Current Situation
Since 1798 the nobility does not exist any more as a privileged class but simply on the historical level. However, there was an aristocratic restoration in Lucerne and Freiburg 1814 to 1831.
Now there are about 450 noble families remaining in Switzerland, either of one of the Swiss nobilities or of a foreign nobility. By counting 15 people per family, we obtain a proportion of 1,06 °/oo of the population, which is equivalent to the French noble density. However it's necessary to note the cantonal inequality of this density; the canton of Appenzell having nearly anyone noble family while the canton of Vaud having more than one hundred.
Today the nobility not having legal existence in Switzerland, the titles of nobility appear neither in the registry offices nor in the official instruments. Sometimes they are tolerated in some administrative documents and in the professional life to the social relations.
Read more about this topic: Swiss Nobility
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