On 12 September 1848, Switzerland became a federal state and the first democracy in Europe. A historic moment, and one that is also fundamental to the history of Swiss Post.
Happy birthday, modern Switzerland! When the Federal Constitution entered into force 175 years ago, the confedera- tion of cantons was transformed into a federal state. At that time, just over two million people lived in Switzerland.
The new document comprising 114 arti- cles was the highest law governing their communal life together. At the federal political level, the parliamentary system with two chambers and direct democracy were introduced. In addition, the cantons also ceded some of their powers to the Confederation. Areas such as customs, railways, currency and telegraphs were centralized and standardized – as were postal services.
From 1849, it was no longer the cantonal postal administrations that were respon- sible for transporting letters and people, but the Swiss federal postal service. As the first national institution, the service embodied the new state, as its post of- fices, mail coaches and mail carriers give the state a face.
The designs and photographs featured on the sheet of stamps were created by four members of renowned photo agency Magnum Photos. As part of the multimedia project “Sessions”, the international collective captured their perspective on political events during the 2022 summer session, producing the four black and white images taken in and around the Federal Parliament that appear on the sheet of stamps. The four stamp designs feature elements from the original Federal Constitution docu- ment, which is kept in the Swiss Federal Archives.
