Districts of Switzerland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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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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 Bezirk generally provides only administration and court organisation. 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.

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.

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 19 districts
Zug ZG Zug
Zurich ZH Zurich 12 Bezirke
Total 159 -

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

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


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


Districts of Canton Lucerne
Districts of Canton Lucerne

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

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


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

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

Nidwalden is not divided into districts.

See: Nidwalden#Municipalities

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

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

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


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

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

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

There are 5 Bezirke in Basel-Landschaft:

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.

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

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.

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

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):

  • Albula with the sub-districts Alvaschein, Belfort, Bergün and Surses
  • Bernina with the sub-districts Brusio and Poschiavo
  • Hinterrhein with the sub-districts Avers, Domleschg, Rheinwald, Schams and Thusis
  • Imboden with the sub-districts Trins and Rhäzüns
  • Inn with the sub-districts Ramosch, Sur Tasna, Suot Tasna and Val Müstair
  • Landquart with the sub-districts Maienfeld and Fünf Dörfer
  • Maloja with the sub-districts Bergell and Oberengadin
  • Moesa with the sub-districts Calanca, Misox and Roveredo
  • Plessur with the sub-districts Chur, Churwalden and Schanfigg
  • Prättigau/Davos with the sub-districts Davos, Jenaz, Klosters, Küblis, Luzein, Schiers and Seewis
  • Surselva with the sub-districts Disentis, Ilanz, Lumnezia/Lugnez, Ruis and Safien

Districts in Aargau
Districts in Aargau

Aargau is divided into 11 districts:

Districts of Canton Thurgau
Districts of Canton Thurgau

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

Districts of Canton Ticino

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

Districts of Canton Vaud

Since 1803 the Canton of Vaud has been divided into 19 districts (Vaud plans a reorganisation in 2007):

See also: Municipalities of the canton of Vaud

Districts in Valais
Districts in Valais

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

See also: Valais Municipalities

Districts of Canton Neuchâtel
Districts of Canton Neuchâtel

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

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.

Districts in Canton of Jura
Districts in Canton of Jura

Canton Jura is divided into 3 districts:

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