Closing the circle on 2014

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Rolls of barbed wire lie ready for use as Davos prepares for the start of the World Economic Forum. (Keystone/Arno Balzarini) Keystone

Chairs in a kindergarten are made ready for the children's arrival. (keystone/Christian Beutler) Keystone

Ice hockey test game: Switzerland versus Canada. The players gather around goalie Reto Berra. (freshfocus/Valeriano Di Domenico) Valeriano Di Domenico/freshfocus

The world's largest railway clock is unveiled in Bern. (Keystone/Lukas Lehmann) Keystone

At the premiere of the Cirque du Soleil "Quidam" show at Zurich's Hallenstadion. (Keystone/Ennio Leanza) Keystone

Linda Züblin taking part in the shot put event at the European Light Athletics championship in Zurich. (Keystone/Jean-Christophe Bott) Keystone

The moon reached its perigee, the shortest distance from the earth, on August 10. It was the largest and brightest moon of the year 2014. (Keystone/Ennio Leanza) Keystone

The new August 1 Emmental cheese presented on Swiss National Day. (Photopress/Steffen Schmidt) Keystone

Competitors from Bern at the Stoos-Schwinget wrestling event in Stoos, canton Schwyz, make a circle against the backdrop of the Mythen mountains. (Keystone/Sigi Tischler) Keystone

The European football association UEFA, with headquarters in Nyon, forbids the football associations of the Crimean peninsula from taking part in Russian competitions. (Keystone/Jean-Christophe Bott) Keystone

The Argentinian duo Frikstailers performing in the Paleo Festival in Nyon. (Keystone/Martial Trezzini) Keystone

Members of the Swiss Senate say goodbye to each other at the end of the summer session of parliament in Bern. (Keystone/Gian Ehrenzeller) Keystone

Empty envelopes at the counting of votes in the November referendums, which included the Ecopop initiative. (Keystone/Alessandro della Valle) Keystone

Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer in the Davis Cup final against France. (Reuters/Gonzales Fuentes) Reuters

An exhibition stand at the Swissbau trade fair in Basel, one of Europe's largest construction and property events. (Keystone/Georgios Kefalas) Keystone

A giant shopping trolley graces a roundabout in Biel in the lead up to Christmas. (Keystone/Peter Klaunzer) Keystone

A giant wheel against the evening sky in Zug. (Keystone/Urs Flüeler) Keystone

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Another year is coming to an end; 2014 will soon be consigned to history. The past 12 months were lively, especially on a political level. Many large and small events will be remembered long after the new year begins.

Switzerland has mixed feelings towards the European Union, as demonstrated by the February 9 vote in which 50.3% of voters surprisingly accepted the “mass immigration” initiative. However, the much more restrictive Ecopop immigration initiative was roundly rejected at the end of November. 

2014 also saw the final nail hammered into the coffin of banking secrecy when Switzerland signed the OECD agreement on the automatic exchange of bank information.

At the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the circle of international heavyweights from the worlds of politics and economics met once again.

A very round event was the full moon on August 10. Because it was the shortest distance from the earth, it was the largest and brightest full moon of the year.

Summer in Switzerland was a washout, with Emmental experiencing extreme flooding.  Throughout November rain fell almost without interruption on canton Ticino. Four people were killed in the space of four days in landslides triggered by the heavy rainfall.

Fortune shone on the Swiss in tennis: Stanislas Wawrinka and Roger Federer powered to victory against France in the Davis Cup, with the Swiss winning the trophy for the first time in history. 

(Text: Gaby Ochsenbein/swissinfo.ch, Images compiled by Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch)