured the story.

Switzerland crime

Switzerland crime
Essay

Switzerland is a country with an excellent humanitarian tradition and for this reason Geneva is “the capital of peace”. The crime in Switzerland is very low and for this reason a lot of foreign people have been thinking that this country is a good place to raise the family.

However Switzerland has a low rate of violent crime. However, pick-pocketing and purse snatching do occur in the vicinity of train and bus stations, airports, and some public parks, especially during peak tourist periods (such as Summer and Christmas) and when conferences, shows, or exhibits are scheduled in major cities. Liechtenstein has a low crime rate. Travelers may wish to exercise caution on trains, especially on overnight trains to neighboring countries. Thieves, who steal from passengers while they sleep, can enter even locked sleeping compartments.

Other thing important is that all class a hard drugs including heroin and cocaine are completely illegal in Switzerland and being caught either in possession of these drugs or selling them holds stiff penalties almost certainly including prison time in Switzerland. The police attitude towards softer drugs such as hashish and cannabis is more ambiguous. While possessing or selling these drugs is technically a crime, police often turn a blind eye to discreet use of such drugs and prosecution for being in possession of small quantities of these drugs is not likely.

The most important thing is that the emergency telephone number in Switzerland to be called in order to report all crimes is 117. Police in Switzerland are either federal or local. Swiss federal police are plain clothed officers and only become involved in serious crimes that go beyond canton level in Switzerland. Victims of crime in Switzerland are far more likely to come into contact with the local canton police who deal with the majority of police issues locally.