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Switzerland
may not rank foremost among the centres of
European culture, the country nevertheless
can boast of an impressive list of
contributors to the arts and sciences. On
the one hand, because of limited
opportunities at home, some of Switzerland's
creative minds have chosen to live
elsewhere. This has been especially true of
architects. On the other hand, Switzerland's
traditional neutrality and its laws of
political asylum have made the country a
magnet for many creative persons during
times of unrest or war in Europe. The
mid-19th century was such a period, as were
the 1930s and '40s, when the rise of fascism
caused a number of German, Austrian, and
Italian writers such as Thomas Mann, Stefan
George, and Ignazio Silone to seek harbour
in Switzerland.
Swiss culture has contributed notably to
literature, art, and music. It is an amalgam
of the German, French, and Italian cultures
embodied in the Swiss linguistic regions;
however, it is separated from these parent
cultures, for example, by Swiss dialects and
cultural cross-pollination. From early times
Switzerland has been exposed to many foreign
influences, and as early as the Middle Ages
the country had achieved a high cultural
level. Carolingian culture, particularly
painting and Romanesque architecture,
flourished, and the Saint Gall monastery was
a brilliant center of Western culture. Since
then most European cultural trends, such as
humanism and the Reformation, have been
assimilated. Calvin and Huldreich Zwingli.
Much of modern cultural life has been
influenced by television. The three
networks, French, German, and Italian, while
portraying their respective cultures,
include many programs from France, Germany,
and Italy. French-language television also
includes shows from Canada and Belgium,
whereas the German network presents programs
from Austria. All of the country is
influenced by American movies and television
programs. Cable television, reflecting the
Europeanization of Switzerland, has brought
a wide variety of additional programs to the
large urban centres.
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