Districts of Switzerland

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In contrast to centrally organised states, in the federally constituted Switzerland each Canton is completely free to decide its own internal organisation. Therefore there exists a variety of structures and terminology for the subnational entities between Canton and Municipality, loosely termed districts (i.e. Urban Administration Districts).

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[edit] Amt, Amtsbezirk, District and Distretto

Most Cantons are divided into Bezirke (German for districts). They are also termed Ämter (Lucerne), Amtsbezirke (Bern), district (in French) or distretto (Tessin and part of Graubünden).

The Bezirke generally provides only administration and court organization. However, for historical reasons districts in cantons Graubünden and Schwyz are their own legal entities with jurisdiction over tax and often have their own Landsgemeinde.

[edit] Absence of a district level in ten cantons

Ten of the 26 Cantons entirely dispense with the district level of government:

Uri, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Glarus, Zug, Basel-City and Geneva (each with its own reason, be it historical or practical or because the area is small enough already). Schaffhausen renounced Bezirke since the middle of 1999. Since the start of 2003 Canton of St. Gallen does not recognise the Bezirk level any more; their functions are now undertaken by the electoral constituency.

[edit] List of Swiss districts by canton

Canton Districts
Aargau AG Aargau 11 Bezirke
Appenzell Ausserrhoden AR Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Appenzell Innerrhoden AI Appenzell Innerrhoden
Basel-City BS Basel-City
Basel-Country BL Basel-Country 5 Bezirke
Berne BE Berne 26 Amtsbezirke, Districts
Fribourg FR Fribourg 7 Districts, Bezirke
Geneva GE Geneva
Glarus GL Glarus
Grisons GR Graubünden 11 Bezirke, districts, distretti
Jura JU Jura 3 districts
Lucerne LU Lucerne 5 Ämter
Neuchâtel NE Neuchâtel 6 districts
Nidwalden NW Nidwalden
Obwalden OW Obwalden
Schaffhausen SH Schaffhausen
Schwyz SZ Schwyz 6 Bezirke
Solothurn SO Solothurn 10 Bezirke
St. Gallen SG St. Gallen 8 Wahlkreise
Thurgau TG Thurgau 8 Bezirke
Ticino TI Ticino 8 distretti
Uri UR Uri
Valais VS Valais 14 districts, Bezirke
Vaud VD Vaud 10 districts
Zug ZG Zug
Zurich ZH Zurich 12 Bezirke
Total 150 -

[edit] Canton of Zurich

Districts in the Canton of Zürich
Districts in the Canton of Zürich

The Canton of Zürich is divided into 12 districts (German: Bezirke):


[edit] Canton of Berne

As of April 2004, there are 398 municipalities of the canton of Berne within the following 26 administrative districts:

Districts of Canton Berne
Districts of Canton Berne


[edit] Canton of Lucerne

Districts of Canton Lucerne
Districts of Canton Lucerne

The Canton of Lucerne is divided into 5 districts termed Ämter:

[edit] Canton of Uri

Canton of Uri is not divided into districts: the municipality is the next lowest unit of government. See: Municipalities of the canton of Uri.


[edit] Canton of Schwyz

The Canton of Schwyz is divided into six districts and 30 municipalities, although the districts Einsiedeln, Küssnacht and Gersau simply comprise the municipality of the same name.

Districts of the Cantons of Schwyz
Districts of the Cantons of Schwyz

[edit] Canton of Obwalden

Obwalden is not divided into districts: the municipality is the next lowest unit of government. See: Obwalden.

[edit] Canton of Nidwalden

Nidwalden is not divided into districts.

See: Nidwalden#Municipalities

[edit] Canton of Glarus

Canton of Glarus is not divided into districts: the municipality is the next lower unit of government. See: Municipalities of the canton of Glarus.

[edit] Canton of Zug

Canton of Zug is not divided into districts. See: Municipalities of the canton of Zug

[edit] Canton of Fribourg

Districts of canton Fribourg
Districts of canton Fribourg

The Canton of Fribourg is divided into 7 districts:

See also: Municipalities of the canton of Fribourg


[edit] Canton of Solothurn

Districts of Canton Solothurn
Districts of Canton Solothurn

From 2005, Solothurn's ten districts are merged pairwise into five electoral districts, termed Amtei. From 2005, districts only have a statistical meaning.

  • Bucheggberg, Amtei Wasseramt-Bucheggberg
  • Dorneck, Amtei Dorneck-Thierstein (unofficially Schwarzbubenland)
  • Gäu, Amtei Thal-Gäu
  • Gösgen, Amtei Olten-Gösgen (unofficially Niederamt)
  • Lebern, Amtei Solothurn-Lebern
  • Olten, Amtei Olten-Gösgen
  • Solothurn, Amtei Solothurn-Lebern
  • Thal, Amtei Thal-Gäu
  • Thierstein, Amtei Dorneck-Thierstein
  • Wasseramt, Amtei Wasseramt-Bucheggberg

See: Municipalities of the canton of Solothurn

[edit] Canton of Basel-City

Basel-City is not divided into districts. It is formed only of the city of Basel and two municipalities.

[edit] Canton of Basel-Country

districts of Canton Basel-Landschaft
districts of Canton Basel-Landschaft

There are 5 Bezirke in Basel-Landschaft:

[edit] Canton of Schaffhausen

The Canton of Schaffhausen used to be divided into 6 districts (Bezirke) until July 1999, but the municipality is now the next lower unit of government.

[edit] Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden

Canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden is not divided into districts any longer, and so the municipality is the next lower unit of government. Former districts were: Hinterland with capital Herisau, Mittelland with capital Teufen, Vorderland with capital Heiden.

See: Municipalities of the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden

[edit] Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden

The 6 Bezirke (districts) are the local government level, generally assimilated to municipalities:

Feuerschaugemeinde is a special-purpose municipality for firefighting, energy and water for the town Appenzell.

[edit] Canton of St. Gallen

Wahlkreise in St. Gallen
Wahlkreise in St. Gallen

St. Gallen is divided into 8 Wahlkreise (constituencies):

The canton used to be subdivided into 14 districts (Bezirke) until 2003 January 1, when it was reorganised into 8 constituencies (Wahlkreise). See Constituencies and municipalities of St. Gallen.

[edit] Canton of Graubünden

Districts of Canton Graubünden
Districts of Canton Graubünden

Canton Graubünden is divided into 11 Districts. They tend to follow the natural boundaries of the landscape. The districts are further subdivided into 39 sub-districts (German: Kreise):

[edit] Canton of Aargau

Districts in Aargau
Districts in Aargau

Aargau is divided into 11 districts:

[edit] Canton of Thurgau

Districts of Canton Thurgau
Districts of Canton Thurgau

The Canton of Thurgau is divided into eight districts, and each is named after its capital:

[edit] Canton of Ticino

Districts of Canton Ticino

The Canton of Ticino is divided into 8 districts (called distretti):

[edit] Canton of Vaud

Future districts of Canton Vaud

Since January 1, 2008, Vaud was reorganized into 10 districts:

Districts of Canton Vaud

From 1803 till 2007 the Canton of Vaud has been divided into 19 districts:

See also: Municipalities of the canton of Vaud

[edit] Canton of Valais

Districts in Valais

The Canton of Valais is divided into 14 districts and half-districts:

See also: Valais Municipalities

[edit] Canton of Neuchâtel

Districts of Canton Neuchâtel
Districts of Canton Neuchâtel

The Canton of Neuchâtel is divided into 6 districts which belong to 4 geographic regions:

[edit] Canton of Geneva

The Canton of Geneva is not divided into districts, and so the municipality is the next level of government. See: Municipalities of the canton of Geneva.

[edit] Canton of Jura

Districts in Canton of Jura
Districts in Canton of Jura

Canton Jura is divided into 3 districts:

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