administrative territorial entity of Switzerland

Classifiers Filled

Family

Thing Registry

Category

Physical world and living systems

Entry kind

thing

Plane

PHY

Domain

PHY.PLC

Other names and narrower kinds

greater region of Switzerland, former district of the canton of Vaud, former subdistrict of the canton of Ticino, administrative territorial entity of the canton of Ticino, area not part of a municipality of Switzerland, territory shared by several municipalities of Switzerland, subdistrict of the canton of Graubünden, administrative territorial entity of the canton of Lucerne, administrative territorial entity of the canton of Schwyz, administrative territorial entity of the canton of Zürich, administrative territorial entity of the canton of Thurgau, municipality of the canton of Graubünden

What it is Filled

Any territorial unit used for administration in Switzerland, including the twenty-six cantons, the districts and subdistricts into which many cantons are divided such as those of Vaud and Ticino, the municipalities that form the lowest tier, and special cases such as areas not part of any municipality and territories shared by several municipalities; Swiss administrative entities reflect the federal structure in which cantons hold wide autonomy, while statistical greater regions are statistical groupings rather than administrative units.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent explain the administrative divisions of Switzerland at each level, distinguish cantons, districts, municipalities and statistical regions, identify specific units with sources, and support geographic and civic questions.

Distinguishing features Filled

• Federal structure
• Cantonal autonomy
• Varied district systems
• Municipal mergers

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

• Assume every canton has districts or the same tiers of administration.
• Use outdated municipality names or boundaries after a merger as if they were current.
• Attribute a power to a canton or municipality that belongs to another level.
• Present a territorial dispute or separatist claim as settled without a source.

Only with a human decision

• Using a boundary or unit assignment to decide a person's taxes, voting rights or services.

May

• Name and locate Swiss cantons, districts and municipalities from federal and cantonal official sources.
• Note mergers and boundary changes with their effective dates.
• Explain that the subdivision system differs between cantons.

Moral aspects Filled

• Swiss federalism gives real power to cantons and communes; misplacing a person affects their rights and duties.
• Language and identity are tied to cantons and communes and deserve respect.

Who is affected

• Residents
• Cantonal and communal authorities
• Users of official statistics

Owners Filled

Steward

The Confederation and the cantons; each canton defines its own subdivisions.

Master systems

• Official commune register of the Federal Statistical Office
• Cantonal registers

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

• Q3268571 - registry parent class

related

• administrative territorial entity of a single country - category
• canton - the Swiss canton as a unit type
• commune - municipalities as communes
• administrative territorial entity of Australia - another country division entry

Sources Filled

1. Wikidata item Q7631075: administrative territorial entity of Switzerland - identity and sense of the item
2. Wikipedia: Subdivisions of Switzerland - general description of the item

Open questions

• Should each level be a separate entry?
• How should federal statistical data be linked?
• How should cantonal systems be documented?

Machine files

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q7631075/spec.json