Nidwalden
Grand Duchy of Nidwalden Großherzogtum Nidwalden (Nidwaldeser) | |
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 Flag
 Coat Of Arms
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Motto: "Wir wollen bleiben, was wir sind" (Nidwaldeser) "We want to remain what we are" | |
Anthem: Unserer Heimatland (Nidwaldeser) "Our Homeland" | |
 Location of Nidwalden (dark green) – in Lorecia (green & dark grey) | |
| Capital | Cologne |
| Largest | Saint Moritz |
| Official languages | Nidwaldeser |
| Recognised regional languages | Noordenstaater and Scanonian a |
| Demonym(s) | Nidwaldeser |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
| Wilhelm II of Nidwalden | |
| Charlotte Mann | |
• Water (%) | 4.5 |
| Population | |
• 2019 estimate | 5,350,000 |
• 2017 census | 5,323,933 |
• Density | 202/km2 (523.2/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2016 estimate |
• Total | $377.100 billion |
• Per capita | $66,578 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2016 estimate |
• Total | $391.959 billion |
• Per capita | $67,890 |
| Gini (2015) | 23.5 low |
| HDI (2015) |  0.935very high |
| Currency | Nidwaldeser Krone (NWK) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +77 |
| Internet TLD | .nw |
a Although not officially recognised, these languages are widely spoken and understood. | |
Nidwalden, officially the Grand Duchy of Nidwalden (Nidwaldeser: Großherzogtum Nidwalden) is a landlocked mountainous country located in Lorecia bordering Noordenstaat to the west, Fyngaria to the north and Scanonia to the south and east. Cologne is the seat of the Nidwaldester crown and Government, as well as a major financial centre for the country. The population is equally distributed in the complex mountainous territory of Nidwalden, the country has an area of 41,285 km2 that is home to 5,323,933 inhabitants, that in recent studies, 23.3% of whom declared a close foreign background from other Lorecian countries. The official language is German, however, the closeness and free movement with its neighbouring countries has made of Dutch, Scanonian and Albish widely understood languages.
Like in the surrounding countries, the past of the Nidwaldester people has a stretch relation with the Arlethic peoples and several Viking tribes from Scanonia, which coexisted and mixed with the Arlethi, developing what is known today as a unique Nidwaldester identity. Christianization took place in the 8th century with the arrival of the first missionaries from [] and lasted until the 12th century. Despite the small territory of Nidwalden, the conversion to Christianity is documented slow and nominally as the terrain difficulty requested additional efforts. Nidwalden was constituted by small Duchies and city-states when it joined the Nassau Union and around 1350 a unified Grand Duchy was formed existing without interruptions since then. After withdrawing from the Nassau Union, Nidwalden faced the Protestantisms with the foundation of the Church of Nidwalden during the 16th century. The first Constitution of Nidwalden was signed on 24 July 1718 turning Nidwalden into a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, founded in the sovereignty of the people, human rights, and separation of power.
After signing the constitution, Nidwalden ended being an absolute monarchy starting a new era of socially progressive changes that deepened the democratic culture of the Grand Duchy. During the 20th century, Nidwalden maintained a neutral position in the several conflicts of Astyria, in 1920 Prime Minister Helle Johansen signed the Sankt Moritz Agreement that set bases of the large Nidwaldester welfare state model with members of all the political parties of Nidwalden. During the first decades of the century, the population reached advanced social rights like civil marriage, divorce and the separation of the state from the church that created the bases to later accomplish the recognition of Same-sex unions in 1989, abortion in 1984 and Same-sex marriage in 2001.
The country is a founder member of the Lorecian Community, the Astyrian Peace Organization and the E10 Council of Nations, it is a member of the World Assembly since 1998. With a very developed and mixed economy, Nidwalden has a very large welfare state providing universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens. The Nidwaldester economy is based around the financial and banking sector, the pharmaceutics and the technology with large contributions of tourism and agriculture. The country ranks at or near the top globally in several metrics of national performance, including government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic competitiveness, and human development.
