WELCOME TO BAAR

Baar is the second largest community in the Canton of Zug. Linking the cities of Zurich and Lucerne Baar is considered to be the entrance to central Switzerland. Its central location with an excellent road and public transportation network is of major economic significance. These are not the only advantages Baar has to offer. With more than 24,000 inhabitants located in various neighbourhoods, Baar is considered to be a very vibrant, active, socially aware and growing community. Baar is expanding and will continue this growth into the future.

The inhabitants of Baar enjoy living close to nature. With its thick forests and rushing waters, the Lorze river valley is tucked in between the rolling hills of the Albis and the Zugerberg. With rapid growth and dynamic development, Baar still remains true to its roots, where people know and help each other. We have a strong cultural life, which includes our carnival (Räbefasnacht), the fair (Chilbi) as well as numerous active associations and clubs. We are a community with very proud traditions as well as being open to new and fresh ideas.

With our varied landscape, tolerant population, solid production and services, trade based economy as well as an open-minded flexibility to new challenges, Baar is the image or model of Switzerland, in miniature.

Emergency phone numbers

In the event of an emergency, these numbers are important to remember:
Police emergency call 117
Fire department emergency call 118
Ambulance emergency call (RDZ) 144
Poisoning/Intoxication emergencies 145
Rescue by helicopter: Rega 1414
Emergency road service 140
Helpline – Emotional support (Die dargebotene Hand) 143
Helpline for children and teenagers 147
Doctor on Duty (Rettungszentrale) +41 (0)41 211 14 14

For more information about health matters see the separte section on this website: LINK

Shopping
Baar's main shopping area is located in the area between the main railway station and the Dorfstrasse, in the heart of the city. You will find a considerable variety of shops and restaurants. For your everyday needs, you might shop in one of the supermarket chains (the two biggest Swiss supermarket chains are Migros and Coop) or in smaller neighbourhood shops.

General opening hours for larger stores are as follows:

Monday to Thursday 8:30 am to 7:00 pm
Friday 8:30 am to 9:00 pm
Saturday 8:30 am to 5:00 pm

Some smaller shops may close earlier. There are no 24-hour stores in Baar. All shops are closed on Sundays and official Swiss public holidays. As an exception, some shops at the main train stations in Zug, Lucerne and Zurich are open 365 days a year and have longer opening hours. In December various shops in Baar are open on selected Sundays.


Media
Newspapers published in the region are the “Neue Zuger Zeitung” and the “Zugerbieter”. The "Zugerbieter", published on Wednesdays, mainly covers local events. The “Amtsblatt des Kantons Zug”, published on Fridays, contains information on cantonal events including church services. It has also a large jobs section, a section on accommodation for sale and rent, and a section for second-hand items including cars. The “Swiss News” is a monthly English-language newspaper. You’ll find a large variety of magazines and international newspapers at the kiosks and railway station newsstands. Most newspapers and magazines publish their content online as well.

In addition to various national Radio and TV stations from SRG there are local stations.

Most stations, including the major foreign channels lke CNN, BBC, etc. are distributed by cable, via satellite and Internet.
Radio is distributed analogue with FM or digital with DAB+.

Postal service
The Swiss Post nowadays provides a wide variety of services, only some of which can be described here. You can check the services and prices in English on the website of the Swiss Post given at the end of this section.

Post office Baar
Dorfstrasse 16
6340 Baar
Monday to Friday 9 am to 6:30 pm
Saturday 9 am to 12 am
Sunday closed

Letters which already have a stamp on them can be placed in one of the yellow letterboxes. Swiss postal services are divided into A-Post (priority mail) and B-Post (non-priority). A-Post is delivered within Switzerland by the next day except sunday, while B-Post is delivered usually after 2 – 3 days. For foreign mail, "A" priority will be delivered to an european destination within two to four days ("B" mail: five to nine days) and to other countries within five to nine days ("B" mail: three to eight weeks).

You can check the services and prices in English on the website of the Swiss Post.
Post offices and other service locations are published here: https://places.post.ch/


Banking and swiss bank accounts

Bank cards and credit cards from foreign countries are generally accepted throughout Switzerland even for small purchases.
Online payment solutions like Apple pay are not very common and some small shops and parking meters accept only cash.

Once you have obtained your residence permit, it is quite easy to open a personal (non-business) account in Switzerland. Some banks may require a minimal deposit when you open the account. Each bank offers a wide variety of accounts and services – ask for full information. Most tellers and clerks speak English.


Waste disposal
Many materials like glass, paper, batteries and organic waste can be disposed free of charge. For your residential waste use the special garbage bags available in many shops and supermarkets. Regular trash bags are not allowed! The purchase price of these bags includes a charge that covers the waste disposal costs.
The following waste is collected seperately at the roadside on designated days:

• Rubish, trash bags
• Organic waste
• Paper (tied together)
• Metals
• Cardboard

Bring your recycable waste to the designated recycling facility (Sammelstelle) or to

Ökihof Baar (recycling center)
Altgasse 40
6340 Baar
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday 7:30 am to 11:30 am and 1:30 pm to 4.30 pm
Saturday 7:30 to 11:30 am

Waste disposal information leaflet 2019 for Gemeinde Baar

Public Holidays
New Year's Day (January 1), Good Friday, Ascension, Corpus Christi, National Holiday (August 1), Assumption (August 15), All Saints' Day (November 1), Immaculate Conception (December 8), Christmas (December 25). These days are public holidays, even if they are on a weekday and most shops are closed. In the Canton of Zug Berchtoldstag (January 2) Easter Monday, Whit Monday and Boxing Day (December 26) people are usually off.


Speed limits, alcohol limit
Standard speed limits are 50 km/h in built-up areas, 80km/h on country roads and 120 km/h on motorways. A special speed limit of 30 km/h is being introduced in an increasing number of residential districts. The alcohol limit for drivers is 0.5 o/oo.


Swiss currency
The ISO code for the Swiss Franc is CHF, but other abbreviations such as Fr. or SFr. are commonly used. The Swiss currency is divided into Francs (in German: Franken) and Centimes (Rappen). One 1 Franc equals 100 centimes. Banknotes are issued for CHF 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 1,000, and coins are used for 1, 2, 5 Francs as well as 5, 10, 20, and 50 centimes.


Telecommunication

Mobile serivce is offered by the three companies Swisscom, Sunrise and Salt and some resellers. All providers offer a very good coverage across Switzerland.

Broadband Internet up to 1GBit/s is provided by phone-line (99% coverage), tv cable or fibre and available for allmost every household. Available ISPs in Baar are databaar, wwz, Swisscom and resellers.

Switzerland is divided into about 20 zones with different area codes, such as 041 for Zug. The area code must be dialled even if calling a phone number within the same zone. In addition, there are some "area codes" for various reasons:

 

• 076/077/078/079: Cellular phones
• 0800: Toll-free numbers (Charges are paid by the receiver)
• 0900/0901/0906: Business numbers (Services with additional charges)

For international calls dial 00 (zero zero), the country code, the area code, and the local phone number. Usually, the leading zero of an area code must not be dialled.



For further information please consult the "zug: expat guide" which can be ordered at:
Department of Economic Affairs
Economic Promotion Office
Aabachstrasse 5, P.O. Box
6301 Zug
T +41 (0)41 728 55 04
F +41 (0)41 728 55 09
economy@zug.ch
www.zug.ch/economy