The mountainous center of Swiss German-speaking Switzerland is called “primitive” because this is where it all began. In 1291, three small communities united around the Lucerne Lake. The Rütli Oath united Uri, Unterwalden and Schwyz (which later gave name to its country in German: Schweiz) against the Austrian rulers and was the foundation of Switzerland. This part of Switzerland is full of breathtakingly beautiful mountains, lakes and valleys and is a political mosaic of scarcely populated cantons.

Some cantons understood quickly that their Spartan fiscal stance would please foreign investors and have become havens for domiciled companies from all over the world. For instance, there are already 18,000 firms recorded in the commercial register of the Canton of Zug—not bad for a population just under 100,000.