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List of Swiss flags

This is a comprehensive list of flags used in Switzerland.

National flags

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Flag Date Use Description
1841-present Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag National flag of Switzerland A square flag with a white cross in the centre and background in red.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
1882-present Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Civil and state ensign Red flag with a white cross in the centre and background in red.[7][8]

Ethnic group flags

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Flag Date Use Description
Flag of the Piedmontese Arpitans [9][10]
Flag of the Yenish people [11]
Proposed flag of the Romansh people

Military flags

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Rank flags

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Flag Date Use Description
1898 Flag of a Swiss Armed Forces general and Chief of the Armed Forces [12]
1898 Flag of a Swiss Armed Forces lieutenant general [12]
Obsolete flag of a Swiss Armed Forces lieutenant general [12]
1898 Flag of a Swiss Armed Forces major general [12]
Obsolete flag of a Swiss Armed Forces major general old [12]
1898 Flag of a Swiss Armed Forces brigadier general [12]
Obsolete flag of a Swiss Armed Forces brigadier general [12]

Political flags

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Flag Date Use Description
1966-1992 Flag of the Autonomous Socialist Party (Ticino)

Canton flags

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Main article: Flags and arms of cantons of Switzerland

Municipal flags

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Main article: Flags and arms of municipalities of Switzerland

Historical flags

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Switzerland Under The Holy Roman Empire

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Flag Date Use Description
800-888 Imperial Orilflamme of Charlemagne A 3 pointed green field with 8 golden crosses and 6 flowers.
800–1300 Banner of the Emperor of the Romans and of the King of Germany An Imperial Eagle displayed with a halo sable armed and langued gules.[13][14]
1100–1300 War flag of the Holy Roman Empire A non-rectangular flag depicting a white cross on a red field.[15]

Historical National Flags

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Flag Date Use Description
1291-1422 Old flag of Unterwalden A horizontal bicolor of red and white.
1291-1422 Old flag of Uri A yellow field with a black bull, similar to the modern flag.
1291-1422 Old flag of Lucerne A horizontal bicolor of white and blue.
1291–1422 Old flag of Zurich A diagonal bicolor of white and blue with a large red horizontal stripe.
1291-1422 Old flag of Glarus A red field with a monk in the center.
1291-1422 Old flag of Zug A horizontal tricolor of white (top), blue and white.
1291-1422 Old flag of Bern A diagonal tricolor of red (top), yellow and red with a bear inside the yellow stripe.
1350-1836 Old flag of Neuchâtel A yellow field with a red stripe in the center which has 3 arrowed white stripes.[16]
1422-1475 1st flag of The Old Swiss Confederacy A red triangular field with a white cross off-centered towards the hoist.[17]
1475-1798 2nd flag of The Old Swiss Confederacy A square flag with a white cross in the centre and background in red.[18][19]
1628–1798 Flag of The Republic of the Seven Tithings A square field with 2 horizontal stripes of red and white and 7 6-pointed stars.
1792–1798 Flag of the Republic of Geneva A square field of 2 horizontal stripes of red and gold with a thin black line in the center.
1803–1930 Old flag of Argau A horizontal bicolor of black with 3 rivers and blue with 3 5-pointed stars.
1814-1822 Flag of the Restored Swiss Confederacy A square flag with a white cross in the centre and background in red with The German words "Für Vaterland und Ehre" which means "For Fatherland and Honor" and a sword intertwined by a laurel plant in the center of the cross.[20]
1836–1848 Old flag of Neuchâtel A horizontal tricolor of orange, black and white

Swiss Territories Under Prussian Rule

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Flag Date Use Description
1707–1772 Flag of Royal Prussia
1707–1750 First flag of the Kingdom in Prussia
1750–1801 Second flag of the Kingdom in Prussia and first flag of the Kingdom of Prussia A black eagle holding a sword and rod on a white field, a crown on top.
1801–1803 Second flag of the Kingdom of Prussia
1803-1805
1815-1848		 Third flag of the Kingdom of Prussia The same as the previous flag, but the crown in the top of the flag is smaller.

Swiss Territories Under Austrian Rule

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Flag Date Use Description
1453-1458 Flag of the Archduchy of Austria Three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red.[21][22]

Swiss Territories Under French Rule

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Flag Date Use Description
Pre-Napoleonic Era
1482-1493 Flag of The Kingdom of France A Square Blue Field with 3 Fleur de Lis
1499-1512 Flag of The Kingdom of France A Rectangular Blue Field with 3 Fleur de Lis
1604–1790 Flag of The Kingdom of France a white banner with several Fleur de Lis and the royal coat of arms in the center.
1790-1794 Flag of The Kingdom of France and The French First Republic A vertical tricolour of red, white, and blue.
1794-1804 Flag of The French First Republic A vertical tricolour of blue, white, and red.[23]
1798–1803 Flag of The Helvetic Republic (German) a green-red-yellow tricolour with the name of the country in German.[24]
1798–1803 Flag of The Helvetic Republic (French) a green-red-yellow tricolour with the name of the country in French.
1802–1804 Flag of The Rhodanic Republic A square field with 2 horizontal stripes of red and white and 12 5-pointed Stars.
Napoleonic Era
1804-1814 Flag of The First French Empire [23]
1804–1814 Flag of The Napoleonic Valais

Swiss Territories Under Italian States

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Flag Date Use Description
1093-1329 Flag of The Commune of Milan A White Field with a Red Maltese cross in the center with 3 sestiere on the fly.
1329–1395 Flag of The Lordship of Milan A white field with a blue snake devouring a man in the center.
1395-1512 Flag of The Duchy of Milan A white field with centred red cross, similar to The Flag of England.
1395-1447
1450-1499		 Flag of Milan under The Holy Roman Empire the Imperial Eagle of the Holy Roman Empire in the first and fourth quarters and the Snake of Milan in the second and third quarters.
1447–1450 Flag of The Golden Ambrosian Republic A white field with centred red cross, with the republic's seal.
1499-1512 Flag of Milan under The Kingdom of France the French royal flag in the first and fourth quarters and the Snake of Milan in the second and third quarters.
1416-1536 Flag of The Duchy of Savoy A red field with centred white cross.

