In some[which?] cantons of Switzerland, the bourgeoisie is both a form of local community right and a personal right.
The system of bourgeoisie stems from medieval urban law which was common to all the cities of Western Europe [citation needed] (see: Bourgeois of Brussels). The bourgeoisie, or bourgeois commune (i.e. municipality), is a local "community" that still exists in certain cantons, in which inhabitants originating from that specific commune, called "old bourgeois", as opposed to the new inhabitants, participate. This current bourgeoisie system, which can be traced back to the law on the communes of 1866, has gradually lost importance. However, these institutions still manage some hospitals and, in some cantons, confer a "right to bourgeoisie", sometimes prior to Swiss naturalization. This system is linked to the place of origin.
There is a "Swiss Federation of Bourgeoisies and Corporations" whose roles include the defence of "maintenance of bourgeois institutions".
In Switzerland, there was a "right to bourgeoisie" (a sort of city right), which was a charter of freedoms and rights contracted between the nobility and the bourgeoisie. The prerequisite for belonging to this bourgeoisie was possession of real estate in the heart of the city.[1][2]