175 years Federal Constitution

Happy birthday, modern Switzerland! When the Federal Constitution entered into force 175 years ago, the confederation of cantons was transformed into a federal state. At that time, just over two million people lived in Switzerland.

The new document comprising 114 articles 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 responsible 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 offices, 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 “Session”, 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 document, which is kept in the Swiss Federal Archives.