Yacht club flags

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Flag Club
Burgee of Club Nautico Morcote
Burgee of Cruising Club der Schweiz
Société Nautique de Genève
Cruising Club der Schweiz

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flags of Switzerland.

References

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  1. ^ List of Swiss flags in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  2. ^ Appendix 2, Wappenschutzgesetz (SR 232.21), 21 June 2013 (effective 1 January 2017) [length of an arm: 7 units, width of the cross: 20 units, width of the flag: 32 units; ratio of cross width to field width: 20:32 = 5:8].
  3. ^ "The coat of arms of the federation is, within a red field, an upright white cross, whose [four] arms of equal length are one and a sixth times as long as they are wide." ("Das Wappen der Eidgenossenschaft ist im rothen Felde ein aufrechtes, freistehendes weißes Kreuz, dessen unter sich gleiche Arme je einen Sechstheil länger als breit sind") Bundesbeschluss betreffend das eidgenössische Wappen vom 12. Dezember 1889
  4. ^ Bundesgesetz zum Schutz öffentlicher Wappen und anderer öffentlicher Zeichen vom 5. Juni 1931 (Stand am 1. August 2008).
  5. ^ Art. 3.3: The following remain reserved: a. the Navigation Act of 23 September 1953 [SR 747.30]; b. the Civil Aviation Act of 21 December 1948 [SR 748.0]; c. the Armed Forces Act of 3 February 1995 [SR 510.10].
  6. ^ The compound implies genitive plural, "flag of the Swiss"; other national flags are identified with adjectives, as in französische Fahne "French flag" (German standard: französische Flagge). Swiss Armed Forces, Reglement 51.340 d (Fahnenreglement, 2008), section 4.1: "In unserem Sprachgebrauch hat sich der Begriff Schweizerflagge in diesem Sinn nicht eingebürgert. Das Reglement spricht weiter von der Schweizerfahne. […] Das ‹Aufziehen einer Fahne› wird in der Armee aber weiter zur Umgangssprache gehören." ("In our linguistic usage, the term "Schweizerflagge" in this sense ["Flagge" for a flag attached to a pole by means of a cable]. This reglementation will continue to refer to the Schweizerfahne [...] The "raising of a Fahne" will continue to remain in common usage in the army."
  7. ^ "Swiss yacht flag". flagsforum. 13 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  8. ^ The square shape is due to the shape of late medieval and early modern war flags carried by infantry regiments, while most other national flags, following the example of the British Union flag and the Dutch Prince's Flag, hark back to the tradition of rectangular maritime flags used in the Age of Sail. The communes and cantons of Switzerland also have square flags.
  9. ^ Piemonte, C. S. I. "Città metropolitana - Speciali - A Caprie sventola la bandiera francoprovenzale". www.cittametropolitana.torino.it (in Italian). Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  10. ^ "Il Francoprovenzale | Planet Cordola" (in Italian). Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Yeniche People". www.crwflags.com. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g "Anhang 3: Fanions als Standortzeichen in der Armee" (PDF). bkmv.ch (in German). p. 62. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Handschriftencensus | Kassel, Universitätsbibl. / LMB, 2° Ms. poet. et roman. 1". handschriftencensus.de. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  14. ^ Eschenbach>, Wolfram <von (1334). Willehalm-Kodex. Fritzlar (?).
  15. ^ "Holy Roman Empire 962-1806 (Germany)". www.fotw.info. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  16. ^ "Neuchâtel canton (Switzerland)". www.fotw.info. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Switzerland". www.crwflags.com. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  18. ^ Article 41 (of the draft constitution): "Das Siegel der Eidgenossenschaft ist das Feldzeichen der alten Schweizer: ein weißes freistehendes Kreuz im rothen Felde, sammt der Umschrift: Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft."
  19. ^ "In der Mitte der eidgenössische rothe Schild mit dem weißen Kreuz als gemeineidgenössisches Wappenzeichen; ringsherum eine zirkelförmige einfache gothische Verzierung; außer derselben die Inschrift: Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, mit der Jahreszahl MDCCCXV; in einem äußern Zirkel alle XXII Kantonswappen in runden Feldern nach ihrer eidgenössischen Rangordnung, und das Ganze mit einem einfachen Siegelkranze in unterschobenen kleinen Blättern geschlossen" (Bd. III, S. 120, G.)
  20. ^ BBl 1889 IV (12 November 1889), p. 635.
  21. ^ "Bundesheer - Uniformen und Abzeichen - Dekorationen, Insignien und Hoheitszeichen". www.bundesheer.at. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  22. ^ GmbH, Typoheads. "Abzeichen". www.bundesheer.at. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  23. ^ a b "Changement de couleur du drapeau français, ce qu'en pensent les fabricants". Graphiline.com (in French). 17 November 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  24. ^ Helvetischer Almanach für das Jahr 1809 (Zürich 1808), p. 194: "So die Schweizer-Fahne: Weisses Kreuz in Roth."