Canton of Glarus

Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the electorate directly decides on policy initiatives, without elected representatives as proxies, as opposed to the representative democracy model which occurs in the majority of established democracies. The theory and practice of direct democracy and participation as its common characteristic constituted the core of the work of many theorists, philosophers, politicians, and social critics, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, and G.D.H. Cole.

The Landsgemeinde ("cantonal assembly"; German: [ˈlantsɡəˌmaɪndə], plural Landsgemeinden) is a public, non-secret ballot voting system operating by majority rule. Still in use – in a few places – at the subnational political level in Switzerland, it was formerly practiced in eight cantons. For practical reasons , the Landsgemeinde has been abolished at the cantonal level in all but two cantons where it still holds the highest political authority: Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus. The Landsgemeinde is also convened in some districts of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Grisons and Schwyz to vote on local questions.

The German term Landsgemeinde itself is attested from at least the 16th century, in the 1561 dictionary of Pictorius.It is a compound from Land "land, canton; rural canton" and Gemeinde "community, commune".

Glarus (Swiss Standard German: [ˈɡlaːrʊs] ; Alemannic German: Glaris; French: Glaris [ɡlaʁis]; Italian: Glarona; Romansh: Glaruna) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Since 1 January 2011, the municipality of Glarus incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern.

Glarus lies on the river Linth between the foot of the Glärnisch (part of the Schwyzer Alps) to the west and the Schilt (Glarus Alps) to the east. Very few buildings built before the fire of 1861 remain. Wood, textile, and plastics, as well as printing, are the dominant industries. The symbol of the city is the neo-Romanesque city church.

Districts of Switzerland are a political subdivision for cantons. 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. Most cantons are divided into Bezirke (German for districts, singular Bezirk). They are also termed Ämter (Lucerne, singular Amt), Amtsbezirke (Bern, Amtsbezirk), district (in French) or distretto (Ticino and part of Graubünden). The Bezirke generally provide only administration and court organization. However, for historical reasons districts in cantons Grisons and Schwyz are their own legal entities with jurisdiction over tax and often have their own Landsgemeinde.

Seven of the 26 cantons – Uri, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Glarus, Zug, Basel-City and Geneva – have always existed without the district level of government. An eighth one, Appenzell Innerrhoden, uses no intermediate level either, but calls its lowest-level subdivisions Bezirke, although they are functionally equivalent to municipalities elsewhere.

The European Metropolitan Region of Zurich (EMRZ), also Greater Zurich Area (GZA, German Zürcher Wirtschaftsraum, Metropolregion Zürich), the metropolitan area surrounding Zurich, is one of Europe’s economically strongest areas and Switzerland’s economic centre. It comprises the area that can be reached within a roughly 80-minute drive from Zurich Airport. Home to many international companies, it includes most of the canton of Zurich, and stretches as far as the Aargau and Solothurn in the west, Thurgau, St. Gallen and parts of Grisons in the east, Schaffhausen in the north and Zug and parts of Schwyz and Glarus in the south.

The Swiss federal office for statistics defines an unofficial metropolitan area as including all areas where more than 1/12 of the workforce commutes to the core area.According to the 2000 Swiss census, this includes a total of 220 municipalities in seven cantons: 127 in the canton of Zürich, 58 in Aargau, 11 in Schwyz, 10 in Zug, 9 in Schaffhausen, 3 in Thurgau and 2 in St. Gallen.

Ennenda is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Ennenda is part of the municipality of Glarus.

Netstal is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Netstal is part of the municipality of Glarus.

The Linth (pronounced [ˈlɪnt] "lint") is a Swiss river that rises near the village of Linthal in the mountains of the canton of Glarus, and eventually flows into the Obersee section of Lake Zurich. It is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) in length.

The water power of the Linth was a main factor in the creation of the textile industry of the canton Glarus, and is today used to drive the Linth–Limmern power stations in its upper reaches.

The Glärnisch is a mountain massif of the Schwyz Alps, overlooking the valley of the Linth in the canton of Glarus, Switzerland. It consists of several summits, of which the highest, the Bächistock, is 2,915 metres (9,564 ft) above sea level. Until 2013, the highest point was considered to be an unnamed point with a summit cross at 2,914 m (9,560 ft) (until 2013: 2,915 metres). The other main summits are the Vrenelisgärtli (lit. 'Little Verena's Little Garden' at 2,904 m [9,528 ft]) and the Ruchen (2,901 m [9,518 ft]).

The massif of the Glärnisch consists of two ridges of either side of the firn named Glärnischfirn, culminating at the Ruchen to the west, rising more than 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above the Klöntalersee, and at the Bächistock to the southwest. The Vrenelisgärtli is the closest peak to Schwanden. East of the Glärnisch is located the lower Vorder Glärnisch.