In February, Switzerland’s government approved a parliamentary committee motion to strengthen controls at its borders. But what does the word ‘border’ really mean in the Swiss context?
Before Swiss borders as we know them today came into existence, they had been shaped and re-shaped many times due to wars, reigning empires, and shifting political alliances.
Foreign powers, including the Roman Empire, the Habsburgs, and the Savoys, among others, defined Swiss borders throughout history, until they took their final shape in the latter part of the 19th century.
Intangible dividing lines
If you look at the map of Europe today, you may need a magnifying glass to find Switzerland, nestled north of Italy, east and southeast of France, south of Germany, and west of Austria and the principality of Liechtenstein.
It looks like this:
Federal Office of Topography (swisstopo)
In all, Switzerland shares a 1,935-km-long border with these five countries — mostly on land (including mountains), but also via Lake Geneva (with France), Lake Constance (with Germany and Austria), and Lake Maggiore and Lugano (with Italy).
How is this nearly 2,000-km-long border divided?
Switzerland shares by far the longest border (about 800 km) with its southern neighbour, Italy. Cantons of Ticino, Valais and Graubünden all lie along the Swiss-Italian border.
Next in length (600 km) is the border with France, shared by cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Jura, Neuchâtel, Valais, and Basel.
Switzerland’s 362-km border with Germany is shared by Basel, Zurich, Aargau, Schaffhausen, Thurgau, and St. Gallen.
St. Gallen and Grubünden border Austria (180 km), as well as Liechtenstein (41.3 km).
How many crossings are there between Switzerland and other countries?
Between Switzerland and Germany there are 86 land borders and 11 public transport connections.
Between Switzerland and France there are 95 land crossings by car and 14 by train or tram.
Between Switzerland and Italy: 30 land borders and seven services by public transport.
Between Switzerland and Austria: 13 road crossings and one by train
Between Switzerland and Liechtenstein: 10 road crossings and one by train
(Remember that lake crossings between the countries also enquire you to carry a passport or or ID card).
How many people cross the border each day?
Some 2.2 million people on average crossed a land border daily between Switzerland and one of its neighbours in 2021. The vast majority of these crossings whether into or out of Switzerland are by road with the rest being by rail.
In 2021 Chiasso motorway in Ticino was the individual border point which saw the most crossings.
But the “busiest” border is with France where hundreds of thousand cross each day, including 220,000 who cross from France to work in Switzerland each day.
READ ALSO: Why you might need to remember your passport when out on a Swiss lake
How easy is it to cross the border from Switzerland to neighbour nations (and vice-versa)?
Switzerland as well as all the countries surrounding it are members of the Schengen area, which means that they have abolished controls at their mutual borders.
Checks, therefore, are sporadic and random (though they could be tighter now that the Federal Council wants to strengthen border controls).
Much also depends on the policies of neighbour states.
Germany, for instance had instituted border checks in 2024; they were supposed to expire in mid-March, but the government is extending them by six months.
Therefore, you may be asked to present your passport or ID card when arriving in Germany, but not necessarily when you get back to. Switzerland (but that, too, could change, under the new Swiss government rules).
Also, even if your comings and goings through the Swiss border are not checked, you are still obligated to declare, and pay tax on, any goods worth over 150 francs that you are bringing into Switzerland.
And here are some interesting facts about Swiss borders:
‘Open’ border with Liechtenstein
While checks when crossing to or from Italy, France, Germany, and Austria are rare (but could happen), there are none between Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
You can drive or walk back and forth through the completely open border; actually, depending on where you cross, there may not even be any markings, so you don’t know whether you are in Switzerland or Liechtenstein, since rural areas in both look pretty much the same.
This may be one of the reasons why the Swiss army got confused about their whereabouts and ‘invaded’ Liechtenstein on three occasions.
READ ALSO: How the army attacked Liechtenstein three times — by mistake
‘Spilling’ borders
Most Swiss borders are well-defined; if you look at the map, you will see what is where.
However, Switzerland also has foreign territories — the so-called ‘enclaves’ — within its borders.
One is a German enclave, Büsingen, in the canton of Schaffhausen, and the other one is Italian, Campione, within Ticino.
These ‘enclaves’ can be confusing even to the government officials.
For instance, for four years, from 2018 to 2021, the Swiss government offered financial support totalling 60,000 francs to a sports organisation in Büsingen.
According to media reports, the Federal Office of Sport (FOSPO) had provided grants meant to promote youth sports programmes in Switzerland to the wrong country: apparently, “federal officials thought that Büsingen was a Swiss municipality”.
Had they looked at the map, they would have known the city is located in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany which, in their defence, is located within close to Switzerland.
In November 2022, however, “FOSPO noticed that Büsingen actually belonged to Germany,” the Schaffhauser Nachrichten newspaper, which broke the story, reported.
The office sent a letter to the sports clubs concerned, telling them that because they are on German territory, they would no longer be entitled to financial support from Switzerland.
Shifting borders
In the past, borders shifted according to political whims of Switzerland’s neighbours.
But in the 21st century, this phenomenon is due to natural causes.
The case in point is Switzerland’s border with Italy, where receding glaciers, which are now shrinking at a faster rate than before due to global warming, forced the two countries to redraw part of their common border.
READ ALSO: How melting glaciers are shifting Switzerland’s borders