History
Early 20th century (1900-1920)
Great Astyrian War and post-war prosperity (1920-1945)
Geography
Nidwalden has a total area of 41,285 km2, which makes it the smallest country of the Lorecian Community and one of the smallest in Lorecia. It is located in the centre of the Lorecian continent and borders Noordenstaat to the west, Fyngaria to the north and Scanonia to the south and east. The territory of Nidwalden is subdivided by the Environmental Research Institute of the Kiefern Group in three regions: the north that counts with the presence of the Silberberg Mountains bordering Fyngaria; the south that borders Scanonia with the [] mountains chain and the western high lands and forests bordering Noordenstaat. The first two regions are part of the [] Mountains chain that stretches across Lorecia and it covers most of the Nidwaldester area, altitudes can vary without exceeding 4,700 metres. There is no difference between Northern and southern mountains and their tallest points, in the north Zugspitze reaches 4,634 metres (15,203 ft) being the tallest point in Nidwalden, while in the south Matterhorn reaches 4,478 metres (14,692 ft). Mountains have an important place throughout the Nidwaldester history and are today one of the characteristics of the country.
The formation of high peaks has caused over the years, the formation of several lakes across Nidwalden. Most of these water bodies are found in the central valley (between northern and southern mountains), the western high lands and in the east. Two of the largest lakes are Brienz (which comprises the coast of the city of Vaduz and Zell am See) and Aare (coast of Saint Moritz).
Klöntalersee Lake in Bergig.
Typical landscape in Nassau.
Coast over the _ Lake.
Mountains and forests in summer near Aspen, Solothurn.
Fall foliage in the high lands of Nassau.
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Flora and fauna
Climate
Politics and Government
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Nidwalden is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, whose Head of State is the Grand Duke of Nidwalden, currently Wilhelm II, and the Head of Government is the Prime Minister. Nidwalden is considered a "full democracy", it usually ranks high on transparency and accountability levels and the political world holds an enormous respect for institutionalism. The Constitution of Monsa was signed on the 24th of July, 1815 and since then, the power has been divided in three branches (Legislative, Executive and Judiciary); the Constitution of 1815 was notable also for recognises Human Rights, freedom of speech and expression and freedom of religion.
The government of Nidwalden is presided by the Grand Duke Wilhelm II, although his position is argely ceremonial and often restricted to sign bills after they are passed by the legislature. The monarch presides the Council of State, a privy council formed together with all ministers. The executive is, in practice, led by the Prime Minister of Nidwalden, who is elected through universal suffrage to later be appointed by the Head of State to command the confidence of the Parliament of Nidwalden during an investiture session. Terms of the Prime Ministers are not fixed by any legal document although by tradition, these last four years. Terms can end earlier if the monarch is advised by the PM to formally dissolve the legislature and call for snap elections, or if a parliamentary majority decides to held a motion of confidence to remove the Head of Government. The legislative power is vested on the Parliament of Nidwalden, a unicameral legislature composed by 169 members responsible of resenting, discussing and passing laws, approving cabinets, granting confidence and declaring war on other nations, among other things. Members of the Parliament are voted during general elections together with the Prime Minister and serve as long as the legislature is not dissolved; MPs can also use the principle of parliamentary control and held sessions with the government that will questioned regarding specific or general policy or national matters. The judicial system is led by the Supreme Court, followed by High Courts and on the first instance, County Courts; judges are directly appointed by the monarch on advise of the cabinet and the branch is considered to be highly independent and transparent.
During most of the early 20th century, politics have been dominated by the Rechte and the Nationalist Party; however, the realignment of most of the left under the Social Democratic Party and the rise of Die Demokraten have produced a more fluent transition between different political parties. Politics in Nidwalden have a tradition of political consensus, egalitarianism and respect for democratic institutions and state of law; since 1920, the country has consolidated its welfare state and politics thorugh the Sankt Moritz Agreement, a pact between all political parties that has trascended over the decades.
Foreign relations
Despite being a landlocked nation of medium size, Nidwalden has achieved an important international recognition through its diplomacy. The country maintains extensive cultural, diplomatic and economic ties with most nations of Astyria; however, its most important allies are Noordenstaat and Scanonia that surround the country and with which have proactively sought regional integration through the Bruningen Accords that established the Lorecian Community. Most aspects of the Nidwaldeser foreign policy are usually co-ordianted with that of the LC, which holds several of its institutions spread in Cologne, and the country has been a traditional backer of regional integration and welfare since at least the 1920s with Hildegard Mann as PM; the membership of the country in the organisation and its status in the region are considered to be the most important axis on the draw of foreign policy. Besides of the LC, the country is full member or observer of several other organisations and has been considered an important voice in other organisations like the E10 Council of Nations, where Nidwalden is represented by several economists and the LC delegation.
