Switzerland, in long form the Swiss Confederation6, in German Schweiz Pronunciation of the title in its original version Listen and Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, in Italian Svizzera and Confederazione Svizzera, in Romansh Svizra and Confederaziun svizra, is a country in Central Europe and, according to some definitions, from the West, made up of 26 cantons7, with Berne as its capital, sometimes called a “federal city”. 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 a country without an ocean coast, but has direct access to the sea via the Rhine (Mannheim Convention)8. The area of the country is 41,285 km2. It is geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss plateau and the jura . The Alps