Solothurn

Solothurn
Municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Solothurn
Solothurn Show map of Switzerland Solothurn Show map of Canton of Solothurn
Coordinates: 47°12′30″N 7°32′14″E / 47.20833°N 7.53722°E / 47.20833; 7.53722
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Solothurn
District	Solothurn
Government
• Executive	Gemeinderat with 30 members
• Mayor	Stadtpräsidentin (list) Stefanie Ingold SPS/PSS (as of 2021)
• Parliament	none (Gemeindeversammlung)
Area [1]
• Total	6.28 km2 (2.42 sq mi)
Elevation (Chapel of St Peter)	432 m (1,417 ft)
Population  (31 December 2018)[2]
• Total	16,777
• Density	2,700/km2 (6,900/sq mi)
Demonym	German: Solothurner(in)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)	4500
SFOS number	2601
ISO 3166 code	CH-SO
Surrounded by	Bellach, Biberist, Feldbrunnen-Sankt Niklaus, Langendorf, Rüttenen, Zuchwil
Twin towns	Heilbronn (Germany), Kraków (Poland), Le Landeron (Switzerland)
Website	www.stadt-solothurn.ch SFSO statistics

Solothurn (/ˈsoʊlətʊərn, ˈzoʊ-/ SOH-lə-toorn, ZOH-; German: [ˈzoːlotʊrn] ^ⓘ; French: Soleure [sɔlœʁ]; Italian: Soletta [soˈletta]; Romansh: Soloturn^ⓘ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissenstein Jura mountains.

The town is the only municipality of the district of the same name.

The town got its name from Salodurum, a Roman-era settlement. From 1530 to 1792 it was the seat of the French ambassador to Switzerland. The pedestrian-only old town was built between 1530 and 1792 and shows an impressive array of Baroque architecture, combining Italian Grandezza, French style, and Swiss ideas. The town has eighteen structures listed as heritage sites.

The official language of Solothurn is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.