Interested in the history of Switzerland? Want to know where in the timeline of history Switzerland became a modern nation? Read our historical timeline of Switzerland that provides dates to key moments in the history of Switzerland
8000BC:
The first settlements were built in what is now Switzerland, around lakes Geneva and Zurich.
1000BC:
Tribes of Celts migrated into Switzerland from the west and settled.
50BC:
The Romans established provincial towns in Switzerland. Under Roman rule these towns enjoyed long periods of stability and economic prosperity. These Roman administered towns were built on many of Switzerland’s major cities including Geneva, Zurich and Lausanne.
400AD:
Roman legions withdrew from the towns they administered in Switzerland. Some people in Switzerland by this time had converted to Christianity.
600AD:
The Franks invaded and subdued the indigenous tribes of Switzerland converting many Swiss Pagan tribes to Christianity. A series of monasteries are built across Switzerland by the Franks for the purpose of spreading Christianity.
1291AD:
The first Swiss confederation is formed between rural communities in Switzerland.
1300AD:
Switzerland becomes an important trade route between Asia and Northern Europe. Many of the noble families of Switzerland begin to prosper under these conditions by levying a road tax on traders wishing to pass through Switzerland.
1499AD:
The Swabian wars lead to independence from the German empire. The first parliament is formed in Switzerland where representatives from different confederates met to consult and later vote political issues
1500-1800AD:
The Reformation saw the spread of Protestantism from Germany south into Switzerland. Many Swiss cantons accept Protestantism.
1536AD:
The famous Christian reformist thinker Jean Calvin moves to Geneva from France.
1798:
The French army under the command of Napoleon invades Switzerland. Napoleon unifies the autonomous cantons of Switzerland and centralises power. This is unpopular among the Swiss who revolt forcing the French army to leave Switzerland in 1802
1848:
Switzerland becomes a unified federal state with a constitution.
