Historical Dictionary of Switzerland facts for kids
The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland is a huge encyclopedia about the history of Switzerland. It's like a giant book (or website!) that tells you all about Switzerland's past. It uses the latest historical research to give you lots of information. A special group called a foundation helps publish it. This foundation gets support from groups like the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences. The project also gets money from the government. Many people work on this dictionary. About 35 people work in the main offices. Plus, there are 100 expert advisors, 2,500 historians, and 100 translators! They all work together to create this amazing resource.
Contents
Discovering the Print Edition
This amazing encyclopedia is published in three languages at the same time. These are the main languages spoken in Switzerland. You can find it in German, called Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS). It's also in French, known as Dictionnaire Historique de la Suisse (DHS). And finally, it's in Italian, called Dizionario Storico della Svizzera (DSS).
Volumes and Publication Dates
There are 13 big books, or volumes, in the print edition. The very first book came out in 2002. The last book in the series was published in 2014. So, it took many years to complete all the printed volumes!
What You'll Find Inside
The dictionary has about 36,000 different topics, or "headings." These topics are grouped into four main types. This helps you find exactly what you're looking for!
- People's Stories: About 35% of the articles are biographies. These tell you about important people from Switzerland's history.
- Family Histories: Around 10% of the articles are about families and their history. This is called genealogy.
- Places and Locations: About 30% of the articles focus on different places. This includes cities, towns, and even old castles or archaeological sites.
- Historical Topics: The last 25% of the articles cover various subjects. These are about historical events, important ideas, or different groups and organizations.
Exploring the Online Edition
The online version of the dictionary has been available for a long time, since 1998. This means you can access it from anywhere with an internet connection!
Free Access and Content
All the articles that are in the printed books are also available online. The best part is that you can read them for free! However, the online version does not include the pictures that are in the print books. It also lists all 36,000 topics that are covered in the dictionary.
- Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS), Schwabe AG, Basel, ISBN: 3-7965-1900-8 (2002–)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse (DHS), Editions Gilles Attinger, Hauterive, ISBN: 2-88256-133-4 (2002–)
- Dizionario storico della Svizzera (DSS), Armando Dadò editore, Locarno, ISBN: 88-8281-100-X (2002–)
- Lexicon Istoric Retic (LIR), Kommissionsverlag Desertina, Chur, ISBN: 978-3-85637-390-0 (vol.1: Abundi à Luzzi), ISBN: 978-3-85637-391-7 (vol. 2: Macdonald à Zwingli)
See also
In Spanish: Diccionario histórico de Suiza para niños