For decades, foreign policy in Nidwalden has been considered an important part of the state and thus the representation of the Grand Duchy has been far from the politicisation and kept as a consensus among political actors to remain in the path of diplomatic efforts to reach dialogue and avoid conflicts. Outside the Lorecian Community, the country finds Aquitayne, Caledonia and Aswick as strategic partners and outside the Lorecian continent, Nidwalden keeps fluent relations with nations like Nikolia, Hindia Belanda and Cadenza; however, relations with EATA, and in specifically the Blackhelm Condeferacy, have been fraught. Nonetheless, the two countries have joined efforts to maintain peace and stability in the north of Lorecia.
Administrative divisions
Military
The Nidwaldeser Armed Forces —Nidwaldeser Streitkräfte— are composed by the Nidwaldeser Army (Heer), Air Force (Luftwaffe) and Home Guard (Heimwehr). The three forces are subordinated to the Commander-in-chief, the Grand Duke of Nidwalden, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence are considered the next military authorities in line, together with those Chief of Staff of the three forces. The armed forces do not enforce conscription since 1903 and numbered, as of 2019, 18,983 personnel including civilians. Due to its location in central Lorecia, Nidwalden does not count with a seafront and thus has no Navy; however, it operates several small units of the police on lakes and the Air Force has participated in joint exercises with other Lorecian navies. Although primary mission of the Armed Forces is described as to safeguard internal stability and the defence of Nidwaldeser sovereignty, the three forces have actively participated in several other missions with other Lorecian allied forces; currently, Nidwalden maintains peacekeepers in Caranad and Artoszka, where it also participated in a joint defence against Belkan aggressions.
The Nidwaldeser armed forces hold an important intelligence network of stations spread across the country that has facilitated Lorecian cooperation on the defence area, the system has been controversial in the country as it is aimed to intercept civil and military communications. During the 1970s, Nidwalden experienced an important pacifist movement and the existence of popular anti-militarist groups that pushed to the reform and abolishment of the armed forces and in 1973 and 1974, the country held two referendums to decide the future of its armed forces.
Economy
Transport and infrastructure
Energy and telecommunications
Demographics
Healthcare
Religion
Largest cities
Education
Culture
Nidwalden shares many strong cultural and historical ties with the neighbouring countries of Scanonia and Noordenstaat. The country has been historically one of the most progressive cultures of the world, Nidwalden was one of the first countries in Astyria and the world to allow same-sex unions in 1989, abortion in 1984 and legal same-sex marriage in 2001. Modesty and social equality are important parts of a culture that has been shaped through history by major intellectuals, artist and new thinkers that later became important for the new waves of think in Astyria.
Architecture and design
Nidwaldester design and architecture has grown while being characterized by the simplicity, minimalism and functionality, it is a style worldwide famous. Initially influenced by the Bauhaus school, Nidwaldester designers and architects took different ways to persuade a different style, however, the culture for design in Nidwalden dates from long before the 20th century, despite the small size of the country, different areas developed different styles, this contributed to a major diversity in architectural styles. The most typical constructions along the central valley date from the Middle Ages and follow Romanesque styles. Gothic architecture flourished during the high and late medieval period and with this large Gothic influence, castles started to be constructed appearing through the whole country and being today the most distinctive architectural pieces of Nidwalden, most of them are located in the cores or up in hills near towns, where half-timbered buildings became part of the Nidwaldester culture.
The progressive industrialization and the years of stable growth helped to develop a more modern side of the architecture in Nidwalden, large cities like Saint Moritz, Cologne and Lech are known for its modern buildings of distinctive Nidwaldester Design. The Mégeve County Councils and the Bremen City Hall, the Kirchberg borough of Cologne, the skyscrapers of Saint Moritz and many of the contemporary developments in the cities of Vaduz and Lech are just some of the most recognised pieces of modern Nidwaldester design.
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