Confederation
Coat of arms · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons ↗
Swiss Confederation
- Founded
- 1291
- Federal city
- Bern
- Cantons
- 26
- Official languages
- German, French, Italian, Romansh
The white cross on red: origin, blazon and history of the arms of the Swiss Confederation.
Blazon
Gules, a couped cross argent, its four equal arms one-sixth longer than wide.
Origin & meaning
The white cross on red goes back to the field sign of the Confederates, attested from the Battle of Laupen (1339). It originated with the forest cantons, above all Schwyz, whose red banner bore a small cross.
Confirmed by the Diet in 1815 and carried into the federal state of 1848, the cross received its present proportions by federal law in 1889.
The flag
The Swiss flag is square — only Switzerland and the Vatican use a square national flag. Its reversed colours form the emblem of the Red Cross.
Sources
- Mühlemann, L. (1991). Wappen und Fahnen der Schweiz. Bühler-Verlag.
- Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz — «Schweizerkreuz».
- Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz — «Schweizerfahne».